Hello everyone!
I've been lurking on these forums for a few months...and finally decided to pull the trigger and build that pool my wonderful wife has been asking for all these years. She deserves it having to put up with me! The hottest Oklahoma City, Oklahoma summer in recent memory also helped win me over to getting a pool.

We heavily researched all three types: gunite, liner, and fiberglass. We choose fiberglass for several reasons. But mostly because we feel that it will be lower maintenance and upkeep in the long-run, we loved the design and look, and our pool builder does amazing work.

We finally decided on a Viking fiberglass pool. Specifically, the 16' x 40' Caribbean model, in Maya Diamond color with waterline tile. More details can be found in my signature at the bottom of this page. We particularly liked this model as it was fairly large (our backyard needs some filling up) and has plenty of seating in both the shallow and deep end. We were not interested in a diving pool or slide......so the deep end of 6'6" will be more than enough for us.



We signed the contract tonight, 31 August 2011, and are scheduled for a late October to mid-November installation.
Mark Trammell of Sea Breeze Pools out of Oklahoma City will be our builder. Very nice fellow. Can't wait to see how he transforms our backyard! You can see a few of his previous projects in his gallery here: http://www.swimseabreeze.com/

We'll be documenting our pool build via this forum thread so if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I'm sure I'm going to have plenty for you all as we go through this process.

Once the build begins, I'll be adding loads of pictures and commentary to this thread.

In the meantime.....if you have any input on equipment upgrades you think will be best for us.....or if you'd be so kind to answer my favorite question I have for pool owners:
"If you could do one thing over on your pool build......what would it be?" I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

My first photo will be a "sky" view of my yard....showing the blank canvas that we have to work with. Notice my neighbor to the left has a liner pool....and my neighbor to the right has a fiberglass pool. We're that blank area in the middle.
More photos and blogging as we approach "D" (dig)- Day!


The "canvas". We have some room to fill back here. I promise this yard will be more fun next year.

View toward the back of the house.



From the porch. We need more water back here!



When they pour our decking we'll be having an extra 15' x 24' pad poured to accomadate our pavillion we will be building next spring. It will closely resemble this one.


Until the dig starts...I look forward to learning much from these forums and your comments!

Welcome to TFP shingar! Just curious, what brought you to choosing a fiberglass pool?

Hi linen,

Thanks for the welcome! Never thought I'd be a pool owner (soon-to-be anyway).

To answer your question....after talking with pool owners of all types...and a few that have owned several types over the years...we feel that it will be lower maintenance and upkeep in the long-run, we loved the design and look of the Viking Caribbean, and our pool builder does amazing work. Although I know we could have gotten deep end and shallow end seating in a gunite pool....the cost estimate really sky-rocketed when I started asking about those types of options. So cost played a factor when we told the gunite guys what we wanted....the fiberglass model we chose already had that for us at a substantially lower price. We didn't want a liner pool.....we have 2 big labs that will be sharing the pool with us on occasion...and I feared for the inevitable rips and holes they would put in a liner. I've heard that water maintenace is easier on a fiberglass than a gunite.....but I also heard that was a load of bunk. So the decision really came down to a builder we feel we can trust to do an amazing job....and just the look of the pool.

I have the same question about salt water generator vs chlorine tablet dispenser.......the SWG would tack on another $1200 or so to our price....but I hear they are well worth the money.....and the next post will say not to waste the money on it. Confused on this one and not sure which way I'll go when the time comes!

Sounds like a well thought out decision! I am not sure I have seen a fiberglass pool that big, should be fun!

My understanding, is yes initially, but not too much more in the long haul...Well maintained gunites might have a longer total life???? (I do not know this from experience)

DO NOT GET THE TABLET DISPENSER. Sorry for the yelling. Take a look at: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/types_chlorine_pool and read through all of pool school. Tablets add CYA constantly so their long term use is problimatic.

The SWG on the other hand I highly recommend, though I do not know if an adder of $1200 is reasonable or not. The swg does not constantly add CYA to your pool, and my family loves the low concentration salt water feel.

Let us know whatever additional questions you have. We all a new pool build junkies on here, so please give us a running record with pics on your build!

By the way....hope this doesn't happen to your house http://www.troublefreepool.com/oops-t37556.html This is not far from my house, though I have not found the exact location yet.

Holy smokes! I bet that homeowner was just sick after that happened! Thankfully I have a larger lot with easy access to my backyard from the side. I could park semi-trucks back there if I wanted to! The crane won't have a problem getting back there!

I've read what you linked as far as the SWG. Thanks for the information! I'd really like to hear from a few more folks that converted from the tabs to the SWG...or even the other way around. My brother has a gunite pool in GA. and he suggested I go SWG. He has chlorine tablets right now....but he plans to go SWG soon and feels he'll save himself some maintenance and money in chemicals down the line. Both my neighbors use the chlorine tablets....and they seem quite happy with that system. Their pools are always gorgeous and clear....so I'm on the fence.

I have a Viking fiberglass pool with a SWG, although I have never used the tabs. We have very little water maintenance to do. The pool is always clear and test numbers are within range every time. In 2 years I doubt we spent much more than $25.00 a season for some salt, stabilizer and bleach when we open the pool.

I agree with the other posters about the SWCG. If there's one thing I'm glad I did do was getting the SWCG, it makes chlorine control so easy and the feel of salt water is great. One thing I do wish I did was to get either a two speed or variable speed pump. When my current pump needs replacing I will surely do this.

Good to hear.

You will find a lot of the former around here...hopefully they will speak up As the to latter, I can't think of any that I have read on here...but if there are, I guess it is only fair to hear them out as well

I think the comment abouts cost is most relavent here. Many people have great looking pools with the pool store directing their maintenance (whether the pool owner admits or not). The problem is, most often that "direction" means quite a bit of money flowing to the ps. In rare occasions where the ps, is trying to look out for their customers, often they are misguided as well...not well versed on the science behind residential pool water chemistry (and that is what some on the board know well). Often, folks like you neighbors end up doing significant drain and refills that may not be apparent to a neighbor (or even the owner) since it often happens slowly and most don't look back in the rear-view mirror. My 2 cents

p.s. Sometime when you see one of your neighbors pouring something into there pool, ask them why and if they can tell you what effect it has on the chemistry. I bet sometimes they won't know what the $30 bottle is really doing (or the second, or third, etc.). Maybe you can be the ground breaker for you neighbors, strategically sharing how little you spend on your pool in addition to how it looks after you've been at it for awhile.

Hi Shingar - I just read your initial post and your situation sounds extremely similar to the one that we are going through. After much research, interviewing, and deliberation, we made the decision a few weeks ago to have a fiberglass pool installed in our yard. We had strongly considered gunite, but at the end of the day, we selected FG based on similar points to those that you mentioned above - we ended up choosing a Blue Hawaiian 41' x 16' rectangular shell (Olympic Bay model) as an auto-cover was a requirement in our situation and they install 'most-seamlessly' on a rectangular shape. Our permit was filed with the township earlier today and, with a little luck, we might be able to get the hole dug by the end of this month - not that it matters much as it will likely be too cold here in the northeast to get much swimming in until the springtime.

We haven't yet purchased our equipment, but we have decided to go with the following - Pentair SWG, Sta-rite VS pump & cartridge filter, and a heat pump. One of our last outstanding decisions is around what type of cleaner to use in the pool --- my contractor is pushing us towards a robot, but I had been leaning towards a baracuda MX-8 suction --- to add to the confusion, one of the key references that I interviewed before hiring my contractor is strongly suggestion a Polaris pressure cleaner. We'll be installing water-line tile like you.... have you thought about what type of cleaner to use for your pool?

I look forward to following your build as it progresses and to hopefully learning from your experiences. I have a separate thread for our build here: http://www.troublefreepool.com/new-pool-se-pennsylvania-t37909.html --- not much there yet, just some pre-build pics.

Good luck with everything!

linen,

Again…thanks for pointing me in the direction of the SWG information on the Pool School section. Along with that and reading multiple multiple reviews from others that have gone to SWCG…..I’ve decided to go ahead and add that expense to my build. I’ll have to add the Aquarite T-15 Salt System to my sig. I’ll be the first in my neighborhood….and calling the two local pool stores around here….it seems that I will quickly become the local expert as nobody I spoke with is familiar with SWG operation or water maintenance. I’m sure I will be spending the Oklahoma cold winter nights on Pool School preparing myself for next summer.

lynns: That’s a pretty amazing endorsement for SWG! $25 a season? That’s incredible! Have you found maintaining the PH to be problematic? One pool store told me the money I will save in chlorine will go to chemicals to keep the PH in check. Not that I find him trustworthy…as he’s just trying to sell me chemicals……but what have you found?

TripleB4me: I’m all for easier! You mention that if you had to do it over…you’d get a variable speed pump. Why is that? My builder has given me a lot of flexibility in choosing the equipment I’ll be happy with….and I’d really like to make informed decisions right out of the gate.

jahv: You’re build sounds like it’s going to be about a month or so ahead of mine…..so I think I’ll be learning more from you instead of the other way around. I haven’t really thought about a cleaner as of yet. My neighbors use the crawler types that just plug into the intake…I know one of them has a Baracuda W03000-G3. I like tech…and your choice of the Baracuda MX8 really appleals to my inner geek. It’s twice the price….but it looks hi-tech…and if it does what they claim it can do……can you really put a price on an amazingly clean pool?
I’ll be subbing to your thread and look forward to seeing your progress. I have one question for you though. Why did you go the cartridge filter route?

I have never had to adjust the PH since the pool was installed. It is always 7.5 (yes, I do have a good test kit). It is possible that I am just lucky. I'm sure that is not typical but if you use the BBB method, the products you would need wouldn't cost near as much as what the pool store would sell you to keep the PH in line.

With the past 3 years on the SWCG... I have only been thru one gallon of acid --to control the Ph... But I do keep a good check on the TA--Baking Soda is cheap.. I normally only spend bout 35.00 a year on chemicals here and 75% of that is CYA--rest is the 5.00 bags of salt from home depot.

After reading a bunch of information on this and other sites; and asking tons of questions of the competing contractors I want with the cartridge filter primarily based on my understanding of the performance benefit along with the anticipated minimal maintenance. From what I have gathered, I shouldn't need to mess with the cartridges aside from pool opening and closing. Additionally, while they may not clean as perfectly as a DE filter, I always have the option of adding a little DE to the cartridge if I am not satisfied with the 'clarity' of my pool.

Also, the few customer references that I contacted in my area are all utilizing the Sta-Rite cartridge filter that we have chosen and they all have provided positive references for it... that was enough for me to validate my decision.

A variable or 2 speed pump will allow you to run at a slower speed when you want/need to and reduce electric cost.

We're still about two months away from the dig but we are still busy with the details. The wife loves the tile we have chosen. I'm still looking for a water feature or two I can live with. Most people here in OK go with a small waterfall....I'd like something a bit more unique. A friend in Arizona has two Scupper bowls at each end of his pool. I really like the clean look it gives the pool....but I'm having a tough time finding them locally. I could order them from Arizona.....but the freight charges are just outrageous. Anyone have any other ideas for a unique water feature or two?

I am very interested in following your build and experience with Seabreeze. We are down in the Lawton/Fort Sill area and have been tossing around the idea of getting an inground pool for quite some time. Good luck and I look forward to all of your updates to this thread and lots of pictures!!

Welcome armywife1996! I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. Please forgive me in advance for the content of some of this thread.....I'm using it mostly as a personal blog and to document our project.....so some of the details may be of no interest to anyone but myself....like our tile choice!

Our dig is supposed to start in November.....but it's possible we may get bumped to October. So I'll be posting many pictures starting about then. My wife is an avid photographer....and will detail the entire process with many many photos.

You're more than welcomed to pop on up to the OKC area after our pool's completion to see how Sea Breeze quality stacks up to others you may have seen. I retired after 21 years in the Air Force.....so my wife is an airforcewife2007. We military gotta stick together!

I am using the same SWG that you are considering. I have had it in service almost six years and my pool stays open year-round and gets used from late April until about Thanksgiving. The SWG is great, but the primary advantage isn't low operating costs. The cell is a consumable item that only generates a specific amount of chlorine before it must be replaced at a cost of around $500. Average life span seems to be 5-7 years, depending on your settings and hours of operation. The actual cost of chlorinating the pool is less than other methods, but not dramatically so.

The thing I love about the SWG is the simplicity of maintaining a sparkling clean pool with perfectly balanced water. The silky feel of the water and no extra unneeded chemicals in the water. It constantly generates chlorine and adds it to the water, so that you can operate a pool with lower chlorine than with other methods. Once the SWG is up and operating, stabilizer in the water, the only chemical I ever add is an occasional bit of muratic acid to keep the pH balance.

thanks Shingar! if your build starts in October, the way the weather has been lately, you still might be able to take a dip when they are done! LOL