lulubelle

What is a concrete coping with an encapsulated track. Where can I see a picture. I have an old inground pool where the liner goes over the cement blocks and has some kind of fiberglass cover. Do you have any idea what this is, or any idea how I can replace it. quote name='4serendipity' date='Feb 13 2009, 12:52 PM' post='74138'] Great post - get your notepad and pencil ready! This is one of the most often asked questions - which type of pool to buy - vinyl, concrete or fibreglass. You can read the fourty page tutorial that I have written on this exact subject in my signature - but I will try to answer your questions as they relate to your specific situation: A gunite pool may crack, but a fibreglass pool may twist, buckle or sink. A vinyl pool could leak or collapse... A vinyl pool is best suited to cold weather climates where fibreglass does very well in extreme heat. Concrete pools seem to survive almost anywhere but require specific care and construction to do so. When people say that a concrete pool will crack in cold weather they are usually referring to the interior finish of the pool, not the structure of the pool. The interior surface of a concrete pool is usually a 3/4" thick specialty cement that is either very dense or chemically altered to be waterproof. This interior surface can crack if left exposed to winter conditions. Most often the cracking will begin as crazing and develop into spider cracks over time. The expexted lifetime for a concrete pool interior finish is about 10 to 15 years before most of the mortar is washed away leaving a rough and porous surface. In cold weather climates expect that number to be close to 7 to 10 years. You could eliminate this problem by installing tile on the interior surface of the pool however this is a costly upgrade north of $25,000 where I am located, but tiles do very well in cold weather as they will not crack from being exposed to elements like plaster will. Both vinyl liner pools and fibreglass pools lack curb appeal for home buyers which can have a negative impact on potential buyers. They pools themselves are generally fine, with each having its own place in the market. Given the size that you are looking for, I would think a fibreglass pool would be too expensive since you will still have the stigma of it not being a concrete pool. If you want to save money go all the way and look for vinyl liner pool contractors with a TON of experience as that will be a very heavy liner. Most vinyl pool companies never see a pool larger than 20'x40' so look to the experienced ones. You could also add a concrete coping with an encapsulated track which will allow you to have an automatic safety cover as well the cosmetic appeal of a concrete canteliever on the pool. Vinyl pools with this concrete coping upgrade (another costly one) look like concrete pools when you see them. You could choose a no border, tile print on your liner to really give the effect of a tiled concrete pool while skimming your overall budget down. In regards to acid washing concrete pools, this is a half day job that needs to be performed once every five years or so on well balanced pools to keep them looking clean. Too much acid will strip the mortar from the interior surface and cause premature leakage. I hope this information is helpful. S

I have had only 1 company put my liner in Ackerman Pools. They are wonderful and trustworthy.

I live in Northern Ky and have a 20x40 inground vinly liner. The pool is 40 years old and I have had 4 liners. Very easy to take care of. Make sure you get an automatic pool cleaner that doesn't go thru your filter system. I have an Aqua Vac and it just died after 12 years. quote name='F=MA' date='Feb 12 2009, 10:47 PM' post='74104'] Hello all...thanks in advance for your opinions and expertise. Home is in the greater Cincinnati area. Lot is one acre, wooded, with lots of space for pool and patio. Home values in our subdivision vary from about $250,000 on the low end, to about $500,000 on the upper end. Ours is near the upper end of that range. I include this information only to help gauge the level of investment in a pool a property such as ours warrants. Wife wants to swim laps. I'm more interested in having enough width for multiple family members and guests to splash around in. Thought we'd look into fiberglass with a swim jet, but to be honest, after staking out a 16X40 space in the backyard adjacent to the house, it looks ridiculously small (I know...nice problem to have). It seems fiberglass is out of the equation as a result. We plan to stay in this home for another ten to maybe twenty years. We would like a rectangular shape, as low maintenance is a very high priority for us, and an automatic pool cover is mandatory to get me to sign off on this. A couple of years ago we had a 20x60 vinyl pool quoted at about $75k with a large patio area, cover, etc. We were surprised at the cost, as we had expected it to come in at closer to $55k, so we let that plan lie dormant. A month or so back, we got an estimate from a gunite builder for 18x50, with features comparable to the original 20x60. Excluding water features, the rough estimate came back at about $100k. I've searched this and another pool forum to educate myself as best I can. I am concerned with throwing $100k into a project that may crack, may be more maintenance intensive (acid washing, re-plastering), rougher on the feet (?), and perhaps too large an investment for a property in our location (I'm not interested in owning the most expensive property in the area). On the other hand, would a 20X60 pool in vinyl be "too cheap" for the property? I hope that makes sense. It seems like fiberglass wins hands down in the maintenance aspect...assuming it is installed correctly...though we can't get the size we'd like in fiberglass. Vinyl seems to win in the "cost-effective" category if one can expect to get 7-10 years out of a liner, and assumning gunite needs to be replastered every ten years as well. Given the above, and assuming cost isn't an obstacle, what are your thoughts on gunite vs. vinyl? Do either construction method seem to do better with property resale value? It seems there may be more "prestige" with gunite, but I really don't care much about that. The frost line here is about thirty inches deep. What is the probability a gunite pool will crack...and crack beyond economical repair? I'd strongly prefer to not spend more than a few minutes each week maintaining the pool. Which of the two should I expect to be lower maintenance? How often does this acid washing need to be done to a gunite pool on average assuming chemistries are reasonably well controlled? Is ten years a reasonable expectation for lifespan of plaster on a gunite pool? Once a gunite pool is replastered, will it look "brand new", as a vinyl pool with a new liner would? I know there are a lot of questions there, but the more I read these forums, the more questions I have. Thanks again in advance for any thoughts/opinions/suggestions you have to share. For those who own, or have owned either gunite or vinyl pools, I'd love to read about your experiences.

Trying to find a cover that goes over my liner. My pool is made out of cement blocks with vinly liner