Vinyl Tears

• Always take your above ground pool's vinyl liner out very carefully so you don't tear it. Many a swimming pool vinyl liner has been torn or punctured by a sharp object used in opening its container. Vinyl pool liners can also sustain punctures or rips when they're laid out on the ground for inspection. Before spreading your above ground pool's vinyl liner out for installation, inspect the area for anything sharp or pointy that can damage it.
  
  

Fit Problems

• If you don't know the dimensions of your above ground swimming pool, measure it before selecting a vinyl pool liner. Improperly fitting vinyl above ground pool liners are a common problem when installing them. Also, vinyl above ground pool liners are meant to be spread out in a pool and then hung from the top of the pool walls first. Failing to drape and then hang a vinyl pool liner properly will lead to large liner wrinkles.
  
  

Liner Wrinkling

• Small wrinkles are a fact of vinyl pool liner life, and they're to be expected. However, large wrinkles in a vinyl pool liner need to be avoided because they're unsightly and will prevent proper liner fit to the pool's walls. A common problem caused by large vinyl pool liner wrinkles is that they lead to air between liners and their pool walls. Air between a vinyl pool liner and a pool wall will put too much pressure on the liner and cause it to tear.
  
  

Floor Bulges

• Another common vinyl liner installation problem is that vinyl liners sometimes aren't properly seated along the bottom of an above ground pool's walls. Improperly seated vinyl pool liners will bulge underneath an above ground pool's walls when water-filled. Properly seat your above ground pool's vinyl liner along its bottom while ensuring sand or foam backs the bottom to prevent any bulging under pool walls. Smooth out the vinyl liner's floor, pushing excess liner toward the bottom of the pool walls, too.
  
  

Considerations

• Don't start cutting out skimmer and water return port holes in your above ground pool's liner until you've properly fitted it to the pool. Additionally, hold off cutting holes in your vinyl pool liner until there's plenty of water in the pool. A properly fitted above ground vinyl pool liner will drape down nicely once water starts weighting it down. Once your vinyl pool liner is properly weighted down with water, begin cutting out skimmer and water return portholes.