I'm entering the third summer as owner of an inground pool, and I'm still
learning how to maintain it!

Our liner currently has about 20 patches in it around the top where it's
tearing away. When we bought the house, we knew nothing about pools or the
need to replace liners - I wish we would have checked!

Anyway, it's clear that we need a new liner installed, and we want to do it
ASAP this spring. (Professionally done, not ourselves)

One problem - I took off the mesh cover today and discovered a rip in the
liner that is almost 3ft long, just right at the water level at the bottom
of the skimmer (I assume some water drained down to the level of the rip).

I was told that I need to have the pool clear in order for them to measure
for a new liner. Is that correct?
But in order to have the pool clear, I need to fix the rips to raise the
water level and pour chlorine in ($$$) just to have it pumped out to put in
the new liner.

So what really is the process? I'm going to call 3 places to get estimates -
what questions should I ask them?

Any hints from people who have had this done before?

--
Matt Kruse
http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com
http://www.AjaxToolbox.com

If your pool has a main drain in the bottom, just close off all other inlets
and dump the water. All liner companies will give you stories about quality,
longevity, etc. I'd just get the lowest price with the longest guaranty



"Matt Kruse" wrote in message
...
I'm entering the third summer as owner of an inground pool, and I'm still
learning how to maintain it!

Our liner currently has about 20 patches in it around the top where it's
tearing away. When we bought the house, we knew nothing about pools or the
need to replace liners - I wish we would have checked!

Anyway, it's clear that we need a new liner installed, and we want to do
it ASAP this spring. (Professionally done, not ourselves)

One problem - I took off the mesh cover today and discovered a rip in the
liner that is almost 3ft long, just right at the water level at the bottom
of the skimmer (I assume some water drained down to the level of the rip).

I was told that I need to have the pool clear in order for them to measure
for a new liner. Is that correct?
But in order to have the pool clear, I need to fix the rips to raise the
water level and pour chlorine in ($$$) just to have it pumped out to put
in the new liner.

So what really is the process? I'm going to call 3 places to get
estimates - what questions should I ask them?

Any hints from people who have had this done before?

--
Matt Kruse
http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com
http://www.AjaxToolbox.com

Call your local pool people; different companies have differing
procedures & differeing requirements. e.g. if it's say a 16 x 32
standard with 8' hopper, it's pretty straight forward. Got any
paperwork on the pool?

HTH,
Pop


--
--
"Never forget that everything Hitler did
in Germany was legal." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Matt Kruse" wrote in message
...
I'm entering the third summer as owner of an inground pool, and
I'm still learning how to maintain it!

Our liner currently has about 20 patches in it around the top
where it's tearing away. When we bought the house, we knew
nothing about pools or the need to replace liners - I wish we
would have checked!

Anyway, it's clear that we need a new liner installed, and we
want to do it ASAP this spring. (Professionally done, not
ourselves)

One problem - I took off the mesh cover today and discovered a
rip in the liner that is almost 3ft long, just right at the
water level at the bottom of the skimmer (I assume some water
drained down to the level of the rip).

I was told that I need to have the pool clear in order for them
to measure for a new liner. Is that correct?
But in order to have the pool clear, I need to fix the rips to
raise the water level and pour chlorine in ($$$) just to have
it pumped out to put in the new liner.

So what really is the process? I'm going to call 3 places to
get estimates - what questions should I ask them?

Any hints from people who have had this done before?

--
Matt Kruse
http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com
http://www.AjaxToolbox.com

"Matt Kruse" wrote in message
...

I'm entering the third summer as owner of an inground pool, and I'm still
learning how to maintain it!

Our liner currently has about 20 patches in it around the top where it's
tearing away. When we bought the house, we knew nothing about pools or the
. . .
I was told that I need to have the pool clear in order for them to measure
for a new liner. Is that correct?

The pool contractor does not need to remeasure the pool
before supplying a liner. He just checks the brand and
size and looks it up in a catalogue of liners.

Plastic (vinyl) pool liners degrade in sunshine.
Twenty repaired holes suggests this liner was far gone
before you bought it. (Mine is nearly 20 years old, no
holes yet.) --Or else the liner either fitted badly or was
improperly installed.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

"Don Phillipson" writes:

"Matt Kruse" wrote in message
...

I'm entering the third summer as owner of an inground pool, and I'm still
learning how to maintain it!

Our liner currently has about 20 patches in it around the top where it's
tearing away. When we bought the house, we knew nothing about pools or the
. . .
I was told that I need to have the pool clear in order for them to measure
for a new liner. Is that correct?

The pool contractor does not need to remeasure the pool
before supplying a liner. He just checks the brand and
size and looks it up in a catalogue of liners.

Plastic (vinyl) pool liners degrade in sunshine.
Twenty repaired holes suggests this liner was far gone
before you bought it. (Mine is nearly 20 years old, no
holes yet.) --Or else the liner either fitted badly or was
improperly installed.

Or someone allowed a dog to swim in the pool.

Don Phillipson wrote:
The pool contractor does not need to remeasure the pool
before supplying a liner. He just checks the brand and
size and looks it up in a catalogue of liners.

Interesting - I will call the 3 installers tomorrow and check with them
directly to see if they need the pool clear. If not, that would be great for
me!

Plastic (vinyl) pool liners degrade in sunshine.
Twenty repaired holes suggests this liner was far gone
before you bought it. (Mine is nearly 20 years old, no
holes yet.) --Or else the liner either fitted badly or was
improperly installed.

Any of the above could be true, I suppose. The pool is about 20-25 years old
and I'm pretty sure it's the original liner. We got absolutely no
documentation or information about the pool from the original homeowners.
(They were not happy with us after the sale because we modified our offer
after the septic inspection!).

There were plenty of patches when we bought the pool (again, something I
hadn't noticed originally since I knew nothing about pools) and I patched 5
small holes last summer. We knew it would need to be replaced this spring. I
just want to get it done asap so we can swim by the time it gets warm!

One other question - I assume the installers drain the pool, so it doesn't
sit empty and cave in? If so, then where do they drain it? Do they run a big
drain line down to the storm drains on the street, or will they expect to
dump 20,000 gallons of water in my yard? We all have septic systems out
here, and that probably would be a bad thing

--
Matt Kruse
http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com
http://www.AjaxToolbox.com

"Matt Kruse" wrote in message
...

One other question - I assume the installers drain the pool, so it doesn't
sit empty and cave in? If so, then where do they drain it? Do they run a
big
drain line down to the storm drains on the street, or will they expect to
dump 20,000 gallons of water in my yard? We all have septic systems out
here, and that probably would be a bad thing

If installed under building permit, the plan for this pool
also indicated where it would be drained, with special
reference to the septic system tile field. Siphoning
out through a single garden hose will lower the level
at least one inch per hour. A pump naturally works
much faster. The practical question is whether you
drain to natural ditches, sewage drains etc.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

"Matt Kruse" wrote in message
...
I'm entering the third summer as owner of an inground pool, and I'm still
learning how to maintain it!

Our liner currently has about 20 patches in it around the top where it's
tearing away. When we bought the house, we knew nothing about pools or the
need to replace liners - I wish we would have checked!

Anyway, it's clear that we need a new liner installed, and we want to do
it ASAP this spring. (Professionally done, not ourselves)

One problem - I took off the mesh cover today and discovered a rip in the
liner that is almost 3ft long, just right at the water level at the bottom
of the skimmer (I assume some water drained down to the level of the rip).

I was told that I need to have the pool clear in order for them to measure
for a new liner. Is that correct?
But in order to have the pool clear, I need to fix the rips to raise the
water level and pour chlorine in ($$$) just to have it pumped out to put
in the new liner.

So what really is the process? I'm going to call 3 places to get
estimates - what questions should I ask them?

Any hints from people who have had this done before?

--
Matt Kruse
http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com
http://www.AjaxToolbox.com



Do you have any brownish stains on the bottom surfaces of the liner?

I had my 16 year old in-ground liner replaced 3-4 years ago because it was
faded, developed a leak and had large brown stains in the shallow end that
were impossible to remove. It did not take long after installing the new
liner for the brown stains to reappear. It turns out that we had a mold of
some sort in the vermiculite under the liner. This mold eventually leached
through again and there is nothing I can do about it (as far as I know).

The installation warranty had run out and the installer could only feel bad
for my situation. I really think they should have recognized this problem
during installation. He did confirm that this is a problem especially since
new liners are no longer treated (invironmental concerns) with a chemical
that would have prevented the mold from leaching.

I would recommend that you consider this possibility before installing your
new liner. Hopefully, my experience will save you the disappointment of
spending the money on a new liner that is very unappealing to look at.

Jeff

Jeffrey Judd wrote:
Do you have any brownish stains on the bottom surfaces of the liner?

In fact, we do get those. I was told it was probably a fungus under the
liner, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. It seems to come
mostly when there is a lot of rain, but it does actually go away when things
dry up. I plan to ask the installers about this and see if they can look at
the area when the old liner is out.

The installation warranty had run out and the installer could only
feel bad for my situation. I really think they should have
recognized this problem during installation. He did confirm that
this is a problem especially since new liners are no longer treated
(invironmental concerns) with a chemical that would have prevented
the mold from leaching.

Even if they recognized the problem during installation, what could they
have done about it?

--
Matt Kruse
http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com
http://www.AjaxToolbox.com