New fiberglass pool

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C

CountryKim

0
Jun 18, 2008
51
Ontario Canada
Hi everyone,
I am new here and this is my first post. My name is Kim and I live in Ontario Canada. We are having a new pool installed in Oct and I am so happy to have just found this board.

We currently have an onground pool with a wood deck around it. The pool is almost 8 years old and the deck has started to rot. We talked about replacing the deck with a new one. But instead we have decided to just rip the whole thing down and start fresh. :shock:

We found a great pool builder here who installs fiberglass pools. He installs both San Juan and Leisure pool brands (this is his first year with Leisure, he has done SJ for over 10yrs). We signed our contract for a San Juan Manatee in light blue 2 wks ago. We were really torn between that model and Leisure Pools Tuscany model in the dark blue colour. We prefer the darker colour of the Tuscany, but we are getting a slight larger SJ pool for less money and the PB really like SJ too, so we went with SJ. We are doing a SWG, a cartridge filter, and we are going to keep our Jandy heater on our current pool. We also currently have a Kreepy Krawly and we will see how that works in the new pool before we upgrade cleaners. We are planning to do concrete decking and coping. So that is where we are that at this point. Still working out tons of little details.

For those of you that have light coloured fiberglass pools, do you find them difficult to keep clean? I have read some posts on staining. Also do you find the light colours warm up and hold the heat? We live in a cool climate so I am worried a bit about the pool losing a lot of heat at night. Is there anything you don't like about your fiberglass pool? Do you feel San Juan is a good choice? Or should we go with Leisure?...the PB said we can change our mind up until a month before the install.
Thank you for the help, I am sure I will have a ton of questions as we progress...and I am looking forward to being a part of this forum.
Kim
 
Hi
I have a light colored fiberglass pool, but it started out life as a gunite/plaster pool, we refinished it with fiberglass around 8 yrs ago.

We live in LA, and don't have any issues with a high water table, so we are able to completely drain the pool, and then clean it with a pressure washer. I did just that at the beginning of this year, and it did clean off a layer of grey grunge that had acculmulated over the 8 years. But, you need to be carefull about draining, if you have a high water table, you could "float" your pool, which is not something you want to do. I would ask your pb about it.

In general, I don't have a problem keeping it clean. I do have a few rust stains, but vitimin C can remove them.

At some point, we had a dark (blackish grey) plaster pool, but my wife did not like the way it looked. It did heat up better then a light finish. But, a solar cover will help even more, I would invest in a cover. It will really help to heat up the pool during the day, and retain the heat at night.

Out pool was a little slippery for the first year or so, after that no problems.

Good luck with your new pool.

I did read one post from someone where there is a real winter (unlike here) where his friends with plaster or fiberglass pools had problems from the freezing, but his vinyl pool was fine, something to consider.

You can find lots of information and help here

Randy
 
Thanks frustratedpoolmom

Randy-We do have real winter here. I had heard that a FG pool would flex with the freezing and thawing of the ground, I hope that is not wrong, as there will be a lot of freezing and thawing going on here...we are in Southern Ontario Canada.

Hoping to hear from more FG pool owners :-D

We are now currently weighing the pros and cons of brick paver decking and coping vs concrete...but I guess that is a whole other post.

Kim
 
I have a white San Juan fiberglass pool. Fiberglass pools are prone to staining BUT if you keep your calcium hardness above about 250 ppm it really helps to minimize this. If you have metals in your water be sure to use a metal sequesterant. If the pool does stain it's very easy to fix with ascorbic acid (vitamin c) powder. You will love your fiberglass pool. I don't know about the freezing issue because I am in Florida! :wink: but I can tell you that San Juan is one of the better fiberglass pool manufacturer's.
 
CountryKim said:
Thanks waterbear! What model is your SJ pool? It's the one in your avatar pic right? I think we made the right decision going with SJ over Leisure for our situation. It seems like they are a very reputable company.

Kim
Click to expand...
Yes, it's a cocoa beach model. I was a bit space limited or I would have put in a bigger pool.
 
Hi, I live in the center of the eastern half of PA. I have a fiberglass pool (white, they didn't come in any colors when I got my pool) and I love it. I get lots of freezing and thawing. This is the 9th summer for my pool. I haven't had any problems except for staining, and we know how to get rid of it - I am still working on how to avoid it all together ( I have well water). This year I have raised my calcium level to 250 as Waterbear suggests, and so far I am doing much better with stains. Fiberglass pool company's suggest using calcium - but we were told that it wasn't really needed in fiberglass pools. It isn't, but not having any may cause some staining, but having too much can cause stains too, as calcium is a metal :roll: . So balance is the key. Fiberglass is very easy to keep - I think you will love it. I have always heard good things about San Juan Pools. Best of luck :)
 

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waterbear-I just love looking at your avatar. Your water is so nice. We are having the hardest time keeping our onground in check this year....I think it knows it is being replaced. This is the first time in 8yrs we have had problems.

mbar-Your post makes me feel much better about our freezing and thawing situation. 9yrs and still no problems but staining....I'm sold.

Ke-Fellow Ontarian! Congratulations on your new pool! Do you have any pics to share :) ? Did you go with white or Sully Blue?

Kim
 
CountryKim said:
waterbear-I just love looking at your avatar. Your water is so nice. We are having the hardest time keeping our onground in check this year....I think it knows it is being replaced. This is the first time in 8yrs we have had problems.


Kim
Click to expand...
Here are some pics of my build and finished pool that you might like to see:
waterbear-s-pool-pics-t167.html
I chose a white pool because it produces the most dramatic effects with my color changing lights at night and still looks 'blue' in sunlight, as you can see. The spa is not white but a light 'pebble' color and the lights are not as 'dramatic' in the spa.

It's easy to keep your water looking like mine once you know what to do. That's what this forum is all about. (Anyway, since I work in the industry I BETTER have perfect water or I will never hear the end of it! :shock: :wink: )
 
waterbear-Thanks for that link. Your pool is beautiful and so sparkling clean. I could look at that water all day. Your white really shows the blue colour nicely. My husband loves your waterfall pots. He really wants a water feature on the pool. I am not so sure about one at this point. I like them...just not sure we need one and trying to stay within a budget.
Kim
 
I too have a white fiberglass pool. Mine is in Maine lots of freezing and thawing without any issues (just had family open it for me this weekend) I never had any major problems with staining and what little I did have cleaned easily. I don't think you'll have a problem. Good Luck and Welcome to TFP! :-D
 
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