Floating liner after closing

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Yallayalla

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Jul 11, 2016
27
Hatfield
Hey all. I just closed my pool for the first time a few weeks ago, but realized I left the water a little too low. (I had to replace a gasket to a vacuum intake.)

The water level is below the return jet. I thought I should bring the water up to just below the skimmer, so I was adding water, and I felt the liner was a bit out of place. I pulled back the cover at one corner and the liner was floating big time! We did get quite a bit of rain the past week. This has not happened over the summer when it was open.

Would raising the water level up to the skimmer be enough water pressure to push the liner back? I believe the last owner advised the pool closing company suggested keeping the water level higher than normal. I also know there was a French Drain installed in the yard to prevent "Water spilling into pool" according to seller's disclosure.

We have a 20,000 gallon pool with vinyl liner, and live in Mid-Atlantic. (SW PA.)
 
I would also look into the drain to see how you can keep this from happening again. Where are your downspouts in relation to the pool? Is there any way you can keep water from getting behind the liner? It will take some looking and thinking. You can also take a video when it rains and we might be able to help out from that.
 
When the ground water level is higher than the level of the water in the pool, the liner will float. Is it a big problem? Not normally, because the liner has a tendency to return to the correct position once the groundwater recedes.

Does it ALWAYS settle back in correctly? No.

Can you force it back in correctly? Sometimes, but not always.

I would start by refilling the pool as suggested and then, as the groundwater recedes, using a broom(s) or other devices to "coax" the liner back to the correct position.
Would raising the water level up to the skimmer be enough water pressure to push the liner back?
Click to expand...
No one knows. We know that the groundwater height cannot exceed the pool water height but we don't know how high the groundwater is.
 
I'm in SW PA as well and have had water table and liner issues. It's unconventional here. I live halfway up a hill so in general I should never have water because if flows downhill. But that's not the case. Rain hits the ground and soaks in and there is essentially an underground river of all the water flowing from the top of the hill to the creek at the bottom of the hill.

This summer it floated bad when we received a few inches of heavy rain in less than an hour. It went back to normal after I pumped out the water behind the liner. From that storm there was a lot of surface water that flowed into an area where it could be forced into a tight area behind the pool. During a traditional rainstorm the liner doesn't move. It's only after heavy rain that we get a little behind it. I've come to find that after every heavy rain a 1'x1' section will be squishy because it has water behind it. The water always recedes after an hour or two.

I spoke to my pool builder at length about this. The only true solution is a well with a sump pump that's deeper than your deep end. Ground water pressure will be reduced and pumped out. The area around our pool is solid concrete, it would be very expensive for me to do this. Instead I'm focusing on surface water removal with a system that can carry some ground water but not the deep stuff through a complex drainage system.

My advice is is to watch it closely over the winter. I keep my water level higher over the winter with the knowledge that I need to pop the cover and pump out a few inches every month if it rains. Not a big deal. For the longer term I'd consider what you could do to keep water away. A French drain is good, but it's a passive system. You might need something more active.
 
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