How to Replace a Pool Liner

While vinyl pool liners can last 10-20 years if cared for properly, it's inevitable that it will need to be replaced sooner or later. Vinyl pool liners are difficult to replace if you've never done anything like it before. Please review the article and determine what steps you may need to have an experts help with.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Tape for wall joints
• Putty knives
• Sander
• Box Cutters w/ extra blades
• Large plastic trowel (for sand pool floors)
• Vermiculite mixture (for concrete or vermiculite floors
• Broom
• Cordless Drill
• Pool vacuum and hose
• A full, uninterrupted, warm sunny day
• 3 assistants

1. Ordering your liner: Replacement liners can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks for delivery, so before you prepare yourself for replacing your liner, measure your pool and find a local or online vinyl liner distributor. When in doubt of who to go with, use an online search engine to locate reputable dealers.
2. Drain your pool
3. Remove fixtures, lights and drains.
4. Remove the liner from the tracks and cut them into small, manageable pieces. Store the pieces off to the side so that you can recycle them later.
5. Using duct tape, tape the seams where the walls join together. This will hide the appearance of the seam which would otherwise be seen once the liner is installed.
6. If there are any signs of rust or irregularities on the pool walls, you must scrape or sand them smooth.
7. If the walls are rough or have signs of corrosion, it would be in your best interest to install wall foam before installing the liner. This can be purchased from a pool supply store locally or online and typically comes in large rolls. Even if your pool walls are not in bad shape, installing wall foam ensures a soft surface and can help to prevent damage to your liner in the future.
8. This is an ideal time to check your liner track where the bead of the liner fits for wear and tear. If needed, damaged sections can be replaced.
9. Floor preparation: For soft bottom floors, look for muddy or discolored sand (an obvious sign the previous liner was leaking). Remove any of this sand and replace with new sand of the same consistency. Using the plastic trowel, smooth out the floor bottom. Be sure to remove any stones or pebbles that were tracked into the pull during this stage. If the floor is made of concrete or vermiculite, sweep it clean (spotless). Inspect the floor for damage or corrosion. If there are any cracks, fill them in with the vermiculite mixture and trowel them smooth.
10. With your 3 assistants, drape the pool liner across the pool according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer (typically starting from the deep end working towards the shallow end). Be careful not to let the liner drag on the surface of the pool or work area. Once the liner is stretched across the perimeter of the pool, careful drop it down into the pool floor.
11. Insert the beading on the outer edge of the liner into the track. If you are installing this liner on a hard bottom floor, you can remove your shoes and walk carefully inside the pool to make any adjustments to the liner while inserting it into the track.
12. Using a piece of duct tape, close off the skimmer whole. Insert a vacuum hose about the 3/4 of the way down the wall in between the liner and the pool wall. Use more duct tape to close up the openings where the vacuum hose was inserted to ensure a tight seal. At this point, it is safe to turn on the vacuum. You should almost immediately see the wrinkles begin to disappear.
13. Go ahead and begin to fill your pool with a garden hose. If for an reason you have to turn off the vacuum, turn off the water first. The vacuum should always be running while filling the pool with water. Continue to fill with garden hose until you've accumulated about 4 inches in the deep end.
14. If you are working with a soft bottom pool, rig a piece of plywood to a ladder as a work surface as not to disturb the sand. For hard bottom pools, just remove your shoes and socks and head down to the deep end where the drain is located. After locating the screws from your drain gasket, remove them and place the second gasket over the drain, setting it in place with self tapping screws. After the gasket has been secured, cut the liner around the inside of the two gaskets. Finish by attaching the drain cover.
15. Continue to fill the pool. For soft bottom pools, you must use a garden hose which can take several days of constant running. For hard bottom pools, you can use high pressure water hoses. Once the shallow end of the pool has accumulated 2-3 inches of water, remove the vacuum and vacuum hose and slide the liner bead into the track where the vacuum hose was originally inserted.
16. Finish installing any other fixtures using the same technique used to install the drain in step 14.
17. Continue filling the pool to its finished depth. Afterwards, give you and your helpers a big pat on the back. This is a tough job but if you have the expertise can save you anywhere from 1-3 thousand dollars in installation charges.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have to turn off the water/vacuum, be sure to turn the vacuum on first and let run for 15 minutes before filling the pool with water.
• Do not smoke or carry sharp/heavy objects when working near the pool liner. They damage easily and are (as you know at this point) are expensive to replace.
• This is not an easy job. It takes a full day and cannot be "winged". If you are not comfortable with installing this on your own, please seek professional assistance.