Almost time for a new liner

[ChuckD]

Hey all, been away hibernating but I'm starting to smell some spring in the air, even here in beautiful Upstate NY (yeah, wishful thinking). Glad to see the place still alive, and with new members too!

So my 11 year old liner got a significant split at the coping at the end of the last season and that's pretty much it. At this age with a >2' long split it's about time to replace it.

First time with this sort of thing. I've got a couple local Mom and Pop shops who've expressed interest in spec'ing something out for me once the thaw really settles in. I'm wondering what I should be looking for as far as what comprises a good reinstall. What have you learned from past experience? What do you do as a conscientious installer to make it a great job? How about adding some underwater lighting where there currently is none? Bad idea? Any other cool ideas I might consider adding?

And if you're in the area, this is a 17'x33' inground going from 3' to 8' depth out in the country on a well. Make me an offer (and be ready to supply 3 references, of course)!

Welcome newbies, and hi again oldies!

ChuckD

[waste]

Hey Chuck, good to see you here!

Do you know how the liner is held in place (overlap, "J" hook or bead)?

Usually on a replacement liner, there is a little, or a lot, of 'touching up' on the floor and cove.

I forget who makes it, but there is a light that is incorporated in the return fitting - maybe someone else here can point you in the right direction.

Keep us informed as to the quotes you get and what all's included and we'll help you evaluate the value you're getting.

[ChuckD]

That'd be a bead, waste.
Thanks.

[ChuckD]

So...
We went with the M&P place nearby and are mostly pleased. It's been about four weeks now and it's still holding water anyway. Paid 2500 for the job and they were done in a day and a half. Actually emptying and replacing took one day. Since we're on a well we had to have the water trucked in which took three truckloads @ $300 each (22K gal. total). Since we're 500' from the road it took into the evening and then the next morning to get the water in there.

He still needs to come up and fix two places where coping ends meet and need covers installed, one an inside corner at the steps. They were jammed with jobs due to the bad weather earlier here so I didn't press him then for it (not to mention they were right in the middle of placing the new liner when a really horrific storm blew in, which they worked right through). But i do all my business there and they know me so I think they're good for it.

Two things arose from this though that I'd like a second opinion on. One, there are a couple wrinkles in the steps and the liner doesn't press exactly into the corners. These are not major eyesores, the wrinkles are no more than 3-4 inches long, maybe 4 of them. I think I might just try to roll them out with a hard rubber roller I use for placing formica surfaces. The corners concern me a bit. I'm thinking about what it'll be like in 7 or 8 years. Any wear issues here?

The other has to do with the bead locks. They placed 1 to 2 inch chunks of bead lock at roughly 2 foot intervals around the pool. I mean real roughly. Clearly no measuring was involved and someone's eyeballing was pretty amateurish. It just doesn't look "finished". In fact there's one section of four feet or so where there's no bead lock. I did some reading here on beads and liners (Thanks for your reference A-B-C's post, waste!) and I can't figure out why a full run of bead lock entirely around the pool isn't a standard practice. It just seems like good insurance. And I found a 120' roll of it on line for $44. Why not? Am I out of line for asking for this? I really didn't think to talk about it when we were planning the install since I figured they'd want the pool to look finished, and this clearly doesn't.

Anyways, thanks for any feedback once again. Mostly I just wanted to bring the original post to some closure.

Chuck