Liner trouble. Expanding hole by return valve. HELP!

[Blue_Iris]

Hi,

First time pool owners. Finally got our pool set up. Have been filling it since this morning. My daughter was playing in the shallow water and called me outside to show me something she noticed. Where we attached the return valve, it looks like the increasing weight of the water has pulled the liner down so that now the hole is stretched below the valve. I turned the water off for now. What do we do? Is there any hope for this situation?

I took the valve completely out. I don't see how we can line it up again with water in the pool.

Is the liner completely ruined?

I am very sad right now. Getting this pool set up has been such a time investment. It's taken so long, and I feel like the summer is almost over and we still won't be able to use it.

 

[Mdragger88]

Can u show us a picture from of the inside & the outside of the pool?

 

[zea3]

You can patch the opening for the return and re-install it. The pool should be filled to just below the return and skimmer openings before the opening in the liner is cut out.

 

[Blue_Iris]

Here are pictures. Is that standard procedure? You should always wait to cut out the openings until the pool is mostly full? I figured there would be a learning curve to this whole project, but I had no idea it would be this steep.

 

[Mdragger88]

Yes - due to the liner stretching - you don’t want undue stress in those areas, you want them to be close to their final resting place so to speak. I can tell from the pics that if u had to remove that skimmer plate for some reason it would likely suffer the same fate. Also incase no one told u, only fill the pool while the sun is on it to prevent wall buckling.

 

[Blue_Iris]

What does "wall buckling" mean? We don't have any experience with this at all. We have just been trying to follow the instruction booklets that came with everything. I don't recall it saying anything about waiting to cut openings until you have water in the pool. I'm scared to death that the skimmer hole WILL fail. We bought the most expensive liner so that we wouldn't have to worry quite as much about holes. Ugh.

Any opinions on the best liner patch kits out there?

 

[Mdragger88]

Not trying to scare u , just educate.
The skimmer should be ok - just be aware that if u have to remove it for some reason in the future you may need to patch the area. FWIW - Removing skimmer faceplates isn’t that common of a thing people need to do.
Lowes , Home Depot, & pool stores sell patch kits that have the adhesives you need as well as pieces of vinyl & instructions.
Do u happen to have any liner pieces left from cutting the skimmer hole? I have a feeling the patch needs to encompass the entire existing hole & the new one. It may not look real pretty but maybe with some of that waterline design there it will look like an intended accent Zea may have more pointers on that as I have never dealt with a large patch.
As far as filling goes if you only fill during the day when the sun is on the liner it should be fine. Exposed Vinyl liners stretch in the heat/sun & contract when its cool so filling after the sun goes down when the liner has contracted can cause the water weight to pull down on the pool walls which can lead to buckling. Filling on a hot sunny day allows the liner to stretch & also smooth out nicely avoiding trouble.
Also ….Breathe… most, if not all, pool problems have a solution

 

[Blue_Iris]

I dug the piece of liner out of the trash from when we cut the skimmer hole. I don't think it's big enough. I see that holes should be patched with an extra 2" on all sides past the hole. I will need bigger piece. I will go to our local pool store tomorrow and see what they have. Our local Lowe's & Home Depot are pretty ransacked when it comes to pool supplies.

Thank you for all of your help. I will try to breathe, but I'm not sure that will happen until the pool is full, the pump is running, and I actually feel like I know what I'm doing. Haha!

 

[zea3]

Boxer brand vinyl liner patch kit is a good brand to use. Cut a patch 2" larger than you need, round off any corners, and glue the patch in place. Its best if you can add a second patch 2" larger than the first on top of the first patch to give it extra strength.

 

[Mdragger88]

@Blue_Iris
How’d things go for u?