I'm glad you guys are growing.

We have had a vinyl lined pool for 15+ years - you are making a good choice. They need no maintenance or resurfacing etc. Ours is an Aqualux liner in Caribbean. http://www.aqualuxpool.com.au/colour-range/ This colour is just the right amount of blue/green to sparkle and shimmer, look cool and inviting, but dark enough to gather and retain the sun's heat. I ran a swim school for many of those 15 years, and needed a pool that could take the knocks of hundreds of children each week, and look like something they wanted to dive into. Any lighter and the pool would look too cold, and darker looked scary! I have friends who chose the darker colours for their heat retention properties but the pools don't look as inviting, and algae builds up quicker but is harder to notice until the levels are quite high, so needing more chemicals to control/eliminate.

Swimming pool season is upon us, rather late I might add this year, you may be considering painting your pool. There are a few things to consider is what the previous coating is and the appropriate preparation that is required. When we quote pools we generally only get to inspect them with water in them. We will always put a clause in to assess what the actual condition is like when empty, like when we found a good portion of the surface was very drummy and subsequently we had to remove a lot the surface and replanted, always be mindful of hidden costs when pool painting, they are not always straight forward.