Pool Liner questions

[newhomeownerwithnewpool]

Hello Everyone,
My husband and I just purchased our home in August and decided to take a dip into our pool and found the previous home owners were not very forthcoming in the issues with the pool. We found they tried to velcro and duct tape up the standard bead pool liner. We then found on one cold fall day the liner falling down and the water escaping from over the top where the liner fell down. Now that it is spring we didn't have much water left in the pool, so in my infinate wisdom drained the water out of the entire pool and attempted to pull the liner back up and snap it back in place and started filling it. Well yesterday when it was nice and warm the liner let go and fell even further than it originally was. How do I fix it and try to keep the liner back in the track, or am i resigned to putting in a new liner? I am concerned the bead is too pliable and won't hold shape in the sun and fall down again...


HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shirker]

I have always heard that you can't drain a pool without replacing the liner.... But it sounds like it might be time anyway. Do you know how old the liner is?

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP! Congrats on the new pool!

Please update your signature as shown here.

 

[Casey]

You may need a new liner.

 

[newhomeownerwithnewpool]

Thank you everyone for your help! We ordered a new liner and it should be here this week. We are going to put it in ourselves since it doesn't look to terrible to do. Does anyone have any good tips to help the process go smoothly?

- - - Updated - - -

I am not sure how old the liner is, but we found receipts from when they had the pool installed in 2003. But our neighbors said they have had the liner replaced not that long ago and just didn't take care of the pool and just made it look nice to sell the house.

 

[Casey]

When you install this liner, start at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock. Then, go with 1, 4, 7,10 until Its all in the track, push the liner up to the walls to work the wrinkles out and start filling and continue working wrinkles.

 

[tjroux]

When you install this liner, start at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock. Then, go with 1, 4, 7,10 until Its all in the track, push the liner up to the walls to work the wrinkles out and start filling and continue working wrinkles.

YUP! I did mine yesterday and started in one spot and went all the way around and ended up with some excess I had to "work in" and move around. Also, pay close attention to the details in the floor... if it's a small divit or a line you will see it once the pool is filled.

2 Schools of thought to work out wrinkles:
1. Use a shop vac at the skimmer hole ( all taped up, and return hole taped up ) to suck all the air out and work wrinkles as needed ( once all nice and flat start filling with water )
2. put half an inch of water in the pool and get on your hands and knees and start pushing the wrinkles out to the edges ( this is what I did as I did not want to burn up my vac )

few more tips:
When you cut your old liner out... cut it like a big pizza! GO almost all the way to the top. then once it's all sliced up, you can go around the top with a utility knife and cut a few inches from the top... roll it up and put it in trash bags. then take your top rails off and your coping.
HIRE A WATER TRUCK! you'll burn out your well pump ( or run 2 hrs on 2 hrs off )
If your on city water great, but check your rates, water truck will either be same price or cheaper ( it was cheaper in my area ) Ask them to shock the water before they deliver if they pull it from a lake or pond so you dont have creepy crawlys right off the bat ( I know nobody here likes shock, but if i can get 10k gallons of water delivered all pre treated and crystal clear from a pond i'd rather do that then have it in my pool )
Take your time, take breaks, dont rush. I started at 9am and didnt finish till about 5. Had some breaks, had some dinner, had some beers.
Dont cut your skimmer and return holes until the water is about 2 inches under the skimmer/return valve. This will insure your liner is stretched and seated properly and make everything look even. I put a few screws in, cut my liner in the skimmer, removed... then put my silicone gasket around ( mine goes ontop of liner on inside and on top of pool wall on the outside ) then screw it all down tight.
If your gaskets look bad go to the pool store and get new ones, saves you trouble later and they are cheap ( return valve gasket set was 5$ )
Do this on a bright sunny day, unbox and unwrap your liner and let it sit in the sun for a few min before you start hanging it on the wall. makes things much easier.
This is the time to fix ANYTHING that needs fixing. Rusty spot on pool wall? Wire brush, POR rust converter, then paint to match pool color.
To get in and out of pool? use an aluminum or wood step ladder... BUT put some wood inside so your not making marks on the sand floor. once the liner is in you'll have to get creative on getting in and out ( maybe duct tape some bath towels around the legs and feet so you dont make divits in the floor )

If I had to do mine all over again These would be the tips I would follow to make a smooth install. 2 reasonably mechanically inclined and somewhat fit individuals can accomplish this in 1 day with no issues.


Just some tips that I discovered doing mine this weekend.

 

[Pauls234]

tjroux - Good tips, I am going to attempt a liner replacement job myself here in a few weeks so I appreciate your experience. Is that foam cove around the base?

 

[Divin Dave]

For future reference, there is a product called Liner Bead which prevents the liner bead from popping out of the track.

 

[tjroux]

Yes it is... It does "ok" if I had to do that all over again i'd order new foam coving for replacement or I'd order up more sand and make them out of sand.