When most people ask the question “How much does a vinyl pool liner cost?” They typically look at the cost of replacing a vinyl liner on your pool. The cost of purchasing the liner itself is only part of the cost of installing a new liner in your pool.
This article will answer both questions. First, the price of the siding is based on the physical size of the siding itself, and second, whether the siding is sold wholesale or retail. Finally, the liner itself can be for an above ground pool or an inground pool. In ground pool liners are more expensive as they are almost always a neat custom shape that is made specifically to fit that exact pool. Above ground vinyl liners are often made to fit generic pool shapes, so they are less expensive overall.
Bead-style liners, such as those used in in-ground pool installations, are more expensive than the overlay-style liners used in above-ground pools. An above ground liner can cost anywhere from $600 to $1200 retail and $300 to $800 wholesale for dealers and installers.
A typical pool installer will increase the price of the liner by a few hundred dollars up to 100% of the cost. When you add pool and liner inspections, repairs, and installation to that price, it’s easy to see why some people are interested in finding ways to lower the cost of installing new vinyl liner.
If you buy vinyl liner online, you’ll get about the same discount that a professional pool installer would get from a local supplier. This can be a great way to save more than a little money, up to half the cost of siding, except for one very big problem. Most vinyl siding installation professionals will not install siding that a customer has measured and purchased outright, and if they do, they increase their labor costs so much that the savings gained from purchasing vinyl siding this way way are reduced.
With vinyl liner in-ground pools, you can average the cost of liner installation to between $3,000 and $5,000, which would include the liner, pool preparation, and the installation itself. The retail cost of ground liners is around $2000 – $4000 with actual costs of about half of these values if you can find wholesale discounts.
The best way to reduce the cost of installing a liner is to purchase one online at a wholesale foundry store and install the liner yourself. This process can easily be completed in a weekend by two relatively inexperienced people, with professional installers doing more than three installations a day in the summer.
This would allow you to avoid all the artificial cost increases like surcharge, labor, tax and make sure you are not overcharged by some unscrupulous siding installer. In most cases, the tools required to install vinyl siding are minimal and require little to no specialized skills or tools.
Larger inground pools are actually as easy or even easier to install than many small above ground pool liners. Large siding also has the highest markup on retail price as well as installation costs, so the larger your siding, the more money you can expect to save.
Items like wall ladders and lights can add to the cost of installing your liner, and freeform pools are generally more difficult to measure and install than rectangular pools. All pools should have a visual inspection as well as a pressure test of the plumbing system before installing a new liner to protect your investment.