Pool Bottom Seam

by Tim Reynolds
(Springfield, IL)

We just bought a Barbados oval pool from www.Familypoolfun.com,it has 52" walls and is 21x41 oval,we had a contractor install it today and everything went very smooth until they got to the liner.

When they lined the liner up he said the overlap liner is too small due to the fact that the seam around the bottom edge is 1 foot away from the wall on one end. It was quitting time for his crew and he packed up his equipment and left saying there's no way for it to fit and if we get a new liner to give him a call.

Me and my wife went out to fiddle with it and got the liner to fit around the entire top of the pool except the bottom seam that goes around the bottom of the pool does not hit the side walls.

I have gone through the question and answers for hours on here and have a few questions.

#1. Is the bottom seam that goes all the way around the pool supposed to hit where the wall meets the bottom of the pool? Or can it be at the bottom of the sand cove. The installer said the bottom seam had to hit the wall.

#2. I see all your pictures have the top rail of the pool installed and the liner stretched over the top of them to start installing the liner, is that how I need to do mine? The installer did not put the top rail on or any of the side supports on and it is very flimsy trying to put the liner on a wall with no support, all they put up were the 4 buttresses on each side.

We are going to finish the job ourselves

now and just need a little guidance. Also I read a lot about the sun helping stretch the liner, they took it straight from the box into the pool with no sun on it at all.

Thanks for any guidance you can give me.

Hi Tim

The sun does make all the difference in the world.

I install most of my liners by stretching it over the existing framework, but that is not the only way. Working from inside the pool is another option.

I like my method because I never have any wrinkles and my pools never blow over in the wind.

With oval pools you just have two concerns with the bottom seam. It should be the same all the way around. If that is at the base of the cove, fine. If it is at the top of the cove, fine. It just needs to be the same all the way around.

You also need enough liner to pull over the wall. So if the seam is six inches from the cove on each side, that is not unusual on an oval pool with a liner that is not stretched in or melted in the sun before installing. But if you have plenty of liner to pull over the wall you are fine.

Setting a liner involves centering the liner, making the base smooth and wrinkle free, and pulling the sides up and over leaving the sides wrinkle free.

Another tip for you, start checking the level of the pool with just a few inches of water in it. Start measuring down from the top rails to the water level all around the pool. If you spot a leveling problem early you will save a lot of water if the pool needs drained. All the way around the pool the measurements should be well withing an inch.