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katydidnt56

Need help choosing color or vinyl pool liner

9 years ago

We are having a vinyl liner pool installed next month. Unfortunately, gunite was out of the question because of price. It will be an 18' x 36' rectangular pool. I have looked at 1000's (not even joking) of pictures and I'm starting to get stressed out about choosing the liner. We like darker color pools. I am having a hard time finding pictures of real pools with the options I have. Most of the ones I like and find are either plaster or pebbletec - french gray or dark gray or black interior. I want it to be darker but not so dark it isn't inviting and you can't see the bottom. Any advice? Anyone have a "gray granite", "sandpebble" or "black granite" liner from Imperial Pools, The Vinyl Works? Here is a link to the options: Imperial Pools - Vinyl Works. I have saved many pictures from Houzz showing the look we are going for. I don't know if I am allowed to add them or not? Please help. My husband's patience is running out and so is my time to choose. Thank you in advance! ;)

Comments (158)

  • 4 years ago

    @Andy Chandler Can you confirm that your NPT Gray Tahoe is a vinyl liner? I have fallen in love with it but it sounds like its a plaster (?) surface on one part of the NPT website, not vinyl...hoping it's vinyl, I'm not finding anything else that I like...

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    What is your opinion on this liner? CT home, 36 x 18 pool

    https://www.lathampool.com/products/royal-seabrook/



  • 4 years ago

    Does anyone have experience with a pure white liner? Would love to use it but both manufacturer and pool contractor are advising against it due to potential staining. The only other option in the white liner range is a pebbled look with blue flecks but I'd like to do a simpler look like plain painted concrete.

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    We had a plain white liner many years ago, and it gives the water a very light blue color. It also showed every leaf, dirt and stain, and I wouldn't recommend it. Go with some sort of mottled finish, like a pebble, granite, or tile pattern.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Thank you so much Diana. Really appreciate you responding! I love the light blue colour for the water but wouldn't want to see stains. Interesting that the pure white finish shows stains so much more than white mottled. Thanks again!

  • PRO
    3 years ago

    I love mine and I studied forever!

  • 3 years ago

    Gorgeous pool and backyard! Thanks for posting!

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I had wanted Island Granite and just learned will take at least 8 weeks

  • 3 years ago

    Kathy, I also wanted a white liner. Tara Liners just came out with over called Oasis and it's stunning!

    We just installed it and the hexagons look modern and help to hide the dirt.



  • 3 years ago

    Thanks so much mommykoop! Appreciate you letting me know. I'll check it out. I'm in Canada so hopefully it's available here. Enjoy your gorgeous pool!

  • 3 years ago

    Ooh! There's a liner called Urban Marble from Latham that looks white with some gray veining. I wanted to order it but it's only available in Canada! 😁


  • 3 years ago

    Perfect! I'll check it out. Thanks so much for the heads up! You made a great choice in the end though!

  • 3 years ago

    I need to replace my pool liner. I want a gray color. In addition to some of the above mentioned colors, does anyone have Aqua Intense Sterling Shore by Merlin? Are you loving it? Please post pics. Thanks in advance.

  • 3 years ago

    Hi Katie, what did you end up going with? I am in this position now and of the same mind as you were five years ago. Could you post photos and let me know your thoughts? thank you!

  • 3 years ago

    @valeriep14 could you please share your pool coping and pavers that you installed withh your aqua liner pool?

  • 3 years ago

    @valeriep14 could you please share the liner name you used to get that Aqua blue color. Do you have any other photos of that liner. It is exactly what my wife and I are looking for and our pool is Identical to yours it seems.

  • 3 years ago

    I used greystone and the water is aqua . We love it

  • 3 years ago

    @soniaart do you have any photos? What is the brand of the liner?

  • 3 years ago

    Does anyone have a photo of the ocean midnight liner in a pool? We have a scandina grey pavers by permacom and I think it may work

  • 3 years ago

    @burzic Nice pool ! What is your pool liner?

  • 3 years ago

    @valeriep

    can you share your liner colour? beautiful!

  • 3 years ago

    Has anyone used Sandy Point or Lake Como pool

    liner

  • 3 years ago

    Does anyone have a photo of the Urban Marble liner installed!?

  • 2 years ago

    Has anyone used the Latham Reef liner. I've looked at so many pictures on line of this liner and some pics are exactly the colour I want but then you see another picture and it's way too 'greenish'. Help !

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    I've not used Latham Reef, but I can tell you that the more beige in a vinyl liner, the more green it's going to look. Latham's Sandstone liner will give you a very greenish looking water. To keep the water looking blue, you need white, gray, blue and some black. Also the darker the liner, the darker the water will look. Gray tones down the sharpness of the blue and gives you a slate blue look. Latham Reef looks like it has a lot of blue and white, but I'm only looking at it online, so in person it probably looks different.

    But also keep in mind that there are lots of factors that affect the pool water color--how much greenery you have around the pool, whether it's a sunny, cloudy or overcast day, the color of your pool deck, the time of day, the quality of the water, etc.

  • 2 years ago

    Thank you Diana for your response.

    I think the pictures on Houzz have been the most helpful because they put actual pictures of the Reef liner. On google they say it is Reef but they just put any teal pool no matter how dark or light it is just to get you to click on their sight that then takes you to their business. So that is what was scaring me. I found out the dark greenish pools that were listed as Reef were like you said, ones with tan or baishe tones in the liner and I found those exact pools on Houzz under a completely different Latham name.


    Our pool will be in total sun on steroids. Sooooo bright all day. We are a new development so our trees are still small so not much shadows either. And from what I see on line the colour of Reef at night is very tranquil and calming which is what I want to look at when sitting by the bonfire.

    I think I have made my decision to go with Reef and will send pictures when our pool is complete so anyone else suffering from the same indecision on a liner can see a true colour of this liner.

    Kat

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    @User Another aspect to keep in mind is that online or print images do not accurately render color. Computer monitors are calibrated differently and all photos can be manipulated to change the color. But I think that you will be fine with Reef as long as it doesn't have much beige in it.

    Good luck--looking forward to seeing your pool!

  • last year

    Kat, did you ever get the reef liner out in ? Do you have pictures ? Thanks !

  • last year

    midnight ocean is beautiful and looks nice with gray pavers



  • last year

    Hi somz410

    Our pool goes in in 2 weeks. We finally decided on the 'reef' liner after doing a tour of our subdivision and checking out neighbours pools. From this we definetely knew we didn't want a blue pool. Most neighbours went with light or dark blue. And one had black 😵‍💫 that was a bit scary looking to me! I love the teal colour of the reef liner and how it reminds me of the Caribbean ocean. I'll send you pictures once the job is finished.


    But, the liner was just the start. Trying to pick interlock stone colour to match up with our 3 year old walkways was not easy. And then deciding on coping (boarder or no boarder???) and the pool walls, and landscaping, and shrubs, took us back to brousing Houzz for ideas, as well as visiting the stone companies regularily. I think we came up with a unique design and colour combination though, and can't wait to see the finished project.

    Our stone is from Techo Bloc and we went with a chestnut brown to accent our teal water colour.

    Kat

  • PRO
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I'm going to add one more comment on vinyl liners. In time they will fade--both from the chlorine in the water and the sun. My first pool's gray liner faded to almost white, and the water became a light turquoise. Not what I envisioned, but what can you do?

  • last year

    Hi Diana

    Thank you for your comment. I'm not sure where you live but I'm in northern Ontario and at best we will get 5 months that the pool will see sun. The rest of the time it is covered up or under snow. And we are doing a salt water pool....and yes a 'form' of chlorine as it does its chemical conversion thing, but nothing as potent as the old chlorine pucks that left you smelling like a public swimming pool. So hopefully our pool liner will still be the wonderful teal colour for many many years.

  • PRO
    last year

    I'm in southern NY, on Long Island, so we only have the pool open for 3 months a year at most. The fading is very imperceptible from year to year, and it took 12 years to turn almost totally white. Also, keep in mind that the chlorine and chemicals are in the pool all year long, especially if you have winter service like we do.

  • last year

    Hi everyone! I’m having the worst time trying to pick a liner that makes the water look light aqua/turquoise. I was picking island beaches and the company who makes the liner said it’s terrible and no one likes it bc the water looks green. Please does anyone have suggestions?

  • last year

    I chose greystone and I love it . It makes the water aqua

  • last year

    Midnight ocean is really nice 2 . My girlfriend has it . Also aqua

  • last year

    Do you know what brand the liner is from? Being that every company changes the name. Thanks for your help.

  • PRO
    last year

    Hello. I’m looking to do a s olid color liner from Merlin. Does anyone have amy suggestions or images to share? Thanks!

  • PRO
    last year

    Keep in mind that solid colors will show every spot, so you might want to reconsider using a very subtle or mottled pattern, which is much more forgiving.

    However, if you're set on solid colors, after viewing them on the Merlin site, it seems that you have several choices--white, light gray, darker gray, and three shades of blue--light, medium bright and cobalt. White will give you a light blue, gray gives a more muted blue (my favorite), light blue will give you a medium blue water color, and the bright and cobalt blue gives the water a very unnatural bright blue color, one that I've never seen in nature. Anything with tan or brown will give a more green color, which may not look clean and fresh.

    You can scroll up the comments to see my pool with the Island Granite color by Merlin. It's a beautiful muted slate blue, very natural looking.

  • last year



  • PRO
    last year

    Beautiful color, John--what is the liner pattern?

  • PRO
    last year

    Yes very pretty John!

  • PRO
    last year

    Thanks Diana. Id like the pool to look like concrete and not vinyl. I also like the color of Johns pool. Which pattern would you recommend?

  • PRO
    last year

    We also need to coordinate the vinyl pool color with the spa/jacuzzi which will be concrete

  • last year

    Mine is actually Island Granite by Merlin. Diana's photos first got me interested and then when my cousin installed it and i got to see in person, I pulled the trigger.

  • last year

    FYI: My "Deep End" is only 5.5' deep so it does not get a chance to get to a deeper aqua. Maybe in the future i will go deeper.

  • PRO
    last year

    Thank you for sharing! I was actually considering this one! but wasnt sure if yhe water would be too dark. It looks really nice and not too dark.

  • PRO
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Haha, I should have known yours was Island Granite, John! It's definitely not too dark, and does look more like gunite or concrete than solid gray or the pebble-type patterns. And of course the water color looks darker blue the deeper it gets. I love mine! I also have the steps like you have going the entire width of the pool. They're great for little ones who are a bit afraid of the deeper water. I would have loved a beach entry, but the pool isn't long enough for that.

  • 2 months ago

    @Diana Bier Interiors, LLC Curious how yours or @John Babatsikos Merlin Island Granite color has held up over time, my only concern is fading and it looking un even

  • 2 months ago

    So far so good. Will be opening up in late May and take a pic. I can tell you my cousins did not hold up well. Lots of his shallow area has lost the majority of the pattern and is almost white. I think his problem may be having the robot on all the time. That constant scrubbing has to contribute i think. His pool is salt sytem...not sure what effect that may have. Mine has no such issue. i do not have a robot, just a cordless vacuum and only vacuum once a week. Pool in open sun and I keep my water pretty balanced.