new liner not flat against wall; has waves and puckers; fixable?

[poolgal13]

Our newly installed pool liner (done by a pool company) has an approximately 12 inch section where the liner is wavy, and isn't laying flat against the wall (think of it as up and down hills if you run your hand along it). It's like there was too much liner to fit in that amount of space. It reminds me of how drapes hang on a window and is very noticeable. The section is on our swimout/bench, so it is about a 4' x 6' curved area. Our PB said it's fixable in the spring and happened because of the temperature (it was in the high 40's--low 50's). I find this hard to believe. I have a bad feeling it wasn't made correctly. Unfortunately our pool is filled with water so it's too late to start over! Does anyone think it can be fixed?

[aylad]

That's a question for Waste, aka Ted....I'll shoot him an email and ask him to check in to see if he can help you...

[waste]

HI!

It's probably fixable in the spring. :) I'm assuming that the wrinkles are vertical and not horizontal. If that's the case, the liner is just not perfectly positioned in the pool (very understandable given the air temp when it was dropped) and needs to have that are worked back out into the body of the pool. Unfortunately, that means dumping most, if not all, of the water in the pool.

It sounds like the weather 'snuck' up on your PB and he had to drop the liner under 'less than favorable' conditions. If it's any comfort, you are better off having the liner in the pool and full for the winter, the new liner is supple enough to allow for this.

If you want more on this from me or want to discuss how to proceed in the spring, all you need do is ask - we've got a few months before anything can be done and I'm more than happy to share my thoughts, experience and suggestions with you.

[poolgal13]

Thank you so much for the reassurance! Yes, they are vertical, and they are in the shallow "swimout/sun bench", and it does have a tricky fit because it is a rounded sitting area. He said he asked the liner company to add some extra attachment at the seat to keep the liner snug, so maybe it was just difficult to attach that day and they had to do it the best they could. I pushed against the liner in that area and it seems like one half of the swimout has the liner nicely up against the wall but the other half seems like it is stretched farther out from the wall. (On one side I can't push far at all to feel the wall and on the other side it feels like there is a lot of empty space until I can feel the wall.)

Since the water is only about 6 inches deep there, do you think the water can just be dropped below the level of the swim out and then the liner can be adjusted in that one small area? If I knew how to post a picture, it would be easier to understand!

[aylad]

You can post a pic on flickr, photobucket, or other family-friendly hosting site and put a link to it in your post so that Ted can see what you mean...

[waste]

Thank you so much for the reassurance! Yes, they are vertical, and they are in the shallow "swimout/sun bench", and it does have a tricky fit because it is a rounded sitting area. He said he asked the liner company to add some extra attachment at the seat to keep the liner snug, so maybe it was just difficult to attach that day and they had to do it the best they could. I pushed against the liner in that area and it seems like one half of the swimout has the liner nicely up against the wall but the other half seems like it is stretched farther out from the wall. (On one side I can't push far at all to feel the wall and on the other side it feels like there is a lot of empty space until I can feel the wall.)

Since the water is only about 6 inches deep there, do you think the water can just be dropped below the level of the swim out and then the liner can be adjusted in that one small area? If I knew how to post a picture, it would be easier to understand!

It sounds like the liner is an inch or more 'out of true' with the corners for the swimout. They may be able to do the fix by only emptying ~1' of water, but if it's too far out of true they'd have to drain the pool to be able to move the entire perimeter liner , probably the best way yo know is to see how the corners of the body of the pool fit - especially the corners adjacent to the wall the swimout is on.

Pics would certainly help - please give at least one with the whole pool.

[poolgal13]

I will take some pictures tomorrow and post them and hopefully it will be easier to see.

[poolgal13]

I think I have two pictures posted on shutterfly. If more would be helpful, please let me know. I'm so worried about this problem.

http://poolliner.shutterfly.com

[poolgal13]

I actually have 4 pictures now. The liner fits great on the steps (pix) so it seems to be okay in the main part of the pool. There is a closeup of the corner where the bench starts and everything seems to line up because I can see the white seam where the bench liner is attached to the main liner. But for whatever reason a portion of the wall of the liner in the bench part is wavy. What concerns me is that they already cut into the liner for the place for the water to come out. I don't know how they would shift the liner without messing up that.

[waste]

Thank you for the pics!


You are wise beyond your pool ownership to recognize that the liner, having been cut, makes 'resetting it' neigh impossible :(

However, it might be possible. I'm sure there are tricks I'm unaware of and your PB may be able to fix this. (if they can, let me know HOW they do it :) )


I'll stick with you through this to help you get to a satisfactory result!

[poolgal13]

Thank you! I'm not holding out much hope, either. Maybe they can "spread" the wrinkles to make them less noticeable? If they can't fix it, perhaps it's time to bargain for a freebie, like an automatic vacuum!

[waste]

E think there is a VERY GOOD CHANCE that they will be able to make the wrinkles 'invisible' to anyone not looking for them.

You ought talk to the PB and see what he'll do to compensate you for this.


We can talk more over the winter or next spring, after they perform the 'fix'.

Have great Thanksgiving! - I'm loading up the SUV to head to far western NY for the remainder of the week to spend time with family :)