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Vinyl liner inground pool question

16 years ago

My pool was installed last year and I am for the most part happy with the work (I guess I need to convince myself of this), except for when I look at it at night with the pump off -
then it looks like this (click on the images for high-res).

Is this normal, or shoddy work? I am concerned that the liner will rip along the bottom of the walls, where the Vermiculite was not filled in properly.

Thanks.

Featured Answer

mountaineergirl

16 years ago

We had places like that in our in-ground liner pool at our old house. We sold the house after having the pool for 10 years, and I think the new owners replaced the liner after 2 more - so it lasted 12 years. The reason it was finally replaced had nothing to do with those "bumpy" places - a dog tore the liner and the patches weren't holding. I don't think its anything to worry about.

We are putting in a pool next spring, another liner pool, but this PB uses concrete instead of vermiculite. Don't know if that's going to be better or not.

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Comments (8)

whitepetunia
16 years ago
is that the actual pool liner? i don't really see a pattern. have you mentioned it to the pool builder in case there is a problem in the future? how about the warranty?
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Hi! Thanks for your replies; sorry to take so long to get back to you all. Ended up dumping a TON of water down below the skimmer line so I hope we're all set on that score. Did get a call at 8 am today from the PB; said it was never a problem and that his crew could have come out to do it for us. Oh, well... They did come out today, though, to re-winterize the pool. Long story short (ha ha for those of you who know the LONG winded version...!), the PB removed all of our equipment in order to pour our decking plus make the surface ready for the enclosure installation; this was done back in Oct if I remember correctly. Pool was winterized and temporary pool cover was put in place. Winter cover had to come off the day the deck was poured; Nov 3. We then we had to cure for a bit. During the wait, we had LOTS of rain but no way to release any water w/o a pump which we did not own. Soooooo, we finally gave in and pumped it out over the weekend. The enclosure installation began today (YAY!) and that crew got about 1/4 of the job finished; they worked from 7 am until 8 pm-it was pitch black here in CT by 5:30 so they set up floods! They'll be back tomorrow at 7 to finish the job! I wish the entire pool build could have gone as smoothly as what transpired today!! And, yes; one of these days I'll post the MANY pics from start to finish! Thanks again for all of the advice!! I'll let you know how the rest of the install goes! joanneswimsct
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murray93
16 years ago
I don't know... I wonder if the lighter liner color draws attention to the inconsistencies. I don't think anything there is a problem, per se - except for the aesthetic aspect. We have a few waves and cracks, but not as extreme as yours.
dagg21
16 years ago
Ours went in last year and I dont see anything like this. Did they use mortar for the bottom? I know my PB left a pipe where I could insert a shopvac and pull out any air/wrinkles which wold work for the sides but the bottom is mortar and it just looks like i wasnt done cleanly or "smoothly"
muddy_water
16 years ago
The liner will be fine....It's just not the smoothest job doing the floor. I like to use SAND & Cement for my floors and my guys don't cut the maindrains until the pool is full of water so there are no foot prints in the floor.
cdonner
Original Author
16 years ago

Thanks for the responses.
Yes this is a liner with a fine pattern. I actually like the color - it is blue in daylight.
I am not so much concerned about the lack of smoothness, but about the gaps at the bottom of the wall. You see it best on
. Note the arrow. The area there feels soft, and when I stand there, holding on to the edge of the pool, my toes feel no resistance underneath the liner.
I tried to contact the liner manufacturer by email, but never heard back from them. If I was less busy I would call.
stevedug
16 years ago
i would guess that 90% or more of vinyl liner pools have some imperfections in the pool floor and angled edges. these are always accentuated at night when the lights are on. depressions and ridges and small ripples will have no effect on the longevity of your liner. liners are very thick and tough. the only things that might wear on the liner would be if there are jagged or sharp humps or bumps. i would not even worry about the gaps at the corners or bottom.

unless you want to drain the pool, take the liner out, and re-do the bottom, there is really nothing you can do about it...so, get yourself a blue lens cover for your pool light so it doesn't accentuate the imperfections at night, stop feeling around with your toes for soft spots, and enjoy the water in your new pool, which is the main point of having a pool anyway.
eastonpool
16 years ago
sand bottom, could have been better, but you should never have a problem

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