This pool is 20′ x 50′ so we needed to use 3 vacs to get the suction we needed on the liner, even though we always seal all the wall seams.

Here is a basic timeline of how we install our liners ::
1.  Place liner in deep end and open it to the shallow end of pool.
2.  Tuck bead into coping at couple of places around pool.
3.  Start at the step to make sure it is aligned perfectly, if the step is lined up correctly the rest will fall into place.
4.  Start working around the pool tucking the bead into the coping, making sure all the corners are aligned correctly.
5.  Once you see that the liner is where it is supposed to be, place your vacs behind the liner to start sucking the air out.  Cap all plumbing/lights/conduit that isn’t run yet so you are just pulling air from behind the liner.
6.  Install your gaskets and trim pieces around your step.
7.  Cut in your main drains installing all gaskets and faceplates.
8.  Start filling your pool with water.
9.  When the water gets to 1″ above the shallow end, cut in your lights and returns.
10.  Run pool lights before water gets to high.
11.  Cut in your skimmers.
12.  Pull vacs.

Depending on what you are viewing this on, the video is in HD (720)

Thanks to everyone involved!

When this bottom was poured it was 40 degrees out & snowing, so we made the mixture much drier than normal so that it wouldn’t freeze.

A vermiculite pool bottom is the only way to go.  (Click the maximize button in the corner if you are having troubles displaying the video)

The little cavity that the silicone fills can be wiped smooth and dries in a matter of hours.  The silicone will hold strong yet it will not crack or become brittle like duct tape with temperature changes or gets wet.  Once the silicone dries, it does a couple of other things that are a nice by-product.

1. It will keep out dirt and dust from the backfill without drying it out,  like it does with the duct tape.
2. It creates an even tighter seal for the liner to get sucked in when using the liner vac.
3. It helps hold back any ground water that you might have.

Didn’t think of that did you?  The silicone is a water tight seal unlike the duct tape that everyone else uses.  Will it hold back a tidal wave of ground water, probably not; but it will surely keep it at by for a little bit.  In the ongoing effort of Penguin Pools to find an end to floating liners, this is just one more step to victory.

Look closely and you will see that the seams of each wall are a little discolored white with the silicone.

This pump utilizes the simple fundamental law of pumps ::
Slower moving pumps consume less power!

By running your pump longer at a slower speed you will ::

• Use less electricity
• Have cleaner water
• More balanced chemicals
• More evenly balanced water temperature

Pentair’s permanent magnet motor (same as in Hybrid Cars) has many additional features that are result of being a better pool pump.  The pump is the quietest pump on the market and at low speeds you might not even know it is on.  Since the magnet motor produces less heat and vibration, it creates less wear on the pump components and other pool equipment . . . that means longer life and greater returns on your investment.
The best feature of the smart IntelliFlo, is the built in diagnostics that protect itself from common causes of premature pump failure – overheating, freezing, and voltage irregularities.

While the manufacturer’s website states you can save as much as 90% in yearly savings, the real number is closer to 40% – 70%.  Say after taxes and fess your average kwh is $0.15, you can expect to save roughly $620 – $1,360 per year . . . compared to running a traditional pump 6 – 12 hours for a 20,000 gallon pool.

Adding the IntelliFlo pump to an automation system like Pentair’s EasyTouch gives you plenty of expansion for your system.  You can even remove the use of a booster pump for  pressure sided auto cleaners.

While these pumps generally retail for over $1,100, Penguin Pools of Milwaukee offers these pumps for only $599 with our pool packages.  They are a better pump, save you money, and allow for future expansion with no additional pumps.

You can view all of the pumps information on Pentair’s Website.  We have installed these pumps on swimming pools in areas like Waukesha, New Berlin, Hartland, Merton, Waterford, Brookfield .  . .

Water takes the path of least resistance and will essentially find any gap around your pool to fill into.  If you have a high water table or a soil base that doesn’t allow water to run through it easily, you can get what is called a “floating liner”.  When the ground water pressure is more than the water pressure inside the pool, it essentially pushes the liner off the vermiculite bottom.

The pool water in the pool didn’t have enough pressure to hold back the ground water.  While this can happen to anyone that doesn’t have enough water in the pool, it can also happen when your pool is completely full of water.  The way to prevent this is to find a way to remove all the water from underneath your pool.

The traditional way to create a sump system is to ::
Dig a 3′ – 4′ deep hole next to the pool
Put a 4″ – 5″ diameter piece of PVC into the hole
Fill the bottom with washed rock
Put a sump pump into the pit to take out all the water.

I have a couple of issues with this system ::
1.  It doesn’t work, we replace liners all the time that have customers who accept the fact that liners float.
2.  The majority of the time liners float in the deep end where the most water collects, traditional sump systems only go 3′ – 4′ down.
3.  What happens in the winter when the discharge pipe freezes and the water has no place to go?

A sump system should do two things ::
1. catch the ground water to allow it to seep into the earth
2. have a way to pump the water out when if it gets full.

Penguin Pools builds sump systems for vinyl liner and fiberglass swimming pools much differently than anyone else.  We over-dig the depth of the pool 24″ – 36″ in the entire deep end hopper.  For this 8′ deep pool we hit ground water at 6′ down.

We then fill in the over-dug hopper with roughly 12″ of 1″ washed rock.  This rock doesn’t have any fine shards or powder in it, allowing water to run through it with no resistance . . . yet it will not settle!

When there is a good base of stone in the bottom of the hopper, Penguin Pools places a PVC rectangle in the bottom of the hopper.  The rigid PVC (1.5″ or 2″) has holes drilled into it every 2″ – 3″, allowing water to fill up in the piping.  This will be our way to remove the water with the pool pump . . .  Yup, we run a plumbing line directly to the pool pump.  * Notice how the rock doesn’t settle as the guys walk on it, even with it being saturated with water on wet clay!

Once the PVC grid is placed on the washed rock, cover it with landscape fabric to help prevent dirt from clogging it up over the years.

Fill the sump system with rock, holding the felt in place, until you get to the elevation you need for the vermiculite.

You can now pour your vermiculite like normal knowing that you have a completely functional sump system in the pool.

The sump system that Penguin Pools builds, allows water to collect at the lowest point of the pool and naturally drain into the ground.  It also allows you to simply turn a valve and remove all the water from under your pool.  You will have to install a discharge pipe if you use a cartridge filter (3 way valve after the filter) or simply turn your sand filter valve to waste if that is what you use.

While Penguin Pools has never had a floating liner with this system, there is nothing to say that we can’t.  However, this system uses standard home building practices to remove water while allowing the ground to absorb as much as it can.

Penguin Pools can also use an existing main drain line to create a sump system and get rid of your water issues.  We take out the liner, cut the main drains out, and build the above system using the already run main drain line for your sump system.  This process is usually best when you get your liner replaced so you aren’t paying for you liner replacement twice.

Here is a sump system that we installed in Muskego, WI.  Notice how the ramp also gets washed rock, that way any water that gets to the ramp will drain to the bottom where it can be sucked out.

Major cities that have clay and that will result in a floating liner may include, Muskego, Waterford, Brookfield, New Berlin, Big Bend, Franklin, Menomonee Falls, Greenfield, Oak Creek, Whitewater . . .

Along with just doing vermiculite bottoms on all of our inground vinyl liner pools in WI, MN, & IL, we also apply it with a special mixer and pump from Strong Manufacturing.  The mixer and pump give us a perfect consistency throughout the entire pool so we don’t have to worry about some areas being too dry or wet.  The time that it takes us to pour a bottom has been greatly reduced, and we have 10% – 15% less waste then with a simple paddle mixer.  Penguin Pools is also able to keep the site cleaner as we have over 75′ of hose, so we can keep the mixer away from the house in the corner of your site to minimize the clutter & mess.

Penguin Pools also re-pours bottoms for older pools that had original sand bottoms.  The key to a good inground vinyl liner replacement is a solid base.  In the Milwaukee, WI & Minneapolis, MN areas we do a ton of vinyl liner pool replacements that are damaged do to a bad or poor subsurface.

In the SE WI, Penguin Pools does pool bottoms, for various pool companies in the region who due not have the equipment to do them as quickly or efficiently as us.

* Vermiculite is must easier to apply to steep side walls & will not wash away with changes in water tables.
**  Vermiculite forms a monolithic, permanent, cast and will always remain in place.
***  Vermiculite becomes an insulating barrier from the cold temperatures of the soil beneath it.

The pictures in this article were from Racine, Merton, Sussex, and Waukesha.

This step is perfectly functional and will last for 30+ years, however it doesn’t jump out and say “look at me”.  While white walk-in steps are common, you can dress them up by having them match the liner pattern.

These steps match the liner exactly and are a really nice upgrade.  It makes the pool look more seamless and adds a certain kick from the standard white steps.

Just as a comparison, here is what the corner in-pool steps look like . . . a standard on all inground swimming pools that have an auto cover.

If you are really looking to get custom Penguin Pools can fabricate any type step you want out of steel and have the liner go over it.  This allows you to do benches, wading areas for children, sun ledges . . . the options are endless.

You can see that the customer above wanted the feel of a walk-in step, but didn’t want the standard white.  He wanted it to look custom and have the entire pool flow seamlessly.   The step is centered between his gazebo and deck perfectly (actually we are off by about 1.5 inches).

Here our customer wanted a true Double Roman swimming pool, so we constructed a custom steel roman step for him.  The step is seamless in its design and looks great at any view.

This Penguin Pools customer wanted to have an auto cover with a completely custom pool step.  We designed a step that went into the corner of the pool & then had the second riser extend as a bench the entire width of the pool.  This pool has all the benefits of an auto cover and still has a custom step with the vinyl liner going over it.

Please feel free to contact Penguin Pools of Milwaukee if you have any questions regarding custom steps for your inground vinyl liner pool.  We have steps located in Elm Grove, Muskego, Waterford, Harland, Brookfield, Menomonee Falls, Waukesha, Big Bend, Kenosha, Pingree Grove . . .

Penguin Pools often comes across rock or bad fill in many newer subdivisions.  Builders take fill from one site and put it on another site until they don’t have any more sites to hid the fill.  Rock and buried construction trash makes building an inground pool very challenging.  When building a vinyl liner pool, the walls have to sit on virgin ground so there is no worry about settling.  When you hit soil or earth that doesn’t hold its form / collapses, you need to find away to create virgin soil.

In the Milwaukee, WI area we hit clay or rock 90% of the time.  Rock is most common in the Waukesha, Merton, Hartland, Sussex areas; however we have had poor conditions in Waterford, Menomonee Falls and Brookfield areas.

The way Penguin Pools of Milwaukee & Minneapolis builds vinyl liner pools on rock is fairly simple.

1.  Dig your pool like normal to spec.  The earth will fall and crumble making your dig shelf and ramps useless . . . Like the above picture.
2.  Order Traffic Bond (usually 1/4″ with fines) and fill in the hole you just dug.  This is the same material that gets compacted under your concrete flat work.
4.  Once you pool dig is level along the entire dig shelf, leave it sit until it is completely dry.  It is usually fine to work with the next day, but may take up to 24 hours.

5.  Now you can re-dig your pool to specs and the walls will hold.  The compacted TB dries like concrete and you now have virgin ground to build on.  Your vinyl liner inground swimming pool will not settle or have issues due to poor soil.  Just be aware that hand forming will be difficult due to the strength of the compacted TB.

***  Just an FYI, this requires a lot of TB 10 – 15 full dump trucks (quads).  Don’t worry, this can then be used as backfill if you so choose.

Here is another slideshow of a pool we did in 2004.

Many pool builders will just use a patch to cover a wound.  Using vermiculite to patch voids is an easy and cheap way to rectify the problem, however it isn’t the correct way to do it.  You need to create the correct earth to build on so your pool will not have issues 5, 10, 30 years down the road.  This costs more, but it is the correct way to do it and will prevent you from having to pre-maturely get a vinyl liner replacement on your swimming pool.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Penguin Pools of Milwaukee or Minneapolis.

Many inground pool builders don’t give customers the options to maximize your shallow end.  You may think that the amount of shallow end doesn’t matter, but think about it.  How often do you stand in an inground pool and not have to tread water?  Most people jump in, swim a little bit then go to the shallow end or a part of the pool that they can stand.  Face it, we aren’t all Michael Phelps in the pool and we need to stand.

To make things even more exciting, you can create a sport pool which puts the deep end of the pool in the middle . . . great for volleyball and basketball setups.  This has recently become common place, but you would be surprised how many pool builders will not do this or even offer it to their customers.

Penguin Pools  in Milwaukee & Minneapolis allow you to customize every part of your pool depth and layout.  We personally recommend maximizing your shallow end for maximum enjoyment.  You will never stand in the deep end of an 8′ deep pool, so why make it so big.  Penguin Pools is about safety first, so we always make sure our dig specs meet Federal Regulations for diving envelopes.  Basically the pool has to be a particular depth and the ramp a particular angle.

Here you can view a standard shallow end.
Here is the same pool with a larger shallow end, both meet regulations for diving boards.  The extra footage in the shallow end really make a big deal on even smaller pools like a 16′ x 32′.

Penguin Pools also likes to put in safety ledges for all of our pools that have smaller children.  A safety ledge is a walking platform all the way around a pool that is the same depth as the shallow end 3′ – 3.5′.  Now when a child jumps into the pool, wherever they are, only have to get to the side of the pool to stand.  They no longer have to swim all the way to the shallow end.  While most safety ledges are 12″ wide, Penguin Pools can also put a safety ledge in a pool regulated for diving.  Instead of the 12″ wide, it can only be 6″ to meet Federal Regulations.
To give you even more to think about, we can put a safety ledge on certain walls.  Here you can view a pool that Penguin Pools of Milwaukee did that had a safety ledge on the back wall and is rated for a diving board.

If you have any concerns that your pool builder can’t do a custom dig, they shouldn’t be building your pool.  Penguin Pools of Milwaukee & Minneapolis will and can provide you with custom dig specs before you even sign the dotted line.  We will create the pool of your dreams, regardless of how deep it is.

Penguin Pools has custom dig specs throughout SE WI, we have very few “standard” digs for our swimming pools throughout Waukesha, Waterford, Brookfield, Menomonee Falls, Muskego, Merton, Hartland . . .