Proper installation of your pool goes a long way in determining the durability of that pool. Most people see their pool leaking because the setup was wrongly done, and it falls back to the manufacturers. One way of having a good installation process is the use of a gasket.
When your skimmers are attached to your pool liner, they need a gasket and a faceplate to hold it firmly together. This helps to prevent the skimmer from sliding off from the liner. It also helps to protect the pool wall from rust. If you ignore this in your first installation, you are bound to experience pool leakage. Then you start incurring high costs in repair.
Guide to Installing Butterfly Gasket on Pool Skimmer
Note that installing a gasket on a pool skimmer varies depending on the manufacturer of your skimmer. You can always read the installation manual that comes with your product for proper installation. However, this is the basic procedure to give your insight, but you can always tweak to meet your needs. Here are the steps to installing your above ground pool gaskets.
Step 1: Mount the skimmer with the gasket inside out and cut the pool liner. You will need to be careful while cutting the pool liner so as not to cut the gasket. Remember, the butterfly gasket is made to be installed before cutting your pool liner.
Step 2: Disable the skimmer so that one half is on the inside, and the other half is the outside.
Step 3: Add adhesive or sealant at the back of the faceplate while installing. This is to make sure the gasket does not slide off over time. It makes your gasket hold firm to the liner. Most people do not use any form of a sealant as using sealant will require you to change your faceplate at the point of next liner installation.
Step 4: Make sure the pool liner presses to the wall between the two parts of the gaskets and then install your skimmer. The idea is to make sure the screw holes are in place to the liner.
Fixing a Leaking Skimmer
Having your pool leaking does not necessarily call for replacing pool skimmer totally. Sometimes it comes by having a few diagnosis steps and fixing them. Most of your pool leakage can be caused by a weaken sealant that holds your liner to the skimmer.
If a weak sealant is the cause of your pool leakage, first drain your pool to reduce the water level some inches below your skimmer and replace the gasket. If the leaking persists, add some sealant at the edge of the gasket faceplate and allow it to dry for 24 hours before filling your water again.
Conclusion
The big problem as a pool owner results from ignoring gaskets during installation. This sometimes ends in costly repairs. However, this can be avoided from the initial stage by properly following procedures in gasket installation.
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