Fiberglass Swimming Pools
Fiberglass pools are simply molded housings set into a pool excavation, otherwise known as “the giant hole in your backyard.” Here is some critical information that might help you decide whether a fiberglass pool is right for your DFW area home.
What Is A Fiberglass Pool?
Sand is applied to the concrete housing in order to allow the fiberglass mold to settle and shift while remaining fairly closely packed to the actual earth. Once you’ve chosen a fiberglass mold style, there’s no possibility of shifting or revising it; you’re stuck with what you’ve got.
Fiberglass is one of the most popular materials for several reasons. For one, it’s very easy to mold into a variety of shapes. There are factories that do nothing but dream up different pool shapes and mold fiberglass pools to fit them. On the “minus side”, all of this factory design work carries with it a certain overhead, and fiberglass pools can be more difficult to install for this reason.
How A Fiberglass Pool Gets Its Shape
The difficulty of designing fiberglass pools also means that although you have a great number of options for how your pool will be shaped and how it will behave, you don’t have any freedom to customize within those options. If none of the factory standard fiberglass pools appeal to you, you don’t have any way to design and build a fiberglass pool that you do like (without spending a great deal of money to retain a factory and a dedicated team of pool engineers of your own, that is.
Fiberglass also has the advantage of being flexible. That doesn’t sound like a huge advantage in pool design, but remember this basic principle: pool maintenance is about managing the war between the water and its container.
Flexibility Is A Bonus Of Fiberglass Swimming Pools
Fundamentally, all pools are holes in the ground–and the ground can and will shift over time. The added flexibility of fiberglass pools means that the pool body is more resistant to cracks and warping caused by changes in the earth surrounding the pool. On the minus side, if your fiberglass pool does crack, it can be very difficult to repair the crack in a way that won’t cause you additional headaches down the years.
Safety Advantages of Fiberglass Pools
There are other advantages to fiberglass pools, in particular safety advantages. Fiberglass pool surfaces are smooth, making it more difficult for kids or other swimmers to get scraped or injured by brushing against rough concrete. It’s also easy to install fiberglass pools, especially when compared to the undertaking that is putting a concrete pool in your backyard–a process that can involve weeks of waiting for concrete to dry and a seriously low margin for error if anything goes awry during the construction process.
Which Type Of Swimming Pool Is Right For Me?
In general, here’s a good rubric for making your decision:
- If you’ve never owned a pool before, you’re planning to move soon, or you simply don’t want to make a major financial commitment or house modification, go with above-ground but keep your options open for the future.
- If cost is your primary concern, OR if you live in an area with continually low/freezing temperatures, go with vinyl.
- If customizability is your primary concern, OR if you live in an area known for extreme summertime heat, go with concrete.
- If safety is your primary concern, OR if you live in an area known for weak soil or tectonic activity, go with fiberglass.
We want to help you find a fiberglass pool installation that’s right for you. We’re proud to be one of the premier pool installation companies in Dallas-Fort Worth. We can help you get your pool installed quickly and professionally. If you want a fiberglass pool that is both affordable and beautiful, let us know today!