Fiberglass or gunite???

Duffy Pools · Postby **Duffy Pools** » Fri 30 May, 2008 22:40

I would not ever think of installing a fiberglass shell Pool in New England or any place that has winters.

The best pool ever built was a 10 inch reinforced wall foundation with a sand based bottom and 18 gauge liner. Best deal in the long run for your money.

If you get sick of the pool you can build a house on it. Basement included!

jooste · Postby **jooste** » Mon 14 Jul, 2008 16:20

Why a fibreglass swimming pool?

- quick and easy to install
- can last a lifetime and are guaranteed for 10 years
- require less chemicals than concrete pools
- quick and easy to maintain
- non-slip finish
- surprising strength
- no mosaic tiles needed as there is a built in tile band

Click here for a comparison on:
Fibreglass, Concrete and Vinyl Liner Pools.

:lol:

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Wed 24 Sep, 2008 11:19

We had a sanjuan fiberglass pool installed in 1994. It is 42x16. We live in a harsh environment - Salt Lake City, and the pool has been fabulous these past 15 years! We swim nearly every day May-October. There have been NO issues whatsoever with our pool. It is soft and comfortable, easy to clean and uses very little chemicals. We keep it heated at 89-90 degrees. No acid washing, no scratched up feet. My only regret is that due to transport, the widest fiberglass pools are just 16 feet. With our diving board, I wish the pool was 20x40.

Pool Dreamer · Postby **Pool Dreamer** » Wed 03 Jun, 2009 13:54

Great feedback on the different options. I live in Salt Lake City as well and would be interested to know who installed your San Juan Pool.
Thanks!

Postby **czechmate** » Thu 04 Jun, 2009 07:54

There is lot of information here ranging from heavy bias across sales pithes to flat wrong and misleading.
First of all, properly designed and built gunite will not break. Pear shape with extra 5/8" rebar on bottom may settle 1/2 -5/8" in the deep in a Texas black clay, while "L" shape may crack due to extreme difference in weights in shallow and deep. People have of the wall ideas on the freeform and builders protected by the ground settlement clause will built anything to get the job.
Second myth presented here by the fiber lovers is, that plaster need to be replaced every 6 years.
That is unsuported flat lie from a very irresponsible layman.
I just replastered my gunite first time after 25 years of perfect service with a Diamond Brite.
It is not unusual for plaster to last 30-35 years. The new aggregates like a Diamond Brite applied to a fresh new gunite and maintained properly should last 25-30 years easy. It's surface is much harder and chemical and algeae resistant than anything that existed prior to 1990.
As for comparing the cost,feel, looks and maintenance, I will not go into that.
It is senseless to recommend BMW X5 for its handling and looks, to someone that has only enough for a Saturn VUE and must have all maintenance done by a dealer.
All I can say is, that years ago, when buying a house I turned down a gorgeous house with a fiberglass pool for a one where I designed and built gunite pool myself.
Of course as a construction guy, I did the contracting an saved about 30%, plus equipment at wholesale.

No Gunite · Postby **No Gunite** » Thu 04 Jun, 2009 09:37

I have had a gunite pool for 10 years. It looked good for the first 2. The staining over the winter is brutal and no amount of brushing/shocking will get it out. The plaster is no longer smooth like it was originally. Kids that stay in the pool for a while end up with sore feet/blisters. Granted, our pool is fairly large, but I was given a quote of $10,000 for a resurface/replaster. We just opened the pool and I have been brushing it daily for a week now trying to get the algae and stains out. My arms are killing me. Even though the pool is attractive, I would never go with gunite again. I don't know anything about fiberglass, but vinyl is looking better and better to me over the years.

tylertx · Postby **tylertx** » Mon 24 Aug, 2009 10:51

I have just had a fiberglass pool with a tanning ledge put in, in the Shreveport, Louisiana area by a man who has no clue what he is doing! Our tanning ledge is 2 inches off level, we have grass growing inside of it, you can actually stick your fingers all the way thru the concrete and the lip of tanning ledge and the pool!! He also put wooden stakes on outside of tanning ledge for the formation and now they are stuck in the concrete! It also has ridges and even a place where the finish has come off about a quarter size. It is the biggest mess, and looks like white trash. I would NEVER go fiberglass again!! You have to really make sure that the company knows what they are doing, because if it isn't done right in the beginning you can have problems with it in the first week or up to 10 years later. My Dad built his own pool and it has lasted forever. You never know with the fiberglass. If I could just go back in time I would go gunite or vinyl liner in a heartbeat with a reputable company instead of a company who didn't even train their distribitor who represents their company to put in their pools in the right way.

Postby **czechmate** » Mon 24 Aug, 2009 15:55

I hope it is not out of place or even rude to remaind everyone here, that we live in the era of "information superhighway". Anyone who can reach these pages can gain the information on the proper procedure on any application of a particular surface and find a reputable contractor.
That being said, people should always get two, three opinions on the same subject, since as we all know there is a lot of "willing experts" giving out wrong or bias opinions.
Then there are those, who will tell you anything just to get the job secured.
One more thing of caution.
Even the reputable company may in time of high work load hire or borrow a crew from someone else.
You always need to be either present yourself, provided you have the necessary knowledge of a correct procedure, or get friends help who has it.
Just recently it happend to me with a crew ,that showed up for an acid wash and Bond Kote application.
They showed up late, did not have anything on the truck to neutralize acid with, like Soda Ash and did not even have the Bon Kote bags and resin in containers.
I send them home after a acid wash and had to pressure wash the walls to get the acid residue of the plaster. Fortunately I knew the recommended procedure in a great detail.

The thing here is that if no one is present at preparation or "prep" which is a very important foundation for a replaster, the results down the road may be terrible. Those of course usually show up after the warranty expired.
After all, new pool construction or remodel is not like picking a house painter or a roofer.

szzyq16 · Postby **szzyq16** » Mon 21 Sep, 2009 16:47

OMG!! I'm sitting here reading how everyone promotes fiberglass pools. I have one - 6 yrs old- and I would give my eye teeth to get rid of it. I can NEVER get it clean. I go in almost every day (live in FL) and clean it every time I go in, but it just keeps getting dirtier and dirtier. I have tried all the chemicals out there and nothing seems to work. Maybe someone out there can help me? My pool chemical distributor sure hasn't been able to. Please help if you can.

rrr · Postby **rrr** » Sat 26 Sep, 2009 20:52

Live in San Antonio and just recently inquired about Leisure Pools. OMG, has the fiberglass industry out priced gunite now a days???? Have taken recent quotes from gunite companies and Leisure Pools came out with a 20,000 price more than a gunite and then spoke of knocking off 14,000 due to production discount. Is there such a thing or am i getting ripped off.??

Postby **Me...** » Tue 29 Sep, 2009 00:58

Have I voted for gunite yet? Hopefully not more than 5 or 6 times in this thread LOL

tylertx · Postby **tylertx** » Thu 15 Oct, 2009 10:33

rrr wrote:Live in San Antonio and just recently inquired about Leisure Pools. OMG, has the fiberglass industry out priced gunite now a days???? Have taken recent quotes from gunite companies and Leisure Pools came out with a 20,000 price more than a gunite and then spoke of knocking off 14,000 due to production discount. Is there such a thing or am i getting ripped off.??

Whatever you do, do not get that fiberglass pool! The man I was talking about that put my fiberglass pool in here in Shreveport, LA is now getting his pools from Leisure Pools somewhere in Texas. If you read on their website they say that they are not responsible for their distribitor at all. Another words, I could order one of their pools and just show up at your house without a damn clue and put it in. I am telling you we now have 2 big cracks on bottom of pool that are leaking so everytime we vacuum the dirt, it comes right back and the reason is: because the pool was not put in the correct way. You have to really make sure that whomever puts the pool in knows what he is doing and is out their watching his crew to make sure they are doing the correct procedures. What happens if the drains start leaking? Ours did, you have to then drain the pool which you are NOT suppose to ever do in a fiberglass pool. I am telling you I would never go fiberglass again. Just with all the rain we have had our pool has shifted. I hate fiberglass and Randy Mason who put it in!!

Postby **czechmate** » Thu 15 Oct, 2009 19:48

rrr wrote:Live in San Antonio and just recently inquired about Leisure Pools. OMG, has the fiberglass industry out priced gunite now a days???? Have taken recent quotes from gunite companies and Leisure Pools came out with a 20,000 price more than a gunite and then spoke of knocking off 14,000 due to production discount. Is there such a thing or am i getting ripped off.??

I had my first gunite bult in 1974.
In 1982, when we were on the market for a new home, we decided to let go of a house that we really, really liked.
Reason was the fiberglass pool in the backyard. And that was strictly for its looks and feel.
Back than, I was not aware of all the potential problems and difficulty fixing them the right way.
We instead bought a home with an ample backyard and I had put in a gunite pool to my design.

I have contracted each trade and personally supervised the crews. The electrical and plumbing I did myself.
In 82 it saved me 11,000.00. For 23 days, that it took to put it in that was a fair piece of change.

I am not saying this to pat myself on the back. I am well past that age.
It is rather to inform potential new pool owners of the idea to follow simmilar route.

All the info needed is widely available and all they need to make sure, is to hire reliable crews.
Fiberglass in my humble opinion is a "nearpool", just like Budweiser is a "nearbeer".

RiverPoolsMarc · Postby **RiverPoolsMarc** » Sun 01 Nov, 2009 23:25

Despite the fact that my company has installed over 600 fiberglass pools and ZERO concrete pools, I think it is silly,and down right irresponsible, to say that fiberglass is the 'only' choice or that gunite is the 'only' choice. It all comes down to what a homeowner is looking for. I read so much about 'if you don't install a fiberglass pool properly then it's a disaster'. Well of course this is true. It's also true with gunite and with vinyl. Such an argument really makes no sense. I've written a blog comparing fiberglass and gunite, so here is my extensive take on this subject:
http://blog.riverpoolsandspas.com/blog/bid/21790/Fiberglass-Swimming-Pools-vs-Concrete-Swimming-Pools-Which-is-better

Marcus Sheridan
PoolSchool

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Sun 27 Jun, 2010 22:48

We just had a quote from Leisure Pools, we also live in san antonio. 16x30 for $40000???? Is fiberglass better and than gunite? Why are their prices soooo high.