You’ve decided that this is the year you are finally going to install a pool in your back yard but, having made what you thought was the most difficult decision, you find that you’re faced with something of a dilemma: should you go for a concrete or fibreglass pool? The answer to this question depends on what exactly you are looking for, how much money you would like to spend and how much time you have to maintain your pool once it has been installed.
A Fibreglass Pool Versus a Concrete Pool
To make your task easier, we have compiled a list of factors for you to consider when comparing these two different types of swimming pool. As pool builders with many years of experience installing both, we are intimately familiar with the pros and cons of these two different types of inground pools.
- Maintenance – You may instinctively feel that something made of concrete will be more durable and easier to care for than fibreglass but in this case you would be wrong. One of the reasons that so many homeowners in Toronto and all over the world are choosing to install a fibreglass pool in their yard rather than a concrete one is because they are much easier to maintain and just as durable. The nonporous nature of fibreglass means that algae is never an issue, making pools constructed from this material significantly easier to clean than their concrete counterparts.
- Overall Cost – Historically, pools that were constructed from fibreglass were seen as a low cost option but nowadays this is not always the case. How much it will cost to install a pool of either type in your back yard will depend on a number of variables, many of which may be unique to your home. However, what can be said with some certainty is that when you factor in the maintenance and renovation costs over time, a fibreglass pool will be the cheaper of the two options.
- Flexibility – By flexibility, we mean the choice of shapes and sizes rather than the nature of the materials themselves but it is worth mentioning at this juncture that fibreglass is inherently more flexible than concrete, making it a better choice for areas where underground vibration may be an issue. If you have an unusual pool shape in mind and you want to have it at all costs, a concrete swimming pool could be the only practical solution. On the other hand, there are many different shapes and sizes of fibreglass pool from which to choose nowadays so unless your tastes are very unusual, you can probably find one that you like.
Making Up Your Mind
Now that you have a better idea of what each pool has to offer, it is time to make up your mind. One more factor that you might wish to bear in mind relates to swimming pool installation times. Because fibreglass models are manufactured offsite, they can be installed in days rather than weeks.