New IG liner and related work

[superjet]

I'm replacing my 11 year old 18x36 IG liner. After getting the old one out, I have several issues that I need advice on.

1. The galvanized walls have rust in several spots where the liner had leaks. The contractor recommends grinding the rust off, priming, and then covering with 3M wall foam. Seems like a foam would hold moisture next to the steel, not protect it, but I'm not a pool guy. I would use something like POR15 like I've used on cars, but again, I'm not a pool guy. I trust my contractor, but I'd like confirmation from the experts (waste, etc). thoughts?

2. The vermiculite bottom is rough and needs help. He recommends removing any bad spots and a "skim coat" over the whole bottom. Cost is around $1200 --- seems high, but it also looks like a lot of work.

3. Lastly, I need a new light as the one in the pool currently has no extra cord or wire (the current light has absolutely no extra wire, it will barely come out of the housing). He recommends a new light/cord combo with enough cord to get it up on the deck for future bulb replacements.

Thanks in advance for you advice. I lurk on here often and use the methods (and the kits when they were available).

...superjet

[CarlD]

I'm curious: Did he do the vermiculite in the first place? If so, why is it breaking down? Could you get a simple sand floor over it?

I cannot answer the corrosion question but it must be cleared up. If the foam doesn't trap water against the wall I don't see a problem.

[Watermom]

When I had my liner replaced a couple of summers ago, I, too, had some rust. (My pool is above ground.) The guy sanded it off and sprayed it with something like rustoleum?? Not sure, but I *think* that is what it was. Al (Poconos) has seen my pool and has banged on the sides where the rust was and he thinks it is fine for awhile yet. I'll probably try and get a few more years out of it, but I'll certainly not wait til it HAS to be replaced before I do so. I don't need 13,000 gallons of water running towards my house!!

(Especially since I have 5 to 6 foundation repair guys and a backhoe in my backyard for the past week and maybe even for another week digging up my yard and repairing the cracked basement wall. NOT a fun thing to spend your money on and also not fun to have my yard be one huge mud pit! But, I will be getting a new deck out of this project )

[CarlD]

But the dogs are loving it!

[Watermom]

They love exploring around all the mud and the backhoe, etc. But, they do NOT like being confined to one area of the yard. The younger one has found a zillion ways to get out of the barrier we erected. We patch the "exit hole" and she just finds another one! She just wants to be where we are. Gotta love her, though! She's a sweetie!

[superjet]

CarlD - I'm not sure if he did the vermiculate originally or not. I doubt it. We aren't the original owners. I suspect the vermiculite is broken down from the leaks and the abuse of thousands of crashes into the bottom of the pool by the kids. I'm not really sure though.

Watermom -- they started out spraying Rustoleum cold galvanizing compound, but they think a few areas need more than that, thus the need for foam.

thanks for the input.

[waste]

Were my ears burning?

Ridding the walls of rust and preventing it's spread/ reoccurrence is a good and wholesome thing. I'm not a car guy, so can't compare the products I would certainly use wall foam to protect the liner, UNLESS you have a high water table!

If they are charging ~ $1200 - you must have some large areas that need, not just the skimcoat, but the full 2" applied. I'm starting to suspect ground water issues in your backyard.

While it's far preferable to have the extra cord on the light - it's in no way necessary! The reason for the extra cord is to be able to change the bulb/ replace a leaky gasket - you can always disconnect the wires at the junction box and secure a fishtape to the wires to allow you to get it up out of the water to fix any problems, then pull the cord back through and reconnect the wires. (we're talking 5 extra minutes to do it that way)

I hope this helps answer your questions - if i haven't been clear enough or you have more questions for me, feel free to ask.

[superjet]

We do have a relatively high water table and we've had a few instances of heavy rain flooding in the backyard.

I checked out the vermiculite this evening and it is soft in a few places....almost spongy. Is that caused by a couple of years of leaking liner? Parts are green.

I'll post pictures if I can.

[superjet]

[superjet]