Choosing the right pool
For New England families wanting an in-ground swimming pool, you have three choices:
* Gunite/concrete
* Vinyl liner
* Fiberglass
This section of our blog is here to educate you, the New England consumer, as to the your choices and the pros and cons of each type of pool.
First, let’s start with Gunite. The only PRO as far as I can tell is that with gunite, you can have any shape, style, design or depth you want. The Most Extreme pool ever created is twenty acres in size, as long as three football fields and holds 66 million gallons of saltwater. Its deep end is 115 feet deep and it holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest swimming pool.
Pretty extreme, but not really practical. The old headaches of maintenance become a factor, and with the ground movement we experience in New England with frost heaves, Gunite looses its appeal quickly as before you know it, you will be replastering, acid washing and patching all those inevitable cracks. By the way. the pool referenced above cost nearly $2 billion to build and requires almost $4 million in annual maintenance.
Second choice is Vinyl-liner pools. New manufacturers offering composite walls and more design choices serves to give you the consumer a more customized swimming pool experience. However, I caution you that if you have dogs who like to swim and very small children, you may want to reconsider a vinyl-liner for your family, because one thing is absolutely true: DOGS NAILS RIP VINYL. PERIOD.
Your next choice is Fiberglass. Fiberglass pools are a by-product of the marine industry. We all know about fiberglass boats, how strong and durable they are. Well, all that technology has been channeled into the swimming pool industry thanks in large part to the Stahl family (Viking Pools).
The smooth interior of a fiberglass pool means no abrasions or torn up bathing suits. The installation time of a fiberglass pool is also much quicker than the other two types. A typical fiberglass pool installation by Cherry Hill Pool & Spa takes about a month.
There are other debatable points, but to this writer, the biggest PRO to choosing fiberglass, which is also the biggest CON of gunite and vinyl is the amount of time required for maintenance.
Ask any fiberglass pool owner who used to own either a vinyl or gunite pool and they will tell you that as far as maintenance goes, fiberglass wins hands down with little to no work required to maintain the beautiful appearance.
