If you’ve been considering refinishing your gunite pool, or maybe you’re thinking of redoing the liner on your vinyl pool. Either way, you’re probably wondering how much does a pool renovation cost?
How Much Does A Pool Renovation Cost For Vinyl Liner?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question much like all backyard questions is ‘it depends’. The scope of your pool renovation will be the biggest driver of cost. For example, maybe you have a vinyl pool, and all you need to do is the liner replacement. If everything else is in tip top shape, you may be able to find someone to do the work for less than $10,000. However, whenever a pool has aged, there’s undoubtedly something else in need of attention beyond the most obvious issues.
How Much Does A Pool Renovation Cost For Gunite?
On gunite pools, the most obvious issue is often the tile falling off the side of the pool. This may in fact just be poorly adhered tile, but 99% of the time it’s more than that. Loose tile most commonly shows your deck is moving, and your coping is loose. In areas with frost or expansive soils, deck moves when the ground freezes or becomes saturated. This then pushes on the coping, which loosens the coping, and pops off the tile.
It can be tempting when you see tile popping off to simply replace the tile and reset the coping. But in the first winter the problem will show itself again and eventually you’ll get loose tile again. This is where renovations can snowball into a much larger scope. You probably need to deal with drainage around the outside of the pool deck.
Most likely, there is water seeping in under the pool deck causing the movement. Or you have poor quality backfill under the deck itself, and you may need to replace the deck. All this is a growth in scope far beyond putting a few tiles onto the wall of the pool.
If you’re looking to replace just the interior finish, it’s also a good idea to review the condition of the waterline tile and coping. This review can lead you into the same pattern as the paragraphs above. However, it’s always good to consider what you are trying to accomplish with your pool renovation. Do you want to just refresh things or do you want a pool which functions like a new one without the expense of building an entirely new pool? Here’s a helpful guide to preparing for a gunite pool renovation.
How To Hire For An Upcoming Pool Renovation
It’s important to hire a contractor who knows the construction practices in your area going back decades. This not only gives them experience to work on your older pool, but it also gives them an understanding of what goes wrong in your environment.
In some parts of the country it’s deck movement that’s the problem. With others it’s minerals from the fill water causing issues. In most places it’s a combination of things from lack of good workmanship to ignorance of soil conditions which leads to premature failures of pools, decks, and backyard structures. Whatever problems exist, having experienced personnel on call to do the work is imperative.
How Much Does A Pool Renovation Cost Summary
When considering how much does a pool renovation cost, you may need to start with your budget. I’ve completed gunite pool renovations for as little a $12,000 for a simple refinishing of the plaster in the past. However, it’s not uncommon to cost more than $100,000 by the time you consider pool, deck, and other associated work you may want or need to get done.
Pool renovations are all relative to the project and the project’s scope. Getting an honest price for what the work will entail and what you should expect is the first step to any renovation project. Make sure you get multiple opinions from experienced contractors if you want the best possible point of view on what should be done, and what you should expect.
