Broken Vinyl Liner & Safety

[Francais]

We are about to buy a house in 79 with a 12m x 6m pool.

The house has been empty for some years, the pool left virtually empty and as a result the vinyl liner has hardened in the sun and is now beyond repair.

We have spoken to a local builder who has quoted 5000€ to tile the pool which we think is a reasonable price. However we were wondering whether or not we would be better to tile or simply replace the vinyl - from the research I have done the vinyl would be slightly cheaper but not as aesthetically pleasing.

I would be interested in anyone's thoughts on this.

On another related (and from what I can see on this thread, a thorny topic) fencing.

We don't really want to fence the pool and were wondering if one of the heavy duty covers would give us the legal compliance with the regulations. Someone has reccommended us to look at the Zyke catalogue and they have a heavy duty cover at approx 10€ per square metre. which are supposed to be P90-308 compliant. If we fit one of these would this be sufficient or would we still need a fence? I would also fit a compliant alarm.

Any thoughts / help much appreciated.

 

Tim

[Poolguy]

Tim

A new liner will cost 30 euro per sq meter for a factory made standard jobbie.

A heavy duty, made insitu type is 50 euro per sq meter. Generally speaking the both will last in excess of 20 years with proper care (which means keep your water balance correct at all times). The heavy duty liner will last longer because it less susceptible to creasing which causes leaks and it will inevitably fit better.

There are several reasons why I would suggest that you should replace the liner and not tile your pool.

1. Your pool was made for a liner and not for tiles. It is therefore not structurally sound to fix that sort of very stiff membrane which will eventually crack as the pool structure moves slightly. Then you will loose tiles. Liner pools are not as stiff as pools made for tiles. 

2. Tiling is nice to look at when its new but a total B#$%^&**d to clean when its left for a while. All of the grime does not come out of the grout and its looks very old very quickly. And some vacuum systems will actually suck the tiles off.

3. its more expensive

4. its more expensive

5. its more expensive

For your security device, any device you fit with the compliance code on will keep you within the law. However, the most effective option in my opinion, is a fence as its there all the time. The cover you must leave on all the time you are not using the pool. When you take it off you must supervise the pool and replace it when you want to leave. If the system to replace your cover is manual then this will get very tiring very quickly, you will find that electric is well worth the extra investment whcih is dearer than a fence. Alarms are compliant but ineffective in my opinion.

If you need more details on any of the above then PM me and I will be happy to help.

Andrew

 

[Fantine<br><br><br><br>Susie]

I have a liner, my parents in Spain have a tiled pool.

I would chose liner every time. Tiles are 'hard', noticeable when walking around the shallow end or sitting on the Roman End, the liner is smooth and soft (because there is a layer of felt underneath) and is a lot more comfortable on the tootsies.

My parent's pool has lost a number of little mosaic tiles in less than two years since installation.

The grout around the top of the pool that is not submerged gets dirty. Grout would need replacing after a number of years I would guess.

Tiles, as Hendo said, would crack if there was a slight ground shift, think drought summers/wet winters on a clay soil!

[Gail Smith]

We went to the 'Expo' at Perigueux a couple of weeks ago and for the first time ever saw a pool fence which I thought was attractive.  It was made from wooden round poles and was very organic looking and natural.  I expect it cost an arm and a leg and we could never afford it but it did look nice.  My husband is a professional wood worker and could reproduce this fence for a fraction of what they are asking but of course he cant because it has to be official. 

Gail