Liner problem/advice

[not2high2fly]

I have an in ground 16'x36' rectangle with the 8' deep end (vinyl liner about 27k gallons) last year it was harpooned during hurricane Sandy. I decided to try the all black liner, the first liner that went in came with white alignment marks that were supposed to wash away but never did and the floor of the pool was nothing but wrinkles. I contacted the installer and liner manufacturer and after sending their people over to take a look they agreed to replace it at the end of the season. I also asked the liner company if they would switch the color to dark blue instead of black and was told no problem.

Last week the installation company put in my replacement liner while I was out, came home to find another black(not dark blue)liner with a less but a still wrinkled floor and a few spots on the walls. After another call the guy's came back over to fix it and told me that they had already hand troweled the sand prior to installing the liner and that was pretty much as good as it gets. I'm not sure if I'm expecting too much I realize black is harder to due but nobody ever informed me of possible problems except for the safety issues. We expected it to look like every other liner we have had, this one looks like an old lady in a bikini. I would post pic's but I don't have an underwater camera and it's very hard to see without one. Another thing is right now the pool has only a few inches of water in the shallow end and when you look at the 4 corner's the amount of liner material at 3 of the corner's is equal the 4th is much more. I was told that it will fit fine once filled, both companies have been great and I don't want to become a pain for no reason.

Does anyone have any advice , had the same problem , have installation knowledge , do I have a legit gripe?

Thanks for your time.

[PoolDoc]

1. They are not obligated to replace a black liner with a blue one.

2. The whole 'stretch to fit' approach to liner alignment is something I've never liked, but it IS accepted practice. I think you have to let your contractors do it their way -- if they say "it will fit fine once filled", I think you have to let them try. If it fits, it fits. If not, THEN you can say something. However, I'd expect to see them drain and try again, without you saying anything: they already know you aren't going to be too accepting of a liner with wrinkles. (Not saying you should be, either)

[not2high2fly]

I took a few pic's can/how do I post them? Thank you

[PoolDoc]

email them to poolforum@gmail.com, along with the thread number for this thread (22171, from the URL)

OR

post them at Flickr, Webshots, Google Drive, etc and link to them.

[CarlD]

Nothing like having a new liner split at a seam after less than two weeks. Happened to me. Woke up on "Mother's Day" in 2003 (wife and kid were visiting her mom) to the sound of a waterfall...but I had no water effects in my new pool--other than the split seam in the liner! The new liner (under warranty) was the ugliest install, ever. Wrinkles everywhere, and, at night with the lights on, you can see the installers' bootprints in the sand at the bottom. Naturally THAT liner has now lasted 11 seasons! (where's the facepalm smiley when I need it?)

[not2high2fly]

Funny you mention boot print's I have them too

[CarlD]

Did they try to talk you out of sand and to use vermiculite instead? That should have clued me that they were clueless about how to work the sand.

You're not THAT far from me. The original installer came down from Buffalo because he also installed the pool. The warranty contractor was NY/NJ local.

[not2high2fly]

It was just a replacement,take the old one out smooth out my sand and drop it in, no extra's just the vinyl. Tried a few night shot's maybe you can see better, the brush in the pic's is for scale and it is 3'. Thanks again

[PoolDoc]

Your pics:

[PoolDoc]

OK. I posted your pictures. I'm not sure what to make of them.

A black liner with no pattern is going to make such surface defects more visible. But since it's a purely visual defect, rather than a functional one, I imagine that the contract you have with your contractor is likely to determine your options.

I don't know if that's acceptable work in your area, or not. I do know -- purely from having swum in a number of vinyl pools -- that such surface irregularities are common in my are. But you don't see them, usually, with a patterned liner.