How long does an inground vinyl liner last?

Hello

I have an inground vinyl liner that was installed in 1998, so it is 12 years old. I am noticing that the water level is dropping faster than it does due to evaporation. I don't see any leaks around the pump and filter so I think (I am no expert) that I either have a leak in the lining or somewhere in the plumbing that is under ground.

I don't see any obvious leaks anywhere.

I am going to call a pool guy that I trust to see what he says, but just wondering if anyone has any pointers or advice as how to proceed.

My pool is 16 by 32, with steps in the shallow end. Also has slanted walls in the deep end. Started using a kreepy krauly this summer (which generally works well) and wondering whether this has worn down the liner in places.

Any ideas of cost for a new vinyl liner installed?

Don't know where in the country you're located, but I had my 8 year old liner replaced this past spring, paid $2500 (give or take $100, can't quite remember right now). That included draining the pool, removal/disposal of old liner, patch job to smooth out the sand/concrete mixture bottom, installation of new liner, new eyeball covers, cleaning and replacing of the steps. 10 year warranty on the liner, lifetime warranty on the workmanship. Took about 3 days to get it completed, then another couple of days to get it refilled.

My liner had some horizontal tears above the waterline, but when they drained it, also found a couple of small holes in the shallow end, and about 2 small tears in the deep end. Once I let it just continue to leak instead of trying to refill it, the water collecting behind the liner eventually make it wrinkle up and the corners floated upward, so it was pretty obvious what was happening.

Janet

Just an added comment: Early spring, before everybody else starts thinking about opening pools, is a great time to get the liner replaced. INstallers in this area are closing out last year's liner patterns and you can get some great price breaks that way. Had I waited another couple of weeks, my liner job would have been another 200-300 dollars due to having to pay the cost of the new year's liners. Also, around here they give price breaks for getting the job scheduled before Mardi Gras!!

Edit: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=9257

Here's the thread I started when looking at replacing mine, with some good things to ask of the installer when shopping for quotes.......

Just thought I'd leave a quick update:

My pool guy found a couple of leaks in the corner of the pool. This is where my Kreepy Krauly often got stuck. You can actually see the circular pattern where kreepy would stop and get stuck in the corner - and the two leaks are on the perimeter of this pattern.

(I had been pretty happy with Kreepy's vacuuming work up until this happened)

Anyway, he patched the leaks, and the leak rate has decreased from about 4 inches per day to around 7/8 of an inch per day.

So, we think there is still a small leak somewhere and are trying to locate it.

I am in New England, so the pool season is drawing to a close. It sounds like I need to get this solved before winter, as it is not good to go into the winter with a leak problem - is this correct?

Thanks for everything - great board here, that has helped me a lot of the last several years.

I just let mine leak through the winter--it often is helpful in locating the leak, because the water level will stabilize when you get to the level of the leak. It also drastically decreased the amount of water I had to pump out all at one time when it came time to drain to replace the liner. However, I'm in the South, and don't have to deal with the freezing issues that you do. Hopefully one of the construction experts will chime in here to point out if it's a specific problem during a northern winter.

Janet