New build in Cincinnati - Fiberglass vs. vinyl

[JLimoco]

Hi,
I'm still fighting through different ideas and the fiberglass vs. vinyl pool question came up.

Is it true that TCO of FG is less in the 10-15 year range?
- I'm assuming that chemicals and day to day maintenance are equal
Is the installation time for a FG pool less than Vinyl?

I have trees surrounding the area, if heavy branches were to fall into it would it damage the FG pool in someway similar to the tearing of a liner?

 

[sktn77a]

The fiberglass folks always bang on about the TCO! Personally not a fan of fiberglass for long term ownership - once the surface becomes compromised (cracks, blisters, oxidation) it a pain to repair/renovate. Not a fan of vinyl pools either but replacing a liner is a lot easier than resurfacing a fiberglass pool. IMHO.

 

[jamjam]

im in the process and for the 20K difference in price i decided i can get 40 years of liner replacements to match the difference in price (assuming the fiberglass needs no repairs or replacements in that time).

 

[JLimoco]

sounds like its back to looking at vinyl.

 

[JLimoco]

im in the process and for the 20K difference in price i decided i can get 40 years of liner replacements to match the difference in price (assuming the fiberglass needs no repairs or replacements in that time).

What is the timeline once you broke ground?

 

[jamjam]

i am not an expert at all, my reasoning could be very flawed (and i am cheap). We have not broken ground yet, but i figure if i ever want to upgrade my pool in the future i can once the liner is shot. I have a simple rectangle 18x36 and the PB says it will take about a week once we break ground. Still waiting on my surveyor to do his job so i can submit the permits.

 

[TheRaven]

I'm in PA and after reading up on all three pool types and being well acquainted with the nightmares of owning a concrete pool in the northeast, I can't imagine why anyone, when given a choice, would build anything other than a liner pool up here. It's the cheapest to build and also the most likely to not have any major issues in a reasonable life-span. I grew up surrounded by concrete pools and every single one of them has needed 20k+ in repairs after the 15 year mark. That's insane considering those pools cost 2-3x what a similar vinyl pool would cost. We just can't trust the ground we walk on up here, it is not nice to the things we build on/in it.

Three years ago I bought a house with a vinyl pool that was too small, and am currently in the process of making it bigger. Got prices and ideas for both FG and Gunite replacements but I couldn't find any strong argument for going with either one over another vinyl pool. Even the builder I am using agrees - he used to do FG and vinyl but dropped out of the FG business ten years ago because the liabilities with them are just too high in our region.

Also wanted to chime in on the timeline - no way a vinyl pool is getting done in a week...especially this year. Mine was started on July 1st and we are still looking at roughly another two weeks. The wait for a liner right now is 2-3 weeks and we had to wait a week and a half just for panels. Who knows what other delays are going to pop up.

 

[jamjam]

Our liner is already in with the PB - took 2 weeks. The week timeline is what i was told once we break ground, I am assuming we won't break ground until all equipment and materials are onsite.

 

[TheRaven]

Ah ok so that's not really a week timeline. You're already at two weeks. Understood.

For my project, the liner could not be ordered until the panels were up.

 

[jamjam]

he asked timeline once breaking ground - heck, i can't even get my surveyor out because "its too hot" so my permits are still delayed.

 

[TheRaven]

I think he might be assuming that the project starts when you break ground. It essentially did for me...but that's clearly not the case for you, your project is well underway.

On permits - I had great luck with that adventure. I expected it to be a nightmare, but perhaps due to the fact that I was applying well before 2020 became the year from heck, it only took about 2 weeks for me from application to when I got the call telling me that my permits were waiting for me at the township office. Now I feel for anyone trying to get any construction job off the ground.