Liner Slipping from Coping

[nutmegax]

I have a 3 year old pool with a vinyl liner. At two points in my deep end the liner seems to be slipping out from the coping. What do I do about this? Is this an emergency? Thanks, Mary

[matt4x4]

I presume this is a beaded liner, concrete pool.
If so, pump some water from the pool to behind the liner (called floating the liner) this will let you easily move the liner into place again (you will know when there's enough water by how easily you can get the liner bead to meet the receiver track), use liner loc (a product available at the pool store that helps hold in older beads that continually want to pop out). Work your way towards a corner, leave a small portion on the corner open, pump the water back into the pool and fasten the last little portion in the corner.

[chuckmason]

I had a similiar problem this spring. If you end up with a lot of water behind the liner don't forget you can use the pool pump to vac out the water much faster than a small pool cover pump. Also if you have trouble getting the liner back in bacause it has shrunk. Use either a hair dryer to heat up the liner and buy yourself some stretch or I used a paint remover heat gun from Home Depot. Becareful with the heat gun it will produce enough heat to damage the liner. I had some major shrinkage so I needed a bit more ooompf than a hair dryer could provide. Worked great.

Chuck

[KirstenHW]

This has happened to me too. We replaced the liner in 04, the pool itself is 22 plus yrs old.

Rather than add water behind the liner or use a hairdryer or heat gun (they get REAL hot REAL fast and can melt it WAY too easily), the first thing I would do is to run hot tap water (NOT boiling) into a pitcher and pour it over the area. This should soften the liner enough to be able to pull it up into the bead. Then use liner loc clips to keep it there. This is all best done on a warm day.

I would imagine that the shrinkage discussed is more likely a factor if the liner has been out of the slot for a while. I am nervous about adding water behind my liner with my "senior" status steel walls, and in my opinion, the less water-where-it-shouldn't-be, the better. When I did it, it took me less than 10 minutes - and without my husband's help. I also have not needed the liner locs and it hasn't come out again in 2 years.

[matt4x4]

I recommended the water method because it is less danger to the liner than the heat method. My friend just did this on his 35 year old steel walled pool without issues. Heat usually works about as well but can distort designs along the top of the liner depending on how much stretch is needed, it is also more apt to creating a stress point above the water that can split at a later date.

[nutmegax]

Thanks for all your help but I am still not sure what to do. I have an inground vinyl liner pool and the coping looks like half of a white metal pipe that is laid vertical from the cement deck down the side of the pool (like 2 inches). The liner goes up the wall and the top of the liner has an inch or so liner trim that tucks into a very small gap between the top of the liner (pool wall) and the coping. I don't see a track just a gap a little bigger than a butter knife that the liner is tucked into. It looks like it just needs to be pushed back up into that gap but I don't know how to do it and keep it there.

Thanks again,

Mary

[KirstenHW]

I believe that gap is the part where the liner goes. Can you take and post a picture? I will take a shot of mine and post it later today. I just wrestled the liner into that butter knife width space - it took a little wrangling, but it got in there.