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Which Type Of Pool Is Best?


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Howdy Phil:

You have to be a bit more specific than that. Inground pool prices vary with whichever type of pool you are interested in, and the specific needs/size requirements/budget you are have will be more indicative of which pool is best suited to your needs.

As for the most common? I'd say on price alone Vinyl is (from my own experience) more popular than Fiberglass - and a lot more popular than concrete.

I always prefer concrete over the other two - but again it depends on the type of budget you have and what you are individually looking at as an inground pool price.

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Hi,

Well, I have an enourmous lot in which to park the pool itself, the actual area for the pool to go is totally free. As for depth? I'd say 8-10ft or deeper. Length is largely limitless as I said (the lot really is enourmous - you could easily fit an olympic size pool in here). If I were to give you a precise length we'd want...maybe 40-50ft or a little longer I'd say, with 20-30ft in width.

Features?

It will only be used by myself and my family (2 kids - 1 10yr old, and 1 12yr old) for lounging around and just having fun. No need for diving boards or anything like that. Just a big space full of water is perfect.

Looks?

Like I said, we don't really care too much about the look of the pool.

Budget?

Hmm, a toughie. I have a figure of going to the $50k TOTAL expenditure limit - although I can be pushed further if you guys think something will fit my needs a lot better.

Cheers!

Phil

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I think you also need to consider aesthetics if only for resale/longevity issues. If you truly don't care about looks or quality or resale that's one thing. But people who choose a well-built plastered pool do so because they are often easier to own in the long run, especially if they are covered and/or heated. So you really need to think more about what is important in the long term as well. It might be better to start with a place like this:

http://www.howibuiltmyownpool.com/

I learned a lot about a number of variables. From there you need to learn about whether a cover makes sense, what code says about fencing, whether a salt-water system makes sense, and what your absolute full-stop budget is.

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Howdy Phil:

I agree with Codebrown, you are definitely going to need to put a cap on your inground pool prices. You mentioned $50k and this is not unreasonable by any means but might need to spend a little more depending on the particulars that define what type of pool you are interested in.

Given what you've said (you seem pretty flexible in terms of what you want) I'd say that a Vinyl or Fiberglass pool is probably better suited in terms of needing "just a space full of water."

However, the individuality you get from concrete pools is pretty limitless and you could have pretty much anything you like in terms of design - but they are always more expensive and take longer to complete.

Maybe somebody else will chip in with their own two cents, but you'll definitely want to take a look at the site codebrown mentioned, here it is again:

Clickey! :)

Also, try heading over here for some additional information.

I hope everything works out ok, and that your inground pool prices don't go over what you have in mind!

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no one has addressed this but:

vinyl pools do well in areas that have hard freezes. The vinyl surface is basically chemically inert.

That being said too high a chlorine can bleach a vinyl liner and too low a pH will ruin one. They need replacement every 7-10 years generally. They cannot be safely drained without special precautions to prevent liner damage.

Plaster (gunite and shotcrete) pools (and I include aggregate finishes here since they have the same characteristics) can be built in any custom configuration. However, water chemistry is more challenging since the pool surface is reactive. pH is a problem for the first year or so and if water is not kept balanced damage to to finish can and will occur. They stand uop well but do need acid washing every few years and replasteriing every 10-20. They can be painted instead but this usually needs to be done every year or two. As rule, water balancing is trickier ande costs a bit more than with either plaster or fiberglass.

Fiberglass is generally the most expensive of the three but with rising concrete prices the difference has dropped dramatically and sometimes it is less expensive than plaster. A lot depends on how close you live to the manufacturer since a big part of the price is the transportation costs from the factory to your house. The surface is inert and water chemistry is on par with vinyl. Most modern fiberglass pools will last a long time without requiring any type of refinishing but a lot depends on how it was installed. The builder is probably a lot more important than the brand so do your homework first if you are considering one. Many people do not like the white surface of a fiberglass pool but the water still looks blue in sunlight (and there are now colored gelcoats available. The newer colored gelcoats are supposed to be more fade resistant but any colored pool does fade in the sun be it fiberglass, plaster, or vinyl!

One of the drawback to fiberglass that is often stated is the lack of shapes available. Just have a look at ONE manufacturers catalog to see the variety and then multiply this by the 4 other major names in the field and you have quite a selection of sizes and shapes, including 'freeform'

http://www.sanjuanpools.com/pools.html

There are more sizes and shapes available today for fiberglass than for vinyl.

fiberglass pools are more prone to metal staining than other surfaces so you don't want to use copper algaecides or ioniozers (you really don't want them in any kind of pool for various reasons). Also, the gelcoat can develop 'cobalt spots' if the calcium hardness is not kept high enough. Keeping the calcium hardness up also seems to deter metal staining in my experience.

Fiberglas pools cannot be fully drained without special bracing and are more prone to popping out of the ground when empty (but this also happens to concrete pools!)

That being said, having experience caring for all three types of pools I chose a fiberglass pool for my own home and have not regretted it for a minute.

There is a 4th alternative if you have the money and that is a tiled pool. It is much more inert than a plaster pool and almost as easy to care for as a fiberglass one, but water chemistry is still more critical to keep the tiles in place than vinyl or fiberglass. Main downside is the expense. If I could have afforded one I would have done this instead of fiberglass because of their beauty. With the budget you quoted it's not in your future either.

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As for depth? I'd say 8-10ft or deeper.

No need for diving boards or anything like that.

Any reason for the depth? If you don't want a diving board, then you should consider a lower depth. This will give more room for things such a volleyball and basketball.

I also recommend that you get plenty of decking around the pool. I recommend at least 7 feet wide. This gives room for lounge chairs and other such things.

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There are more sizes and shapes available today for fiberglass than for vinyl.

Great post waterbear, a nicely un-biased opinion on pool construction styles. I'm not even going to try to throw my two cents.... But I do have to correct you. Given the fact that the shape and size possibilities are infinite for a steel walled vinyl liner pool, there are more sizes and shapes available than fiberglass.

And that wasn't my two cents--just one cent.

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There are more sizes and shapes available today for fiberglass than for vinyl.

Great post waterbear, a nicely un-biased opinion on pool construction styles. I'm not even going to try to throw my two cents.... But I do have to correct you. Given the fact that the shape and size possibilities are infinite for a steel walled vinyl liner pool, there are more sizes and shapes available than fiberglass.

And that wasn't my two cents--just one cent.

I stand corrected!

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Phil,

First of all, you don't need the run around with the site for "ingound pool prices". Most builders here on the west coast have base pricing for everything. This will give you an idea about pricing:

20k-25k = 70' perimeter pool-up to 6' (surcharge is extra) for every perimeter ft over will be $200-$300-base ele $2500-aqua link $4000 (for the spa over 7'x7' $100- $150). I don't see that you need 8-10' in depth, it is wasted money unless you really plan on swimming around down there with a scuba tank. If you did you can easily increase the $200 perimeter per ft to $500-$700 (that is a lot of extra material, labor, and engineering (pool companies get charged for this)-300 sq ft of deck (sprayed)- 20' plumbing run (max) -This is with no extras, it would take me an hour to list everything, I am looking at 98, and that does not include landscape-contract and addendums. Pricing is very complicated and anyone who says different doesn't know what they are talking about.

Spa base (if added to pool) 4k-5k-lite $250-blower $250-booster pump $700 etc

And technically there ARE endless shapes and sizes for fiberglass pools (gunite pool with fiberglass finish instead of plaster) (I just had to throw that in there :wacko: I know your talking about pre-cast)

Also, I'm guessing that fiber or vinyl is the pool of choice in the ease-northeast (maybe you guys can confirm this) however, the composite construction pools reign over here.

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  • 2 years later...

Hi :) ,You should think about PRICE,SIZE and Design first ,also you can check here: aepools.com/inground-swimming-pools/

AEPools have been designing and building the best award winning inground pools for over 30 years.

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If I were to do it all again, I would stay to a basic rectangular shape. Our pool does not have 1 straight edge so when replacing solar covers/ winter cover everything has to be cut to fit. If our pool was a rectangle a mesh type winter/safety cover would haveonly be $1200 but since it has to be custom made its $3900!

Live and learn.

Just my opinion.

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If I were to do it all again, I would stay to a basic rectangular shape. Our pool does not have 1 straight edge so when replacing solar covers/ winter cover everything has to be cut to fit. If our pool was a rectangle a mesh type winter/safety cover would haveonly be $1200 but since it has to be custom made its $3900!

Live and learn.

Just my opinion.

Not sure how the kids are, or if you have any intent for this. But regarding the rectangle shape, we bought our house, it has a fairly nice looking pea-shaped pool with a spa. Kids were 1 and 3. We started swim lessons for water safety, the kids loved the water so much, they joined the swim team. While probably ANY shape is great for getting into the water and cooling off or playing, the shape of our pool is very inconvenient for lap swimming. It is great to have the spa right next to the pool, where we can run water through both, or individually. Nice to feed about 25% pool and 75% spa water all into the spa, causing a nice overflow, into the pool, and when swimming in the pool, swim along side that overflow, for a touch of warmth.

Just my random thoughts.

Doug B

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