Concrete Slide vs. Fiberglass Slide

[marispel]

So, we're getting quotes in from PB and one of them tells us to stay away from a concrete slide and now our last quote comes in with a concrete slide with the PB raving about it. We're looking at about an 18 ft slide built into a hill with rocks and landscaping around it to make it look really natural. The fiberglass one is custom ordered and then fitted together whereas the concrete one is custom built on site.

I have no idea which one is better and they are claiming the pricing is about the same. I just want it to be fun for the kids, easy to go down (fast) and doesn't hurt.

I'm curious to hear what people have and their experience with both.

 

[tpcorr]

We have an 8', Inter-Fab fiberglass slide on our pool. The kids really enoy it. The only downside is that it is 3 separate pieces, so there are seams that need to be resealed every couple of years with a silicon caulking. I do it whenever the slide starts to leak. I've always worried about the kids hitting their heads on the seam in the middle of the slide and hurting themselves, but in the 11 seasons we've had the pool, it hasn't been an issue. This particular slide has a great amount of water flow, so the kids ( and adults ) can go really fast. It also has enclosed steps, so you can't slip through the stairs, and has high sides to make it harder to fall off.

If the cement slide will be lined with that heavy vinyl material, like the ensolite non-inflatable rafts are, then that would probably be alot smoother of a ride, due to lack of any seams.

Looking forward, my only concern about the cement slide would be the types of things that may go wrong with it, and how difficult the repairs may be. I'm not saying that will be an issue, because I have no experience with that type of slide, but I tend to think about possible repairs when making the type of decision youy are making.

Good Luck

Tom

 

[jtech1]

I will preface this by saying that I have no personal experience with either yet. Just getting started on a build... getting an InterFab BYOS2 slide. I thought about gunite... not sure how it compares in price. My concerns with gunite were maintenance on the surface, cracking, etc. I am guessing it would have to be build solid down to footing level below frost line for the entire slide to not have serious cracking over time. The BYOS slides are just built on concrete piling footings. I am concerned about the seams, but from what I understand they are pretty maintenance free if assembled right. And the structure can be hidden on the sides with dirt, landscaping and rocks to blend in. The BYOS slides are a bit steeper than similar slides form Dolphin I looked at. Dolphin slides are not as steep and require more water (about 125 gpm). But they seem to be a little better quality.