The Fiberglass Swimming Pool

If you live in a sandy or soft area where a solid base cannot be found to pour concrete onto, a fiberglass swimming pool is the obvious choice.

The actual installation of a fiberglass swimming pool is cheaper than its more traditional concrete counterpart. The plumbing and electrical work is just the same but once the hole is dug and prepared the fiberglass swimming pool is simply lowered into the hole. This saves on both money and time as there is no waiting for concrete to cure properly or a need to add a vinyl liner.

Fiberglass liners are made from fiberglass reinforced plastic which is worked with until it looks like an extremely large bath. Unlike vinyl liners which need to replaced every 10 years, you do not need to replace fiberglass. Eventually, this could lead to even more savings.


Fiberglass V Vinyl

While a concrete in ground pool is always going to be stronger than a fiberglass swimming pool it is only as good as its lining. The vinyl is always at risk of being torn or damaged by something. If this happens the pool will have to be drained, a new liner installed and then filled again. With a fiberglass swimming pool there is no liner to worry about. If the fiberglass happens to get damaged it can be repaired with fiberglass kits similar to car body repair kits.

Eventually the pool will have to be replaced but with a fiberglass swimming pool this is simply a case of draining and disconnecting everything then lifting out and putting in the new one. If a concrete pool needs to be removed or replaced for some reason the concrete needs to be broken up and removed by wagon. This involves a lot more work and so is of course, costly.

A swimming pool built from concrete means you can have your pool custom poured, giving you the exact shape design you desire where as with a fiberglass swimming pool you will have to find one as close the design you want and settle for that. You can also have it built as deep or as shallow as you need but with fiberglass you can only have what's on offer. A fiberglass swimming pool is more flexible than concrete so if you live in a quake zone this could be important to you.

There is no difference between these two in ground pools to either the user or observer. The concrete version is much stronger and will last the duration but will need the liner replaced every decade. The fiberglass version is cheaper and quicker to install and although won't last as long, is easily replaced.