Coping Installed Under Liner

by Matt
(New Brunswick Canada)

When the pool was installed the coping was used on the top edge of the pool wall with the liner over this, then the top metal rails on the liner.

Is it possible, one section at a time, to remove the top metal rail and take the coping out from under the liner and reinstall without draining the pool?

There is plenty of liner hanging over the edge of the pool and is loose on the inside wall of the pool so there appears to be no pulling pressure from the water. I am curious as also, in one section, I had a fence post fall onto the top edge and bend this top rail.




Hi Matt. To make this work you would need to be working on about three sections at a time. Make use of cloths pins to hold the liner in place before you put the coping over it. It takes several rails worth of room to set the liner so that it is tight enough and looks good.

Once you start you would be removing rails and reinstalling rails as you go, so that at all times you are working in about a three rail space. This is also a good time to tuck the liner back into the pool if it was not done this way in the beginning.

Vinyl Liner Overhang

I do not recommend that you try this with a pool full of water. In most cases when you remove a rail from a full pool it takes several people pushing and pulling to get the top rail holes to line back up. The top of the pool spreads just enough to make this difficult.

You would be better off to lower the water level to about half way. This takes most of the pressure off the top of the pool and will make it much easier to work with. Don't take out any more water than you need to and you won't be taking any chances of the liner shrinking.

While the damaged rail if off the pool you should be able to lay it on a flat surface and use a rubber mallet to flatten it.