Pool repair - Liner refill/replace??

[Ronmur]

I have an 18X33 oval AGP that I installed this year. It is was given to us after sitting empty with no liner for some time. I sanded and fixed all of the surface rust on the exterior parts (uprights, buttresses, wall plates, top rail). But there wasn't a whole lot I could do about the buttress straps being rusted. They sat in uncovered sand for however long the liner was gone. Thought about replacing them, but no longer available. Well, I believe one of the straps has broken now that the walls are under pressure. Found a side upright bulged out about 3 inches. Used a screw jack to push it back in place, and will leave it for the summer.

My question is pertaining to the liner during repair. I will have to drain completely to pull the liner back to get to the strap. Since it is less than 2 months at this point of being filled, how long should the liner retain it's elasticity? I originally thought about leaving it for the winter and repairing the strap next spring. But after reading other posts, I'm beginning to question if this would be the best way for my liner to survive. Maybe do the repair in the fall and refill to a winter level? I don't really want to replace the liner. I'm hoping I can drain, pull the liner back for repair, rehang that end, and refill. The strap is at the opposite end away from the skimmer/return line. I was thinking about trying to anchor the liner below the skimmer with something heavy, trying to avoid the stretch/wrinkle issue during refill. Does this sound possible?

If I have to replace the liner, I guess I'll have no other choice. But thought I'd throw this out there and see what kind of opinions I get.

Thanks.

 

[gwegan]

I would do this work in September at the latest and replace the broken one and the net two most likely to fail. Do it so you drain one day, repair an reset liner in the afternoon the next.

 

[Ronmur]

How long does it take chlorinated water to affect the elasticity of the liner? Would 3-4 months of use cause the liner to become brittle if I completely drained it? It's looking like it will take a couple days to repair the pool. I now have more than 1 strap broken. I'm torn between draining and fixing the straps this fall and hoping I can get the liner back in place with no catastrophe. Or leaving the pool full for the winter and fixing next spring along with replacing the liner. Only problem with that scenario is that with the broken straps, I don't know how cold weather, and possible freezing of the water, would damage the pool further since the straps are broken and already allowing the side to bulge out.