Taking the plunge... Part 2

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M

mogie

0
LifeTime Supporter
May 3, 2011
44
Rochester, MN
So, here I am again... middle of May in MN, gazing out at my 1/2 filled pool debating whether or not to take on the daunting task of getting it up and running. Thankfully, after seeing the transformation from last year, I am eager to take on the challenge.

As a very brief refresher (see link below for full story), I have an AG 24' pool that had been kept up with baquacil until I did the conversion to chlorine last year. To my pleasure, my pool was the much more clear and required much less maintenance than it had in the previous years. Unfortunately, 3 years ago I made the executive decision to take a summer off and left the pool half full. I did not know about the damage the sun could do to a exposed liner. SO, although my pool was very clean last year, I ended up having a number of small holes, which were very difficult to find and forced me to drain my pool down to a certain level multiple times throughout the summer. By the end of the summer I had pretty much given up on my liner.

So, my project for this spring is to put in a new liner. I am hoping someone can give me some guidance as to what this all entails. I am willing to take on this project, and I have a number of friends who are willing to help, if you folks think that this is reasonable. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated as I start to formulate a plan.

I am planning on using my actual pump to empty the pool most of the way, but are there any suggestions on a cover pump that would be a good option for further draining the pool? Are certain places better than others to buy a liner? Any special tools or considerations I need to take into account before taking on this project?

taking-the-plunge-t30847.html

Thanks again, I am really looking forward to having a truly a "trouble free pool"!

Matt
 
I may have been a bit too vague in my previous post. Here are a couple questions that I have...

1) Is one place better than another to buy a liner? Anywhere to avoid?
2) Differences and suggestions for gauge of liner?
3) Once I drain the water in my pool to see what is all underneath, will I have issues with my walls caving in? Suggestions to avoid this? Is it OK to leave it empty for a period of time while I am ordering the liner, etc.
4) If there is not any type of gorilla padding underneath the liner, would most suggest this product?
5) I have read a small amount of information on bottom drains. Is this something that is worth looking into for a 24' pool?

Any other thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Matt
 
1) No opinion.
2) Doesn't make a large difference.
3) That depends on soil conditions and the depth of your water table. Most of the time it is fine, but with a high water table there can be problems.
4) Not for an in ground. Gorilla pad is designed to keep vegetation from coming through which isn't an issue with an in-ground. Some people use thin foam padding on the walls, which can be nice.
5) A bottom drain is nice. It also tends to have a higher rate of problems than anything else on the pool. You could go either way.
 
I have ordered a rule cover pump, gorilla pad, new beaded liner, and a new skimmer. Saturday is supposed to be partly cloudy with temps in the high 80's. I have 3 buddies coming over to help, one of which worked for a pool store for a couple years putting up AG pools and replacing liners. Here is my game plan, please correct me if anything sounds off kilter.

1) Drain pool with regular pump until too low and then switch over to the rule cover pump.
2) Once the level is too low to pump with the cover pump, I was planning on either A) cutting the liner at the bottom and letting the water drain onto the sand or B) cutting the liner up high and scooping the rest of the water out with buckets/pump.
3) Level out the the crevices and pockets with exisiting and/or new sand if needed.
4) Tamp entire flooring
*What would you recommend to use for tamping? Roller, tamper, cement tool?
*If I drain the 1/2 inch of remaining water through the bottom, will this affect my ability to tamp the sand?
5) Place gorilla pad on top of the tamped sand, including sand cove
6) Attach new liner and start filling
7) Begin the BBB method (Anything special I need to do with a new liner?)

Is there anything special I need to do when cutting holes for the skimmer and jet?
Should I be using any type of adhessive to connect the linner to the skimmer plate, jet, walls, etc?

Any other tips or comments are greatly appreciated! Thanks,

Matt
 
Any type of tamp will do. I prefer a vibrating plate but it's a heavy monster, and getting it in and out is a pain if you don't have some way to lift it. A roller is good but it's heavy too. A Wacker Packer is a great tool and it's not terribly heavy. Of course a plain old hand tamp will work too.

Draining ½" of water shouldn't be a problem. Just refill whatever sand is washed out and let it drain a little and you'll be good.

Just run a test on your fill water and adjust the pH first if it's out of range either way.

The way most of the installers around here install the skimmer is to wait till the pool is filled and then install the skimmer and once it's installed cut the liner out of the opening. However, that won't work with a butterfly gasket.

I don't recommend any type of sealant but a lot of people use silicone sealant (caulking) around the gaskets and it works. It's up to you whether you use it or not.
 
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