Cold Weather Vinyl Repair

by Tanal
(Canada)

The vinyl liner of my above ground pool is busted in two places. A build up of ice caused the ladder to break and puncture the bottom of the pool. The problem is there is no water in the pool but still ice.

My question is should I move some of the ice and try to patch the hole now and then put some water in the pool or wait until the temperature warms up a little? I am concerned whether or not the pool can stand without any water in it and also if the liner will shrink?

However, to patch the liner - will it even work in cold temps? The liner is froze in and to the ground.

The metal wall also buckled due to this strain and will have to be reshaped and reinforced - I will use the method of riveting sheet metal as you have described in other posts to repair this. My question is should I try to do the repairs now or wait for warmer temps?

Thank you

Hi Tanal

You will need to wait until warmer weather to make any kind of repairs to the pool. The trick to saving the liner is to always have water in it. If you can keep at least a little water in the pool until the weather warms, you will probably be just fine.

Even when you make the repairs to the wall, the liner should have water in it. It should also be done quickly, as in one day. You would drain the last foot of water down to a couple of inches, make repairs, and refill all in one day.

Depending on the age of the liner it could shrink very fast. You will need a warm, sunny day for the vinyl to be pliable. This should allow the sides to stretch back out into place.

With an inch or so of water left in the bottom someone will have to hold the liner back out of the way while the wall repairs are being done. This will have to be done a few sections at a time. After each section the liner should be put back into place and a new area taken apart.

If having to replace the liner is not a big deal you could drain it all the way and take your chances. Usually if a liner is over three years old it cannot be refilled again, they have lost their elasticity.

As far as patching the liner, I would do that as soon as possible. I assume the ice would have to melt first, but as soon as you can get to the holes get them taken care of.