"Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
F

firefox2017

0
Mar 24, 2017
29
Uniontown
"Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

Hey everyone,

We were considering polymer wall inground with vinyl liner. However another option is getting thrown in the mix from Family Fun Pools who does a hybrid pool with fiberglass sides and cement bottom. Family Fun Pools | Global Builder of Pools and Waterparks - check out the "Uniwall" tab

We wonder how long will the fiberglass sides take before they get faded? Any downsides to this kind of pool?

Thanks, Eric
 
Re: Family Fun Pools (hybrid pool) - opinions?

Welcome to TFP!

I'm pretty sure those style pools use a vinyl liner so the FG sides aren't exposed to the sun.
 
Re: "Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

Yes there are manufacturers of fiberglass walls that embed into the concrete floor. The walls are then exposed to water and all. The concrete has to be treated with something to finish it. Whether it is paint or ecoFinish. There is also another company that does a composite wall that you do the same way then finish. That company is onlyAlpha
 
Re: "Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

Anyone have opinion on fiberglass wall cement bottom vs poly wall liner pool? The liner pool is about 10k cheaper but if there is really a long term savings with the hybrid since there is no liner-- in time we would actually save money. Both reputable builders
 
Re: "Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

Firefox as with any pool it comes down to how comfortable you are with either builder. Longevity is going to come down to water chemistry maintenance first then how well the original build was done. I would be most concerned with a hybrid pool as to how they are finishing the concrete. Is it paint or something else?
 
Re: "Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

My thoughts: a $10k price differential means the equivalent of at least two future liner changes....or 14 to 25 years.
Depending on floor treatment, there is still maintenance, paint, or plaster or coating finish etc. over the next two decades as well.

Otoh, the fiberglass may indeed turn out to be trouble-free...but you don't know that for certain. Eg. Cracks, surface delaminaton, etc. unlikely, but if it happens, where do you go from there in terms of repair cost?

So I feel they're roughly equivalent in theory, but I guess changing a liner seems simpler to me than possible repair/maintenance on the floor and exposed fiberglass from the vantage of a few decades. Meaning if something untoward happens, its likely cheaper to change a liner to restore.

This might be a weird way to look at it, but consider the source ;) I have a liner pool with a liner that lasted 15 years...with that said, I didn't choose it as it predates my ownership of the house. But I had done some thinking on building a pool before finding this place, and noodled around the whole cost:value of finish/build styles and longevity/future restoration cost.
 
Re: "Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

Thank you! One thing the hybrid pool builder says is we will never really have to do anything to maintain the pool with regard to recoating anything.... I wonder how true. They epoxy coat the floor and the walls are fiberglass. Does anyone have these surfaces that can chime in? About how much to do this on 18x40 pool and how often roughly?

They say there will be a slight difference with fading at the waterline - but they say most people have them install tile border at the top for extra $1500
 
Re: "Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

Firefox I have a customer that has a swimcraft fiberglass wall that was built in 1986. The only thing that is wrong with it is the gelcoat at the tile line has faded.
 
Re: "Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

We have an old hybrid pool in the house we just bought. I thought these were a thing of the past based on all the research I've done and I've had to do a lot. I can't tell you about owning it, but I can tell you that it has clearly lasted quite some time. The key issue is this, once the walls start to blister (which again could be quite some time) you're pool is basically done depending on what part of the U.S you live. I do believe some people are happy to tackle the fiberglass in the Northeast, but nothing around us here in the Midwest. Your only true repair options in some areas so expensive that a new pool is really the only thing that makes sense. Any pool company will offer to fix the concrete by plastering, but if your experience is anything like ours there isn't really a fix for the fiberglass walls once they're done and since they're embedded into the concrete floors they are there to stay.

It certainly seems like it was a relatively trouble free pool for many years though before it got here.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Re: "Hybrid pool" (fiberglass walls with cement bottom) - anyone know about these?

I have very similar problem. The house also came with swimcraft style pool with fiberglass side and concrete bottom also old. I had pool level drop several inches leak company who dived pool said leak was in output pipes and pool was drained they replaced pipes then lost there fiberglass contractor and it took years to find one to replace and repair fiberglass. The pool was tiled over the concrete and fiberglass surround. I have seemingly different response from multiple different contractors being in western pa most wanted to do liner I have recommendation to remove tile then replaster with newer quartz or aggregate plasters and finally a recommendation that plaster would not stick to fiberglass and to use gel coat which recommended contractor has not as yet returned my call. Not sure if this was recommended for the whole pool. Also have have sent emails to swimcraft for recommendation this post very similar to my own but could not find any solution threads or opinions about repairs
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0420.jpg
    IMG_0420.jpg
    48.7 KB · Views: 100
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply