How to Fix the Liner of an Inground Pool [PHOTOS]
Last year, many Mid-Michigan pool owners had a difficult time maintaining their pool, including myself. After the brutal winter of 2013-14, our winter cover was ripped and most of the storm damage on our property was submerged at the bottom of our pool. Once I got it cleaned out and looking good, the weather last summer was ridiculous! By the time the pool warmed up enough to get into, the air temps would plummet into the 50s and 60s!
I tried getting a head start on it this year, but noticed a few leaky spots. I used that Flex Seal stuff on the stairs and patched a hold I found in the liner. I also resurfaced the stairs, and took out the trees around the pool since I always end up pulling more debris from those trees out of the pool than anything else.
I was confident that I was ready to fill it up! I let the pool fill overnight, and woke up to a shocking, unexpected problem. While the water level was low, the liner must have shifted. Once the weight of the water took over I ended up with an 11 foot gap where the liner had fallen out of the locking strip. I tried to pull the liner up with absolutely no luck.
Because I had just filled the pool with cold water, there was no way to stretch it. Out of pain and frustration, I gave up for several days. When I went back to work on it I noticed that the water level was dropping. Did I not properly fix those leaks? Did I miss a leak? Well, on the bright side with the water level dropping, it would be easier to manipulate the liner.
With the help of my dear friends Rick and Larry, we finally won our game of tug-o-war with the pool! The trick was, believe it or not, boiling water. We poured the boiling water behind the liner, and before we knew it the guys were able to He-Man the liner up as I locked it into place. It took about a half hour and a total of five pots of boiling water, but it worked! Once we got the liner in place, we reinforced our work with some liner lock. Now, I am happy to announce that the pool is filling up as we speak. Next, where the hell is that leak?