By Tony Jordan & Joshua Albertson
This past 4th of July weekend, the community of Manchester, N.H., was able to celebrate the holiday weekend at its newly renovated Livingston Park Pool, just in time for summer. This beloved community pool opened to the public 21 years ago when the Boston architecture firm BH+A designed a combined outdoor family aquatic splash pool and a lap pool facility with accompanying bathhouse. The total size of the pool is 11,000 square feet with approximately 8,000 square feet of family aquatic splash pool area and 3,000 square feet for lap swimming. After years of being the center of family fun, it was time to renovate and repair the pool, particularly the surfaces of the pool interior.
A Fresh Start for a Community Classic
For more than two decades, Livingston Park Pool has served as a centerpiece of summertime fun in Manchester. This year, the
350,000-gallon public facility underwent its first full resurfacing in its 21-year lifespan—a major upgrade led by Natare Pools. The scope of the renovation included the installation of more than 13,000 square feet of new reinforced PVC membrane, a new stainless steel skirt system, as well as tackling some site-specific engineering challenges that tested even the most experienced installers.
Durable Design Meets Visual Appeal
At the heart of the renovation is a new PVC membrane pool lining system, chosen for its visual appeal, slip resistance, and long-term durability. The PVC membrane system used the Renolit 2000 material on the pool wall and the Renolit Alkorplan Relief membrane on the pool floor because of the product’s textured, slip-resistant properties, which provide a category C slip resistance rating. The Relief product offers a transformative texture that gives pools the look and feel of gunite yet is soft on toes and eliminates the maintenance headaches of gunite. Natare selected this product not only for its visual appeal but also because the non-slip feature of this product has been certified on wet slopes and pendulum friction tests, passing the most demanding slip-resistant test of the European and International Standards DIN 51097 Level C, UNE 41901 Level 3 (Maximum) and EN16165 Level C. This combination of textured PVC membranes provides a vibrant, modern look while also standing up to the daily wear of high bather loads.
Technical Excellence in a Custom-Fit Application
One of the standout features of Livingston Pool is its non-linear, figure-eight-shaped layout, especially around the wading and zero-depth splash pad entry areas. In fact, more than 300 feet of the pool’s perimeter consists of complex curves formed using segmented stainless steel gutter components. As a result of this curved shape, the installation required more than 70 individual sections of stainless-steel skirt and reinforced PVC membrane to follow the sweeping contours of the pool.
This design demanded a precise installation process. Each segment of the stainless skirt manufactured and installed by Natare was carefully aligned and welded to ensure a continuous seal. This was done in order to support the reinforced PVC membrane and allow for a seamless integration across the pool’s curved surfaces. The team also pressure-tested the gutter system before and after the skirt installation to confirm functionality, which was particularly important with the shape and complexity of the pool design.
“It’s not a straightforward rectangular pool,” said Brendan Lynch, the city’s recreation and enterprise manager. “The segmentation required for the curved perimeter was critical, and it came together with remarkable precision.”
Reinforced PVC membranes are uniquely able to provide a perfect fit for custom pools because they are installed on-site, even when installed on the most challenging shapes. Reinforced PVC membranes offer a huge advantage because you get an exact fit on-site, and of course, being thicker, reinforced PVC (poly chloride), the longevity is the benefit most commercial aquatic centers stive for to avoid annual pool surface maintenance.
One of the advantages of using a reinforced PVC membrane is that it does not crack regardless of freeze-thaw conditions or ground movement. By offering a reinforced PVC membrane, aquatic facility renovations end up with a pool finish with unique benefits not provided by other coatings. The reinforced PVC membrane completely seals the structure of the pool and keeps it watertight, making it ideal for renovating existing pools as well as building new pools.
Behind the Scenes: Upgrades Below the Surface
Before membrane installation began, the project team drained and cleaned the existing shell, made spot repairs and prepared the structure to receive the new system. Metal plates were welded onto the pool walls to create reliable termination points for the reinforced PVC membrane, allowing for a hot-air welded finish that ensures a long-term bond. Additionally, the location’s high water table required close monitoring and active groundwater management. A dedicated pumping system was used throughout the project to maintain safe conditions during construction and prevent structural uplift once the pool was emptied.
“This area of Livingston Park has a high water table. This means that the ground water pressure is so high, it could physically lift the pool out of the ground once it was drained. We were able to mitigate this challenge by constantly pumping water out of the installed monitoring well, ensuring there was as little ground water beneath the pool as possible,” Lynch explained.
Future-Proofing a Community Asset
With its zero-depth entry, maximum depth of 12 feet, and six-lane racing layout, Livingston Park Pool serves a wide range of swimmers—from young families to competitive athletes. The updated Natatec pool lining system with its reinforced PVC membrane system is projected to last 20 years or more, giving the city a strong return on its infrastructure investment.
The project reflects a broader effort by Manchester to preserve and improve its recreational spaces. Following the closures of other aging pool facilities in recent years, the Livingston renovation ensures continued public access to high-quality aquatic programming in the city’s north end.
Natare Pools’ work at Livingston Park represents more than just a resurfacing—it’s a recommitment to community wellness, family recreation, and the future of public infrastructure. Despite weather and other challenges, the project stands as a testament to adaptive engineering and expert installation.
About the Authors
Tony Jordan is the business development manager at Renolit and has more than 35 years of experience in the manufacturing, sales and application of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) reinforced pool membranes for commercial and residential use.
Joshua Albertsonis sales manager for Natare Pools.