Installing a liner this way is really nothing new. It has been in the Doughboy manual for thirty plus years. The frame of the pool holds the liner very firmly in most cases. All the Doughboy pools are designed for this type of installation. They have no sharp edges. Many other pools are not. We go through a lot of duck tape, but all of the sharp edges get covered.

All of the liners I replace are done this way except ones that have decking all the way up to the top rails or pools with beaded liners.

On the new pools I install I will either build the entire pool before I install the liner or I may just use the retaining rods for support. I never trust a side wall to stand on it’s own without support. I always use the pool structure or the rods.

I have photos on this page that show a pool being installed using the retaining rods. There is not much difference. This only works with new round pools. At this point there are no side supports or uprights to get in the way. And the rods have to be interlocking for the proper support. Otherwise the entire frame gets built before the liner.

http://www.shadebuilder.com/above_gr...tallation.html

In either case the liner needs to be let down as the water fills. I do this about every ten or fifteen minutes until the water is 3-6 inches from the sidewall.