What To Expect When Replacing A Vinyl Pool Liner

After almost twenty years, it was time to replace the vinyl liner in our inground pool.

Clearly it wasn't a DIY kind of job, but the process was still an interesting one to watch and the results are stunning. Here's what you can expect.


Way, way back in summer of 2002 my husband I packed up all our belongings, our tiny little family and moved them all two houses over.

No joke. 

We bought the house across the street. No moving van was needed and there was no crosstown trek to our dream home.

It was so close, we literally rolled the barbeque from one backyard to the next.

And while the move itself was very easy, the rest of the process was not.


The house was built in the 1920's and in all that time, it had just two owners. We were the third. 

The original owners, who built the home, vacated sometime in the 80's and the new buyer used it primarily as a summer residence. 

Needless to say, when we moved in with kids in tow, the tiny kitchen and outdated bathrooms were not going to cut it. 

So the renovations began and once that door was opened it was almost impossible to shut. 

Each new project led to another and by the time we were finished, not only had we redecorated every room in the cottage, but we'd upgraded, updated and remodeled almost everything else.

We added a kitchen, replaced all the plumbing, switched the boiler from oil to gas, upgraded the electrical, installed a new water heater, doubled the driveway, removed rotted trees and planted new ones, added central air conditioning, screened in a covered porch, ripped up the carpets, painted the walls, fenced in the yard, put down a concrete patio.

And put a pool in this grassy space.


All within the first year or so. It was exhausting and like living in a tornado. With toddlers. 

So for the next two decades, we kept the DIY and renovation projects to a minimum. Unless it was absolutely necessary, it didn't happen.

Well. This summer, exactly 20 years later, lots of things became absolutely necessary. All at once.

It started with a wind storm that took part of the roof with it when it finally blew out of town.

Then our beloved painted concrete patio lifted and cracked during the winter and we were forced to replace it...which changed the pitch of our already needy driveway and revealed rotten patches in our fence that were beyond repair.

So it goes.

Among all this madness, and the renovations going on inside, there was one project we had planned to do this spring and that was to replace the vinyl pool liner on our inground pool.

Pool liners are not meant to last 20 years. In general they last anywhere from 5-15 years. It's a big swing that depends on a lot of factors.

They get gummy, fade and, in our case, pull away from the frame.

My DIY guy repaired the sagging corners twice in the last two years, but this spring, we knew it was time for new.

And unlike adding a solar pool heater, this was not a do it yourself kind of job.

Although, don't think my husband didn't investigate it.

First up, we called a lot of pools shops for liner replacement estimates. We had no idea how replacing a pool liner cost, so we wanted to get a consensus on price.

Honestly, I can't believe how many places never even called me back. I also can't believe the variation in price from one contractor to the next.

A few gave me estimates over the phone, site unseen. That made me nervous, because the liner is just one part of the replacement and if pipes or structural pieces had been broken the costs could've been significant.

Luckily, we found a great company who came out, in the snow and with the cover on, to evaluate.

They gave us a very fair price and an available replacement date that fit our schedule.

Loved them...and done.

We opted to tackle this project in the spring, long before anyone would swim since the longer the water sat in the pool undisturbed, the less chance there was of getting footprints and other marks on the floor.


Picking a liner was a bit of challenge, since I really, really liked our old one. The catalog was filled with so many choices that the company sent us photos of real life pools to help us out.

That made it much easier to choose.

However, they did tell us that the color of the pool liner doesn't necessarily dictate the color of your water. A lot has to do with your sun exposure.

In the end, we chose one without a traditional tile border, in a nondescript pattern called Stone Jewel and crossed our fingers.

The rip out was a big job that started with emptying that sucker out.


For the first day or two, the pool area looked and felt kind of creepy. Stranger Things vibes for sure.

And honestly, I didn't realize how faded the liner was until all the water was gone. 


The next day things started looking up.

First, they removed our well worn liner, cut it up and left it at the curb.


 Then they smoothed out the sand and inspected all the interior steel walls.

Within a few hours the bright new liner was fit into the hole, clipped in place and smoothed out.


The only part of the process that was a little annoying was listening to the very powerful and very loud vacuums they installed to keep the liner sucked to the side of the frame as the water filled up.

All.night.long. Our neighbors loved us that night.

It took about a day and a half for the silence to return. That's when the pool was filled up enough for us to shut down the machines.

We had a cold snap that froze the outside hose for a bit- welcome to NY in spring - but we were back on track in a few days.

Then the workmen returned to cut the vinyl around the steps, the skimmers and returns and put our pool back to sleep until it was warm enough to open it up again a few weeks later.

Well. That was the plan. 

But the patio contractor didn't show up until after Memorial Day and we couldn't open the pool before the patio was done. There was too much debris that could make its way into the area and damage the new liner.

So it sat there. Hibernating.

My beautiful summertime garden and waterview hidden under that ugly green tarp. 

With me, chomping at the bit and counting the days to the big reveal.

Of course, now that it's open, all that waiting seems a world away.


The color is so vibrant and so blue.

And believe it or not, all those little tiles are filled with pictures of flowers, vases and vines.

Perfectly cottagecore.


It's a very different look, since it doesn't have that faux tile border, but I like it. 

It's simple. 


Needless to say, my view has improved dramatically.

From both inside the house and out.


And hopefully it will stay that way for another 20 years.

Fingers crossed.😉

Who else is renovating?