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what is better to install - a concrete or fiberglass swimming pool?
trying to decide what type of swimming pool is better to insall in the northwest. i'd like it to be as low maintenance & cost effective as possible.
Answer: Seems like the single best reason to go concrete is the ability to size and shape it to your specifications. Here's some information I dug up. Good luck.
Different structure of the walls & floor i.e. fibreglass has just a approx 20mm thick wall of fibreglass where as a concrete pool has a 150mm concrete section interlaced with steel reinforcing at least every 300mm apart. It then has an internal water proofing layer of either 20mm Pebblecrete (pebble & cement) or a layer of ceramic tiles.
The concrete pool can be constructed to almost any shape to suit your backyard or your imagination where as fibreglass pools are limited to set moulds.
Concrete pools are constructed in the ground on a solid base & finished to the level of the internal water. Fibreglass pools are a moulded shell with an uneven base that are placed on a prepared base & hopefully ends up level.
Concrete Pools when empty have strength of structure to support the surrounding ground pressures. Concrete pools have a hydrostatic valve in the base of the pool & have considerable weight to counter act any ground water pressure.
Concrete pools have a solid non-flexing surround to the pool which enables coping tiles to be successfully adhered to it.
Concrete Pools have an expected life of up to 15 years
http://www.poolfab.com.au/faqs.htm
Fibreglass pools have taken a great leap forward in popularity due to the application of space-age technology.
Today’s fibreglass pool not only offers an amazing range of shapes and sizes but an equally impressive selection of colours to suit personal preferences and the setting in which the pool will be installed.
Installation begins with excavation to suit the dimensions of the pool. Steps, swimouts and safety ledges can be built in to the fibreglass shell.
One of the real attractions of fibreglass pools is their short installation time.
Fibreglass pools are pre-manufactured to exacting conditions. This means you can shop around for the pool of your choice and know precisely what you’ll get in terms of size, shape and colour.
