Replacing liner with high water table

[waste]

Hey Jeff.

Let me start off by saying to pump the water as far away from the pool as you can - and preferably downhill from the pool.

The stair screw question is a tough one - on the one hand, it's hard to get the vacs to fully pull out the wrinkles without the faceplate attached, on the other hand, without the water fully setting the liner, you have potential tears or spots where the liner isn't fully against the walls (which will cause premature weakening in those areas).

In Va. we used a piece of coping screwed to plywood (enough to cover the stairs and duct taped to the deck) to hold the liner in place until the water was up to normal level, then get wet and hand screw the ~ 60 faceplate screws in. In Ct. they were better with liner pools, the company I worked for only installed IG liner pools and have ~ pretty much mastered it. The way they did it was to get the slope transition "break" set, then get the shallow end corners ~ perfect and then do the steps 'dry'. You need the vacs running to do it this way - so let's hope that you can pull the pump for ~ 30 minutes, while doing this

As I type this, I've realized that I can't tell a first-timer all the 'tips and tricks' Use sand bags or duct tape to seal the stairs while the vacs are running and install the faceplates when the water is up to the the faceplate on the bottom.) By the time the water is up that far, you'll have removed the vacs - DON'T! - just pull them up ~ 6" and let them pull the liner ~ tight into the gap that the 1" stair lip makes so you can do the side plates without having to worry about the gap!

I realize that this probably isn't very lucid for you - we've still got a few days to work out the terminology, so that you'll better understand what I'm saying.

[jjdean]

Thanks Waste.

I think I understand what you're saying: Wait until the water gets near the bottom faceplate of the stairs, then raise the vacuum lines up a bit, and if I've sealed the liner good enough - the liner should pull into the area where the stairs extend out from the wall (hopefully the liner will stretch enough to be flush against the wall at the bottom corners of the stairs). I suppose I could heat the liner with a hair dryer if I have to, and manually force the corners in?

Jeff

[waste]

Sounds like we're on the same page

I would avoid heating the liner to get the faceplates on - with a 70*+ day and sun, the liner should be pliable enough to get the faceplates on. If you need a little more stretch, you can cut the center of the liner that you'll be removing from the steps (in other words, stretch it from the stair side NOT from the corners). Definitely have the bottom plate installed first!

Please let me know if you have more questions about this!