Pool has a possible leak near the light and now has tear in the liner near the top. What is the best way to patch this? I got a quote for the liner replacement which we are going to do but the earliest it can be done is this fall. I've got spare vinyl and am hoping to patch this to get me through the season. The photos were taken 2 days apart.
Need Help with Liner Repair
- Thread starter Lambuerto
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,109
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to TFP.
www.troublefreepool.com
@zea3 @Mdragger88 may have ideas.
Vinyl Liner-Patching - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
@zea3 @Mdragger88 may have ideas.
Gorilla makes a 4 inch wide waterproof tape and I'd use it to relieve stress on the hole, then use a slightly larger vinyl patch over the area. I'd get 1/3 or so of the tape stuck on the bottom half of the rip then *ever so gently* pull upward before sticking the top half.
How brittle is the liner? You can try to patch over the holes, but those are on high stress areas. Cut a round patch an inch bigger around than the hole and apply it and let it set. Then cut a larger round patch and put it over the top of the first patch.
Since these are in high stress areas the patches may not hold. Also if the liner is too brittle it may come apart when you try to apply the patches. I would not try the gorilla tape in case it shrinks in the sun. You don't want to put any more stress on the liner than necessary.
Since these are in high stress areas the patches may not hold. Also if the liner is too brittle it may come apart when you try to apply the patches. I would not try the gorilla tape in case it shrinks in the sun. You don't want to put any more stress on the liner than necessary.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,007
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Use boxer glue and some spare liner material. A pool store that sells liners may have some pieces. As Zea said, bigger is better. Little patch then big one.
If it didn’t look so brittle I would say to warm it up, pull it out of the track and patch the front and back but I fear it will only rip further with that method because of the age.
If it didn’t look so brittle I would say to warm it up, pull it out of the track and patch the front and back but I fear it will only rip further with that method because of the age.
Use the Gorilla clear tape which is made for under water too. Don't worry about trimming the patch and use it full width as this liner is begging to break more. Don't do a patch over a patch with this product as they clearly state NOT to. Make sure to have nicely rounded corners as square corners will pull up after a bit of time. Don't try stretching or pulling and just get the tape on it sooner then later. Prep is your best friend here for a good outcome. I used a damp rag with undiluted mr clean by holding the damp rag against the bottle and inverting it for a second. That small amount on the rag several times around the damaged area cleaning past all sides the tape will reach. Then rinse a few times with another rag so absolutely no residue remains. You only have one shot at it so once the patching tape hits the liner there's no pulling it back as it's very strong. Below is a patch with the before and after with the Gorilla product.
I'm torn (too soon for a pun ?)
If the liner has some springyness to it, I'd go with the tape, probably reinforcing it with thin vertical strips on either side of the tape patch like below. Then I'd make the call if I wanted to leave it or patch over it.
But if the liner is real brittle with no play to it, I'd worry that the tape held mint but the liner cracked at the edges of all the tape. So then I'd go with the vinly patch that was more likey to give at the edges when when flexed from waves or if somebody hit it.
If the liner has some springyness to it, I'd go with the tape, probably reinforcing it with thin vertical strips on either side of the tape patch like below. Then I'd make the call if I wanted to leave it or patch over it.
But if the liner is real brittle with no play to it, I'd worry that the tape held mint but the liner cracked at the edges of all the tape. So then I'd go with the vinly patch that was more likey to give at the edges when when flexed from waves or if somebody hit it.
What you can't see in my patch is that I reinforced the back side of it with vertical strips of the tape but made sure the seam of the front layer comes out to the center of the back layer. The back was also cleaned properly only to reduce the stretch factor of one layer on a very large patchwork which essentially is missing the middle of the liner since the liner was torn for a few years the lower part pulled way down with no return possible. The purpose was to curtail the tear going sideways which I think worked well here.