Doughboy Expandable Liner

by John
(NC)

I am looking to purchase an expandable pool liner for my 24' round pool. On the internet there are many to choose from and the cost is around $225 - $275.

I am also looking at the Doughboy liners (20 mil) and they cost significantly more, but they indicate that they are made from virgin vinyl. Are they worth the extra cost?

Hi John.

Doughboy is the only true "expandable" liner I know of, meaning it can stretch into any size, or shape, deep area wrinkle free. They do not always go in without a wrinkle, but most of the time.

Other liners I have used have been just oversized liners and usually wrinkle badly when put into odd sized deep ends, or even a simple deep center, for that matter.

If you have a deep area, or are planning on digging one, I would pay the extra for the Doughboy. It is well worth the extra expense to have a wrinkle free installation. If the deep area is just a small dish, or the base is flat, not dug out, I would use one of the less expensive liners.

Make sure you pick a warm sunny day for the installation, the more direct sunlight the better.

I am not sure that the words virgin vinyl makes the liner any better but the words 20 mil sure do. A Doughboy 20 mil liner is much heavier than the 20 gauge liners you get on the internet. A 20 gauge liner is actually about 16 mil. You would have to go to a 25 gauge to get a comparable liner.

A page related to an expandable liner, that may be of interest, is.

Expandable Liner Installation

Doughboy Expandable Liner Choices

by Christa
(Ashland, WI)

We recently purchased a used 18'x34' Doughboy above ground pool. It needs a new liner and I'm wondering if it has to be a Doughboy liner or if it can be a different brand?

We'd like to make one end of the pool deeper, so I'm assuming we must need an expandable liner. The previous owners didn't use an expandable one even though they dug the center of the pool deeper. Is this okay to do? Thanks for your help.

Hi Christa.

Any liner that is the correct size will fit the pool. And there are a lot of liners out there that are cheaper than Doughboy brand liners. But I do not know of any liner that is of better quality. You need to asses how long you want the liner to last and how good you want the pool look. That advice is for flat bottom pools.

A deep end pool is a whole different story. I have never installed an expandable liner that fit anywhere near as well as a Doughboy. All other deep end pool liners I have ever used have left the pool with wrinkles. Some were not so bad, while others were terrible. I was ashamed to have installed it, but I did inform the customer before hand. I told them the only liner I would recommend for a deep end was a Doughboy, anything else and there was no guarantee how it would look.

Here is a Doughboy expandable liner being installed.

Expandable Liner Installation

And this page shows another.

Above Ground Pool In Ground

Buying Doughboy Replacement Liner

by Dana

I have a Doughboy above ground pool and need a liner. The pool is an oval 15' X 24' and 48" tall. The problem I am running into is the center of the pool is dished out about 2 feet deeper than the bottom, I don't know what liner to buy??? Any Help please?

Thanks, Dana

Hi Dana.

Pools with deep areas need what they call expandable liners. These are usually overlap liners but not always. Check to see if the liner is pulled over top of the pool wall and held in place with plastic coping strips and metal retaining rods. You should see liner hanging over the wall from the outside of the pool, up under the top rails.

You mentioned a Doughboy oval pool. If it is truly a Doughboy brand pool double check the size. Doughboy has never made a 15 x 24 although they do make a 16 x 24. If it is a Doughboy 16 x 24 pool I would use a Doughboy expandable liner. They are the best liners made and the only ones I know of that will stretch into a deep area without any wrinkles, at least 90% of the time.

Follow the instructions on this page and you should wind up with a nice job.

Expandable Liner Installation