The purpose of this guide is to help those poor souls (as myself) who can't afford to have other people do the jobs they really don't want to do themselves. I needed to replace my pool liner and my local store was of no use. All they want is your money. The 'cheapest' liner they had was $325 with an installation charge of $250! Warrenty was void if I installed it myself. Do your homework and shop around. I have a 24' round w/52" sidewall. I paid $170 ( Leisure-Living ) for my liner and installation took 1 afternoon. Preparation took 1 1/2 days. Right or wrong, this is my way and it worked for me. I'll assume at this point you have your liner and your pool is still full. Let's get started!

Drain Pool:

There are many way to do this. I use the vacuum hose and bypass the skimmer assembly. The adapter will leak once the water level goes down. Just plug the vac hose directly to pump inlet. You will need to get a siphon started to prime the pump. I also had some old garden hose and used those as side siphons. Every bit helps because this will take most of the day. Keep in mind where your water is going. 24' pools are about 15,000 gallons!! Make sure your filter valve is set to 'waste'.

During the draining, take a couple of sections of top rail off and understand how your pool is constructed. Don't remove everything! This step is just for overall understanding.

   Will Look something like this

Your pump will stop working once the water level is down low enough. And it will start to draw air. PAY ATTENTION! You'll burn out your pump if you let it run with no water! The last bit of water can be let out by piercing the liner bottom. I started using a wet vac, 8 gallons at a time. Save your back, punch the holes and go to bed. It will be drained enough when you get up. There is a benefit here as well. The water will wet your sand under the liner and will help with smoothing out later on.

Remove old liner:

Using a 'sharp' knife, cut a few inches below the rail and cut all the way around the pool edge. Section off pieces of liner (sizes you can handle) and remove from pool area.

Don't panic if you see green and/or black bits of sand. This is normal and does not hurt anything. (to the best of my knowledge)  :?|

Remove top rail assembly:

Remove all caps, top ledge, post caps (retains rail), rail, and coping. You note that your pool edge is loose and looks like it will fall over. It will, so use precautions while removing the last bit of liner.

Hammer in your tent stakes. Use at least 1 for every other post. About 3 to 4 feet from the side of pool. Cut your twine to length, attach an 'S' hook to one end. Hook the edge of the pool and tension line just enough to hold the side wall up. You'll see how this is needed when you begin installing the liner.

On the outside, cover the skimmer and inlet holes with cardboard and duct tape. Make a good seal. Cut a hole in the inlet cardboard the same size as your vac hose. Attach the hose using duct tape and seal it as best you can.

This is also a good time to take your liner out of the box. Ensure you have a stick/rock/pokey things free lawn and spread the liner out. Inspect for any defects. Spread it out as best you can and move it around every 1/2 hour or so. The point of this is too heat up the liner so it will stretch out easily during the installation.

Get in the pool and start smoothing out your sand. Be sure to keep at least 6" of sand along the edge. I'm sorry I can't give you any advise on the best way to do this. I'm lucky I have a hand tamper and my brother. Heavy guessing in this but it's really not that hard. Just a bit time consuming. The bad part is, no matter how smooth you make it your feet will mess it up. Just do the best you can.

Liner Install:

Now that your liner is nice and warm you'll need to get into the pool. Fold it up keeping track of how you do it. Try to find a logical way to fold it so that unfolding will aid in placement. A 24' round weighs in at 85 pounds so it's important to think this out. Whatever way works best for you and your help.

Pick it up and place into pool. (NO SHOES!) Start with one edge of the bottom and get it close to position and begin to unfold. Try to stay out of the liner until almost completely unfolded then wipe off your feet and step into the liner bottom. Continue to center up the liner. Position the bottom as best you can. Take your time! Now is a good time to use the soft broom. Pull from the center and work your way around smoothing as best you can. Try to press the edge seam close to the side evenly all around. The better you center, the easier it will be when you begin to add water.

When satisfied with the bottom placement, start with the walls. Lift an edge and clip onto the side wall. Try to keep an equal amount of overlap all the way around. When you get to an 'S' hook remove it, overlap the liner and replace the 'S' hook. You may want to use a piece of cardboard to protect the liner from the edge of the hook. This is where the hooks come in handy. Otherwise your wall would be falling in!

Start Adding Water:

Start to add water. Depending on your water pressure and volume this takes a long time. You want about 1" total, measured at the wall. While it's filling continue to work the bottom wrinkles and begin to push the bottom towards the sides. Ensure it is well centered. Any problems need to be addressed now. 1" of water in a 24' pool weighs about a ton. Don't think you can do it later! You may notice the side walls aren't straight. Don't worry that's next, just get the bottom nice and smooth.

Working the Walls:

Turn the shop vac on and watch as it sucks the walls into place. Now begin to work out the wrinkles. Start at the place that looks the worst. If you need to undo a clip(s) go ahead. Try not to remove more than 1 'S' hook at a time as this will cause the wall to begin to bend. Keep working around the pool until your satisfied. If any part looks too tight you may be over stretching it. Turn off the vac. Release the clips in that area and allow the wall to relax. Double check the overlap to insure you have enough. When done restart the vac and double check. Straighten out any wrinkles.

At this point you should be able to tell if you did a good job or not. Seams should be straight, walls and bottom wrinkle free, and the bottom wall seam should be about the same all the way around. If you notice a big problem turn off the water and do your best to correct it. Depending on the amount of water you have in the pool will determine how easy your problem can be fixed. Hence why I said in the beginning ... TAKE YOUR TIME!

You may want to turn on the vac as the pool fills. You only need about 10" of water to know that all is well. At that time go ahead and remove both cardboard covers. You can also begin to reinstall all the coping, rails, posts caps, and top ledge. Work your way around, removing only the clips and hooks in the section your working on. You can also remove the shop vac and skimmer covers.

Install Skimmer and Inlet:

When the water level is about 6" from the inlet it's time to install your inlet bulkhead fitting and skimmer basket. Take a piece of cardboard and back up the inlet hole on the inside. From the outside follow the hole and cut the liner out. TAKE YOUR TIME! Don't press real hard, let the knife do the cutting. When done install your bulkhead. For the skimmer, leave the liner in place. Cut a small slit for each screw that attaches the outside skimmer to the wall. Secure the outer part allowing the screw heads to go behind the liner. Now find a screw hole for the inner plate. Make a mark and line up your plate and start the first screw. Do not tighten yet. Go to an opposite screw, find the hole and get that one started. Snug these two screws. Install the rest of the screws and tighten all. From inside the pool, cut an 'X' into the liner at the skimmer opening. Corner to corner. Now gently pull and cut flap using the plate as a guide. Repeat for the other sides.

Finish filling and that's It!! Hope this has help you in some way. Happy Swimming!!!

NID