HAVE to have new liner; do it now, or in the Spring? Pool level is falling quickly.

[SLL]

We've been using a water levelizer to keep the pool water up, but it was running a LOT. Turned it off three days ago, and water level has dropped about 18 inches. Way below intake. Pool is approx. 20 years old, and our new powerful automatic pool cleaner has been tearing bits and pieces of caulking loose all summer, especially around the stairs area.

Problem is, I haven't done ANYTHING with the sand filter. I wasn't prepared for it to lose THIS much water this quickly. We're pretty far south, and don't "close" or cover the pool in the winter. The very few days we have below 20 degrees, I just run the filter to keep the water moving so pipes won't freeze.

Question is: Should I just let the pool continue draining out, and set up a new pool liner install for the spring time? OR should I call and get a new liner NOW, so I can run the filter in case of freezing nights? I'm more worried about my underground pipes than anything else.

Additional question: The entry stairs have "bubbles" in the fiberglass which I am sure are leaking also. Do stairs come with a liner install? Are they easy to replace?

We've only owned the pool for two years, and have been following troublefreepools for advice and have had no problems keeping everything balanced and beautiful using the BBB method. Still learning from the TFP community by reading threads often.

Thanks so much!

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi,
If you dont maintain the water leve, the pool will fill up with leaves and gunk over the winter and it will be a mess when it comes time for a liner replacement. If it were me, I would go ahead and replace the liner now.

A step replacement isnt included in a liner replacement. The steps are actually part of the pool structure. To replace them would be very expensive. It would require digging out around that area and hammering out the concrete footer, etc.

Repairing the leaky steps would probably be the way to go.
there are some videos about this kind of thing on YouTube. For example, here's one.
Repairing vinyl liner cracked pool stairs - YouTube

 

[AimeeH]

Hi

I'm assuming that is Conway SC. Not too far from me as far as similar climate. So I'm with Dave. I'd be looking at replacement now.

 

[camueller]

Do it now. If you've got the money/resources available, you'll be better off doing it now while most other people are thinking about closing their pools. Getting a builder/installer to help you when swimming season starts up again in the spring is not always easy.