Vinyl liner replacement cost in Ohio

HomeGuide puts inground liner replacement at $3,000 to $7,500 total. That covers the liner and the labor to drain the pool, remove the old liner, do minor prep and install the new one. Angi puts inground liner installation labor at $1,000 to $2,500 of that.

Where your pool lands in that range depends mostly on its size and shape. HomeGuide notes that labor costs more on a larger pool or an irregular shape with many curves, because the liner takes more fitting. A plain rectangle with a simple step is the easy end of the job. A freeform with a bench, a tanning ledge or a deep hopper is the hard end.

Those are national figures. They are a sensible planning range for Northeast Ohio, and a specific quote comes from measuring your pool.

Liner thickness is measured in mils, thousandths of an inch. Latham says the common options are 20 mil and 27 mil. Thicker liners cost more but resist punctures and wear better, and Latham says they save on cost and maintenance over their life.

Angi puts the premium for a thicker liner at $300 to $500. HomeGuide puts an upgrade from 20 mil or less up to a 30 mil liner at $700 to $1,000 extra. The spread reflects how thick you go and how big the pool is.

One thing to watch in quotes: gauge and mil are not the same unit. Latham gives the example of a liner sold as 30 gauge that actually measures 27 mil. When you compare two quotes, ask both for the thickness in mils.

The pool has to be drained to change the liner and refilled afterward. HomeGuide puts water from a delivery truck at $30 to $100 per 1,000 gallons, or $4 to $10 per 1,000 gallons from your garden hose on city water. For a 20,000 gallon pool, that works out to roughly $80 to $200 by hose or $600 to $2,000 by truck.

A hose is cheaper and slower. A truck fills the pool in hours, which matters because a new liner is set with water in it, and the faster it fills, the sooner the liner is held in place. If your home is on a private well, ask before planning to fill from it. Pulling tens of thousands of gallons through a household well is a lot to ask of the pump and the aquifer, and many owners on wells truck the water in.

The liner is the visible part. Once the old one is out, the walls, floor and hardware are exposed, and that is when a builder sees what the old liner was hiding. The common add-ons are:

• Wall repair. Latham makes vinyl pool walls in galvanized steel and in polymer. Latham promotes polymer as corrosion-free and galvanized steel as corrosion resistant, and any wall panel found damaged needs attention before a new liner goes on them.
• Floor repair. The floor under the liner has to be smooth and sound. Soft spots, washouts and cracks get patched or resurfaced.
• Track and coping. The liner hangs from a track at the top of the wall. A damaged or loose track has to be fixed for the new bead to lock in.
• Fittings and faceplates. Skimmer, return, light and drain gaskets and faceplates are usually replaced along with the liner.
• Permits. HomeGuide notes that some cities require a permit, at $100 to $300, when replacement involves structural work.

A good quote says which of these are included, which are priced if found, and at what rate.

The work starts before the old liner comes out. An inground liner is made to fit your pool, so the pool is measured first and the new liner is ordered to those measurements, along with the pattern you pick.

On install day the crew drains the pool, cuts out the old liner and pulls it from the track. With the walls and floor bare, they inspect and repair what the old liner covered, then clean and smooth the floor. The new liner is hung in the track and a vacuum draws it tight against the walls and floor while water starts going in. Once the water is high enough to hold the liner, the crew cuts in the openings for the skimmer, returns, light and drain and installs new gaskets and faceplates. The pool is filled, balanced and started up.

Latham recommends removing the old liner first rather than laying a new one over it, and says that approach is faster and more cost-effective in the long run.

It is the cheapest time to do it. With the pool empty, changes to the steps, a tanning ledge, new LED lights or other features can be built in before the new liner goes over them. Latham notes that adding features like a tanning ledge, LED lights or a slide alongside a liner installation lengthens the project, so plan the schedule for it. It is also the moment to change the look, since the pattern is the single biggest visual choice in a vinyl pool.

When the ground is at its driest. This part is specific to our region. A vinyl pool depends on the weight of its water to hold the liner and floor in place against the ground outside. Drain it while the soil is saturated and groundwater can push up on the floor, lift or wrinkle it, or wash out the base.

Much of Northeast Ohio sits on soils that hold water. The USDA describes Mahoning silt loam, one of the most widespread soils here, as holding a perched water table 6 to 12 inches below the surface from October through June in most years. That puts the lowest-risk window in the drier part of summer for many yards. A builder should check the groundwater before draining, and if water is present, pump it down or reschedule.

Latham says a professional liner replacement typically takes 1 to 3 days, and that rain can add time. Book early. Liner crews are busy in the same months everyone wants to swim.

Latham lists the signs:

• Cracks, tears or wrinkles in the vinyl.
• Fading or staining so heavy you can no longer make out the pattern.
• Liner slippage, where the vinyl stretches or pulls out of the track and you can see the wall.
• The bead detaching from the track around the top edge.

A small tear can often be patched and buy a few more seasons. Widespread brittleness, a liner pulling from the track or leaks you cannot trace are the point where a patch stops being worth it. Losing water through a liner is also a problem for what is behind it, because water leaking into the ground softens the base under the floor.

Latham says a vinyl liner typically lasts 10 to 15 years, depending on water chemistry, sun exposure, how often the pool is used and liner thickness. In Ohio a few habits push toward the long end:

• Keep the water balanced. Latham calls proper water chemistry vital to liner life.
• Close the pool carefully each fall with the water at the right level, so ice and a winter cover do not stress the liner.
• Use a cover. It keeps the sun off the vinyl and debris out of the water.
• Keep sharp toys, pet claws and hard-edged furniture away from the liner.

Latham also warns that DIY installation can void a liner's warranty, so professional installation protects the coverage as well as the fit.

Sometimes. If the walls are failing, the pool is due for new equipment and the deck is heaving, the liner may be the smallest of the costs coming. That is the moment to price the options side by side. We build vinyl liner pools with Latham liners, including its UltraSeam liner technology, and we replace liners. We also install fiberglass pools, which have no liner to replace. We will give you a straight comparison of what each path costs over the next 15 years.