Pool liner size calculator: what size liner do I need?
Pick the pool type, enter its size and wall height (or depths for an inground pool), and the liner style. You get the size to order, how much vinyl that is, and how much water the pool holds once it’s filled.
Enter your measurements
- Vinyl in the liner (total)
- 829 sq ft
- Floor
- 452 sq ft
- Walls
- 327 sq ft
- Overlap down the outside
- 50 sq ft
- Water at the fill line (gallons)
- 12,972 gal
Floor: 3.1416 × (24 ft ÷ 2)² = 452 sq ft; around the wall: 3.1416 × 24 ft = 75.4 ft
Walls: 75.4 ft × 52 in = 327 sq ft
Overlap: 75.4 ft × 8 in = 50 sq ft
Vinyl: 452 sq ft + 327 sq ft + 50 sq ft = 829 sq ft
Water: 452 sq ft × (52 in − 6 in) = 12,972 gal
- Overlap liners hang over the top of the wall and are held by plastic coping strips under the top rail. Some are sold to fit a range of wall heights; check the label covers yours.
- Above-ground liners also run down into the cove at the base of the wall; the liner maker allows for that in their size, so order by the pool size and wall height rather than these square feet.
Quick answers for common sizes
| Example | Answer |
|---|---|
| 24 ft round pool liner for a 52 in wall | 24 ft round overlap liner for a 52 in wall |
Above-ground round liners by pool size (at the wall height above)
| Pool size | Vinyl in the liner (total) | Water at the fill line (gallons) |
|---|---|---|
| 12 ft | 302 sq ft | 3,243 gal |
| 15 ft | 412 sq ft | 5,067 gal |
| 18 ft | 537 sq ft | 7,297 gal |
| 21 ft | 676 sq ft | 9,932 gal |
| 24 ft | 829 sq ft | 12,972 gal |
| 27 ft | 997 sq ft | 16,418 gal |
| 30 ft | 1,178 sq ft | 20,269 gal |
A pool liner is ordered by three things: the pool’s shape and size, the wall height (or for an inground pool, the depths), and how the liner hangs on the wall. Get any one wrong and it won’t fit. This calculator gives the size to order, the area of vinyl involved and the water the pool will hold, so you can check a quote and plan the fill.
How the pool liner calculator works
- Above-ground pools: the floor is a circle (or an oval with straight sides and round ends) and the wall is the distance around times the wall height. An overlap liner also hangs down the outside of the wall, so that strip is added.
- Inground rectangles: the floor runs from the shallow end to the deep end. Treating it as one straight slope, its length is √(length² + (deep − shallow)²), times the width. The two long walls are trapezoids (length × average depth); the end walls are width × shallow and width × deep.
- Water at the fill line: floor area × water depth, where the water sits a few inches below the top of the wall.
round: floor = 3.1416 × (D ÷ 2)² wall = 3.1416 × D × wall height oval: floor = 3.1416 × (W ÷ 2)² + (L − W) × W wall = [2 × (L − W) + 3.1416 × W] × wall height overlap strip = distance around × overlap inground floor = √(L² + (deep − shallow)²) × W inground walls = 2 × L × (shallow + deep) ÷ 2 + W × shallow + W × deep
Overlap, beaded or J-hook?
| Style | How it hangs | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Overlap | Drapes over the top of the wall; coping strips hold it under the top rail | Usually the simplest to fit; the extra vinyl hangs down the outside |
| Beaded | A bead along the top edge snaps into a bead receiver track | Needs a receiver on the wall; easier to swap without removing the top rails |
| J-hook / Uni-Bead | A J-shaped edge hooks over the top of the wall | Uni-Bead’s hook can be removed to use the bead in a bead receiver instead |
48, 52 or 54 inch walls
Above-ground walls come in a few standard heights, most often 48, 52 and 54 in. A liner is made for a particular wall height: on a shorter wall it bunches and wrinkles, on a taller one it stretches or pulls out of the track. Measure the wall itself, without the top rail. The extra 4 in between a 48 and a 52 in wall is worth about 10% more water on the same pool (filled 6 in below the top), as the table on the 24 ft round liner for a 52 in wall page shows.
For pool sizes and their gallons side by side, see the above-ground pool size chart; for a single pool’s gallons, the above-ground pool gallons calculator.
Tips and common mistakes
- Order from the maker’s chart. Liner makers allow for the cove and stretch in their sizes. Use the pool’s nominal size and wall height, not these square feet, when you order.
- Prepare the base before the liner arrives. Most installation sheets call for a 2 in layer of sand inside the base track and a cove where the wall meets the floor. The above-ground pool sand calculator works out how much.
- Inground liners are custom. Use the manufacturer’s measuring form. Floor shapes vary and a few inches matter.
- Fill slowly at first. Smooth out wrinkles with an inch or two of water in before you fill the rest; the pool fill calculator says how long the rest takes.
What you’ll need
- Above-ground pool linerPremium price
Bought by pool size, shape and wall height. Check overlap vs beaded vs J-hook before ordering.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Pre-formed foam pool coveMid-range price
Replaces a hand-shaped sand cove at the base of the wall, which keeps the liner from slipping under.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Above-ground pool floor padMid-range price
A protective pad over the sand base. Stops rocks and roots from poking through the liner.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links to products are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and help keep these calculators free.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know what size liner my above-ground pool needs?
Measure across the pool (or length and width for an oval) and the height of the wall itself, without the top rail. Order the liner sold for that nominal pool size and wall height, in the bead style your wall is built for. A 24 ft round pool with 52 in walls takes a 24 ft round liner for a 52 in wall; see 24 ft round pool liner for a 52 in wall.
Can I put an overlap liner on a pool that had a beaded liner?
Usually, since an overlap liner only needs the top of the wall to drape over and coping strips to hold it. Going the other way, from overlap to beaded, needs a bead receiver. A Uni-Bead style liner can do either: hook over the wall, or remove the hook and use the bead in a receiver.
How many square feet of vinyl is in a pool liner?
Floor plus walls (plus the overlap strip for an overlap liner). A 24 ft round liner for a 52 in wall is about 779 sq ft before the overlap; a 16 × 32 ft inground liner from 3.5 to 6 ft deep is about 970 sq ft with a straight-slope floor.
Does a 52 inch liner fit a 48 inch wall?
Not well: the extra 4 in bunches up on the floor or cove and wrinkles. Some overlap liners are sold for a range of wall heights, so check the label; beaded and J-hook liners are made for one height.
How much water does a new liner pool hold?
The floor area times the water depth. For a 24 ft round pool with 52 in walls filled 6 in below the top, about 12,972 gallons; the calculator shows yours. Intex lists its own 24 ft × 52 in frame pool at 12,481 gallons.
Related guides
Sources
- Uni-Bead above-ground liner installation instructions (opens in a new tab) — Overlap liners are draped over the wall and held by coping strips; a Uni-Bead liner hooks over the wall with a J-hook, which can be removed to use the bead in a bead receiver. 2 in of sand inside the base rails; cove about 8 in high and 8 in wide.
- Swimline above-ground liner instructions (opens in a new tab) — A 2 in layer of mason sand and a 6 in × 6 in cove under the liner.
- Swimline — frequently asked questions (opens in a new tab) — The liner should sit on top of a 4–6 inch cove.
- Intex — Ultra XTR Frame 24 ft × 52 in round pool (opens in a new tab) — Water capacity 12,481 gallons.