Floor Pad or not?? Type??

[pedsrn]

After just four years, we are having to replace our liner. Last year, I shot a metal lock hasp through the side of the pool while cutting grass, so I have a big hole in the wall that I need to repair AND there are just several leaks that I can not find, so I've opted to just replace the liner.

I've ordered a new liner and I'm debating on what else to put in at this point. The one we are replacing had a sand floor/cove and no padding anywhere. I've not really noticed any issues with nutgrass or anything, but I've also not yet removed the old liner. My bigger issue is my autistic son throwing things off the upper deck (rocks, toys, etc.) into the pool to watch the splash. I'm afraid that's where some of our leaks are coming from.
I ordered wall padding to add extra protection over the area where I'm going to pop-rivet a piece of sheet metal in to cover the hole I made with the hasp.

My questions: Do ya'll recommend the foam cove and the floor pads?

If you do recommend these, which products? Gorilla, happy feet, elephant, rhino?? On the cove, self adhesive or the ones that hook into the wall?

I'd really much rather take the money that these will cost and replace my solar panels that bursted last year, but I want to do it right this time...so, I'll await ya'lls opinions.

TIA!

 

[Casey]

Well, they certainly aren't needed but I like my happy bottom, sticky coves and the wall foam <I bought 2 cans of spray adhesive for the wall foam too>.

Again, totally not needed but I like it and glad I did it! 8)

Good Luck and take lots of pics! We love pics!

 

[Nick]

I like my happy bottom1

That phrase always puts a broad grin on my face :-D


Seriously though, I have been thinking about pads too.

Last year when I removed my AGP the smell of dead and rotting grass was enough to put the neighbours off us for life. It was a really stinky farm yard smell that lasted for weeks.
I was wondering of mats or pads would help with that as well as the other benefits for the pool?

 

[MikeInTN]

I like my happy bottom1

That phrase always puts a broad grin on my face :-D


Seriously though, I have been thinking about pads too.

Last year when I removed my AGP the smell of dead and rotting grass was enough to put the neighbours off us for life. I was areally stinky farm yard smell that lasted for weeks.
I was wondering of mats or pads would help with that as well as the other benefots for the pool?

Ahhh yes, I know that smell all too well. We had the same thing when we deflated our Intex pool we used to own.

Best way to deal with it is to kill off the grass with something like RoundUp well before it's time to set up the pool, and remove the grass if possible. No grass = nothing to rot under the pool for a couple of months. Just putting down a groundcover or pad will not stop it.

 

[Cherie]

We had our Doughboy buried. He put down Proteam's Zapzit (for grass/weeds), sand, Cove (sticky back) then Happy Bottom. We're very glad he did the Happy Bottom and Cove. The heal divits aren't nearly so bad as they might be with just sand - unless you give the sand time to really harden. But we were in the pool before it even finished filling :lol: It was the last day of school and kids came over to break it in! So the only part he didn't put HB was the deep end and sure enough....we had a hot dog who just couldn't resist pushing off that nice soft sandy wall.

But also, it was our understanding when they strongly suggested the HB, that it would be the most effective in deterring grass/weeds growing up through the liner.

 

[Shelley N]

Wall padding? Does that go all the way around or just over your repair site. When the sun goes down her in Colorado, you can feel the water near the sides of the pool get coldand we loose a ton of heat overnight that way I'm sure. I wonder if this padding would insulate the water from this chill? Anybody?

 

[Casey]

I went with wall foam too and I love it just as much as I love my Happy Bottom! I have read it helps insulate the pool a bit too. I put the wall foam all the way around. I like to coushy feeling it gives too instead of the hard wall. :lol:

 

[colormesummer]

2 years ago we got a little daring as we had time constraints as far as getting the pool up & running & ended up putting 4x8 exterior insulation panels (like 1/2 " thick) as a bottom of our pool, carefully taped the seams, it still feels good & maybe cheaper than the happy bottom...its an experiment in progress as to how long it will last.

 

[ultra800_96]

I installed happy bottom, foam cove & wall liner. The happy bottom feels nice, soft & cushy the first 3-4 years. The wall foam does help retain heat at night. A real plus here in Iowa. A friend and I compared heat loss at night with solar covers on, & his always lost a couple degrees more compared to mine. We put up our pool when our daughter was 12. She will turn 25 the 9th of this month. Still can't believe I'm on the original liner! I've found earings with no backs laying on the bottom, etc, over the years & have never had a leak, or put a patch on. Extreme luck, I'd call it!

 

[X-PertPool]

I don't recommend using foam to protect a liner from damage. I only use wall foam on in ground liner installations if the walls are so badly rusted that they cannot be scraped or sanded smooth. I feel that wall foam makes a liner more susceptible to damage from inside the pool, if you think I'm crazy grab a piece of wall foam and place some vinyl on top of that and poke at it with something sharp, now lay that vinyl on a hard surface and try poking it, you might make a small hole but not nearly as bad as having wall foam behind the vinyl. So in a nutshell, wall foam is good for protecting the vinyl from the pool walls but not from sharp object in the pool itself.