How to Install a Vinyl Pool Liner

Swimming pool' s are really a wonderful luxury but very time consuming to take care of as far as maintenance and can be costly in these economic times. If your swimming pool needs a new liner, you can take the costly route and pay someone to replace yours (This means they will be charging you to drain the water, prep the pool, dispose of the liner, install a new liner, refill the pool).
After considering this, I'm sure dollar signs are going through your head like crazy. Best to evaluate what exactly the plan is and if this is something that is a quick repair, or if you actually need a whole new liner.
Is your liner bead coming out of the track?
Liner losing Color?
Vinyl liner leaking?
These are fixable without replacing the liner.
Fixing a liner bead can be a little complicated as liners are meant to fit tightly with the shape of the pool, if your liner is too big or too small you might experience this problem. You can use a blow dryer to heat and work it back into the track but it is going to be extremely labor intensive. You will need to lower the water level by a foot or more, and be very careful using heat on vinyl as it quickly heats up and you could possibly melt the liner or put a hole in it. Professionals recommend using "Liner lock" or popsicle sticks to help hold the liner in the tracks.
If your liner color is fading, it's because of the chemicals you are using in the pool, or normal sun damage. Newer liners are much more resilient to sun damage and chemicals. You can get away with avoiding a replacement for a while but you won't have that new pool look over the summer for guests.
If your Vinyl liner is leaking, that is not unusual. Liners are manufactured in 20 millimeter thickness although 28 to 30 is available. They are built to be resistant to punctures, over time chemicals and sun damage as well as just general age can cause weakness to the liner. You can repair the liner with a patch kit, and you can even find 'wet' patch kits for holes that are under water, without having to drain the entire pool.
Best ways to check for a leak is if you are adding more than one inch of water to your pool each week, make sure to leave room for error since you may just be losing water from water horseplay with the kids and the patio/deck may be getting some water.
If you have a leak, get it in check as quickly as possible as this can definitely washout the backfill that is supporting your walls, corrode the walls and wash away sand on the bottom and create dangerous sinkholes which you definitely want to avoid.
Never drain your entire pool, if you do you will need to use a vacuum to reset the liner and suck it back into place while filling.
Installing a pool liner;

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Water Pump
• Replacement Liner
• Additional manpower

1. Preparing the pool for the new liner installation is fairly arduous. You will need to properly drain all of the water out of your pool, and remove the old liner, while properly disposing of it. You may be able to rent a submersible pump to remove the water, unless you already own one. Disposing of the pool water should be done carefully, you could funnel it into a local storm drain but check your local codes beforehand. Removing the liner requires disassembly of the top cap of the wall that secures the liner in place. You will need to inspect your pool for any damage that may need to be repaired after your liner has been removed, check for holes, and rust as this will only cost you more money and a new liner down the road.

2. Make notes of measurements of your pool length and width, make sure you buy the right size liner for your pool, most stores don't accept returns. NEVER buy anything under 20 millimeters.
   Once you bring home your new liner, unpack it and look for the manufacturer guidelines as these will tell you everything you need to do. Be careful with any staples that may be on the packaging as you do not want to tear your new liner.
   Follow the guidelines to properly position the pool liner and be sure that the liner seams meet where the walls and floor intersect. Don't fret over any wrinkles because once the pool is refilled these will smooth out.

3. 
    

   Once the liner is positioned you need to prepare to fill. Pull the liner over the pool walls until a small area in the middle of the pool is touching the ground. The liner should be draped over the sides and you will need to replace the top cap of the pool wall WITHOUT fastening it into place. This will be your support during the refill. As you refill the pool water, it will begin to pull on the liner, just keep removing the top cap to give it more room so the bottom liner will have ground contact. Do this ALL the way around, you may need some help. Keep checking your seams to make sure they are all even. Once you have approximately 6 inches of water, you can fasten your top cap permanently. Be sure to prime your pump if you need to as running it without adequate water could result in serious damage and be costly.

Resources

• eHow Home and Garden Topic Guide.

[drenee]

on 6/23/2009 very informative

[starlet67]

on 5/25/2009 Very helpful tips and info for installing a vinyl pool liner!5*