How to Install a Pool Liner, Part Two

If you have read Part ONE of my “How To” on installing a pool liner, and STILL want to continue, seriously, you should look into counseling. Or at least medication. But if you insist – here’s what’s next.

After you’ve hung the liner, the next step is to vacuum out the air that resides BEHIND the liner. This is supposed to help the liner fit better against the wall and reduce wrinkles. In fact, the instructions say that you shouldn’t begin to fill with water UNTIL all of the wrinkles are gone.

Here’s JD preparing to insert the shop vac hose behind the liner. We have several bags of sand because once you begin filling the pool, the water pulls the liner down and can cause sagging. The sand bags would be put into the shallow end to help hold it in place.

Okay, shop vac is in place with tape around it to create a seal. I’m going to be honest here. Even after DAYS of suction, our liner had wrinkles, DEEP and numerous wrinkles. In fact, if our liner had a face, it would look like this:

It’s true. It’s almost as if we measured wrong or something, like we mistakenly wrote down that our pool is 4 ft deep in the shallow end instead of 3. What’s strange is that LAST time we replaced the liner, it was almost too SMALL. Measuring may have a more important role than first thought.

Whatever. It’s 97 degrees out, so on we went.

Begin filling the pool until it’s about 2 feet deep. This is the point where you put on the bottom drain gasket. I really have no idea what I just said, but it’s what my husband said he did, so there you go. Then put the circulatory gaskets in place. Again, just typing gibberish.

The last step – fill the pool. It took us about four days but we didn’t run the hose 24/7. We did TRY to smooth out the wrinkles a bit, and the weight of the water helped some, but there are wrinkles you could trip over if you aren’t careful. The good news is we didn’t need to use the sand after all. More for the sandbox!

It’s not perfect but it HOLDS WATER! Whoo Hoo. The final test was having a couple of pool professionals check our work, make sure we’re up to code, etc. and so on.

Thus far, we’ve had no complaints.

3 thoughts on “How to Install a Pool Liner, Part Two

  1. Don’t be walking on the bottom. Which of your friends let you use their picture with all those wrinkles?

  2. I have my PhD in pool inspecting so I’ll be making a suprise visit soon…so be prepared!

  3. Oh… it was really and truly refreshing!! One thing about this pool… unlike many others… it holds lots and lots of memories… such as that cute little MP running around it in a swim diaper… look out… She’s a BIG KID NOW!! This pool is more than a pool. (wow… pats on the back for talking this pool up)

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