Liner Tear Under Skimmer

by Rose
(Hope Mills, NC)

I believe the person that installed my pool liner (not a professional) cut the liner before installing the skimmer, now I noticed there is a tear under the skimmer, can this be fixed or will I have to replace the liner?




Hi Rose. If you do not want to change the liner, yes, this can be fixed. You have a couple of different options.

You could simply buy some Boxer vinyl patch glue and glue a patch over the tear. You would need to get it as close to the skimmer faceplate as possible. You could even add a little glue over the patch to bond it to the faceplate.



Your other option is to lower the water level of the pool to just below the faceplate and remove it. You could now slip a larger patch in behind the liner. This is the way I would do it because it's a foolproof repair.

For best results you would need a piece of actual pool vinyl. This should be cut so that it is wider than the skinner area and tall enough to go lower than the tear and up into the skimmer area. The back side of the liner should be glued and the patch put into place.

I would then reinstall the faceplate starting with all the upper screw holes. Install screws down to just above the new patch material. You should then give this a few hours to dry. It would then be OK to finish installing the screws and to cut out the excess vinyl.

Finish filling the pool and you are as good as new. If this is done correctly you may never even see there is a patch there.