Help, Winterizing A Pool With A Destroyed Liner

[kizurt]

I just purchased a foreclosure home in September. It has an inground pool that was in really rough shape. I need help winterizing the pool. It is currently drained of water, it has a liner but it has more holes then swiss cheese. The good news is the pump and drains had been properly winterized. The question I have is, should I fill the pool without the liner (the pool is cement with a metal liner) or attempt to cover the pool with a tarp to keep the water out? I live in Northern Illinois so we do get our fair share of snow, so weight could be an issue with using a tarp. I am completely new to the world of pools so any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Kurt

[ps558]

I just purchased a foreclosure home in September. It has an inground pool that was in really rough shape. I need help winterizing the pool. It is currently drained of water, it has a liner but it has more holes then swiss cheese. The good news is the pump and drains had been properly winterized. The question I have is, should I fill the pool without the liner (the pool is cement with a metal liner) or attempt to cover the pool with a tarp to keep the water out? I live in Northern Illinois so we do get our fair share of snow, so weight could be an issue with using a tarp. I am completely new to the world of pools so any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Kurt

I think you better call a couple pool places in your area. The bottom looks like concrete and it could be or it could be a standard pool bottom which will let water thru. The metal walls are to hold the liner. If your pool has a liner it will not hold water without one. If it didn't need a liner there would water in it. The only thing that worries me it the pool walls moving without the water. You could make wooden braces with plywood and 2x4's to support the walls from moving

[kizurt]

I just purchased a foreclosure home in September. It has an inground pool that was in really rough shape. I need help winterizing the pool. It is currently drained of water, it has a liner but it has more holes then swiss cheese. The good news is the pump and drains had been properly winterized. The question I have is, should I fill the pool without the liner (the pool is cement with a metal liner) or attempt to cover the pool with a tarp to keep the water out? I live in Northern Illinois so we do get our fair share of snow, so weight could be an issue with using a tarp. I am completely new to the world of pools so any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Kurt

I think you better call a couple pool places in your area. The bottom looks like concrete and it could be or it could be a standard pool bottom which will let water thru. The metal walls are to hold the liner. If your pool has a liner it will not hold water without one. If it didn't need a liner there would water in it. The only thing that worries me it the pool walls moving without the water. You could make wooden braces with plywood and 2x4's to support the walls from moving

Another possible solution... Using a large tarp, to act as temp. liner for the winter, would hold the water in, keep the walls up, and hopefully save my pool. Any Thoughts?

[jkusmier]

You didn't mention the size/dimension or capacity/gallonage of the pool, but I doubt you'll find a tarp large enough. ps558 is dead-on, the main concern is outward pressure on the walls, from both 1) the backfill behind the walls as well as 2) hydrostatic pressure. So I'm not entirely confident that even a solid cover would protect the pool and prevent the walls from moving over the winter. Where are you located? You may be forced to have someone install a new liner ASAP - which will also require re-winterizing the pool (blowing lines, adding antifreeze and capping the lines) - easier to do than you might think. Depending upon your location and a warm, sunny fall day, it's definitely possible to install a new liner at this time. A local pool company can easily order a new liner and have it shipped w/in 7-10 days, and install it in a single day. They can also close/winterize the pool in the process. Sounds like a pain, but keep this in perspective - the pool evidently needed a new liner anyway given its condition, so you'll be good to go come spring.