I felt like I had won the lottery the first time we were able to buy a house which had an inground pool. However, I quickly learned that I knew nothing about pool care. Several years later, I know how to care for our pool year round thanks to advice and help from my local pool contractor. I wanted to start this blog so that I could help other first-time pool owners with what to watch out for regarding their swimming pool. From signs of water leakage to how to winterize your pool, my blog posts are aimed to be educational and informative for pool care newbies.
Replacing A Pool Liner: How To Do It Yourself
A swimming pool liner can rip, or tear and it can dry rot easily if you don't take care of it properly. Pool liners are made of vinyl and they can shrink easily or thin out in the sunlight over time. When your liner gets damaged and it's minor you can make the repairs with a patch kit, but if it's a major problem, you should replace the liner altogether. Replacing a pool liner can be done by yourself, but you will need a lot of help. Read on for instructions to help you get the job done.
Tools And Materials For The Job:
- New liner
- Rake
- Tamper
- Garden hose and water
- Sand
- Utility knife
- Drill
Instructions:
- To start, you need to remove the old pool liner. Drain any water out that may still remain in the pool using a submersible pump and the pool filter set to waste. Once you have the majority of the water removed you can begin the task of taking the liner out. You want to remove as much of the water as possible so you don't disturb the sand below too much.
- Begin removing the top rails of the pool and the clips holding the liner in place. Keep track of all of the parts of the pool you are removing, as you will need to put these all back into place. You won't be bale to remove the liner in it's entirety, so you need to use a utility knife to cut it into smaller, more manageable pieces. Remove the pieces and put them into a garbage container to dispose of them.
- Once you have the liner removed, take a good look at the sand below. If it needs some extra sand, add more. Then tamp it down so it's level. You want to remove as many foot prints or dips as possible to make cleaning the pool easier and to prevent dirt from settling into these areas.
- Take the new liner and lay it out in the pool. Begin to unfold it, trying to keep as much sand out of the liner as possible. Unfold it so there is enough liner touching the wall and enough hanging over the entire pool wall.
- Once you have it where you want it, begin smoothing it with your feet and have someone else hold the liner in place, while others begin to add the clips and the top rails. When you have enough rails in place, you need to start adding water to the pool to prevent the liner from shrinking, as this can happen quickly in the sunlight.
- Fill the pool until it's just below the filter opening. Cut the opening for the pool filter and pump, then add the covers to these areas. Fill the pool the rest of the way.
Your pool vinyl liner may need to be replaced a few times over the lifetime of your pool. If you need yours replaced and aren't up for the work, hire a professional for help with this.