To replace the liner or not

[Rob]

We have a 18' X 40' in ground oval pool, and winter is fast approaching.

We needed to replace the liner, and had planned to do it in a warm day in October.

Well, we had our first child October 9th, and low and behold, that blew the month of October.

Right now, we have an empty pool in the back yard, with half a liner in it (I had to cut into it in places to make the measurements for the new liner, since when it was empty, the old liner shrank up. We have a new liner, and coping will get here on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Wednesday, it is supposed to hit around 55F. The pool liner manufacturer recommends that you install the liner at 60F or higher. They do say you can install it below 60F if you keep it indoors for 48 hours to warm it. After Wednesday, the next two weeks are going to be cold (40F or so as highs), so assuming the coping gets here Wednesday, I might be able to get it all in, but I might not, since I'll have to cut the coping.

Has anyone tried doing this? Should I just leave it to spring? My worry with that is that the frost might heave in the sides of the pool (we get down to 0F regularly over the winter).

How hard would it be to install the liner at 50-60F? I know putting a bed liner on a truck when it is cold is almost impossible because it shrinks, is it as bad with a pool?

Thanks,

Rob

 

[Rob]

Just saw the other message that answers most of my questions.

Any thoughts on the likelyhood of the pool heaving in over the winter?

I've talked to people who both have had it heave in, and others who said it was just fine.

 

[waste]

Rob, first CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST CHILD!!!! :super:

I would opt for trying to get the new liner in while it's still possible! AG pools are buttressed to keep the walls from falling out - they have ~ no strength to keep the walls from folding in - the weight of the water is supposed to do that.

If the coping arrives on time and you can get it cut before noon on Wed, I'd opt to go for it (of course having had the liner kept in the warmest room in your house for a couple of days - don't take it outside until you are ready to actually install it) -- have everything ready before bringing the liner out to the pool! Make sure you know how to position the liner and get it into the pool before you bring it outside. Have the water ready to go once the liner is properly positioned in the pool - the key to getting it right at 'sub-optimal' conditions is to do it quickly! Don't even worry about cutting out the skimmer and return til next year.

If anything goes wrong while dropping the liner - back off and wait until next spring when you can be sure it's done right!! If that happens, you can use 2x4s to brace the walls from the inside to prevent wall failure (if you have to go that route, let me know - there are a couple different ways it can be done, depending on what kind of bottom you have and how 'handy' you are with saws, hammers and nails).

Congrats on the new addition to your family :!: I hope you can get the new liner in, but regardless as to whether it goes in this week or next spring - we want to see some pics next year of your little one becoming a water-baby!!

EDIT - my bad I somehow misread it to be an AG pool, however buttressing may still be a good idea if the pool must sit empty for the winter

 

[Rob]

Hey Waste,

Thanks! We are having a great time with her, it's just this stubborn liner (and a few other projects) I need to take care of before the snow hits.

You mentioned in your post an above ground pool. We actually have an inground pool, is your advice the same?

I'm fairly handy, so I'm sure I could rig something up to brace the walls over the winter, but it being an inground pool, I'm not sure how much a few 2X4's are going to do vs the weight of all that dirt.

Rob

 

[waste]

Rob, we must have been posting at the same time, I had just realized my mistake and edited for it Things are pretty much the same, it'd be best to get the new liner in, but if it doesn't 'go down' you can make braces to keep the pool walls 'in tact' for the winter - though with IG pools 2x6's would be better. (If you buttress them correctly, and keep the water to a minimum, you can even cover the pool to help prevent damage to the floor). What kind of deck do you have? -- pavers, as opposed to concrete, will let more water behind the panels and give you a better chance of 'heaving' the walls.

If you need more from me, I'm here 'most every day

Also, the IG braces for your walls DO DO a good job of keeping the dirt/ frost at 'bay', they're embedded in the concrete collar and attach to the top of the wall.

 

[Rob]

Thanks Waste,

Can you point me in the right direction on finding directions for bracing the walls?

I'm assuming I want to do something where I use 2X6's attached to plywood squares, bracing the wall against the floor?

We have a standard hopper pool, with concrete panels, and the deep end is poured concrete.

Rob

 

[waste]

Rob, sorry! for the delay I searched some old threads at PF yesterday for something I remember about the concrete panel pools, to no avail If the pool has concrete panels, they 'should' hold up through the winter without water in the pool. If the walls are crete, like a house foundation, they 'should' also be ok. If they are cinderblock and the blocks had rebar embedded and slurry poured into them, again 'should' be good.

Having looked through your old posts, it seems that the pool must either be cinderblock or foundation style. I would tarp off the area around the pool to keep as much water as possible from saturating the ground around the walls - dry dirt doesn't heave much With regards to bracing, I was thinking more of bracing between the walls ( use the 2 walls to support each other), the oval ends should act as arches and not be a problem. FWIW - I was originally thinking of steel or plastic panels

If you can drop the liner tomorrow, match up the break/ transition line to the deep end first, get the floor part where it needs to be and step on it and draw the liner straight up into the bead this will give you 2 good points from which to feed the rest of the liner into the track! I surely hope that you don't have built-in steps, as that requires drilling and screwing in a 'stair rod' to get them in.

I wish I had realized that your pool isn't a 'standard walled' pool and had asked you for a few more specs Again, sorry! If you need more tips, etc. just ask