Pros and Cons of a Liner Pool Design

All the details on vinyl liner pools and why it is worth considering.

When we bought our lot to build our home, I won't deny that there was frequent envisioning of a pool. A pool has always been on the list of desirables, but at the time we were building it was just wishful thinking. Fast forward a few years and the right opportunity presented itself with an in-ground pool. We learned a lot about a liner pool design along the way.

In our last home we had a small pool that was above ground and about 4ft deep. The kids swam every day in that backyard pool all summer long. What better way to have more family time together while creating a perfect backyard oasis?

Looking into options for our dream pool, information circulated that pool builds were several years out. I didn't want to wait that long to put in a pool so we planned on grass.

And then I found a company that was just starting up and did vinyl pools. I loved the look of vinyl pool liners. They could start in the spring and the price was just right, so we jumped on the opportunity.

Why We Chose a Liner Pool

I did a lot of research about each type of pool. From plunge pools to lap pools and everything in between, there are multiple pool types for your style preference. Each new pool is built and installed differently and they all seem to have pros and cons.

A Gunite pool is essentially made with a concrete and sand mixture, while a liner pool is a custom made vinyl liner to fit the hole perfectly.

Pros

• Liner pool is cheaper than Gunite pools
• Bright coloring is appealing
• Smooth surface pool floor
• Replacement liners are around $5,000

Cons

• Liner doesn't last as long as Gunite
• Liner's can get a hole in them

We narrowed our choices down to a Gunite pool and a vinyl liner pool. We ultimately decided that a vinyl pool liner was the right pool for our family because of cost and design style.

Pricing for Liner Pool

Vinyl liner pools are a popular choice for their price point. It is hard to put a firm price on a pool because of pool materials and any special features. A new vinyl pool probably starts around $85,000 and goes up from there. Where you live may also impact the price.

A liner pool is cheaper than a Gunite by about $30,000 to $50,000. At some point the liner may also need to be replaced. The cost to replace a liner is around $5,000 but that can be less or more depending on the size of your pool.

Longevity

A liner will usually last from 10 to 15 years. My neighbor's liner has lasted 15 years. Once the liner wears out you can drain your pool and have the liner replaced. Keep that in mind when you calculate costs.

If a liner gets a hole it can be fixed while the water is in there. Talk to your pool installers for exact costs.

Pool Style

I love the vinyl pool for aesthetic reasons as well. The bright blue color of the pool liner is an attractive choice. You can also choose to put in a water feature or rock slide to create an atmosphere of luxury pools.

The Gunite has a different look but is also nice. The one thing I disliked about a Gunite pool is that until it wears down, it can be sharp on the bottom and cut your feet. The liner is a smooth surface in the swimming area, but texture can be added to the stairs which is what we did.

Although we could have gone with a custom pool design, we opted to keep it simple without any different vinyl pool shapes. I like the sleek geometrical lines of rectangular pools.

Liner Pool Sizing

Make sure you know the dimensions of your yard when planning your pool design ideas. We have a lot of space in our backyard which allowed us a standard pool size of 40 ft long x 20 ft wide.

We do have a 3 feet wide Shamu shelf. The shelf is designed to be a little shorter so it doesn't take up too much space in the shallow end. The water on the shelf is 18 inches deep, making it a great place to sit in the water and relax. The pool is 9 feet deep so we could add a diving board.

Salt Water

We went with a salt liner pool. Salt water pools reduce skin and eye irritation and greatly reduce the chlorine smell. We have a chlorinator that converts salt into chlorine. Salt is also cheaper to buy and easy to maintain.

Overall, we love our liner pool design and hope it will stand the test of time for many summers to come.

Want more ideas on making the most of your backyard? Check out more details on our gazebo here. You can dress up your yard with a retaining wall like I did with this budget friendly Shou Sugi Ban black wall that was super easy.

Brooke