Vinyl-liner pools have come a long way from the old-style rectangle 'package pool' with a white drop-in step at the end. There are now pool builders pushing the envelope of what can be achieved with a vinyl-liner pool. Two such industry trend-setters are Ian Battle and his wife Danielle, owners of Pool Works in North Carolina who believe in creating unique pools that are practical yet stunning in their design. Recently, the couple modified their own pool to meet their family's needs while also creating a dreamy outdoor living space.
When the couple purchased their home, it came with a traditional lagoonshaped vinyl-liner pool. Looking at it critically from the perspective of pool professionals, they added benches and tanning ledges to the pool to make it more accommodating. But because this couple strongly believes in investing in family time together, they realized they wanted to do more to the pool so the entire family could enjoy the backyard together as well as entertain their friends and their kids' friends. That led to building a separate basketball sports pool that is connected to their existing pool with a lazy-river channel. They also added several other features to meet the needs of every member of the family. And most amazing of all, both pools and the channel were lined with a single vinyl liner.
DEVELOPING THE DREAM
The idea for this three-part, one-piece, vinyl-liner pool all began one evening when the couple sat relaxing in the backyard and taking stock of its layout and features. Danielle said to Ian, "I thought you said you were going to do something extra cool with this pool."
It was true. When the family moved in, they added some upgrades, but the size and shape of the pool didn't change much. "My competitor had built the pool so I knew I couldn't leave it exactly the same," says Ian. "But that initial change of the pool interior made us really fall in love with the idea of pushing the vinyl envelope with pool construction. In fact, we coined the term 'gunite replica' to describe the type of vinyl-liner pools we build and renovate because we want to show that vinyl-liner pools can be very upscale pools." (Pool Works builds fiberglass and gunite pools, but Ian has come to truly appreciate the versatility of vinyl.)
FROM DREAM TO REALITY
This pool-building couple started by discussing how they use the pool — much the same way they start the pool design conversation with prospective clients. "We immediately imagined a pool with a basketball court. We had one basketball hoop on the pool, and I hated it when the kids would be playing on the hoop, and I would be lounging on the tanning ledge, and a basketball would hit me in the head," explains Danielle. The couple decided they wanted a separate pool where the kids could play and adults could be near them without being splashed. "I love being out there with the kids, and I'm so glad they are out there enjoying the pool, but I was done with being hit by that basketball," says Danielle.
The couple also loves throwing big backyard parties — often with 300-plus people. These gatherings are not only for socializing with the community but also are a part of the CPC Pool Works marketing plan. "We go all out because we want to be sure that everyone that comes to the party knows I'm a pool guy and if they want a pool, they should call us," says Ian. "We have sponsors with specialty cocktails and all-you-can-eat food, music and bouncy houses. The community loves it, we love it, and it ensures anyone looking for a pool will call us first. And of course, we want folks to see that we can make their backyard dreams a reality."
THE DESIGN & LINER PATTERN
After talking through what they wanted to do, Ian and his crew jumped into the project. "We didn't even draw it out," says Ian. "We just came in and started removing the back wall of the existing pool." The crew then added a lazy-riverstyle channel that connected to the second basketball pool area. "We made the basketball pool roughly 14-by-28 feet in size with 2-foot radius corners. It's very functional and a big hit. My kid's basketball team comes over all the time to play in that area."
In terms of the 'look' of the pool, Ian and Danielle chose to pick one of their favorite 'gunite replica' pool liner patterns. "LOOP-LOC's Platinum Onyx is a dark grey pattern that imitates the look of gunite and sparkles in the sunlight," says Danielle. This pattern is manufactured in Canada by Poolside by CGT and uses their proprietary Aquashimmer inks and coatings to give the pool a shimmering gunite finish. "The pool liner pattern complements the hardscape we chose in rich Earth tones," says Ian.
CONSTRUCTION & INSTALLATION
Once the construction was done, Ian knew such an intricate liner shape would be a challenge to size, fabricate and install. Just look at it and imagine for a moment.
First, it would require precise measurements. "I am very good at providing accurate measurements, but I wanted to ensure a perfect fit, so I asked Andres Rojas, our rep from LOOP-LOC, to come out with his team to ensure there was a precise understanding of what we needed for this pool liner," explains Ian. "Their engineering team was really helpful. Not only did they build the perfect liner, they spent extra time advising on the placement of the vacs, and they also folded and put markings on the liner with instructions on how and where to open and place the liner for installation — this made installing the liner a seamless process." (See sidebar on page 68 for details.)
ADDITIONAL FEATURES & EQUIPMENT
In addition to the two separate swimming pools and connecting channel, Danielle wanted a waterfall feature, so for her birthday, Ian added a Rico Rock grotto water feature complete with pink LED lights as a present.
Pool Works is always looking to add to the pool so it looks fresh and distinct each time customers come to one of their events. "Since last fall, we have added a bridge over the lazy river, and we are currently working on a swim-up bar as well," explains Ian. "We plan to continue to add on to the pool every year so it looks different each year for our big pool party."
VINYL VERSATILITY
Over the years, Ian and Danielle have grown in their appreciation for vinyl pools, partly due to the fact that they can change out the pool liner to a different color and pattern and completely change the look of the backyard. "It's like painting a room a different color. You can do it fast and easy and give the room a completely new look," says Danielle. In fact, Ian and Danielle are already thinking about their next few annual pool party events. "We might change the interior to a completely different color, to show people how easy it is to change the look of your pool in just four to five hours! You can't do that with fiberglass or gunite."
For the same budget dollar, vinyl can deliver more in the overall poolscape than gunite, Ian notes. "When I'm talking to people about their backyard budgets," explains Ian, "I tell people that if they want gunite, it is much more expensive and will cut into the budget they will have left for the hardscape and decking. Whereas if you do a vinyl liner, there will be extra money for hardscaping or other water features that they want in the pool — with the added bonus of being much easier to renovate the pool look with a different liner pattern or color in the future."
As these vinyl pool advantages gradually filter out to the pool buying public, and old stereotypes fade, the market continues to grow. "Many people immediately tell us they don't want vinyl because they want something upscale," says Danielle. "Then, Ian will show them a photo or video, or one of our other jobs, and they will say, 'I love that! There is no way that's a vinyl-liner pool!' And we'll say, 'Yes, in fact it is.' We then explain they can get a bigger pool, beautiful hardscape and the features they want because vinyl is less expensive and more versatile."
"We're installing vinyl-liner pools on $3 million dollar homes in neighborhoods where vinyl was previously frowned upon," says Ian. "We are changing the way people in our area view vinyl."
This article first appeared in the April 2025 issue of AQUA Magazine — the top resource for retailers, builders and service pros in the pool and spa industry. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to all industry professionals. Click here to subscribe.
Liner Installation Day for the crew from CPC Pool Works
It was a beautiful day for dropping liners in Raleigh, but getting this liner in place was a little bit trickier than your average 12-by-20 rectangle.
"It was a big, heavy, awkward pool liner so making it easy to place in perfect position to snap into the track was key," says Andres Rojas, the LOOP-LOC rep for the region. "We wanted to avoid CPC Pool Works having to move the liner around or adjust it.
"After deliberating, the factory folks suggested that the liner come out of the box right at the start of the channel so the pool could roll out to one side into the freeform pool while the other half of the liner could roll out into the channel and into the sport pool. This was genius and worked perfectly with virtually zero need to adjust the liner."
When purchased, the house had an existing freeform pool, but after living there a year, the family decided they wanted a different type of pool that could accommodate everyone's idea of fun. So they added a second pool, knocked out the wall between the two, and added a 'channel' to link them together. All this was fitted with a single, intricately shaped, vinyl liner.
