Low-Hung Liner Ripped

[msunickb]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the board and in a bit of a panic. A quick introduction, my name is Nick and I live in West Michigan. I purchased my current house with an in-ground pool 8 years ago. The pool is a 16x32 in-ground by Polynesian and has a low-hung liner.

So here's the deal, I finally finished closing my pool yesterday as it was supposed to get cold here this week. Everything went as planned, pool drained down below plumbing, blew the lines, capped everything, chemicals and cover the pool. After covering the pool I put the hose back in and began filling it back up to the level I normally leave it at for winter, about 3" below the skimmer "hole". I ended up turning the hose off at about 11PM last night as I was going to bed. I still wanted to put an inch or two more in today but figured that was good for the night. The only thing I wasn't able to complete was to run anti-freeze into the plumbing as I forgot to buy it and everything was closed.

Today my girlfriend got home from work and called and said the cover seemed a lot lower than what it was last night when she saw it. I asked her to pull the corner back on the cover to look how low it was and it's low...really low. There's probably 4-6" of water in the shallow end. There's also a large "rip/s" in the liner in the shallow end.

I don't know if there was a leak that caused it to drain then the liner ripped or the liner ripped and that allowed the water to drain, but either way it has definitely drained and needs to be replaced.

So here's my real question, am I OK leaving the pool uncovered for the winter knowing I have to replace the liner in the spring anyway or am I risking damage to other parts of the pool by doing that, like the fiberglass walls?

I've taken the cover off and looked at it...the major damage is in the shallow end but the rest is now bubbling and all out of sorts. I called Polynesian to see what they recommended and they said I could go buy a custom piece of plastic that was big enough to cover the entire pool (bottom, sides, etc. draped from the concrete) and fill the pool for the winter that way. It may not be but this seems like a huge pain and rather costly for something I'll just be throwing away.

I guess I'm just looking for any advice that can be given.

Thank you ahead of time and nice meeting you!

Nick

 

[PJ]

This is a tough one. It really all depends on how much precipitation you get this winter and/or groundwater. Newer style vinyl lined pools are built with reinforced walls and it would be even better if they backfilled the pool as they were filling it when it was built. If the pool is older or if they filled the pol then backfilled you have an increased chance of the walls buckling from rain water or ground water. I would probably go with the pool company's recommendation just to be safe on this ne. It'll be much more inexpensive than repairing your pool. Or is there anyway to patch the rips? Or are they too big?

 

[msunickb]

Here's a couple pictures...they're not great but you get the idea. I snapped them quick before I left the house this morning.

 

[swimcmp]

We have three customers with this style pool here in Missouri. I have not found a manufacturer that is willing to build a replacement liner for these pools. There is a strip similar to what holds a screen into the frame. No one makes that strip anymore that I am aware of. We took a Ft Wayne Sure Fit liner bead track and fit it to the top of the wall, replaced the original steps with a Ft Wayne step and it worked very nice. I would be interested in getting the information that you have to look into getting the correct stuff for these as I am getting ready to do another rebuild on an indoor pool over the winter.

 

[linen]

Just a comment on the plastic for the winter. You usually can find large tarps on ebay and other places, and that would likely be reusable. See this post: http://www.troublefreepool.com/chlorine-demand-for-years-t60524-20.html#p505310

 

[msunickb]

I'd just be worried that it would be totally leak proof because if it leaks I'm in the same boat only with snow on the ground making it harder to stop the leak.

What about getting 1x6 cut to the width of my pool and putting 4 or so across it wedged into the walls so there was some support on the walls?

 

[msunickb]

No thoughts on this?

 

[PJ]

That might help, but it would not be a guarantee that damage would not occur. The walls could still buckle where there is not support. Here's a photo of what that would look like.[attachment=0:25eldg3u]getaway2 001.jpg[/attachment:25eldg3u]

 

[duraleigh]

Hey,

Sorry you haven't had much response. That's a very unusual set up so there are very few folks that have any experience with it.

I would suggest you send a PM to swimcmp. He is a very experienced pool builder and seems to have knowledge of that type installation........he can likely help.

This time of year is the lightest traffic load so he may only check from time to time.....He posts often enough that I know he would not be offended by a PM and, with his experience, he may be able to get you started.