From www.swimmingpoolsteve.com/page... - Learn about the difference between concrete pools and vinyl liner pools and why it might be a bad decision to hang a vinyl liner as an attempt to repair a concrete pool.
From what you've said, it sounds like a vinyl liner (say $5k each) could be done many times before you get up to the $30-50k that you are saying should be budgeted for a concrete pool. So, if I replace my liner in my concrete pool every 3 years, I'd make it at least 18 years before I'd even start to broach the cost of a major concrete repair. Then you mention that it's not a good idea because of the diminished home value it would cause. To me, if I'm looking to sell a house, a concrete pool with a liner that functions is an asset, while a broken concrete pool that does not function is going to hurt my home value. People should know what they are getting into when purchasing a new home, but you don't consider that some people have owned concrete pools for 20+ years and are now starting to have trouble and not realizing that their low-maintenance pools were stockpiling all of their cost for one big day when they would start to leak. Telling someone "you should have known better" is really pretty petty, in my opinion. Then, you briefly mention that vinyl and concrete pools are built differently and throw around hydrostatic pressure as a reason, but I was waiting for you to explain further. Why are they built differently? How does converting to vinyl alter the management of hydrostatic pressure? What causes the wear and tear to be so much greater? If you convert to vinyl for a few years so you can save up some money, can you ever go back?
I am sorry you are having so much trouble with my advice. Please try to understand that I am considering only a technical question and a flawed technical process. The fact that this costs you money or frustration is secondary to the technical question of is it OK to hang a liner in a concrete pool, which it is not. You say a liner pool is better for selling your house than a broken concrete pool...you fail to appreciate that you still have a broken concrete pool, but a liner bandaid is currently hiding how serious the problem is. That is a bad idea at least, and a legal liability at worst. I explained that concrete pools and vinyl pools are fundamentally built different, which they are. To expand on this every aspect is different, the walls, the floor, the finishes, the skimmer and main drains, the waterproofing process...different in every way. Like you have a Ferarri but the motor is blown, so you put a tractor motor in it. More to the point, I do not believe that a concrete pool can be converted to a vinyl pool PROPERLY within the constraints of a budget. If done properly, which is an extensive process as I have identified all of the components which are integrally different, the cost would be comparable to the cost of fixing the concrete pool properly. If the pool is so unstable that it is unfixable, then it should not have a liner hanging in it in the first place. You can not consider that you will get 3 years per liner. You might get zero days before the liner starts leaking. This then compromises your shell further. If you seek out someone to tell you that hanging a liner is fine, you will find them. They will take your money. Your pool will not be fine.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve I definitely trust your expert opinion, but I feel the things you responded with in your comment should have been the points you made in your video. Anchoring to facts is the best way to make a persuasive case about why an approach is wrong. When the cost difference is huge, those facts have to be very convincing to get a person to really understand. I think if you focus on the "why" more often in your videos, they would be much more impactful.
These are all good points and actually a concrete pool is not very attractive to a realtor. People with kids absolutely hate them, ppl focused on aesthetics hate them because they never achieve the "sparkling blue" of a liner, and home insurance is higher. 🤷 I wish I knew any of these things before we bought our home.
@@shyladare paint is probably cheaper than a liner, and I think my pool is sparking blue with old chipping white paint on the plaster. It seems that knowing your maintenance schedule is the key with ANY pool.
Yes, I bought this pool. In the end, we had it jackhammered back to the original concrete (my neighbors loved me!!! Not!), repaired, and new plaster installed. I could have bought a low-end Mercedes, but we had this done instead. While we were at it, we had a new zero entry area and a swim out installed. We are a hit with all our kids' friends...and the parents who like cocktails!
Interesting. Growing up, our house was located on the North Shore area in Louisiana (north of New Orleans) . It was build in 1977. It was a concrete bottom with Metal walls. It was not intended or meant to be a concrete pool, but, due to the water table, they made the entire bottom with concrete. In fact some of the concrete over the years crumbled under the liner, and a concrete truck was called and people moved the concrete with wheel barrows. The pool had a drain under the liner and a sump under the concrete that could be turned on by valve when the filter was in waste to allow for draining of water when a bubble occurred. Liners would last at most 10 years.
You have to retrofit the return line fittings,skimmers, and main drain to accommodate the liner gaskets/faceplates.I’ve converted a few gunite pools over to liner pools,but I charged the customers to reconfigure the deep end,pool stairs, and to install small drains under the liner(if the pool leaks the water will drain out rather that float the liner)Either way Steve your absolutely right to advise people not to convert a concrete/gunite pool over to a vinyl liner.
I am a bit confused....what do vinyl liners go on then if not concrete????? I have watched your other videos about vinyl liners and they are installed on inground pools..?????
We have an old concrete pool when we bought the home it had a liner when we went to replace the liner we realized pool was concrete underneath but liner had been delivered so we reinstalled. Time to change it again 15 years later but wanting to repair concrete can we just remove liner and repair
...well then, if I want a vinyl liner pool, and I have an older gunite pool, do I demolish the original pool, and start from scratch if they are so different? Is that what has to be done from an engineering standpoint, so it is sound? Or can they work somehow with what I have, so it is not a just cosmetic “bandaid;” but, repurposing what I have? Helpful information. Thank you!!
Our pool is completely concrete. It is an Esther Williams pool from the late 50s and had a vinyl liner. My brother, the estate executor, had the pool put back in service in the late 80s by removing the liner and replastering the walls. Is this a pool that could have the liner put back in today?
We bought a house with a pool that the liner had been removed. Can you tell if it has always had a liner, or if it originally did not have a liner? There is a vertical crack in the side, in concrete that constantly let water into the bottom of the pool. I live in rural Ok, I am trying to figure out best method to fix this problem, but can not seem to get a straight answer. I am concerned if I try something myself, I will be making problems worse. Can you help give ve me the answers I am looking for?
Sand, grout or vermiculite are just floor options. If you have sand, yes you can put a hard bottom of your choice in the pool, at your expense, the next time you have your liner changed.
Steve your video was very helpful. We are on our 30th year with the Concrete / Plaster swimming pool . The last time it was replastered with fiberglass wall repair and new tile was in 2010 and that ran $15000.00 . Now it has grey zebra like mottling on the plaster and we were told it means it is time to replaster again. 2 separate bids right below $12000.00 Is that the going price for this in 2022?. I just do not think we can do this. Thank you
Prices are crazy right now. A liner 10 years ago that was $3000 installed is $6000 now. So even the liner are not really affordable. Replaster and dedicate to high quality water chemistry management to get the most life and value from your pool interior surface
@@Swimmingpoolsteve we do a good job of chemical management. This price is just hard to swallow at this time. This pool has been around since 1973 and we have taken the best care for the past 30 years as owners since 1992. It may be time to retire it.
I still don’t quite understand what the actual problem is. Both the video and the comments use highly vague statements like “trust me it’s a bad idea”, “it devalues your home” and “concrete and vinyl are fundamentally different”…. But what is the actual issue? Why do such projects only last three years? What exactly makes them do so? Could you please explain?
Thank you. My concrete pool is still in good condition but it’s time to have resurfaced. I am part of some FB groups and they always show their new liner pools and they are so beautiful, I was just wondering if this could be an option. Thanks for answering my question. A little bummed but meh, oh well. Glad I found you and a very professional answer. 👍 Thanks again
Yes certainly possible. It just takes more prep of the walls, like using foam, but many builders do offer concrete walled vinyl pools. But a concrete pool and them try to bandaid repair with a liner....this is what I don't like to see.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve just thinking of building one myself. Really I want fibreglass but I can do the majority of the wet work (concrete etc) myself Have you looked into stone resin? A lot of people here in the UK are getting stone resin driveways. I would love to see someone apply that to pool design
I have a fiberglass side and concrete bottom. Theres a few cracks. I just bought the house and the pool was built in 1964. The PROBLEM IS its a indoor pool. So it looks great because of that fact but I have no one who wants to or knows how to deal with it. The equipment is ALL ORGINAL and heres the kicker.....it hasn't been used in 50yrs. It was closed down a couple of years after it was built and NEVER USED AGAIN. BTW the room is 2000sqft. One open room that the house was built around. SO I've got to do something....
I have a student who had an indoor pool in the similar situation. They got it up and running but it had a leak so they closed it in and is now a concrete pad for activities.
@@TheDailyPin Well I've already said that if it can't be fixed I was going to cover it and turn it into a nightclub and charge cover. I DON'T NEED a 2000sqft + covered patio. I might deck it and go get me a blow up pool and stick out there. 😉
@@whynot2644 Good point. If there is no issue underground with pipes, I think it would totally be worth getting up and running, but I love swimming and would do whatever it took - short of replacing the whole thing. If it is the pump, filter, or heater, easy fixes. For the cracks, there are so many places that would fix the bottom like foundation repair and for cracks in the fiberglass sides, I have seen videos on that as well. You can always get quotes from pool companies. I had a couple for what we wanted done and ended up doing the work myself. As far as the nightclub is concerned, not a bad idea! 😋
I think your view is extremely biased and negative. We have done liner replacements since the 1970s and have done numerous vinyl liners in concrete pools, for a variety of reasons. Adding bead tracking, converting surface fittings, and taking possibly hundreds of measurements, a liner can be made to fit very accurately. Concrete pool surfaces can be abrasive and need to be cured prior to liner installation. And, there is no reason that a properly installed liner would only last 3 years in a 'typical' concrete pool. It is not a cheap process, but sometimes a viable process for pool owners with concrete pools having a problem.
My experience is different than yours. I have installed thousands of liners so I know them pretty well. But I also build concrete pools. When you build concrete pools then you can fix concrete pools. If you only know how to install liners then everything looks like a good hole to put a liner in. Concrete pools are vastly superior and to hang a liner in one because you are unable to fix it properly is extremely short sighted and absolutely devalues the real estate to which the pool is attached. A concrete pool is a premium product and a waste to put a liner in. By the time you install new skimmers, new main drains, new returns, redo the floor and walls...how about just fixing the pool properly. 99% of vinyl pool and liner installers do not install concrete pools or even seen the process to do so, so when faced with a concrete pool that leaks simply throw a liner at it instead of admiting this is outside the field of their specialty and they should leave the project to a suitable experienced and skilled concrete pool builder.
I do not sell concrete pools or any pools any longer. But I did build concrete pools in the past, and I have installed a few thousand liners in my career.
