Pool Liner

S

saddlemount

Mudslinger
Hi Gang!

We're having a tough time in Owings, MD these days. While we continue waiting for an Asphalt contractor to actually return a call, we're equally vexed trying to get our pool liner replaced. We've contracted with A1 Pool Care in Solomons and they've been just awful to deal with. We signed a contract and wrote a deposit in late April. The kids are almost out of school now and.. no pool liner. They don't answer the phone when we call the store, and don't return repeated messages. We went down and visited them last Saturday and the lady said she'd have the owner call me. Yea right.. no call. She couldn't even tell us if the lining had actually been ordered, what the holdup was, etc.

So we'll be canceling the contract and going to small claims court and the Better Business Bureau if necessary. Gee, such fun.

Does anyone know of a reputable firm that does pool liners? It's a regular round above ground pool, 24' by 4'.

- SM
 
S

Speedy70

***
saddlemount said:
Hi Gang!

We're having a tough time in Owings, MD these days. While we continue waiting for an Asphalt contractor to actually return a call, we're equally vexed trying to get our pool liner replaced. We've contracted with A1 Pool Care in Solomons and they've been just awful to deal with. We signed a contract and wrote a deposit in late April. The kids are almost out of school now and.. no pool liner. They don't answer the phone when we call the store, and don't return repeated messages. We went down and visited them last Saturday and the lady said she'd have the owner call me. Yea right.. no call. She couldn't even tell us if the lining had actually been ordered, what the holdup was, etc.

So we'll be canceling the contract and going to small claims court and the Better Business Bureau if necessary. Gee, such fun.

Does anyone know of a reputable firm that does pool liners? It's a regular round above ground pool, 24' by 4'.

- SM
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I can tell you from our personal experience that Stephenson Pool's is not all that great either.
 
T

Tigerlily

Luvin Life !!!
saddlemount said:
Hi Gang!

We're having a tough time in Owings, MD these days. While we continue waiting for an Asphalt contractor to actually return a call, we're equally vexed trying to get our pool liner replaced. We've contracted with A1 Pool Care in Solomons and they've been just awful to deal with. We signed a contract and wrote a deposit in late April. The kids are almost out of school now and.. no pool liner. They don't answer the phone when we call the store, and don't return repeated messages. We went down and visited them last Saturday and the lady said she'd have the owner call me. Yea right.. no call. She couldn't even tell us if the lining had actually been ordered, what the holdup was, etc.

So we'll be canceling the contract and going to small claims court and the Better Business Bureau if necessary. Gee, such fun.

Does anyone know of a reputable firm that does pool liners? It's a regular round above ground pool, 24' by 4'.

- SM
Click to expand...


Why not just order one from a catalog and put in in yourself? Once you undo the top rails and and loosen the supports you'll just need a few extra hands to get it lined up to fill.
 
Christy

Christy

b*tch rocket
Frozenpl said:
Call April at Countywide pools in Mechanicville (301) 884-8484.
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:yay: She's got really good prices as well. (in comparison to other places in the area).
 
S

saddlemount

Mudslinger
Frozenpl said:
Call April at Countywide pools in Mechanicville (301) 884-8484.
Click to expand...

Thanks Frozenpl & everyone! Yea, I was also thinking of trying it myself. The A1 people "claim" that the lining we can get thru the Internet isn't as good a quality as they get.. assuming, of course, they ever actually get one.

Like everyone else in SOMD these days, we're in up to our eyballs with graduations, weddings, parties, yardword, etc. so I'd rather just pay someone to take care of it. Jeez, can y'all believe it's June already?? Ugh.
 
O

OldHillcrestGuy

Well-Known Member
Frozenpl said:
Call April at Countywide pools in Mechanicville (301) 884-8484.
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April is very helpful, but dont believe they do liners, had to have mine replaced maybe 3 years ago, after 17yrs, believe A-1 is one of the people she may have refered me too.

I ended up having D&B Pools in Charlotte Hall (behind Rita's) replace mine, did nice job, dont know if they may go as far as Owings.
 
willie

willie

Well-Known Member
Do it yourself!!!!! Above ground is easy,easy,easy. A couple months ago I got, from the internet, a Jacuzzi sand filter, 250 lb capacity for ½ the price of anyone locally. One of their warehouses was in Alexandria so it was delivered in 2 days. They stock everything. An above ground liner is a simple task. You don't need any "tricks of the trade" to get out wrinkles or old coping.
 
S

saddlemount

Mudslinger
Thanks Willie.. guess I will have no choice but to try it myself. I know you're saying it's easy, but I distinctly recall when they put my pool in that the lining part of it took a while and they spent a long time and a lot of care keeping out wrinkles, etc. As I mentioned above it's more of a time thing anyway.. given that we all have "real" jobs and limited weekend hours, this is simply one more thing I'd rather not have to do. Funny being a homeowner isn't it.. so often we want to pay somebody money to do what they do as a business (be it construction, paving, pool liner, etc.), yet we just can't seem to find somebody willing to do it. Argh!
 
S

saddlemount

Mudslinger
I though I’d let everyone know how this came out:

Due to (a) the fact that the company we’d hired to do this stalled until the kids were out of school before pulling the rug out from under my feet, and (b) there were several recommendations to tackle the job myself while belittling my manhood, I bit the bullet. Rising to the challenge like the true macho-man studmuffin that I am, I went out and bought a nice heavy duty pool lining over the Internet and set aside the following Saturday to install it.

Next, using my vast problem-solving abilities to formulate an action plan, I decided step one was to drain the pool, which I alertly commenced upon the evening before. Feeling good about my progress, I jumped in the pool to start the siphon hose, sadly forgetting the cell phone in my pocket. (For the benefit of the uninitiated, cell phones do not like being submerged in water.)

Determined not to let this minor setback deter me, I awoke the next morning eager to fullfill my duties as a man and father of children. The day dawned bright, clear, and hot. My father arrived ready to help. With enthusiasm, we began removing the metal coping from around the top of the pool and got it taken off without much difficulty. Several of the pieces had been bent and were rusted in spots, so we made a field decision to recruit more assistance. Under strong protest, I drafted Alex -- my 12 year old son -- to the position of Chief Coping Painter, assisted by my capable if not quite enthusiastic wife.

Encouraged by our progress, the next step was to remove the old liner. Again dad and I accomplished this with only minor resistance. However, the removal uncovered several rust spots in the walls as well as roots that had grown up between the liner and pool wall. These were unenthusiastically attacked by our crackerjack painting team, once we unilaterally expanded their job description to include pool-related painting activities and root removal.

The sand bottom also required smoothing and filling, as moles had undermined the floor in places and caused cavities. Again, we were up to the task, using a 4 foot board to help smooth the sand and periodically spraying it with water to keep it compact. Brimming with enthusiasm, we then placed a self-stick styrofoam cove around the entire inner base of the walls, providing a smooth and even transaction from floor to wall. We were ready to install the new liner!

Unfolding it per instructions, we pulled the edges out to the sides and began smoothing it as best we could. A fair amount of back and forth adjustments were needed for even distribution, but finally we began filling it from our water hose, since by this time the pool water companies had a severe backlog.

Filling the 15,000 gallon pool took about two days. Amazingly, my well didn’t run dry. I had to monitor the process periodically and continue to smooth wrinkles from the liner, especially in the beginning. Holes had to be cut around the skimmer and water supply, and new gaskets were installed. Finally, I reinstalled the freshly-painted metal coping, and the job was done. Cleanup included disposal of the old lining, which consisted of cutting it into sections and cramming it into several trashbags.

In conclusion, this was a fairly large project that went on over a period of several days and involved several people: me, my dad, my son, my wife, and a couple of my brothers (we also retreated the wood deck which partially surrounds the pool). Things came out looking fairly good, although the wall had settled some since original installation, causing the water to come up higher on one side than the other and making the lining twist at the top. Total costs were around $600 (including a new cell phone). I would not say it’s an easy undertaking, and frankly next time I’d rather pay someone else (other than A1 Pool Care) to do it. But of course that depends on finding someone else who’s both willing and able.

Cheers.
 
Katt

Katt

Active Member
saddlemount said:
...

In conclusion, this was a fairly large project that went on over a period of several days and involved several people: me, my dad, my son, my wife, and a couple of my brothers (we also retreated the wood deck which partially surrounds the pool). Things came out looking fairly good, although the wall had settled some since original installation, causing the water to come up higher on one side than the other and making the lining twist at the top. Total costs were around $600 (including a new cell phone). I would not say it’s an easy undertaking, and frankly next time I’d rather pay someone else (other than A1 Pool Care) to do it. But of course that depends on finding someone else who’s both willing and able.

Cheers.
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Good for you! We did that ourselves too last summer. It's a do-able job, just takes effort and a good weekend. Aren't you proud of yourself now? :)
 
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