Having
been one of the first companies in Central and Eastern Virginia
to embrace the fiberglass pool industry, I have been able
to address the concerns of many clients involving the pros
and cons of owning a fiberglass swimming pool. Despite the
exponential growth of the composite(fiberglass) market throughout
the United States, I have found there are still some serious
myths regarding the potential drawbacks of owning a fiberglass
pool. Hopefully the following paragraphs will address and
alleviate these issues.
Myth
#1 Fiberglass Pools will float or pop-up:
This is
one of the most amusing, and most common, of all misconceptions
I have heard regarding fiberglass pools. If anyone (especially
another pool dealer) tells you that fiberglass pools pop out
of the ground, then they are simply being dishonest and trying
to use fear as a means of motivating you to get another type
of pool. There is a local company (I will not mention any
names here) in the Mechanicsville area that loves to tell
homeowners that every time there is a hurricane in Virginia,
fiberglass pools all over the place float up out of the ground.
I personally called this company once and asked them to give
me just one name of someone who had a pool float, and of course
they were unable to give me such information. During our five
years in business, and after having installed well over 400
fiberglass pools in the ground, we have never had a pool float
after installation. This is because not only are the pools
always full of water, but the concrete deck engulfs the pool's
outer lip, making it impossible for the pool to move unless
the concrete deck moves with it. Hopefully I am explaining
myself clearly here. I have hundreds of customers who would
be happy to verify these facts. Please don't be fooled by
anyone who uses this ploy as a means to push a potential customer
in a different direction.
Myth
#2 Fiberglass pools look cheap:
Had someone
said this 15 years ago, I would have agreed with such a statement.
But times have changed in the fiberglass industry, especially
with the introduction of cantilever concrete coping, colored
pool finishes, waterline ceramic tile, mosaic inlay tile,
fiber-optic lighting, water features, etc, etc. With so many
options and features to choose from, homes of all value ranges
can easily find a pool that corresponds aesthetically with
their appearance. When I show pictures of the pools we have
installed to customers, I often get asked if they are seeing
concrete pools. This is because fiberglass pools are now very
beautiful and permanent looking. This is also why customers
of all economic classes (we have installed many pools where
the home value is well over 1 million dollars) are going with
the fiberglass advantage.
Myth
#3 Fiberglass Pools only work in warm climates:
This one
really makes no sense to me at all. It is an accepted fact
in the swimming pool industry that fiberglass has the ability
to "flex" due to its incredible tensile strength, much more
so than any other type of permanent pool (i.e. concrete).
When people are concerned about freeze conditions having an
adverse affect on fiberglass, they are forgetting that the
water in a pool, when it freezes, expands in an upward direction
(where there are no barriers). But the simple fact is that
we have never had one customer sustain any damage to their
fiberglass shell due to freezing weather conditions. Again,
this statement is easily verifiable with our customer reference
list.
Myth
#4 Fiberglass pools are much more expensive than vinyl liner
pools:
The answer
to this one is a little tricky, but hopefully I'll explain
myself clearly here. Typically, if someone is comparing a
fiberglass pool to a liner pool, apples to apples, features
with features, they will find that a fiberglass unit typically
runs 5-10k more initially. I say initially because when someone
is considering the cost of a pool, there are two different
ways to arrive at the number. The first way is by solely looking
at the initial cost of the project. The second, unlike the
first method, takes the initial price but also adds the expenses
of the pool over the course of its lifetime. For example,
let's say you spend $25,000 initially for a vinyl-lined pool.
Considering the liner will typically last 8 years on average
(this number can be more or less depending on a variety of
factors) before it has to be replaced, and the average cost
of a liner replacement is usually between 3-5k, a pool owner
could easily spend 8-12k on liner replacements alone during
the first 20 years of the pool. The same principle is applicable
to concrete pools who have to be replastered (every 8-12 years),
where the average cost for this service is well over 5k. This
is one of the great beauties of a fiberglass pool. There are
almost never large expenses down the road for a homeowner
to worry about. When a potential pool buyer figures in the
cost of these long term repairs/expenses, as well as the year
to year savings on chemicals, it is no wonder why so many
consumers are willing to pay more initially for a fiberglass
pool in order to pay less and have less headache in the long
run.
Myth
#5 All Fiberglass pool manufacturers are the same and it doesn't
really matter which company I choose:
Since
starting PoolSchool, I have received hundreds of emails from
pool owners across the country describing the good, the bad,
and the ugly with respect to the quality of their swimming
pools. I've certainly heard the best and the worst of pool
builders and manufacturers. This is also why I decided to
write my ebook.
Simply put, it really bothered me hearing frustrated and angry
customers after they had spent thousands of dollars on their
'dream pool' only to be incredibly dissapointed. Just remember,
as you research which fiberglass pool manufacturer to go with,
pay attention to their warranties, especially their FINISH
warranties. Every company purports to have a great STRUCTURE
warranty, but what seperates great fiberglass pool companies
from the average and poor ones is the FINISH warranty.
And be careful, many manufacturers have pro-rated pool warranties
and enough disclaimers to make any lawyer squirm. So read
the fine print and do your due diligence. You've only got
one shot to do this the right way.
To learn
more about how to choose the right swimming pool contractor,
view Jason's popular "How to Find the Right Pool Contractor"
video.
