How Ont. day camp found solution in weld-in-place membrane liners

by arslan_ahmed | March 2, 2023 10:50 am

[1]By Jeremy Heersink

Hope Valley Day Camp, located in the Kawartha region of Ontario, is a summer day camp founded by Doug and Marion Robinson—it was started to provide a camp experience to the children who otherwise could not afford to go to a summer camp.

It is run by 50 to 75 volunteer staff, who share a deep concern for the well-being of the community’s local youth. In fact, the camp has run on free-will donations since its inception.

The camp has an outdoor pool that is 10 x 24 m (36 x 80 ft) long, 1.4 m (4.5 ft) deep in the shallow end, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in the deep end, and contains roughly 450 L (119,000 gal) of water. Up until this last summer, the pool had been lined with a traditional, 28 mil vinyl liner, which is designed for residential pool usage. However, the camp’s pool has heavy bather loads throughout the summer, and as a result, the pool liner had to be replaced regularly. In fact, they were about to install their fourth pool liner when they called the author’s company.

After learning about the pool and its commercial use, the company suggested the camp invest in a longer lasting 60 mil, weld-in-place membrane liner. The thicker membrane is ideal for heavy use in commercial settings and comes with a slip resistant option for specific areas, such as stairs and shallow areas, to prevent slips and falls.

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Understanding membrane liner installation

Once the previous residential-style liner was removed from the pool at Hope Valley Day Camp, the pool’s surface was inspected and prepared for the new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane. Fortunately, the pool’s interior surface was in decent shape and did not need any extensive repairs before installation.

Generally, before lining a pool with a PVC membrane, the surface needs to be inspected and any rough patches should be repaired if needed. Most pools can be prepared in a day or less. One of the main benefits of this thicker weld-in-place membrane is it makes the pool water-tight and eliminates any leaking problems because it completely encapsulates the pool structure.

Once the surface is prepared, a “geotextile fleece” is installed along the floor and walls of the structure. The geotextile is adhered to the pool surface before installation of the membrane, diminishing any surface cracks in the process. Once the lining is adhered, it acts like a pad under a rug.

Due to the geotextile fleece under the PVC membrane, this pool finish appeals to parents and kids alike as the surface is pleasing to the touch. It provides a soft barrier between the pool surface and the membrane—giving it a soft, slightly cushioned feel, making the floor more comfortable to stand on.

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After the geotextile is installed, 60 mil thick, 1.8-m (6-ft)-wide rolls of PVC membrane is rolled out and heat-welded together on-site to ensure a perfect, smooth fit around the entire interior of the pool. Contrary to traditional residential style pool liners that are welded at the fabricator and stretched into place on the pool, PVC membrane liners are custom welded together on-site to match the pool’s configuration. These liners are cut, and custom fitted for steps, beach entries, safety ledges, and other in-pool features as well. Black material is also available to create racing lanes, transitions, and depth markers as needed.

In the case of the Hope Valley Day camp, they chose a white PVC membrane and used black accents at the shallow end breaks and on the steps for safety. The author’s company worked together with RECA Vinyl Works, who installed the PVC membrane as part of the pool’s renovation.

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The average installation of a commercial membrane takes four to five days, making the short-term shutdown well worth the expense as the facility will no longer need to frequently replace the pool liner. This is also why PVC liner membranes are popular for aquatic facilities that are also interested in eliminating the yearly plastering and painting procedures which are commonly needed before the pools reopen every summer.

On this project, the timing seemed a little tight because the liner membrane needed to be installed, and the pool needed to be inspected well in advance of the camp’s opening over the Canada Day long weekend. The only part which required extra time and scheduling co-ordination was the replacement of an old set of fibreglass stairs that were being replaced with new, larger, poured concrete steps.

“By working together with the PVC liner membrane manufacturer and Jonathan Easton, the camp’s facility manager, we were able to complete the entire welding of the membrane on the pool with four installers in just a week,” says Ruben Cuevas, owner of RECA Vinyl Works.

Track challenge

The pool had to be converted from a traditional residential style liner, with a bead and track, to a weld in place membrane. One of the key areas was at the membrane termination area at the top of the pool wall.

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“We came up with a PVC laminated stainless steel, 2 in. [50 mm] strip in which we placed stainless steel rivets every 8-in. [203-mm]. This was a tedious process to ensure it all aligned properly, but it was necessary to properly terminate the PVC membrane,” says Cuevas. “In addition, we used a product that turns rock solid and bonds to everything to ensure against any water getting behind the PVC membrane.”

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Step-by-step renovations

In addition to the new 60 mil weld in place liner, the owners of the camp and pool also decided to remove the old residential-style fibreglass steps that lead into the pool with larger, commercial-quality steps. Due to RECA’s busy summer schedule, they worked directly with the facility manager at the camp to pour the new concrete steps.

“I had to walk the facility manager through how to pour the steps while also helping to keep the membrane installation going to meet the [project] deadline,” says Cuevas.

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RECA worked directly with Easton to remove the old steps and build new, larger, concrete formed steps, which were also lined with the PVC membrane. The company also provided detailed instructions to guarantee the water-tight installation of the membrane over the steps.

“The hardest part of lining the new steps was to find a finishing point to terminate the vinyl,” says Cuevas. “I wanted the concrete to butt up to the membrane, to bring it directly over the steps, and to be able to waterproof the edge of the stairs.”

Luckily, this membrane is an easy interior surfacing system to modify on the job, allowing Cuevas to revise his plan for welding the membrane on the steps.

The new steps were an essential part of the success of this pool renovation. They are wider and make it easier for bathers to enter and exit the pool, not to mention far less slippery thanks to the PVC membrane. Additionally, RECA also installed a contrasting black PVC membrane along the edges of the steps to make each one more visible and safer for bathers when navigating in and out of the pool.

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The newly renovated pool

The renovation of the Hope Valley Day Camp pool was a success, and it opened last summer on schedule thanks to the collective teamwork between RECA, the facility manager, and PVC liner membrane supplier.

The pool, being part of the camp, serves the local community, aged seven to 17, and now, since the pool has been fully renovated with a weld-in-place PVC membrane liner, it is almost as if it is new again.

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“Everyone loves the new liner. We have had many comments on how great it looks, and that it has a nice feel to it,” says Easton. “We are looking forward to a long life without leaks in the new pool liner material.”

Membranes on the rise

Awareness of PVC membranes is on the rise, as is its popularity among commercial aquatic facilities. Cuevas has been installing them regularly for the past seven years and is getting more requests from commercial aquatic facilities, health clubs, and hotel pools. As a result, pool professionals such as Cuevas are finding it even easier to suggest, sell, and outsource the membrane liner installation.

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“We find many facility managers and owners are looking for a way to stop having to resurface, replaster, and repaint every year—making it the perfect opportunity to suggest a PVC membrane that will give clients a clean, new-looking pool without the expense, inconvenience, or mess of replastering or repainting,” says Cuevas.

Thanks to this pool surfacing material, pool professionals cannot only solve a problem for their commercial clients but can also make maintaining these pools easier for today’s busy service technicians.

Author

Jeremy Heersink is the account manager at Canadian General Tower (CGT). He has worked at CGT for six years in various roles and has been involved in the industrial side of the business for three years.

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/how-ont-day-camp-found-solution-in-weld-in-place-membrane-liners/

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