Concrete vs Vinyl Liner pricing

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mpt1123

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Jun 29, 2011
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Hello:
I'm in the process of interviewing pool builders but haven't received any pricing yet. On average, in the Maryland area, how much less expensive should a vinyl liner inground pool be compared to a concrete pool? From what I can tell, the equipment/decking/fencing seems to be the same for both so they should be similar regardless of pool construction method. Seems like it boils down to pool construction.
Thanks for the help.
Mike
 
When we bought our pool 6 years ago we were very surprised that the Gunite/plaster pool quote we received was cheaper than the two liner pool quotes. One of the liner pool quotes was 20% higher! Needless to say, we went with the plaster pool.

Good luck.
 
That's interesting. I'm under the impression that the vinyl liner pools are less expensive. As of today, the pricing has been very close. I don't know if the concrete guys are low or the vinyl guys are high.
 
To tell you my experience, as we just put a pool in. A liner pool of the same volume was about 5k cheaper. 4 years ago when my uncle put his liner pool in, liner was running 10 to 15 k cheaper. We ended up going with gunite/plaster because we wanted a shaped pool with a shelf. And also the plaster would need refinished less than having to replace a liner. I am glad we made that choice even though a little more expensive. I grew up with grandparents who had a liner pool, but I really like the plaster better.
 
When I was building both shotcrete and liner pools in Va. the shotcrete was ~ 2X as much as a similarly sized liner pool. :O

However, that was ~ 20 years ago and I haven't built a shotcrete pool since '94. I don't know if rebar and concrete got cheaper or if there was an exorbitant profit margin included back then nor if the price of liner pools just went up, they are doing a lot more things with liner pools (like sun ledges, 'free form' and custom liners - but those should only effect the folks who order them, not liner pools, across the board.)
 
Hello:
I've attached a spreadsheet with the pool options and total cost. Both are basic pools and price is close. I was expecting the vinyl liner to be much less. Not sure if the concrete guy is low or the vinyl guy is high at this point.
Thanks so much for your comments.
 

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  • Pool Price comparison.xls
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Mike,

I started my search about 10 months ago. The two vinyl companies were within two grand of the same size done in gunite (34X20 free form). The salesmen from the liner pool company didn't no his a** from the hole he was planning to dig in my yard. I'm sure his commission, the companies commission and all the subs they hire were taken out I bet the coast woul dhave been lowered by about $7,000.00. After all my research I feel more comfortable with the gunite, the experience of the builder we're going with and the fact that his crew does everything but the fence and landscaping. Good luck! :goodjob:
 

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You're doing the right thing to compare size, features, and options of each quote. Somthing as simple as a pool cleaner could be an extra $500 - $1,000 that may be included in one package, but not another.

Another thing to consider is decking. With our plaster pool, we were getting the tile coping which is about 10" and 3' of concrete all the way around the pool as part of the package. Any more was extra. For the vinyl pool quotes we received, the concrete went to the edge of the pool, so that was the start of the 3'. The price for additional concrete decking was also substantially more for the vinyl companies compared to the plaster. Not sure why, but worth asking about because the extra cost can be significant depending upon how much you add beyond what they give you.

Good luck.
 
I think the gunite vs. vinyl question is totally regional. However, I can tell you that that vinyl liner quote here in MA would run you around 26-27K. Pool guys don't typically do concrete decking here but that amount of brushed concrete would run around 4K based on quotes I am getting. I think the vinyl quote is way high, gunite pools up here are typically 2X their vinyl counterparts.
 
mpt1123 said:
Hello:
I've attached a spreadsheet with the pool options and total cost. Both are basic pools and price is close. I was expecting the vinyl liner to be much less. Not sure if the concrete guy is low or the vinyl guy is high at this point.
Thanks so much for your comments.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the spreadsheet :cheers:

Don't let any PB sell you a push/ pull valve!!! :rant:

Also, depending on your pool, 2 return lines probably isn't enough to properly circulate the water!
 
mpt1123 said:
Hello:
I've attached a spreadsheet with the pool options and total cost. Both are basic pools and price is close. I was expecting the vinyl liner to be much less. Not sure if the concrete guy is low or the vinyl guy is high at this point.
Thanks so much for your comments.
Click to expand...


I don't know much about this, but I am studying in preparation for a few years down the road. Honestly though I think this is very surprising. Something seems off as people I've talked to went vinyl because of the cheaper price first.
 
I'm in Long Island, NY. We had our pool built in 2001. We got 4 quotes for vinyl lined pools, 2 with steel walls, 1 with some type of fiberglass walls, and 1 with poured concrete walls. Not many gunite pools in our neck of the woods, but the 2 quotes we got were more than twice the cost of the highest price vinyl quote we had gotten.
 
Well, the difference should be in the cost of the gunite and rebar right? Having just been through this....

I am in the process of a self-built gunite pool.

My gunite was $190 a yard installation labor included. My build was 42 yds of gunite. Was supposed to be 30-35 but there was an over dig on one side we filled with gunite rather than backfill. There was also a $100 up charge for the fact I had a spa. So total for gunite was about 8k. The rebar (I bought waaaayyy too much) was $ 1400. I cant guess about labor on that but the gunite guy told me two guys could have done it in a day so figure $500 for rebar labor. There is also the plaster but I ain't there yet but I have 10k set aside for a premium plaster job. I pulled that number out of thin air, but reading around and talking to peers, it can't be more than that.

So how Much do a liner and wall kit cost? That and whatever bottom treatment costs...


I can't help but think that liner guys that are charging as much as a gunite pool are profiting mightily.

That said a pool is a luxury item and they charge as much as they think the market will bear.

I know my quote for my pool was about 100k and if I stay on track I will be in for about 35k-40k so figure another 10k for the labor I have put in and wow, they make a bunch on a pool. No wonder every pool contractor pulled up in diesel f-250 trucks with the full luxury pkg.
 
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