How do i know if my pool is vinyl?

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806pool

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LifeTime Supporter
Apr 4, 2015
139
So. Cal.
Might sound like a dumb question....but seriously. We were told by the previous owner that it was a vinyl liner pool replaced some years ago before they bought the house.

One of the neighbors was just telling us that the lady that lived here before the people we bought from (the original owner and builder), had some work done to the pool with sanders and a bunch of noise about 5 years ago.

I was just looking at the pool and noticed the steps are really rough and my wife said there are places on the bottom of the pool are rough as well. I would expect a lined pool to be very smooth throughout.

Im basing everything off of what ive been told...but the rough patches have me wondering....

So how do i know for sure if its truly a vinyl liner pool?
 
Hmmm....ill have to ask the wife and kids. Theyve been in the most. A pic like a close up picture? I have one of the whole pool, but i can get a close up one tomorrow (dark now). To the touch it feels really smooth...except the steps are rough like i mentioned. Pool was originally built in 1989 i believe. But from what the neighbors say it was "redone" 5 years ago, from the noise and dust they heard/saw from behind the wall. I have pool cover records from way back but nothing else except equipment receipts and manuals.

I cant seem to post a pic from my ph one. Says it wont upload.
 
You can try hosting the photo on photo bucket and then post the link here. Vinyl liners often have a printed pattern that mimics tilework at the water line. Some vinyl liner pools will have a strip of tile with the vinyl liner beginning below that point. The steps are usually fiberglass. The roughness you are feeling could be scale. Could you post a complete set of test results for your pool?
 
For most vinyl lined pools, if you go to a corner, or the bottom of a wall (where the floor meets the wall) just use yoru finger and gently feel that junction. Vinyl lined pool don't exactly fill the 90 degree corner perfectly and the corner will be a bit of a rounded corner, and as you push it, it will feel like pushing on a very thick bag.
 
Here are some pics of the pool. I dont think its a vinyl liner. Maybe at one time but im thinking that was changed a few years ago when the neighbors heard/saw the work being done on the pool...maybe resurfaced? I also sa a few small chips along the edge of the skimmer today while i was trying to get pictures which a vinyl liner wouldnt chip, lol. Ill let you guys be the judge.

Here is the chips at the skimmer:
image_zpsdb8l86co.jpg


Other pics of pool:
image_zpsxdheabg9.jpg


image_zps0ltfd52v.jpg
 
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Go figure. I was googling vinyl liners and none of them looked like mine. The funny thing is the previous owners told us they couldnt let their dog in the pool because of fear of its nails tearing the liner and they werent cheap to replace and advised us to do the same.

So maybe it was converted from a vinyl liner to plaster? Is that possible? Not sure which is better
 
Lol, YES. I asked probable 6 times through out the course of the purchase. I felt it numerous times still not 100% convinced. Even when i had the pool inspector come out before hand to make sure the equipment was in order i mentioned the vinyl liner.... He said "it is?" I wouldnt have guessed that but he didnt have much experience with them either.
Learning curve. Ive always had a feeling, but not knowing a thing about pools or the different surfaces, i just took their word for it.

So the fact that it feels solid....what makes you say plaster vs concrete vs fiberglass vs?
 

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The fact that there's no plate with a gasket and screws around the skimmer opening pretty much rules out vinyl. Also, vinyl pools aren't popular in California, at least not in-ground. Look closely at the steps. Are they absolutely perfect? Or can you maybe see where the rounded edge isn't quite right, or one of the corners is a different radius than the others? Fiberglass pools are done in a mold - like and all-in-one shower/tub - so they will be perfect. No handwork like a plaster pool.

See if you can't get some close-up pictures of the returns.
 
I think it might be paint over concrete/plaster. The paint could be scratched by the dogs and the chips by the tile look like paint chipped away.

They could have been calling the paint a "liner"
 
The steps arent perfect. Here is a pic of one of the returns:


I think its definately a paint or coating fairly thick i can feel the "edge" where it meets the tile.

Let me know if there is something else i can look at or take a pic of to help
 
So i just found some more paperwork regarding the pool in a cabinet. Low and behold a receipt, brochures, and other paperwork for the resurfacing of the pool.
In aug 2010 the GUNITE pool was resurfaced with a product called Aqua-Glass by Aqua Creations. Its a type of fiberglass. So i guess we have a Gunite pool with a fiberglass liner/surface :). So nice to know exactly whats under there!
 
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