Tear or seam failure?

[jaxey14]

I had my liner replaced when I opened at the end of April. The old liner was in great shape but it was very faded and popping out of the track so we replaced for purely cosmetic reasons. I was losing water slowly at first but I thought it was evaporation from the heat wave and lack of rain. In the last few days the water loss has been rapid and I finally found a tear in the brand new liner. My previous liner was 13 years old by the same manufacturer and installed by the same installer. I’m losing 2 inches a day and a rather large divot has formed in the wall and there are many new bulges around one side of the pool about 1 foot from the surface. I might be paranoid but when the water was half way up the skimmer last season I had water on my top step and now I don’t. My shallow end also feels more… shallow. I am attaching a photo of the hole and I’m wondering if this is clearly a defect? Could it have compromised the integrity of the structure? To me it looks like there was a small failure in the seam and it progressed to a larger tear. What is the best way to approach this with the installer? Also they did not re-measure my pool when they ordered the liner. They used the measurements they had from the original install 13 years ago. I didn’t question it then but I’m now thinking that settling and shifting could have occurred over the years and this could be the result of an improper fit.

Side note: anyone looking for a liner tear— do so with a flash light at night. I’ve been diving for days and found nothing. Using a flashlight at night revealed it instantly.

 

[kimkats]

Your installers did the correct thing by using the old measurements to order the new liner. If the old one fit then the new one should also

Did you see the floor of the pool before they put the new liner in? Did they do any work on the bottom and sides before they installed the new liner?

That sure does look like a manufacturer defect with it being right on the seam. What is happening is the water is washing out the sand/dirt around it causing the issues you are seeing.

What needs to be done is get in touch with the manufacturer of your liner and see what they have to say. I would also talk with your installer to see how they want to move forward. I would also get a GOOD patch like the boxer brand and patch that hole for right now so it does not do any more damage.

If the manufacturer of the liner will not replace the liner then it is time to decide what to do long term. Depending on just where this is in the pool will tell us if you might be able to reuse the liner or have to get a new one. Your installer MIGHT be able to remove that part of of the liner to get to the walls and bottom of the pool to fix the wash out. If it is by the skimmer, return, or light in the pool you may not be able to reuse the liner.

 

[sktn77a]

They should be able to patch that without any issues and you won't notice it. Call the installer and have them do it. They should cover that at no charge (and you shouldn't have to drain the pool to do it).