Is My Seam Coming Apart

by Janice
(Idaho)

I am new to the pool ownership biz, and getting very frustrated. We bought a 24' round Aqualeader from a pool company, that bought them at an auction.

We found out later that they had no experience with metal sided pools. We paid them to install it, turns out they had about as much knowledge as we did. They did not use any cove material, or even build the sand up the sides.

We can feel give in the liner when we put our feet in the cove area. I have noticed the seam is coming apart, it is still sealed from what I can feel with my fingernail, but I wonder for how long?

Hi Janice.

It does look like the seam is pulling apart. It could stay like this or it could keep getting worse. Some liners have a little flap like that but it does not look like that one is supposed to. The weld covers a pretty large area and it might be just fine. If you can stick your finger up under the flap and not go all the way through it is at least holding for now. It is something to keep an eye on.

As for not using a cove, are there any areas near the edge where you can feel metal under the liner? If the liner is resting on the metal footplates or the bottom rail I would drain the pool immediately and install a cove. The main purpose of the cove is to keep the liner off the pool parts, and to keep it from washing out under the bottom rails.

The size of the cove is not a critical point, the liner just needs to be off the metal. If you know there is very little coving in place you may want to put about a six inch birm around the outside of the pool just to be sure nothing washes out from under the pool.

Expandable Liner Seam

by Melissa Hall
(Waynesville, NC)

Last fall my 4 year old 16x32 above ground pool was stabbed with a knife by an unknown person. It drained all the water except about 3 foot in the deep end. This week I fixed the the walls and patched the wholes in the liner.

We've had a couple 70 degree days so I began filling it with water. Now the pool liner has an approx one inch whole in the seam and once again the water has drained.

Should I patch the whole and wait for warmer weather to fill it so the liner will stretch with ease? Or should I plan on replacing the liner? I'm afraid if I fill it again the seam will come apart in another area.

Hi Melissa

In my opinion it is never safe to patch a bad seam. The seam could continue to split at anytime. When a seam splits it can open up wide very quickly causing an entire pool to drain faster than you would want it to. I would replace the liner.

Since the seam is opening up the liner warranty should be of some help with the cost. Most manufacturers will honor a bad seam claim. Granted it's only prorated but it should still help.

Drainage and Backfill on a Slope

by Robert Markulic
(Belvidere NJ)

I had a 27 ft round above ground break at the seams and washout part of the base behind the pool. The pool is on a slope one side is buried about 2 ft. After the washout the dirt backfill pushed in the wall in a few spots. The installer took the pool down so we can fix the washout. He said the wall is OK but I have been told by others that once a wall is taken down it is compromised. Should I buy a new wall ?

Also he told me I should install a drain around the pool on the buried side. Should this drain be at the bottom of the backfill or towards the top? . What should be put on top of the drain? Is stone or gravel OK? The dirt above it? Or should it be a sleeve and just covered with dirt? The old pool lasted 23 years with no drainage but the new one only lasted 2 days. He blames drainage I blame the seams !

Hi Robert

I agree on a couple of points. The pool wall should be just fine to reuse, and the damage was caused by a bad seam or a hole of some type, not by lack of drainage. If the ground that is back-filled slopes slightly to the low side you should be fine.

Bad Liner Seam

by Sharon

Installed new liner last summer and this winter the pool emptied in a day due to a whole that we found this spring. The hole is at the seam, at the cove, beneath the skimmer. The liner looks great otherwise. Do we have to replace the liner to fix this? The sand is washed out at the cove 2 inch wide by 4-5 inches deep. We are concerned about moving liner back so close to the skimmer. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Hi Sharon

If the liner seam is bad you do need to replace the liner. Your liner warranty should help you out in some way but it does need to be done. Most holes can be safely patched, but not those that are in the seam. That would be a safety issue.

Leaking All Around While Filling

Putting up Intex pool and noticed that all around pool has water while the pool is being filled does this indicated that the liner is not good or is this normal when filling pool?

Hi There is nothing normal about a pool leaking while filling. I would start looking for the hole.