Swimming pool liner gauge

Aside from the obvious cosmetic considerations of swimming pool liner selection, a decision needs to be made on the thickness or grade of the vinyl swimming pool liner material.

The thickness of a liner is usually referred to as its gauge and it is measured (or given as) a number followed by the word gauge, e.g. “25 gauge” or in microns (millionths of a metre).

The gauge of a liner is very important for two reasons.

• The thicker or heavier the gauge, the more expensive will be the swimming pool liner.
• The thicker or heavier the gauge, the stronger, more resilient and more durable will be the liner. Heavier gauge liners also have longer warranties.

Liner gauge and buying a swimming pool liner

As a general rule, you should buy the heaviest gauge liner that you can afford.

Most liners come in gauges of between 20 gauge and 30 gauge, although the gauge of some liner manufacturers may be fixed at 20 for the pool base with 20, 25, or 30 gauge for the walls.

Always hunt around and look at plenty of swimming pool liner suppliers before you buy. A few years ago a liner was only expected to last for around 10 years, but today many manufacturers offer warranties of 20 and even 25 years on their swimming pool liners.