I just saw this thread and wanted to comment on the fiberglass vs. vinyl, as I have had both. I had a vinyl pool built in my last home. It was 32x16 and went to 8ft. deep. It was perfect for when the kids were growing up. It had the the ugly white coping pipe which I just learned to deal with. In time, there were folds and creases in areas at the bottom and the sun faded the portion of the liner that was above water, especially in the corners. The liner had pulled away from the corners by the 7th year. I also noticed that I could start to feel "gritty" spots under the liner with my feet. I never went through a summer without fighting algea a couple of times. It would become a battle and it would get costly and aggravating. Now that I know the BBB method, I wish I could go back in time to see if this would have made a difference. When we moved, the pool was 8 years old, and the next season would have been vinyl replacement time. The good thing is that when replacing the liner, you can change the whole look of the pool if you want.
I knew when I was ready for another pool, I did not want to put in another vinyl pool. After alot of research, and to my own surprise, I chose fiberglass. I, as well, never liked the "bathtub" look of fiberglass, even though I realized that everybody I knew that had a fiberglass pool, had it forever without issues, they just weren't very pretty. I was pleased to find out that I could choose a gelcoat finish in order to give the pool a richer look and so that I could get the water a certain color (just like concrete pools use pebbletec). Also, coping of some type was a must. I chose a textured concrete coping in a brown color in order to keep with my desire for a natural setting. My gelcoat is a grey color which gives me a warm grey/blue water which I love. I have a salt water system. I am happy to say that after putting salt in the pool at the beginning of the season, and putting stabalizer in. I have not had to add one single other item to this pool so far this season. The water is perfect. I purchased the TFP test kit and test it regularly. Since I spent so much time throwing chemicals into my last pool, I am in shock as to how easy this pool is. I do not know if it is the fact that fiberglass is not porous and doesn't have any places for algae to catch on, or if the salt system is so consistent with putting out chlorine, or maybe its a combination of both, but this pool is absolutely the easiest thing you can ever imagine. The 28x14 size is perfect for what I wanted. The seat sections in the pool are great to have. Now that the kids are grown, it made more sense to have a smaller pool, and, as it turns out, now more of the pool is "useable" vs. that heavy slant in the middle of the larger pool that split people to either the shallow or the deep end.
One funny comment, the electrical code inspector walked all around my pool while inspecting and thought he was looking at a gunite pool until the electrician told him differently. Now, I can tell the difference pretty darned easy, and maybe he has never seen a fiberglass pool with coping on it in this area but I found that to be cute.
I am in Tennessee, and fiberglass is not the "preferred" pool in this area, so I think some people thought I was crazy.... but I absolutely love my choice.
The only thing I still plan to do is put waterline tile in the pool. I originally opted not to have this done because the quote was so high, and I'm quite a DIYer when it comes to tile, and it will save me 2/3 of what I was quoted to have it done, but the best option is to have the waterline tile placed before they pour/place the coping.
I wish you well with your pool build.
