Inground Vinyl Liner Replacement

mtheaded · Mar 30, 2009

Hi, All

When I moved into this house five years ago and inherited the in-ground vinyl lined pool, I knew it was in pretty poor shape then (about 10 yrs old at the time) and would have to be replaced soon. A split in the vinyl finally occurred a couple of weeks and I now have to face the unavoidable task of getting the liner replaced.

I have had a person out to do minor repairs a couple of times over the years and he came by to give me an estimate today. He only does vinyl liner repair and replacement and has done so for about 20 years â€“ he is not affiliated with a particular pool dealer in the area. My experiences with him have always been positive and I have heard nothing but positive feedback about him m from others as well. However, his quote of a little over $6000 seems awfully high to me, so I have a couple of questions Iâ€™m hoping folks can help me with:

1. He is hawking Premier Vinyl Liners. A quick look at on the web reseller tells me that a liner for my size right true L pool would run about $2000-$2100. He buys directly from Premier so his cost should be a decent bit cheaper as a reseller. This leaves about $4000 is labor cost for a 1-2 day job (He is not including the cost of purchasing water to refill the pool in this amount). Really? Am I missing something here or is that a LOT!?

2. Does anybody have any advice about manufacturers of replacement liners or Premier liners in particular? I see liners from 20 ML to 30 ML thick and I understand that the sides take more abuse than the bottom so should be thicker. Iâ€™m thinking about 27 ML sides and a 20 ML bottom. Is that reasonable? Anything else I should be considering?

3. I live in the way outer suburbs of Washington, DC in a small town called Lovettsville, VA. There are a lot of rich people out this way (And I AINâ€™T one of them, unfortunately!) and a lot of danged swimming pools. I havenâ€™t been able to find a single other person to call about this and get a second quote! Does anyone on the forum live in this area and could recommend someone I could call for another quote?

As I said, I have had very positive experiences with this guy but Iâ€™d like to have more than a warm, fuzzy feeling before spending this kind of cash that I really donâ€™t have!

Thanks to everyone for any and all feedback you can provide!

waste · Mar 30, 2009

I'm going 'off the top of my head' here 'cause I'm about to go for physical therapy :|

If the quote includes any 'bottom work' it's not bad, but you could probably get better.

If you trust this guy - I'd say go with him despite the cost, there are too many PB's (or repair guys) that aren't trustworthy, if you have been dealing with someone who is, *darn* the cost and continue to trust the guy.

If you would like a very long post on dropping your own liner, I can give that ... but it will cost you $100 :lol:

This guy has, apparently, proven himself to be good and honest, I'd be inclined to go with what he says (& I'm ~ his competition

)

The large and small of it is... if this guy has a proven track record with you and your pool, trust that he will do what needs be done without screwing you.

If you need my advice on anything he's telling you, run it by me/ us - and we'll add our $.02

duraleigh · Mar 30, 2009

If you are reasonably handy and can line up a lot of friends....about 4 or so, you can do that liner in a day and pocket the money....less the $500 or so in beer your friends will consume :-D :-D

I have done it twice and, while it's not for the faint-hearted, it is doable with some common sense and some willing help.

waste · Mar 30, 2009

Dave, only $500 for beer????? (I guess you don't drink while doing it :roll:

)

All kidding aside, Dave can tell you how to DIY while providing lots of beer for many friends, I'll tell you how to do it while keeping most of the beer for yourself :mrgreen:

New2Me · Mar 31, 2009

6 Grand!!! Wow, I thought that I was paying too much at $3800! Really, though, my $3800 includes $2700 for 24 mil. 22' x 40' liner(kidney shaped), $1100 for a lock in winter cover, $550 liner installation, $330 for 3 loads of water(3600g/ea, total 10,800g or less than 1/2 of my 24,000 capacity) They also smooth and repair the bottom. Same dealer did my neighbors last year, I watched as much as I could, and from what I saw, they earned every bit of that $550!

My heart is too faint to have tried it myself.

mtheaded · Mar 31, 2009

Wow, New2Me, I guess the area of the country you live in really makes a difference! $330 for 3 loads of water! I have to pay $225 per 5000 gallon load! I'm on a shallow well system so I'll have to 5 loads delivered and that's NOT part of the $6000 quote!

Still, I have to go back to the $4000 for labor. I don't care where you live, that's a heck of difference from $550! I appreciate what Waste is saying - trusting your contractor is worth a LOT, but....yikes! I'm still hoping someone on this forum might be local to me so I can find someone to give me another quote for comparison. If I can do that I might at least have a little negotiating room. Right now, the only good thing is my guy is willing to barter some of it and my wife is landscape desinger and he needs some landscaping work done.

Waste - As a professional, do you think it is reasonable for me to question the laboe costs and dicker a little?

budster · Mar 31, 2009

While I doubt he's buying direct from Premier (I'd like to know if he is !), that brand is excellent. Now, the proof of the liner install is both a great measure, so it will fit, and a good installer. If it's anything other than a rectangle, you will have a tougher time, but it is doable!

New bottom is critical, too. Vermiculite/cement (Pool Krete) is a good bet.

In my market, a 20 x 40 redo will cost the homeowner about $3500.

New2Me · Apr 1, 2009

mtheaded - Yeah, most of that cost is just the driver, I think. There is a fire hydrant across the street, and one house down, that I hoped they could just run a hose to, but no luck. My brother lives in an adjacent city that let him do that for $400 for a 25,000 gallon fill. My installer says that our city won't allow it. I happened to watch the truck last year when my neighbors did their liner, he drove off and was only gone 15 minutes, so he didn't go far! I'm trying to get the water dept. to call me back about waiving the sewage charge for the 13,000 gallons that will come out of my garden hose.

budster is right about the measurement, friends of ours were with-out their pool for 2 months last year while their lower cost installer waited for the second liner. The first one didn't fit the steps right, the installer told them that it was measured right but made wrong. Didn't cost them any more money, just the loss of pool usage. That was another reason I went back to our dealer.

It never hurts to ask about a cost breakdown, $4000 labor cost for a 1-2 day job seems excessive to me. Instead of a flat quote, ask about a time and materials quote, although IMHO, those always end up way off, and much more expensive.
Good Luck!!!