IG Vinyl Liner Pulled Out at Bottom Of Steps

[ChapinPoolGuy]

The liner floated a couple times before I got a sump pump system installed to deal with the water around the pool. But now the liner has moved around so much (away from the steps) that it pulled out, ripped the vinyl past the screws. I am thinking of two possibilities, first I would drain the pool to empty out the shallow end as much as I can and try to move the liner toward the steps, then remove the bottom mounting plate and re-place and attach the liner. Second, if I cannot get the liner to move around enough (it is pretty messed up and in the wrong places), I would drain the shallow end, let the liner dry a bit, glue a long and narrow patch to add just the right amount of length, and then reattach the liner under the mounting plate.

Do either of these sound workable. I'm a novice at pools but Mr. Fixit on most everything...

I am worried about draining the shallow end enough to get the liner patch to glue solidly. I heard that we should leave a foot of water, but that is too much to allow the liner to be above the water level and to dry... Can I drain it more than that?

 

[Yev]

How old is the liner?

 

[ernie01jt]

where are the screws and mounting plate you mention? at the skimmer? did your pool overfill and get water in behind the liner at the bead? pics would help.

 

[ChapinPoolGuy]

Liner is 3 years old. water got behind the liner and tore it away from the mounting inder the fiberglass steps in the shallow end. It looks like there is a long narrow cover plate that will slide away to the side and will make the screws that hold the mounting plate on (with the vinyl tucked behind) available to do this job.

I'm not certain yet of course cause I'm still asking these questions.

The pool is only 3 years old (three tough years . What risk do I face with lowering the water level to empty the shallow end completely?

 

[Yev]

The risk of draining the water down is that the liner will shift more, and you would end up with a bigger liner mess with more loose fits.

I honestly don't understand your exact issue, and your plan to fix it without any pictures, so it is hard for me to comment on that plan.

The rule of thumb that I have been told is that once a liner has been installed for more than a year, it has become stretched out, and there's not a lot that can be done to fix it.

 

[ChapinPoolGuy]

I need to update this thread and ask some questions. I was able to drain my pool to empty the shallow end and dry out the spot where 18 inches of the liner had ripped away from under the plastic stairs. I removed the screws that held *some* of the remaining liner in place and then I made a long patch to add length to the liner. I positioned it behind the mounting plate and reattached the plate. HUGE success that has taught me a lot about self repair of my pool!

When I refilled the pool, I used a brush and patiently moved the other part of the liner around from the deep end to the shallow end (it had slipped a bit), then from one side of shallow to the other (moved that way when it originally floated). The pool looks brand new now!

However....

One place along the patch I built I must have not used enough vinyl glue and it has worked lose. I want to repatch that small spot and have used Boxer #700 Vinyl Repair Adhesive for the previous work (dry). When I tried to use this stuff under water like I have read previously (apply glue to patch, fold patch so glue is inside, place patch at hole, open patch, press patch onto hole and hold there for sometime to allow the patch to stick). When I tried that, the glue still went all over the place. It was such a mess that I did not even wait to see if the patch would still hold What did I do wrong? Too much glue, not allowing the glue to dry / cure a bit before going into the water with it?