Large hole in floor of liner

[Emily13837]

I had just begun working on opening my pool. It was still cloudy but was looking pretty good so I let the kids swim for the first time! Well my 4 year unbeknownst to me put some of her metal garden tools in the pool and my son apparently stepped on one. I didn't know any of this had happened until i see the water is really low, I mean it started draining fast! As I stated before it was still super cloudy and I couldn't see the tear. I figured I'll let it drain and where ever it stops then I'll know the level the hole is at. At this point I was still unaware that my son stepped on one of the metal tools, I thought maybe my daughter threw one in and it hit the side. Anyway, the pool has now almost completely drained overnight and it was 50 degrees and raining all day so i didnt work on it. The pool is a 15x30 oval so it is a ton of water. I see the hole is on the bottom, maybe 1" x 2". I've purchased a patch kit. The problem I am wondering about is that all of that water rushing through the hole and under the pool has washed away a lot of the sand under the pool, especially in about a 12" radius around the hole. Is this going to cause a weak area in the liner? (besides the fact that there is going to be a patched hole) as in will it rip if my kids step on an area where the ground dips down or does the liner have enough stretch type quality to withstand that? I hope this makes sense, it's hard to describe what I mean.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Unfortunate event with the hole. As for the base, no doubt some got washed away. Was it enough to cause any structural compromise would probably be difficult to tell without removing the liner. The patch should hold though.

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[Emily13837]

Welcome to TFP! Unfortunate event with the hole. As for the base, no doubt some got washed away. Was it enough to cause any structural compromise would probably be difficult to tell without removing the liner. The patch should hold though.

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

I can definitely tell the sand under the pool is washed away in a big radius around where the hole is, I'm afraid if I push down too much to see how far down it is to the ground the liner will rip even more. I don't know how I can even let my kids go in the pool, when they step on that area it'll push the liner down and either the patch will come detached or the liner will rip from being pushed down. Is there some thing that I could put on the floor of the pool that is kind of stiff that would go over the area and prevent the liner from being pushed down when stepped on? Kind of like if you had a hole in the ground and placed a board on it you could walk across the hole.

 

[Mdragger88]

Since now the sand underneath is wet, once u patch - u can try to massage some of the surrounding sand towards the area with your feet to make the transition less extreme.

 

[kimkats]

Is the hole anywhere near a wall? I have an idea

 

[Emily13837]

Is the hole anywhere near a wall? I have an idea

Yes it is pretty close to a wall, no more than a foot I'd say

 

[kimkats]

GREAT! So lets do a backwards step for a moment. Please fill in your signature with your pool info. What kind of pool (above or in ground), liner or plaster, etc.

I am thinking it is an above ground, liner pool but want to be sure.

 

[Emily13837]

Yes, it is an above ground with a vinyl liner. I added the details to my signature.

 

[kimkats]

How cheap is our water?

My idea is to take most of the water out the dropping the liner just enough for you to get behind it so you can put the sand back in. It will be hot, nasty work but needs to be done. If you have someone who can hand you the sand as you need it from outside the pool that would be very helpful.

You willl need to have clamps of some sort to put on either side of where you drop the liner to make sure the whole liner does not come down.

What are your thoughts on this idea?

Another idea is if you think you can put the sand back under the pool using the hole that is already there.

 

[Emily13837]

At this point we've got the pool mostly filled back up after patching the hole. The other problem is that our deck is up against the side of the pool where the hole is. There would be no way to stand on the ground on the outside of the pool on that side.

 

[Mdragger88]

Since u have patched & refilled I say try to manipulate the wet sand around the patch with your feet to make the area less of an abrupt transition. The bigger the feet the better!
some people have also had luck with a baseball bat smoothing out lumps (be sure its very smooth though).

 

[Emily13837]

what if I were to place something like this in the pool? It would be ugly but do you think it may protect the liner?

 

[Emily13837]

Since u have patched & refilled I say try to manipulate the wet sand around the patch with your feet to make the area less of an abrupt transition. The bigger the feet the better!
some people have also had luck with a baseball bat smoothing out lumps (be sure its very smooth though).

Me and my husband are going to try pushing the sand with our feet.

 

[kimkats]

Take your time and start from the out to the middle. See if socks will help you slide better.

 

[Mdragger88]

what if I were to place something like this in the pool? It would be ugly but do you think it may protect the liner?
View attachment 416806

It probably won’t stay put - it also may have some pokey edges. If u are worried about the patch integrity around the edges u can always place a larger patch on top. If you cut it into a circle the edges are less likely to lift later. This can be done with water in the pool. If you need a vinyl piece larger than what comes in the kit you can go to a pool store & ask for a sample of vinyl just use the same adhesive from the kit. Some people lay a cloth with bricks on top of the patch for a while to ensure the glue adheres after the initial rubbing.

 

[loranne07]

Can you share what you used to patch the hole? We have a hole and are trying to make it this liner work for this summer wile we save for a new liner. We are trying to not drain the pool.

 

[Mdragger88]

Can you share what you used to patch the hole? We have a hole and are trying to make it this liner work for this summer wile we save for a new liner. We are trying to not drain the pool.

Not sure what the op used but these work well

 

[Macuick]

I used Flex Seal Tape. Works great

 

[Burkyspool]

I had just begun working on opening my pool. It was still cloudy but was looking pretty good so I let the kids swim for the first time! Well my 4 year unbeknownst to me put some of her metal garden tools in the pool and my son apparently stepped on one. I didn't know any of this had happened until i see the water is really low, I mean it started draining fast! As I stated before it was still super cloudy and I couldn't see the tear. I figured I'll let it drain and where ever it stops then I'll know the level the hole is at. At this point I was still unaware that my son stepped on one of the metal tools, I thought maybe my daughter threw one in and it hit the side. Anyway, the pool has now almost completely drained overnight and it was 50 degrees and raining all day so i didnt work on it. The pool is a 15x30 oval so it is a ton of water. I see the hole is on the bottom, maybe 1" x 2". I've purchased a patch kit. The problem I am wondering about is that all of that water rushing through the hole and under the pool has washed away a lot of the sand under the pool, especially in about a 12" radius around the hole. Is this going to cause a weak area in the liner? (besides the fact that there is going to be a patched hole) as in will it rip if my kids step on an area where the ground dips down or does the liner have enough stretch type quality to withstand that? I hope this makes sense, it's hard to describe what I mean.

I’m having the exact same issue, I just started a new post about it. I’m interested to know if you tried anything and what the results were. Mine is closer to the edge of the pool next to the pump where water gushed out after a hose dislodged washing out the sand underneath that part of the pool.