Fill ‘er up
Do not rely on the water pressure to remove any remaining wrinkles when filling the pool with water. Sometimes wrinkles will smoothen out; however, more often than not, the pressure will trap the vinyl in place and make it difficult to move into position to remove the wrinkle.
To help weigh down the shallow end during the filling process, especially on pools with intricate, vinyl-covered specialty features, double-chambered water tubes should be placed along the shallow break (provided the pool has a hard bottom floor) to keep it from sliding towards the deep end.
Another option is to run a garden hose in the shallow end first and fill it up to the top of the double-chambered water-tubes sitting at the break, forming a small dam. This will help seat the liner properly when putting faceplates on, cutting thermo-formed staircases, etc.
Lastly, if wrinkles are still present in the floor, as the water enters the shallow end, a plunger can be used to help remove them. Keep in mind; however, this method is only effective with no more than 305 to 457 mm (12 to 18 in.) of water in shallow end.
Vinyl-pool builders have no fear
Not only are specialty features on vinyl-lined pools becoming the norm, builders in Canada and the U.S., are finding them less intimidating and definitely more profitable. As a result, builders, installers and renovators are looking for ways to add these features on every project. By taking the extra time up front to measure the pool accurately and a little more time to install each liner, builders no longer need to think twice about incorporating speciality features in their vinyl liner pool designs.
J. Kevin Shea is senior vice-president and chief marketing officer for Plastimayd LLC, a manufacturer of Plastimayd® and VynAll® custom swimming pool liners. He is also the founder of VynAll, where he has been president for the past 25 years. Shea, who entered the vinyl-liner swimming pool business through the service and retail side of the industry, presents installation and custom pool measuring seminars throughout the country. He welcomes inquiries from pool professionals and is an excellent source of installation tips. He can be reached via e-mail at jkshea@vynall.com.
