New Liner time

[bdog03]

My dad has a 16x32 above ground pool (i believe it is 52inches deep )......When he was in Florida last year and in between my trips over to take care of it, an animal fell in the pool...My guess is a squirrel or Opposum.....Anyway, they managed to make it out alive as i didnt find a carcess floating (just hair). In doing so there were holes from its claws left behind. I immediatly patched it up and looked pretty good up until 2 weeks into the season this year. These little holes expanded into a huge 10ft tear along the top of the liner. Still holds water, but it is definitly time to replace.

Ok, after that short story, here is my question.
When should he get this replaced? Before closing this year or wait until the beginning of next season? My guess is to wait so that there is no need to use any uneccesary chemicals. If i do wait, should i totally drain the pool over the winter? I don't want this thing to give way over the winter months. Any insight would be appreciated.
Also, i am no pool expert per say, but what is the approx cost on a new liner? And is this something that can be done myself, or should i just get it professionally done? If so what kind of labor costs would i be looking at?
Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[JohnT]

Don't drain until you are ready to replace the liner if at all possible. The walls of the pool aren't designed to resist wind without the weight of the water. If you have to empty it, I'd try to rig some kind of reinforcement for the walls.

An AG liner is a DIY job. Just be sure to pay attention to the cove requirements to avoid overstretching the liner. It's possible that the leaks from the initial damage may have washed away the cove and caused the liner to stretch and tear eventually.

You are probably talking about $350 to $500 for the liner itself.

 

[Oscar D]

Replacing the liner of an above ground pool can be easy if you get some help and know what you doing.
I recommend you do some research on the best methods to install the new liner and then it will be easy.

But as already said, only replace the liner when it is really necessary.