Inground Vinyl Liner Specialist
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Frequent Asked Questions

Below are some of the common questions that people ask us about swimming pools, vinyl liners, swimming pool leaks and many other swimming pool related questions. If you have a question that we didn't cover on this swimming pool facts page, then feel free to email us.


  • How can a small broken section of coping track which holds the pool liner be repaired or replaced? +
    It depends what type of coping you have on your pool. It should be evaluated by a pool professional.
  • How do I get an in-ground pool liner back in the track? +
    It depends on the type of coping and the age of the liner. If the liner is still pliable you can slightly lower the water level and then use a heat gun to heat the liner and carefully stretch the liner back into the track and use a liner lock to hold the liner in the track. Liner lock is available at some pool stores. Note be very careful doing this. I would not attempt this on an older liner.
  • Can pool lines be repaired without breaking up the concrete deck around the pool? +
    Yes, depending where the leaks are located and how many leaks are found. Using leak detection equipment can pinpoint the problem and allow for minimal, if any, deck replacement.
  • How do I know if I have a broken or cracked pipe underground on my in-ground swimming pool? +
    There are different ways we can determine if the pipe underground is broken. We can look for saturated ground, a pump that will not hold prime or air bubbles and/or dirt coming out of the return lines. The exact location of the line can be found by pressure testing the skimmer, main drain and return lines and with a special listening device.
  • How can you stop the liner from floating in an in-ground pool? +
    I would recommend keeping the water level as high as possible. This problem occurs most often when pools are pumped down too low and covered when winterizing. The weight of the snow, ice and water on the cover, over the winter and spring months, pushes down on the cover forcing water out of the pool. I recommend that after having your pool professionally winterized that you add some water to it. I also strongly recommend a solid safety cover that will minimize the loss of water out of the pool over the winter and spring months.
  • Can pool lines be repaired without breaking up the concrete deck around the pool? +
    Yes, depending where the leaks are located and how many leaks are found. Using leak detection equipment can pinpoint the problem and allow for minimal, if any, deck replacement.
  • How do I get an in-ground pool liner back in the track? +
    It depends on the type of coping and the age of the liner. If the liner is still pliable you can slightly lower the water level and then use a heat gun to heat the liner and carefully stretch the liner back into the track and use a liner lock to hold the liner in the track. Liner lock is available at some pool stores. Note be very careful doing this. I would not attempt this on an older liner.
  • How can a small broken section of coping track which holds the pool liner be repaired or replaced? +
    It depends what type of coping you have on your pool. It should be evaluated by a pool professional.
  • How do you know if small cracks in a new concrete pool deck are serious? +
    Generally any crack over a 1/8 of an inch should be caulked.
  • Is 30 mil thick vinyl liner for an in-ground pool better than the 20 mil? +
    Both liners usually offer the same warranty. The 30 mil liner is more money and a little thicker but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will last longer. We feel that a 30 mil liner may be better if the walls or base of the pool aren’t smooth but, they are not as pliable in radius corners and tend to rip.
  • How hard would it be to replace the wood wall panels on my wood wall vinyl lined in-ground pool when you replace the liner? +
    Your pool should be evaluated and inspected by a pool professional to determine if any of the walls can be salvaged. Sometimes it may be possible to replace walls on the pool if there is a good footing present behind the pool wall. Other times there isn’t any concrete footing and when the pool is emptied to service the walls there is a good possibility of all the walls caving in.
  • How do you get air bubbles out of the pool pump? +
    Air bubbles in the pump are caused by a leak on the suction side of the pump (skimmer or main drain line). To determine if your leak is above ground look for spurts of water shooting from one of those lines as you turn the pump off. The sudden stopping of the water flow will cause it to shoot out of the source. Note that a little water coming from the pump lid on some models is normal and is not the cause of the leak. If you do not see anything, your leak may be below ground. To determine this shut down one line at a time to determine the line the air is coming from. If you have a broken line underground you will need to have a pressure test done and leak detection equipment to locate the leak so it can be repaired.
  • How much water can be safely removed from an in-ground vinyl pool and for how long? +
    Once filled and used, you do not want to drain an in-ground vinyl lined pool. There are many reasons not to drain the pool. The main reason is that over time the liner seems to become less pliable and when the pool is drained the liner contracts. When you refill the pool the liner does not expand to the previous shape and often rips. This is an expensive error. The other reason is that the weight and pressure of the water in the pool provides structural integrity, helping to prevent the walls from collapsing.
  • Can a 20 year old gunite pool be converted to a vinyl liner pool? +
    The answer is absolutely! Secondary market products are readily available for a conversion such as this. A plastic, resin, or fiberglass track is installed just under the top edge of the coping around the swimming pool. The track is usually attached with some sort of stainless steel screw. Rolled Wall foam can be cut into long sheets and attached to the existing plaster walls--usually with spray adhesive. The foam evens out the surface and also provides a nice "shock absorbent" pad in between the liner and the wall. Complete measurements of the existing structure need to be taken--and they need to be extremely accurate. Some of these measurements include the height of the wall, angle of slope, depth and step areas. For 99% of these conversions, a liner must be custom manufactured. I say this because you might hear an installer give you a quote for a "stock liner"--a mass-produced liner made based upon general measurements--carried in quantity at the local distributor. Conversions are rarely exact, so don't be alarmed if you have a small wrinkle or two. Expect to spend 50% over what a traditional liner replacement would cost. There's not too much of a difference in materials, so the cost will be mainly in the skilled labor. Definitely find someone that has performed these conversions before. Don't just take their word for it. Go see the jobs--without the installer present!!!! Talk with the customers, and ask them how the installer performed.
  • How many gallons of water are in a pool 16 x 32 feet that is 8 feet in the deep end and 3 feet in the shallow end? +
    Many pool chemical products require that you know the amount of water your pool holds so that you correctly use their product. The formula to correctly calculate total gallons of water in you pool is determined by the shape of you pool. The formula for a rectangular pool is: length x width x average depth x 7.5 = total gallons. In this case it would be 16 x 32 x 5.5 x 7.5 = 21,120 gallons. An oval pool would be slightly different: length x width x average depth x 5.9 = total gallons.
  • Is a gunite or vinyl liner pool better? +
    When deciding what type of pool would suit you best there are many considerations: frequency of use of the pool, lifestyle and maintenance options, local climate, site-specific considerations, pool deck options, desired copings, and pool depths. Gunite, simply stated, is a concrete pool. Gunite pools are more expensive to install and slightly more to maintain over the years. Vinyl liner pools are generally less expensive to repair and maintain. However in areas with excessive water tables a gunite pool is generally recommended vs. a vinyl liner pool.
  • Can you empty and then refill your dirty gunite or vinyl liner in-ground pool? +
    I would recommend only having a professional inspect and drain your in-ground pool. The biggest problem with draining your in-ground pool is pressure from a water table. The pressure can damage an empty pool, resulting in thousands of dollars in repairs. Most liner warranties are voided if the pool is emptied.
  • How do I know what size pump and filter I really need? +
    Your pump and filter will be sized according to the volume of water in your pool. The main objective of any filtration system is the ability to turn over all the water in your pool at least once within a period of 12 hours. A Hayward 1 to 1 ½ hp super pump is usually sufficient for most residential pools.
  • How do I measure water evaporation from my pool? +
    You can measure water evaporation in your pool by doing the bucket test. Place a five gallon bucket on the second pool step and fill it to match the water level of the pool (probably have to put concrete block in bucket before you fill it with water to help keep in place). Over the course of 2-3 days the bucket will lose water from evaporation and gain water from rainfall at the same rate as your pool! As long as there is no splash-out or backwashing during that time, if the pool level drops more than the bucket level then you have a leak.
  • How do I find a leak in my in-ground vinyl liner? +
    We first have to try and determine if there is actually a leak or if it is evaporation. We have specialized equipment to determine if there is a leak and where it is located. We use a listening device that puts a small electrical charge into the pool tracking the flow of electricity as it makes connections to the ground through conductive penetrations of the liner.