Had some issues, time to re-line....

[Ozzie]

Last year was rough on us, Kids trashed the pool, finally decided to bring it back........
I have a few questions. First the basics: 27' 48" deep above ground, with overlap liner and centerdrain. Installing new liner, gorilla pad, wall foam, foam coving, beading, new skimmer and return. pool has a deck around 1/3 of it.
Old liner was in bad shape, also had a blow out(technically an "in"-kid on a riding mower) I've repaired the damage, straightened and reinforced the bottom track, leveled the sand base, old liner is cut out, repairing the old hole for the skimmer(had some corrosion, and putting a panel over it to give me fresh material) and am using a wider unit to get me into fresh material on the sides.
Now for the questions:

Cut the pad around the center drain, or just lay over the top and lock down with the ring once the liner is in? Then cut out the opening?(leakage?)

Pad over or under the coping?

Cut the wall foam shy of the top edge so the beading fits better or stretch the beading over the foam and liner?

Cut the foam back around the skimmer so the plates just pinch the liner or is going straight through the foam acceptable(it's closed cell)?

Install skimmer when? Attach framework and then cut through the wall, or pre-cut the hole?

Best way to actually install the liner(drape over the sides with top rails installed-or do the whole thing with the rails removed?

I've been searching but had seen varying ways, kind of looking for a definitive set of answers

I appreciate any info I can get, this is kind of nerve wracking......

Or I can supply beer and burgers if anyone wants to come on over and supervise.....LOL

 

[Casey]

Hey Ozzie... If you're using a pad and foam, cut an inch around the bottom drain and around the skimmer and return and an inch below your bead. It will give you a better seal. Put the skimmer box on when the pool is 1ft or less from the return and box. If you cut it too soon, you could potentially rip the liner.

 

[Ozzie]

Noted. Thanks. Hopefully I will start gluing foam up monday

 

[Ozzie]

Okay, got the new liner in, got seal on center drain. Redid all pump plumbing that got broken in the snap freeze we had last year. Decided to add a bypass line to allow me to filter from the center drain(this came in really handy after the farmer decided to plow the field next door) Installed the new wide mouth skimmer, and this is where my problem begins.......it leaks like crazy. Now, I'm sure the fact that I put it in after working on the pool for 12 hours has something to do with it, but how do I fix it? I really wasn't impressed by the skimmer itself, just the general way it came in the box put me off. The quality of the screws was lacking(stripped the heads on a couple of them-these are stainless, they shouldn't strip that easily) But, it's what I've got. I have some screws from the old skimmer to replace the stripped ones. No template for the cutting part, and using the faceplate as a template netted me a hole 1/4" too small(12 hours, I should have know better.....) Anyway, it,s leaking at the opening, it's just not sealing. I got some caulk in there which helped, but didn't stop it. I'm about at my wits end( hence the fact I'm up at 6 am in the morning worrying about it.)
Oh, and the pump is leaking at the seal from the motor, but that seems to be a pretty easy repair, as soon as I figure out the actual part number.
The wife and kids are planning pool parties, and I'm working 12 hour days on the darn thing, when I'm supposedly on vacation......there's something wrong with this picture........

 

[Ozzie]

Update: Did some research, picked up a "butterfly" gasket( I found one local, probably overpaid for it, but it seemed to be the answer) After re-trimming the hole and using it, I am 99.9% leak free at the skimmer, a small dab of silicone at the one spot that seemed suspect and after topping off the pool, all seems good. Just a few trim things to do and I'm better than before. Doing a little happy dance in my head....now back to chem school to get my numbers good, and looks like we will be in the pool tomorrow.

 

[Ozzie]

Another quick note, or rather a tip, and I wish I had known this before. When replacing the skimmer, if, like me, you need to patch the area first, make the original hole bigger than the new skimmer, maybe an inch or so, this means when you cut the new hole you are only having to deal with 1 layer of material, I was having to cut through 2, and it was a bear to do.