Vinyl Liner Problem

[SeanH]

Hi All. Hope everyone had a good winter!

I took the cover off my IGP this weekend and saw that either I lost a substantial amount of water or the company that closed my pool took out way more than they usually do. I had 3-4 inches left in the 4' deep shallow end. I saw a couple of pretty big wrinkles on the bottom, and the liner had popped off for about 10'.

I wasn't too worried since I needed to re-silicone my steps (possible source of leak) and it needed to be that low to complete. I silliconed the steps, waited 24 hours and started to fill. My hope was that the water pressure would force the liner back in place and I would be able to snap it back in. No such luck. It's very tight and the water is pretty cold, so at this point, I can't budge the liner.

My question is, is this fixable and if so where do I begin? Is there a way to stretch the liner? I was hoping to get another year or two out of this liner, but if replacement is the only option, that's what I'll look into.

Sean

 

[JasonLion]

It depends on how old the liner is. Under 2 years, no question it can be fixed. 3-5 years, probably fixable. More than 5 years, probably not fixable. The older the liner gets, the less stretch there is and the more likely it is to tear or crack when you are working on it.

Regardless, that is not an easy situation to fix. You need to move the liner around till all the slack is in the right place. That might require pumping water behind the liner to get it to float a little so you can move it. Getting it back in the track is difficult at the best of times and really needs a warm sunny day.

 

[SeanH]

Thanks for the reply. My guess is the liner is 8 to 10 years old. I've had it for 4 and I think the previous owner told me he had it put in 4 years before I bought the house.

Would the repair call for draining water out of the shallow end prior to trying to get the liner back in place? I want to at least give it my best effort before I give in and replace the liner!

Thanks for all your help.

Sean

 

[waste]

Here is my advice on getting the liner back in track :-D Unfortunately, that liner looks like it doesn't have much stretch to it I would drop the water a few inches (more if necessary) and use buckets of hot water (from the tap) don't use boiling water and follow the directions in my linked post.

Good luck with this!

 

[SeanH]

THANKS!

I'm going to give it a shot tomorrow. I wish I had researched it a little more before I put several thousand gallons in yesterday!!!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Sean

 

[waste]

You can always try it with the water up 8) But i think that if you stand any chance of getting it back in, you'll need to lower the water :|

I'll help as I can

 

[SeanH]

I ran my 1200gph pump for a couple of hours tonight before a thunderstorm rolled through. Hopfully we don't get too much rain.

Sean

 

[waste]

Just a quick thought I had while reviewing the pic - how low do you take the water for winterizing? It looks like you have a ground water issue (wrinkles on the floor) which is what popped the liner - it's possible to winterize the pool without removing any water, but we can talk about that in the fall 8)

Good luck with the retuck :-D Sorry you've got to work on the pool instead of swim in it on Mem. Day

 

[SeanH]

I have a local pool company close it for me but they don't usually go down more than a foot or so below the normal water line. When I took the cover off, it was down to about 3-6 inches in the shallow end. I wasn't home when they closed it this time, so I'm not sure how far they took it.

If I get the water down far enough should I be able to "pull" the wrinkles out or am I asking too much?

Sean

 

[waste]

Sean, not to change the topic here but... if you were down a couple of feet of water, and the pool was properly closed, there is a leak somewhere!

I'll do my best to help you save this liner - but it may well be shot :x

Sorry to have to say this, but it's the unfortunate truth :grrrr:

Keep us posted and I may be able to help you keep this liner viable for another season or 2 8)

 

[SeanH]

There may have been a leak around the steps. The previous owner had siliconed where the steps and liner attach and it had come out. I re-siliconed it since the level was down so far.

I don't have high hopes at this point. I've tried stretching it but I've got a good 3-4 inches where it sags in the middle. My though is to try to pull some of the liner back from where the wrinkles are to get it in the track. I just hope that adding the water back in does not pop it back out again.

I appreciate all your help and advice.

Sean

 

[SeanH]

Ok. That was NOT a fun job!!!

I now understand the screwdriver tip, the top secret trick, the beadlock tip etc........

My liner is now attached all around with much cussin' and help from my better half.

Where is was detached, there is a pocket of air between the liner and the wall. It ranges anywhere from 1" or so to about 3". Will filling the pool back up hopefully stretch the liner back? Is that the idea? Is there anything I can do to help it?

Sean

 

[SeanH]

I've got about 18" to go to full. When I came out this morning I noticed there was about a 4" section of liner that had poped out. I got it back in with some hot water without too much difficulty.

It looks like the force of the water is stetching the liner against the sides. Hopfully it has enough stretch left in it.

I have my fingers crossed.

Sean

 

[waste]

CONGRATULATIONS!! on getting it back in the track :!: :super:

I'm very glad to have been able to help you with this

Please let us know how it all turns out

 

[SeanH]

CONGRATULATIONS!! on getting it back in the track :!: :super:

I'm very glad to have been able to help you with this

Please let us know how it all turns out

I have to tell you, your advice was AWSOME!!!!!!

My wife admitted that she was ready to give up before I attacked it last night.

The pool is full, the pump filter and light are all up and running and there are no plumbing leaks to boot! This is probably the first year that I've had the pool that I didn't have any air whatsoever in the lid of the basket. I still have some wrinkles in the shallow end, and the liner is bunched up just a little at the spot that it started to detach, but you can hardly notice.

I dumped 4 174 oz bottles of bleach in and an hour later here are my numbers....


FC=7.5
CC=.5
PH=7.6
TA=90
CYA=N/A

Given the amount of water I "replaced" I'm not suprised that I couldn't get a CYA reading.

Overall I'm thrilled. Without your help, I didn't even know if it was possible to fix, much less that it would just take some elbow grease and a couple of hours.

THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!

 

[waste]

So very glad to have been able to help you! And even happier that your pool is all set for a summer of enjoying! ...We Jersey boys gotta stick together 8)

Thank you for letting me know that I was able to help :bowdown: It means a lot to me - this site helps me do my pool job every day and knowing that I've actually repaid some by helping a member lets me sleep a little more soundly at night

Have a great summer and enjoy the pool :!: