‘Tis the season to start thinking about the summer here in New York. Just about this time last year we hired a company to replace our pool liner. Let me tell you a little short story about our previous liner:

The pool was installed in 2008 by previous owners and the liner was gorgeous when we moved in. One summer about 3 years ago it was particularly rainy and we kept having an issue with algae, so my husband got the pool water tested at a local pool place ***that shall remain unnamed****. The teenager who worked the counter instructed my husband to put a certain chemical in the pool, but instructed him to put it in a bucket of water first and stir it before putting it in the pool. My husband used a piece of composite fencing to stir the bucket, and when he lifted the fencing up, it had completely disintegrated in the water. My famous last words: “Oh my god… should you be pouring that in the pool?”, “ That’s what the pool store said to do”.

And overnight our liner bleached out in the exact pattern around the pool edge that my husband had poured the chemical in. I was pissed and headed to the pool store with before and after pictures in tow, and we got absolutely no where with them. Here’s a glimspe of the damage shown three years later when we finally bucked up to purchase a new liner:

When all of our vacation plans were canceled in 2020, we decided to finally replace the liner.

And here was the gorgeous outcome:

This post will cover the details and costs associated with replacing a pool liner as well as the company we used and were very happy with.

FAQ:

Who did we use? Many of our teacher friends from Warwick had recommended Al of Warwick Village Pools in Warwick, NY. (Google says they’re permanently closed, but they’re not… and if you want to find out why, ask him when he comes to give you an estimate…. it’s an interesting story). We called him up, he came out the next day, took a look at our pool, gave us a run down of the process and cost. The business line is: (845) 987-1205 . Should you not be able to get in touch with him, reach out to me and I’ll give you his direct number.

What was the cost? The cost really depends upon many factors: the size and shape of your pool, if it has a deep end or not, and what type of liner you’re looking for. Al originally gave us an estimate and my cash price was $5000. I gave a deposit up front and paid the rest upon completion of the job; Keep in mind my pool is a rectangular shape and has no deep end (can you believe it? It’s called a family pool… or a party pool… we couldn’t believe when we moved in it had no deep end!)

Did that include the water? No it didn’t. The water was $350 for each load, that Al organized to show up at the exact time he was putting the liner in. Our pool took 2 truckloads and then there was about 10 inches left, and we decided to fill the remainder up with the hose (which I would not recommend for the entire pool especially if you have a well). Note, if you have a deep end, you’re probably going to end up needing more trucks than us.

Can they set up pools in your yard to put your pool water in and then pump it back in to your pool? We were told that would cost nearly the same- so we went with the new water method.

How long did it take? The guys came over one night and set up a pump to pump out all of our water into the forest behind our house. They came back the next morning to check that all the water was out and then removed the liner. A separate day they came back for a two hours and they patched all parts of the inside walls that needed repairing, as well as leveled out the base of the pool in certain areas. We then waited a week for the liner to come in. Al called me when the liner was in and said they’d be there the next day for the install. The install of the new liner took about 2 hours in total, and then the water trucks followed behind for the fill up. Pictures of the process below:

What pool liner brand and thickness did you choose? Al uses McEwen liners and he recommended getting the thicker 27 MIL liner. He also went through the pamphlet of liner choices with us and told us which ones in his opinion looked best in pools he had done. Ultimately we went with the liner called Campbell pictured here:

Do darker liners fade over time? They all fade over time, but yes typically liners will fade in color over the years due to the sun and pool chemical erosion. We were told that our liner should hold great color for at least the first 10 years.

How long until you can go in the pool? Well he did this in May, and while our pool was opened it actually snowed in NY ( no accumulation though), so we didn’t get in the pool until the end of May. However, after a few days of chemicals you’re good to swim.

And there you have it… the run down of our pool liner replacement. If you have any other questions that I didn’t cover, feel free to drop them below! As always, thanks for stopping by, sharing and supporting my blog!

:) Barbra

DYK? There’s a new category on my blog entitled “ Outdoor Projects”. Check out some other outdoor related project posts here:

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