rain runoff water coming through walls when liner is out

Hi All, I have read many threads but this is my first time posting. I am in the process of getting a liner replaced and I noticed that I am getting some rain water water leakage from heavy rains between the metal panels and where the panels and the concrete bottom meet. Is this normal ? and where would this water go once the new liner is installed ? We did have some recent heavy rains here. I do have pictures that I can post. The pool is 25 years old and had the original liner. Thanks In advance

It's common for high ground water to infiltrate under liners. This usually does not cause problems when (1) the liner is fully installed and (2) the pool water level is high. But what often happens is that people LOWER the pool water to winterize, and then suffer a 'floated liner' when ground water levels due to rains become higher then the level of water inside the pool.

In your case, the fact that you haven't suffered a 'floated liner' in the past indicates that, at your pool's location, ground water levels have never exceeded the water level INSIDE the liner.

But more urgently, I'm not sure how to advise you. I've installed a few liners, but not nearly enough to be an "experienced liner installer". You are sort of caught between a rock and a hard place. If it's raining, and you leave your liner-less the pool UNCOVERED, you are likely to suffer damage to the pool bottom . . . or even wall collapse. But if you install the liner OVER the water, you will not be able to 'seat it' properly.

What is sometimes done -- though I have no experience with it personally -- is that you bury 1 or more small sump pumps under the liner. But this is usually done on initial pool installation, when it's not such a pain to get a power line in, and a discharge pipe out, from behind the pool walls. I can think of a few possible ways to do it, with the pool deck already in place, but they are all 'kludges'.

Have you discussed this with your installer?

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Thanks for the reply.

I pump out any rain water immediately, visually the concrete bottom of the pool looks in good shape for a 25 year old pool and so do the steel walls. The concrete bottom just has a one hairline crack that is hardly noticeable. Yes the installer called me late this afternoon and said it is normal to have some run-off water entering the pool through the panels when the liner is removed and not to worry. Except for replacing one pump and one sand filter I have had no trouble with this pool and we have been here for 20 years.

Your contractor would know more about local conditions and successful work practices for your area, than I possibly can. That doesn't guarantee his competence, of course. But he's in a far better position to know the 'right answer'. Assuming you did due diligence on checking him out, the prudent thing would be to (1) trust him, but (2) carefully read the terms of his guarantee, to make sure he's got skin in the game if things go wrong . . . which them sometimes do even with honest competent contractors.

Good luck!