PVC pool film: selection criteria and installation features
PVC pool film: selection criteria and installation features of the material
PVC film for the pool is a modern coating that is widely used in its decoration. The material simultaneously performs two functions: waterproofing and decorative. It turns the tank into a sealed bowl of a blue-blue shade. About what kinds of products there are, how to choose the right film for the pool and finish it, is described in detail in this article.
PVC film for the pool is a modern material that performs decorative and waterproofing functions
PVC film for swimming pool: characteristics of waterproofing material
The modern coating, which is attached to the walls of the tank, is a polyvinyl chloride film. It has another name – liner. The film is made of dense PVC, between the homogeneous layers of which a reinforcing layer in the form of polyester fiber is laid. During the manufacture of the liner, special stabilizers are introduced into the mixture, so that the final product shows increased resistance to UV radiation.
The pool film is made of polyvinyl chloride, which is treated with a fungicidal and antimicrobial composition
The product is treated with a fungicidal and antimicrobial composition, which protects the material from the effects of pathogenic bacteria, microorganisms, fungi and spores that are in the water. PVC film intended for swimming pools is certified, which indicates the safety of its use. In order for the coating to have a shiny appearance, several layers of acrylic are applied to the product, which also improves the strength characteristics of the product.
You can buy a pool film, the price of which starts from 300 rubles / m2, with a width of 3.05; 6.1; 9.15; 12.2; 15.2 m. The length of the product is usually 15.2; 30.5; 45.75 and 61.0 m. The material is supplied in rolls.
Varieties of finishing material for the pool made of PVC
There are three types of PVC film:
- single – layer;
- multi – layered;
- butyl rubber.
A single-layer blue or blue PVC film for the pool is represented by a product with a thickness of 0.65-0.8 mm. Such a coating is often used for a collapsible pool and comes with it in the kit. Covering the frame base, the material takes on the pressure from the water that filled the pool. The outer surface has a rough coating, which creates an anti-slip effect. All the constituent elements of the material are compactly folded, acquiring a small-sized appearance. The weight of the product is only 1 kg.
PVC film can be single-layer, multi-layer and butyl rubber
Multilayer PVC film for the pond, the price of which starts from 1500 rubles. per 1 m2, feels like linoleum. The film is presented as a three-layer material with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The liner consists of two layers of PVC, between which there is a fabric layer with Kevlar fibers. The layers are connected by welding. Such a durable material is used for stationary pools. The outer surface may have a glossy or embossed coating. The liner is characterized by a wide color palette. The product can be plain or with an ornament applied in the form of a mosaic, imitation of a natural stone or a photo image. Such decoration will become a real decoration of the yard.
Collapsible pools are equipped with PVC bowls. For stationary tanks, the material should be cut and welded in place. However, both options can be used if the collapsible tank has large dimensions. In this case, the film for the frame pool, which is included in the kit, is immediately mounted, and then the surface is covered with a bag-liner made of reinforced fabric, which is welded and fastened around the perimeter of the structure with the help of a bandage tape.
The most durable, wear-resistant and reliable is a two-layer butyl rubber membrane without reinforcement. The material exhibits increased resistance to mechanical stress and sudden temperature changes. The liner is able to withstand high and low temperatures without violating the integrity of the structure. The film is characterized by high elasticity, so it does not require much effort when lining the pool. Such a liner is used for large-sized volumetric tanks.
Advantages and disadvantages of the liner for swimming pools
High-quality PVC film has a service life of about 20 years. Due to its elasticity and stretchability, the material is quickly and easily applied to the tank frame, clearly repeating its contours. During the manufacturing process, the film is impregnated with special substances, which makes it resistant to biological and chemical influences. In comparison with other finishing materials that are used for finishing the pool, PVC film has the lowest cost.
PVC film for the pool is very durable, while it has a low cost
There is no risk of cracks, chips, which are possible if ceramic tiles or mosaics are used. If there is a violation of the integrity of the product, its repair is carried out quickly and inexpensively.
When lining the surface with PVC film, there are no sharp edges, which eliminates the possibility of injury. Due to the wide variety of material design, the liner is not only a reliable waterproofing of the pool, but also its real decoration.
Useful advice! With the help of the liner, you can eliminate a small leak in the pool.
Among the disadvantages of the material are the following:
- the probability of scratches and scuffs on the surface of the product;
- laborious pool cleaning process;
- impracticality for tanks with complex configuration;
- violation of the integrity of the surface when exposed to cutting or piercing elements;
- can not be used in heaving soils;
- the visibility of butt joints violates the harmonious holistic appearance of the surface;
- the liner without acrylic coating does not tolerate low temperatures, which is the reason for the appearance of bubbles and cracks.
PVC film is elastic and stretches well, thanks to this it perfectly follows the contours of the pool
How to choose the right PVC film for swimming pools
PVC film for pond or pool must meet the following criteria:
- be durable, do not wrinkle and do not crumble;
- be resistant to UV rays, low and high temperatures;
- withstand high pressure without significant deformations and violation of the integrity of the material;
- be resistant to mechanical influences.
When choosing a suitable material, you should pay attention to the thickness, the performance of the film and the manufacturer of the product. To optimize material costs and ensure a sufficiently strong, reliable and durable coating, the depth of the pool bowl should be taken into account. If it is within 2 m, the film should have a thickness of 0.5-0.9 mm. It is necessary that in other cases the material should not be thinner than 10 mm. For pools of complex configuration, the liner must have a thickness of at least 15 mm.
Useful advice! For relief-shaped tanks, it is advisable to buy thick expensive products in the form of bubble wrap for swimming pools. For small structures with a smooth bottom, you can use budget options.
A high-quality film should be durable, show resistance to mechanical influences and UV rays
The film has a different design, which affects the performance properties of the material. A conventional liner is characterized by the lowest cost, characterized by low strength. It is advisable to use it for prefabricated small-sized pools. The liner with reinforcement withstands significant loads, has high performance characteristics and can be used for any tank.
To ensure safety, you should buy a PVC film with an anti-slip coating for the pool, the price of which will exceed other analogues. Liners with acrylic coating have bactericidal protection. The material does not deteriorate. Microorganisms, bacteria and fungi do not multiply on its surface. Such products are characterized by the highest period of operation, which undoubtedly affects their cost. The price of PVC film starts from 1500 rubles/m2.
In order to choose a high-quality material, you should make a cut along the end of the product. If the structure of the material crumbles and layers, this indicates a poor-quality film that will not last long. A high-quality product has a homogeneous structure with evenly spaced threads. The fabric should stretch evenly in all directions. The relief pattern should be monotonous.
Popular manufacturers and prices of PVC films for swimming pools
Today, the liner is presented in a wide variety of species. The product is produced in rolls, so the price of the pool film is determined per square or linear meter of the product. The cost of the product depends on the type of material, its thickness, elasticity and manufacturer. The cheapest is a single-layer coating. The price of blue PVC film for the pool is on average 300 rubles/m2. A multi-layered product will cost 1500 rubles/ m2. A liner with a raised anti-slip surface can be purchased from 1800 rubles/m2.
Depending on the quality and manufacturer, the cost of the film varies from 300 to 1800 rubles per 1 m2.
Among the popular manufacturers that have proven themselves to be the best in the construction market, the following can be distinguished: Elbtal (Germany), AlkorPlan (Belgium), Flagpool (France), Ceplastik (Spain), Lazur (Russia). The German company produces a wide range of high-quality PVC coatings with reinforcement, reflective effect and decorative pattern. The cost of the liner starts from 1400 rubles/ m2.
The Belgian company specializes in coating with imitation of natural stone. You can buy PVC film for the pool from 1500 rubles/ m2. The French and Spanish manufacturer offers a less diverse range. Mostly monochrome models of different shades of blue are presented here. The cost of the material starts from 1000 rubles/m2. The most affordable products are offered by a Russian manufacturer. The average price of a classic blue film will be 650 rubles/m2.
How to make a pool from a film: the main stages of work
Today, it is possible in a short time with the help of PVC film to perform pool cladding with your own hands cheaply, and quickly, and very simply. Installation consists of the following stages:
- preparation of the foundation;
- geotextile substrate devices;
- film cutting;
- installation of the liner;
- processing of seams.
Before proceeding with the installation of PVC film, you should make sure that the necessary characteristics for the pool bowl are available. The structure should have a flat and smooth surface. It is necessary that the edges of the pool walls have sufficient strength and can withstand drilling. The tank must be equipped with proper protection from groundwater.
Before installing the film, you need to prepare all the necessary tools
To perform the work, you should have the following materials and tools:
- polyvinyl chloride film;
- the substrate is made of non-woven material;
- corner or mounting strip;
- welding heat gun with the necessary accessories in the form of an iron brush and nozzles;
- silicone roller;
- screws, dowels;
- pressure roller for butt joints;
- elastic adhesive;
- puncher;
- screwdriver;
- roulette;
- construction knife or scissors.
Pool made of PVC film with your own hands: preparatory stage
Before starting the work, the pool bowl should be thoroughly cleaned. This will help to identify all the defects of the surface, which should be perfectly smooth. If the walls are made of brick, they should be pre-plastered with subsequent grinding. If the surface is concrete, it will have to be plastered. In case of serious damage to the bottom surface, it is recommended to pour a self-leveling screed. Special attention should be paid to the sides and corners. In these places, it is necessary to ensure maximum adhesion of the solution to the base.
All embedded parts of the pool should be located flush with the surface and be equipped with sealing flanges that provide a tight connection. The flanges are selected from stainless steel or plastic with a chlorine-resistant rubber gasket. Next, you should remove all the garbage from the pool.
Before proceeding with the installation of the film, it is necessary to clean the pool bowl qualitatively
Useful advice! If the reconstruction of an old structure is being carried out, where the waterproofing is broken, the installation of PVC film can be carried out directly on previously laid ceramic tiles.
At this stage, a scheme is being drawn up for fixing the fragments of the substrate and installing the fastening strips. There is no standard option, since all pools differ in configuration and linear parameters. However, one recommendation should be followed: the strips are placed in such a way as to ensure a minimum number of butt joints.
The layout of fasteners for geotextile (and, accordingly, for the film) is selected individually, based on the geometry of the pool and the number of strips of lining material. The liner overlaps with an allowance of 5-10 cm at the bottom of the pool, 4-5 cm – on the walls of the structure and 15 cm – in the corners of the structure.
Creating a reliable insulation layer in the form of a geotextile substrate
During operation, the pool film, which can be bought at any hardware store, will be subjected to significant loads, as a result of which its service life may be significantly reduced. To protect the liner from damage and at the same time to create a sealing layer on the entire surface of the pool, a geotextile substrate is arranged. The material will help to reduce heat loss through the bottom and walls of the pool, which will contribute to a slower cooling of the water in the tank.
The geotextile substrate is used to protect the film from damage and as a sealing layer
To fix the geotextile, a metal tape is used, represented by a fastening strip with a plastic coating. It is to him that the PVC film will subsequently be welded. Therefore, it is extremely important not to confuse the top and bottom of the tape. The length of the product should be 2 m, width – 8 cm, thickness – 2 mm. The film is attached to the inner surface of the pool with screws that are screwed into pre-installed plastic dowels. The distance between the fasteners should be 10-12 mm, which will ensure reliable fixation of the liner to the surface of the pool bowl over its entire area.
If the structure has rounded sections, triangular incisions are made in several places in the metal tape to ensure a reliable fit of the strip to the surface. If the pool is equipped with steps, it is better to use corners on their edges, not stripes. With their help, it is possible to fix segments of the film with a stretch, which will reduce the number of points of attachment of the material to the concrete. In some cases, the tape can be fixed to the bottom. This will prevent the movement of bottom sheets and the formation of folds on the liner.
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According to the chosen scheme, holes are drilled in the concrete and dowels are hammered. Further, fragments of geotextile are laid out over the entire area, starting from the walls of the pool. The strips should fit snugly together without forming gaps and folds. On the reverse side of the material, a special adhesive for PVC film for the pool is applied point-by-point, which will prevent the displacement of individual elements. The strips are laid freely on the bottom of the pool.
Important! If there are embedded parts in the pool in the substrate, it is necessary to make the appropriate holes.
Thanks to the geotextile substrate, the water in the pool will cool down more slowly
The final stage is the installation of metal strips and their reliable fixation with screws. To protect the geotextile from melting when welding the film to the plastic fastener, the joints should be covered with self-adhesive foil.
Finishing the pool with PVC film with your own hands
Before laying PVC film, the price of which depends on the type of product, it is necessary to perform cutting, which is an important and responsible step. Here it is necessary to take into account that when filling the bowl with water, the liner will stretch. Therefore, the film fragments overlap by 5-8 mm, which depends on the thickness of the product. The strips should be freely positioned on the surface without excessive tension. It is required that the overlap for the corner joints is at least 12 mm.
The work on laying the material begins from the bottom of the pool. The quality of all other stages will depend on the accuracy of the installation. Finishing the walls of the pool from the film with your own hands is done from the bottom up. Fragments of the liner are aligned using a plumb line.
Useful advice! It is necessary to start work on finishing the pool with PVC film in the hot season. The material becomes more elastic at high ambient temperature, which ensures its easy installation on the walls of the tank bowl.
Cutting PVC film is an important and responsible stage
Laying the liner is a complex event that requires special attention and precision of execution of actions, the price of finishing the pool with PVC film starts from 600 rubles/ m2.
After the installation, it will not be possible to easily eliminate the defect. It will be necessary to change the whole piece. Adjacent strips are immediately laid, which should be aligned and picked up in one of the following ways. If a thin liner is used, spot connections can be made using a solvent. It will melt the material at the points of contact and glue it securely. You can use a construction hair dryer to heat the film in certain places, and then fix it.
At the next stage, the film fragments are welded. The areas of the joints should be heated with a hairdryer, using the necessary nozzle (depending on the installation location of the material). Hot air, the temperature of which is regulated, melts the seams. By pressing adjacent elements to each other with a silicone roller, after the material cools down, you can get their reliable adhesion. When performing this step, the following rule should be taken into account: the lower the ambient temperature, the hotter the air should be. In addition, when soldering film fragments together, not as hot air is required as when soldering the liner to the corners or fastening tapes.
Useful advice! The nozzle of the construction hair dryer should be periodically cleaned of the formed carbon by using a special metal brush.
To weld the joints, you will need a special hair dryer and a silicone roller
After lining the bottom, you can start finishing the walls of the pool. The sheets are arranged with the necessary allowance. The fragments are immediately soldered to the fastening tape around the perimeter of the pool. Then the junction of the transition seam between the vertical wall and the bottom of the structure is performed. Last of all, the fragments are welded in the corners.
The final stage of work in finishing the pool with a liner
After completing the installation of the finishing material for the pool and performing all welding work, it is necessary to carefully inspect each seam. If defects are detected, they should be corrected immediately. After a thorough check, you can proceed to sealing the butt joints. For this purpose, a special sealer in the form of a liquid mixture is used. The substance should stay in the open air for 30 minutes until the formation of a plasticine-like state. The sealer covers the entire surface of the seam. It should be applied to vertical strips from the bottom up, thereby creating an additional sealing layer.
Useful advice! The sealer for the seams can be matched to the liner.
Before filling the pool with water, it is necessary to check the tank for defects
After the sealer has completely frozen, which will come in 30-45 minutes, the pool is gradually filled with hot water having a temperature of 40 ° C. You should immediately dial no more than 30 cm. This contributes to a good tension of the vertical film strips. At this time, holes are made, and flanges are installed on embedded parts. Next, decorative elements are mounted, after which the pool is filled to the top with water.
Today, the choice of cladding materials for swimming pools is quite extensive. However, PVC film is the most popular option. This is due to the affordable cost, environmental friendliness, high performance, ease of installation and unpretentiousness in care. To make the coating pleasing to the eye for many years, it is important to choose a high-quality, certified product from a well-known manufacturer.