Draining Liner - possibly replacing

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caliskier

caliskier

LifeTime Supporter
Aug 24, 2014
435
Oklahoma City, OK
All,

I have a couple of problems that lead me to just drain my pool and start over. Here is what is going on. Since I have owned this house, 4 years. The pool has leaked, I have found some of the holes but over the years it seams to always leak. There is a large rip in the corner above the waterline so might be about time to replace it anyway. I am really tired of chasing leaks... I also have developed a thick algae problem and calcium deposits that brushes will not get up, the only way to get at this algae is to swim down with a hand brush (500 little quarter sized mounds in the uneven crevices of the bottom of the pool). Water is clear but develops algae quickly.

HOWEVER...

I am considering draining the entire pool, scrubbing out the thick algae spots and seeing if i can find the holes that way. Maybe I can avoid having to buy a new liner if I can find the holes, and it fixes my serious algae problem. My boss told me he drains his liner once a year, I was like whoa, you could rip the liner, but he said, no big deal, he does it every year.

What are your thoughts about the dangers of draining a liner?
 
You should always leave at least 1' of water in the pool, and maybe 2 ' or the liner can be compromised, develop wrinkles, shrink, pull off sides, etc. Regarding your divots, if you increased your pool to SLAM levels, brushed well and vacuumed those areas well, the algae should be lifted up by the vacuum. All depends on the system and suction you have. My suction with one skimmer and main drain shut off can pick up almost anything in the pool, so this would be a better option for you.

Probability is that you have water leaking from either the drain, skimmers, returns, steps, gaskets, etc. If you have a steel wall pool (without foam behind it) any rips would show rust stains within days. The vermiculite and bottom is a little more difficult. Have you tried going down with goggles and inspecting the liner, and possible cuts, tears, etc.?

Andy why is your Boss draining his water in his liner pool? Makes absolutely no sense. If you wanted clean water, the most you should replaced yearly is 50%, and no more.
 
He can't be draining his liner pool to nothing the liner would not reset without a vacuum hooked up. It's a bad idea period and no need u would be stretching all the gaskets and will shorten life of liner and cause leaks. If ur liner is ripped it's at the end of its life. They aren't that hard to change it was the easiest part of building my pool to be honest. U also have to worry about ground water issues my neighbor caved in his long wall from draining it earlier this summer the water in pool keeps it supported
 
Calcium deposits and leaks, along with algae?? I'd say get a new liner and then take care of the water chemistry properly so that the calcium and algae don't appear again. Those were strictly chemistry problems.

Do you know how old the liner is? It really may be at the natural end of its lifespan and you're fighting a never ending battle.

A new liner will ease your pain, IMO.

Maddie :flower:
 
Jimmy:

U also have to worry about ground water issues my neighbor caved in his long wall from draining it earlier this summer the water in pool keeps it supported
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I would really ask your neighbor to look at his survey? How far above sea level is his pool? It appears to me that he does not have proper drainage around his pool, which caused this (sooner or later this would have happened with a liner change), or upon installation of the pool, proper drainage pits should have been installed just like basements have. Personally, I feel horrible when these situations happen like this. Did your neighbor correct his long wall or it is still caved in? Why did he drain?
 
ship of fools said:
Hire a diver. They use a directional listening device and definitely find all leaks.
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Depending on the age of the liner, and the cost of the diver, it may not make sense. In a perfect world, the diver would charge a reasonable fee, find all the holes, patch it up and move on. The pool has been leaking for years. All the leaks can be corrected, only to find out that more show up in the near future.

I know people who have had liners for 18 years, and still going strong. The liner is so faded that is it whiter than a piece of paper, but still going strong. All up to comfort and the $$$ Wallet.
 
Diver cost me $250 and said it may not be worth fixing. I asked him to try it with the understanding that I wouldn't complain if it still leaked. He said sure to that and patched two or three holes and numerous little rips from a bad vacuum head from the previous owner. That was four or five years ago so well worth the money to me.
 
Catanzaro said:
Depending on the age of the liner, and the cost of the diver, it may not make sense. In a perfect world, the diver would charge a reasonable fee, find all the holes, patch it up and move on. The pool has been leaking for years. All the leaks can be corrected, only to find out that more show up in the near future.

I know people who have had liners for 18 years, and still going strong. The liner is so faded that is it whiter than a piece of paper, but still going strong. All up to comfort and the $$$ Wallet.
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Those 18 yr old liners are like leather.
They should be very careful around any change in plane, walking or brushing. & never drop water to far.
 
ship of fools said:
Diver cost me $250 and said it may not be worth fixing. I asked him to try it with the understanding that I wouldn't complain if it still leaked. He said sure to that and patched two or three holes and numerous little rips from a bad vacuum head from the previous owner. That was four or five years ago so well worth the money to me.
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That is great that you were able to fix the issues and I would have done the same. A lot depends on the age of the liner as well. If the liner is over 10 years and this is occurring, then it may just not be worth the time and expense.

With me, I am always careful in using the vacuum, and ask everyone kindly not to scale the liner, use the ladder and steps, and to no use any objects in the pool which could cause damage. So far, so good as mentioned before. I have a piece of liner fading in the sun to catch up to the pool liner. Even though the pool is closed, I have to keep the spare out all year until I catch up.

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PoolguyinCT said:
Those 18 yr old liners are like leather. They should be very careful around any change in plane, walking or brushing. & never drop water to far.
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This is what I was told from the PB (not original) that plumbed my heater and SWG (Did nice job) that his liner is going on 18 years. Clearly, I can not verify it, and I can imagine how "ugly" it looks. I doubt mine will go past 15 years, if that. All depends on the color, etc. Next liner will be more of a natural looking instead of a medium blue with white backing.
 

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Catanzaro said:
That is great that you were able to fix the issues and I would have done the same. A lot depends on the age of the liner as well. If the liner is over 10 years and this is occurring, then it may just not be worth the time and expense.

With me, I am always careful in using the vacuum, and ask everyone kindly not to scale the liner, use the ladder and steps, and to no use any objects in the pool which could cause damage. So far, so good as mentioned before. I have a piece of liner fading in the sun to catch up to the pool liner. Even though the pool is closed, I have to keep the spare out all year until I catch up.

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This is what I was told from the PB (not original) that plumbed my heater and SWG (Did nice job) that his liner is going on 18 years. Clearly, I can not verify it, and I can imagine how "ugly" it looks. I doubt mine will go past 15 years, if that. All depends on the color, etc. Next liner will be more of a natural looking instead of a medium blue with white backing.
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Not that I’m recommending it, but when I cut out a 15 or so year old baqucial liner they are super soft & supple. Very bizarre!!
 
All,

Thanks so much for the input. Thoughts and theories...
Liner is on its 9th season and I have been the home owner for 4 years.
I know the former owner just threw granules in the pool. That would explain the weak floor
Previous owner may have used a floater because I found 2 in the equipment box after buying the house.
The corner of the pool has the "above water line" rip which leads me to believe the floater was used a lot and got stuck in that corner leaching out chlorine
The original owner bought the house 5 years before me so I bet the owner he bought the house from put the cheapest liner in the pool to sell the house.

Someone said bad chemistry by me... Yes, last year, growing tired of dealing with the leak I closed it green thinking I would open it and SLAM to happiness. WRONG, all the algae on the bottom and the calcium have plagued me all season, costing me twice as much in chlorine than I usually spend.

Soooo... Based on my theories and some of your comments, do we have a bad liner? time to replace?

If so, I do not want to pay to have it done, I am a DIY guy. $4000 vs $1500 is a huge difference.
1. Anyone know where I can get a good liner at a good price?
2. When should I do it? Spring? Can I let the pool go until then? Why poor more chlorine if I am just going to replace?
3. How long can I leave the pool empty? With my work schedule I would drain one weekend, and replace the next
4. I found this website http://blog.poolcenter.com/article.aspx?articleid=6461 which I thought was really thorough, there are several videos on youtube
5. Any other advice...
 
If so, I do not want to pay to have it done, I am a DIY guy. $4000 vs $1500 is a huge difference.
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Replacing a liner is something I would not tackle. Ask around, as I believe you will find someone for a lot less than $4,000. The price is probably from a PB. Work with a small pool professional, and low overhead. You can probably find someone in the $2,500 range.

The pool should not be empty for that long. No more than a few hours, or a day at most or serious damage can occur to the walls. Assuming you have galvanized steel walls.
 
Depends on the shape and depth of pool on how easy it is. The longer it leaks the more rust u will have. U have to see what fittings u have and are they gaskets and what skimmer gasket-s u have those u change. If u have a light u need that gasket too. Moat liners come from 2 or 3 suppliers the measurement is crucial the material is not. I have a 30 mil it was 1100ish for a 14x30 6ft deep. Took 20 min to set and start filling w water was easy but I knew what to do. U could YouTube info and learn the sequence of events. U wanna rent a trash pumper 2" pump for half day and empty pool will take no time at all and install liner same or next day. Gotta be dry season and no rain for days at least and sry for install.

I'm gonna get pics or neighbors pool. U guys won't believe it. Had a nice decent pool but w heaving cracked concrete deck. His nephew does gunite only pools. Offered to redo deck in pavers for cost. Brought a mini excavator in and ripped out deck doing some damage to braces and pool walls they were ruff w the machine amd demo. They changed coping after emptying pool. An actual liner guy had ordered the liner earlier and saw the rusted walls and brace damage and said he's not touching pool it's unsafe now on day of liner install. Instead of bracing pool inside walls he scrambled to find a new liner guy. New guy foamed walls and set liner it did not fit right in deep end. New liner ordered and by time it came 3 days of rain and heavy. Yes bad drainage and clay soil and rusted braces gave way on long wall and it leaned along w skimmer and return piping. Still no bracing inside pool after I advised it may be fixable lean was slight. and few days later more rain it went further yet. Now it's a total loss pool is going bye bye. Funny I saw these guys drain it and I warned him. Every time I see him lately he's angry and tells me i shoulda listened to u. He watched me build a pool u would think he'd respect my info lol
 
jimmythegreek said:
Depends on the shape and depth of pool on how easy it is. The longer it leaks the more rust u will have. U have to see what fittings u have and are they gaskets and what skimmer gasket-s u have those u change. If u have a light u need that gasket too. Moat liners come from 2 or 3 suppliers the measurement is crucial the material is not. I have a 30 mil it was 1100ish for a 14x30 6ft deep. Took 20 min to set and start filling w water was easy but I knew what to do. U could YouTube info and learn the sequence of events. U wanna rent a trash pumper 2" pump for half day and empty pool will take no time at all and install liner same or next day. Gotta be dry season and no rain for days at least and sry for install.

I'm gonna get pics or neighbors pool. U guys won't believe it. Had a nice decent pool but w heaving cracked concrete deck. His nephew does gunite only pools. Offered to redo deck in pavers for cost. Brought a mini excavator in and ripped out deck doing some damage to braces and pool walls they were ruff w the machine amd demo. They changed coping after emptying pool. An actual liner guy had ordered the liner earlier and saw the rusted walls and brace damage and said he's not touching pool it's unsafe now on day of liner install. Instead of bracing pool inside walls he scrambled to find a new liner guy. New guy foamed walls and set liner it did not fit right in deep end. New liner ordered and by time it came 3 days of rain and heavy. Yes bad drainage and clay soil and rusted braces gave way on long wall and it leaned along w skimmer and return piping. Still no bracing inside pool after I advised it may be fixable lean was slight. and few days later more rain it went further yet. Now it's a total loss pool is going bye bye. Funny I saw these guys drain it and I warned him. Every time I see him lately he's angry and tells me i shoulda listened to u. He watched me build a pool u would think he'd respect my info lol
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Send photos to my email if you like, there is a fix for that laborious but reliable. You know my email right?

Did he bury the pool or does he have a plan to restore?
 
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