I recently had my vinyl liner replaced on my inground swimming pool. I have bull nose coping, (this was not changed), and I am noticing that it is separating from the concrete deck in quite a few places (about 3/4 inch). I also notice that where the pieces of coping connect to each other there are signs of separating as well.

I am wondering if anybody can help me to know what the problem is and how it could be fixed. The installer is supposed to come back to fix some pleats in the shallow end and I would like to talk to him about this at the same time. He actually told me that my concrete was moving away from the pool which I find rather ridiculous!

Thanks.

I'm not am expert but, I never heard of the concrete moving away from the pool unless it was a shabby installation. As far as the liner, it sounds like the liner is not the correct size since this is a recent installation. I to have an inground pool and as time goes on the liner will have a tendency to shrink especially if you do not keep the calcium up to correct levels. The rounded corners are the first to show this. No one told me this until a place on my pool pulled loose I was able to get it fixed and to get the calcium up to correct level before any more problems occurred.

Ok -

The liner is not too small. The liner will not be able to affect the coping no matter how small the liner is - providing that the coping is installed correctly.

As for the concrete moving away from the pool - absolutely, this happens all the time. If you do not have sono tubes supporting your deck properly, or if your fill material under the deck is washing away due to poor drainage or prolonged leaking of your swimming pool, you can most certainly experience your deck moving, usually dropping and cracking.

It sounds to me that your coping maybe should have been changed before your new liner. The liner, if 30 mil. is pro-rated for a 30 year warranty. If you do not think that the coping will easily last as long as the liner will, you must have your coping changed at the time you do the liner. It can be easy to NOT replace the coping, especially bullnose as this requires deck work as well, but the time to notice that your coping is showing signs of age and wear is NOT directly after you have a new liner installed.

You will need to rely on your pool professional to help you with your coping problem as this is one of those "need to be there" situations in all likelihood.

FYI- Are you confident with your pool professional? A $100 service call to a large pool company may provide you with a good second opinion if you suspect that you might need one.

If by "bullnose", you are referring to deck mounted coping that is 5-7" wide and not " wide and not " as in a 3.5" tall coping where the deck is poured flush with the top, you may need a different solution. Deck mounted coping needs to have galvanized tech screws EVERY 6" as in a 3.5"-24" all the time. This is not enough and WILL fail eventually. Tech screws are expensive and it is an easy corner to cut by not using enough. If this is your problem you may be able to add more without needing to drain the pool.

I hope this information is helpful.

Steve Goodale
Serendipity Pools