Suggestions/recommendations on replacing a vinyl liner

[stev32k]

The liner in my pool was damaged when installed and has been leaking for three years. I've had it patched three times now and the patch lasts about a year. So now I'm considering a new liner. The pool is 20'X40', 3' deep in the shallow end and 9' in the deep end. It has a bottom drain, one skimmer, and two returns. The leak is around one of the returns. I'm not sure what the installer did wrong but he is long gone. He left town owing a lot of people money and several botched liner installations including mine.

I'm wondering about other people's experience with liners - both good and bad. Are some brands better than others? What about thickness? Is there a significant difference between brands in terms of life span, stability of the patterns, or other factors. This will be the third replacement and I have not been extremely pleased with any of them. The first two were damaged by hurricanes and the replacements came from local pool stores. I believe they were both 20 mil thick. The inked pattern on the last one has not held up well at all. There are several large areas where the pattern has been bleached out and it makes the pool look bad.

I've lost confidence in the local pool stores and do not trust their advice any more. I intend to do a lot of research before making a decision this time.

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

There is a difference in brands. There are a lot of brands though and i know of no Consumers Reports type of list. Because they are expensive to ship via truck, there are makers all over the country. This keeps them competitive.

Some liner makers have vinyl with UV inhibitors to resist fading and shrinking. A liner maker maker may make some of their liners with out it. Often, a maker will run a special on a particular pattern.

Thicker doesn't mean longer lasting. Some pools need thicker walls or floors or both due to physical conditions. I like thicker walls for wood walled or cinder block walled pools or old galvanized that have had repairs needed. Roughed up floors that the homeowner doesn't want to fix need thicker floor vinyl.

Thicker materials mean a tougher installation due to the weight.

The biggest key to a successful installation is the measurement! Lots of points are needed, not just around the perimeter, but inside edges, breaks, middle areas, etc, are important so the maker doesn't have too much material and cause wrinkles and too little material that will overstretch and shorten the liner's life.

Are you sure about the 9' depth? 8' is the norm.

Bleaching of the colors is usually a result of chlorine sitting. Sometimes, someone will have added a shocking product improperly, usually cal-hypo tossed in the deep end of a cooler pool. The shock doesn't dissolve right away and the pump is off.

People that put tabs in their skimmers may also experience this at start up in the morning. The tabs keep dissolving and highly concentrated chlorinated water can dribble out as the pump starts in the morning. This is seen as a faded spot under the skimmer. The tabs in the skimmer is not helping the plumbing either, fwiw.

HTH

Scott

 

[stev32k]

The actual depth is 8'-6" from the bottom of the overflow and about 9' from the top of the concrete. The faded pattern is most likely caused by over chlorinating. Before finding this site I was having tremendous problems controlling algae and used granular chlorine in large excess on several occasions as recommended by my local pool store. It would clear up the pool temporarily, but the problems always came back. The pattern is completely gone from the bottom of the deep end, splotchy on the slope, and spotty in the shallow end.