how to reattach vinyl liner in spot where it's slipped out of the "channel"

[tenax]

i have an inground pool and noticed after i filled it a few days ago that the liner had slipped out for about a 5 inch span. i played with it a bit in the hot afternoon sun to see if i can stretch it enough to get it up over the ridge and i'm pretty sure i can. last year i did a few spots..not quite as long with the pool full and it worked fine..the question i have is is there some kind of special tool to grab the liner to pull it up? last year, i tried to get screwdriver under the edge like with a bike tire but it didn't work so i used a pair of pliers to grab and pull..because of how much this chunk is out..it's a) a 2 man job i think..one to hold , other to tap in one of the plastic wedges..b) i tried a vice grip to pull and it seemed to work okay but boy, had to pull pretty good.

like i say, i think i can do it that way, but is there a tool or thoughts on what might make it easier to grab and pull over the top? i don't want to drain the pool after putting in 6,000 gallons of water!

[heatherc]

...this happens every year to me in a couple of spots...what I do is pour boiling water over the area and use a popsicle stick to push the bead into the track.....I'd be too afraid of ripping the liner by using a screwdriver.

[tenax]

thanks a bunch, heather..i'll give it a whirl

[tenax]

just an update and for anyone else with the problem. i bought a strip of the "channel lock" for about 3 bucks..about 8 ft of it.there are 2 kinds at my local pool store..last year, the stuff i bought seemed quite thin and too wide so i had to cut it..was easy to break with even a rubber mallet as well. this time, i bought narrower stuff that seemed a bit thicker. used water at max tap heat that i then nuked for 5 minutes..not boiling but very hot, lowered the pool level about 4 inches (it had been about 3 from the concrete surface before i started) and it worked great. i fixed about 10 spots ranging from about 2 inches wide to the one that started this which was actually 8 inches wide! it's a 20 year old liner or so so it's pretty stiff, but the hot water stretched it nicely and i was able to do a one man job on it. very pleased. i had tried the hair dryer last night to get a sense of how easy to pull but the hot water was a lot safer of course and i think did a better job stretching the vinyl over a larger section as it covered more area..

[heatherc]

...I forgot to mention that anytime we do this we use liner lock to hold it up....glad you found out about that! Our liner is getting older as well, but the longer this works the better!!...I am hoping to add the liner lock around the whole perimeter this summer just for added measure.

[matt4x4]

Just a couple of recoomendations if I may:
DON'T use boiling water - hot - yes, but boiling can damage the liner.
I'd advise against installing liner lock around the entire perimeter, if it's holding on it's own, great, once you install liner lock, you're stretching something that didn't need it in the first place and risking a crack in the receiver channel as well. Remember that the stuff is all older and has been exposed to UV rays for a long time now, UV rays trend to dry out plastics, making them brittle and the adding of liner lock can split a perfectly good portion of your receiver channel, so unless it really needs it, I'd be leaving it alone.

[Sumo1]

A friend of mine who has a vinyl pool says he's used thin strips of old credit cards to secure his liner and they worked well. However, he said that even better is to use 8" cable ties with the thick end cut off. Good luck!
Hal

[cleancloths]

I once had a similar problem, used a hair dryer to carefully stretch the liner and pop it back into place. I tucked pennies and dimes in to hold the liner for about a week. After that time everything settled and I took out the loose change and it has been fine for years.

[gwrace1]

Does this work for an overlap liner? I have about a 2-3 foot section that has dropped down about 3 inches. The liner is about 5 years old and this is the first time this has happened. I have removed two of the top plates and it looks like a long stretch to get it back over the top and underneath the coping strip.

[waste]

Does this work for an overlap liner? I have about a 2-3 foot section that has dropped down about 3 inches. The liner is about 5 years old and this is the first time this has happened. I have removed two of the top plates and it looks like a long stretch to get it back over the top and underneath the coping strip.

With an overlap liner, you need to just remove the top rail and the coping strip and pull it back into 'non wrinkled' If the liner tore, as opposed to just slipping, you might need topatch the area but basically do the same thing.