Too many issues in my opinion. Can't drain when you want to for fear of popping. Most people don't realize the water chemistry implications of treating in a vessel that has no calcium buffer such as that of concrete. The result is a lot of equipment damage when it goes unchecked. Fading and wear of gel coating produces a slightly less than desirable look over the years. Much more leak potential as fittings are gasketed into the shell. A tab bit slippery as opposed to plaster. Most develop cobalt staining over the years.

Who is the "builder". If it's who I think it is, I have one more comment.

My personal feeling is that if I were looking to buy a house and my choices were the one with a fiberglass pool and a gunite, I'd buy the lesser house with the gunite pool simply because it's going to last longer.

I beg to differ with Repair guy on many of his comments.

It is almost universally accepted that a fiberglass pools is the easiest (and least expensive) pool to maintain chemically because it's shell is impervious to pool chemicals and therefore doesn't affect them. Also since it is so smooth, it is MUCH easier to keep it's surface free of algae and other buildups.

Any pool could "pop" out if drained. The popular image floating around the internet of a popped out pool is actually a gunite pool not a fiberglass pool. If you are going to drain any pool, you'd better make sure to have your ducks in a row first.

And I don't see how a fiberglass pool could be more likely to leak that gunite. If that were true, perhaps boat hulls would be made of gunite instead? :) Please......

I have not seen any posts from people who have colored fiberglass shells where the gelcoat had faded. It is true that fiberglass can stain (as can gunite and vinyl), but it can be cleaned. I have a white fiberglass shell and occasional Acsorbic acid treatments keep it looking good. But even if a fiberglass shell were to fade or wear after many many years of use, is that any different from the fact that gunite pools do as well? I have seen posts from untold people who have had to replaster their gunite pools. You can have a fiberglass pool "regelcoated" after time if you chose to.

IMO, as an owner of a fiberglass pool, the main detractions of a fiberglass pool are:

A. They are perceived as less expensive than gunite (because they are!) They fall between in gunite and vinyl. But I would argue that a well installed (and affordably installed) fiberglass pool would increase the value of it's install more that a gunite pool since a pool install really only adds a fraction of it's install cost to the value of your property.

B. They are limited in shape design and generally aren't that deep.

C. The are slippery. The bottom does have a slight texture to help minimize it but they are definitely slicker than a gunite pool.

D. They can be installed improperly and you might not know it until much later. This is the biggest issue that I have seen and heard with fiberglass pools and it is almost completely attributed to improper backfilling.

It looks like th poster knows the cost differences so I'm assuming they are looking for differences beyond that.
quote "It is almost universally accepted that a fiberglass pools is the easiest (and least expensive) pool to maintain chemically because it's shell is impervious to pool chemicals and therefore doesn't affect them."

That's my issue. I've heard that argument for 25 years. Ask any fish tank owner if the glass surface is much easier to keep algae free. That's about an equal comparison. Algae will grow on any surface. Put 2 bowls of water on the counter, make one a fish tank. Same surface, different environment. What I'm trying to point out is that it is not the surface that creates the cost of maintenance, it's the environment. Pool water is pool water. Chlorine does not magically seep into gunite pool walls and happen to stay within the confines of fiberglass. to believe that the pool uses less chemicals means you had a great sales guy who sold you that line. Both use chlorine at equal rates based on demand, gunite uses more acid, fiberglass uses more soda ash or bicarb, both about the same cost. Both need cyanuric acid. Where are the savings you state? Water, left alone will seek to find zero chlorine and about a 9.5 pH. The addition of most common pool chemicals that homeowners use (chlorine tablets and acid) are damaging to a fiberglass pool far greater than a gunite pool. Reason being, the fiberglass has no buffer as I stated earlier. Not all owners are as diligent on water chemistry as you may be. I'd argue that the majority are not. They simply fill the feeder and until they see visual evidence that there is a problem, they continue. In a concrete environment, this works a long time as the acidic content of the tablets is buffered by the calcium base of the concrete. In a fiberglass environment, pH falls and falls and causes a slow death to things while the water appears to be fine. And, it happens quickly.

Quote "Any pool could "pop" out if drained"

True, but when assuming you take the obvious into consideration before draining a pool (water table), the pop of a concrete pool has about as much of a chance of happening as Hillary becoming President. Your risk is extremely high with fiberglass without bracing it in some form and few do that.

Quote "And I don't see how a fiberglass pool could be more likely to leak that gunite. If that were true, perhaps boat hulls would be made of gunite instead?"

Boat hulls are not rigid in their environment. Any fitting that is epoxyed into the hull has no stress on it. As you mentioned, backfilling. Fiberglass shells are backfilled. You have a rigid pipe into the shell with a gasket in an environment that is constantly shifting. The leak potential is far greater. Every fitting in a fiberglass pool has a gasket. As rubber or paper is highly prone to chlorine damage they will leak in time and cannot be patched like a concrete pool can. The common fix is a blob of silicone.

Quote "But I would argue that a well installed (and affordably installed) fiberglass pool would increase the value of it's install more that a gunite pool since a pool install really only adds a fraction of it's install cost to the value of your property."

True, there is no pool that actually increases the value of a home monetarily. It increases the perceived value of the home when set next to others that don't have a pool. Put two identical homes side by side in July, in So Cal for a family of 4, one with a pool and one without, and the home with the pool will sell for more due to that pool. It's not the pool itself, it's how the home fills the need. The type of pool is the same. It may not be that way nationwide, but here in the southwest, it makes a huge difference. Most pool services are not even allowed to work on vinyl or fiberglass due to the increased risk of damage, fiberglass is considered a lesser product to the original gunite form. If it were better, there would be more of them installed than gunite.

As the poster asked why NOT fibeglass, my opinions were that is carries more issues. Yes, gunite carries issues but those issues can be addressed much easier than with fiberglass. I would not buy a house on a hillside if I was not prepared for the issues that it comes with. Yes, the views are great but that may not really make it a better way to go. I need to know the downfalls and what I'm in for. Fire, mudslide, etc.

One of the larger fiberglass installers in our area has gone to installing gunite. Demand is actually decreasing here. Again, maybe it's a regional thing but the industry of repair and service look at fiberglass as the weaker product.

I'd love to see what others have to say. I'm guessing the industry will favor one and fiberglass owners will favor their product.

The only thing that I have to say about fiberglass is be very very sure your builder is a good one.Unlike Gunite or Liner pools that you build the pool to fit the hole. With Fiberglass you have to make a hole to the shape of the pool so backfilling is very important to maintain the shell integraty. This is something that will show up later and experience of the installer is a must.

good comments don,

I know of the company you refer to here. It does not surprise me that the areas you mention in OC had popping issues. I serviced there for 15 years from 1982 to 1997. You're referring to perhaps the lowest lying areas in OC. You sound like a guy who actually did it right and as you know, we deal with the lowest common denominator in our industry and have to go with the standard which is usually weak. Especially today with all the service guys coming out in to building for strictly the bucks. Well, now they have nothing to do.

One thing that I question is the 20k difference in price how many gunite bids did you get and are the pools approximately the same size,same equipment?
Ask a Realtor about resale value for your neighborhood for fiberglass vs. gunite .
I've built pools for 30 years and I would go gunite if it is practical for you are you staying long term? Good luck.

True, but when assuming you take the obvious into consideration before draining a pool (water table), the pop of a concrete pool has about as much of a chance of happening as Hillary becoming President.

YEAH, I agree wih eveything you say about gunite vs. fibergalss, but, when you make that kind of comparison, I only hope that you are wrong about Hillary. I dread the thought of the other democrat in office. If thats the case, I will definitely be voting republican for the first time in my life. Go John Mccain, (cough, cough).

Did you get gunite bids?

We learned that at least in So cal, fiberglass can cost just as much as gunite. And in my opinion - looks cheaper.

Thank you all for your input and suggestions.

To answer some of your questions, yes, we have gotten both gunite and fiberglass estimates. Now after having broken apart about 4 gunite and 2 fiberglass estimates, we are finding about a maximum $11K difference between the gunite and lower bid fiberglass. We actually had 1 fiberglass bid come in at $58K, pretty close to the gunite cost.

I am a realtor and have been watching a house with a fiberglass pool in the area that has been for sale. The pool did not detract from the sale at all and the home recently went into escrow. It was marketed very well as an energy efficient, quick heating, low chemical pool.

We have come full circle and are now reconsidering gunite if we can negotiate in a few areas. We are concerned about the ability to service a fiberglass pool with the lack of installers/servicers in the area. S. Cal. everyone just pauses when you mention fiberglass, it is really not yet widely accepted.

Thanks again for all your input....

Here's my $0.03 worth.
Over the last 3 years I have replaced 5 pools from cave-ins. Three fiberglass and two vinyl. I replaced all with gunite. All the fiberglass were drained for cleaning.

I have NEVER had a gunite pool collapse from being drained but last spring I did go out to a home owner DIY plaster job that had lifted 5 feet. The pool was high up on a hill overlooking Oakland CA. His water table was created by his own actions. He removed his deck, emptied his pool, removed his tile and stopped work when it started raining. Two weeks later he went outside to continue. That's when he called me back out. He was saving $3000.00, from my original quote, by doing it himself. Because he caused the pool to lift he has no insurance coverage. He wanted to know if I could lower the pool back down. :-( Now he can either destroy the pool and make a yard or destroy the pool and build a new one in its place.

Here in No. Calif. the fiberglass guys are higher than gunite. Only greed could explain why.

Ken

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:2024589}}

Ken,
Obviously we all have different experiences and areas of expertise. If I had never built gunite pools before I would be completely biased in my opinions about fiberglass pools. They both have their ups and downs, but bear in mind that if the "DIY" guy you mentioned had put in a fiberglass pool, it could have been re-installed and repaired if necessary, and not a total loss. In regards to pricing of fiberglass pools, although the installation time of a fiberglass pool is much faster than a gunite pool (at least it should be) in most cases that fiberglass pool shell cost the contractor more money than a gunite pool. Remember that fiberglass pools are made up of mostly petroleum based materials and as the price of gas goes up so does the price of a fiberglass pool. You also have the extra expense of a crane and transportation costs involved. I am not saying the fiberglass pool guys in your area are not greedy, I just know as a general rule fiberglass pools usually cost $2,000 to $3,000 more than a gunite pool. There are many instances in which a fiberglass pool does fare better than gunite pools. The area of Nevada that I worked for 12 years had two types of soil, hydro-expansive and hydro-collapsible. When the ground got wet it would expand by 8% in the expansive soil, and in the collapsible soil, when the ground got wet it would sink under a load. Gunite pools don't do to well in those conditions no matter how they engineer them. The insurance companies had to change the language in their policies because too many people were making claims when their gunite pools were cracking. They fell for the "lifetime warranty" on their gunite shell, which of course doesn't cover any "ground movement". Likewise, I know that there are many situations where a gunite pool would be best for the circumstances. I have been involved in projects where due to hillside restrictions we were able to put a fiberglass pool in for people at an affordable price. For the people in these circumstances a gunite pool would have been out of their reach financially. So try to keep an open mind about fiberglass pools, it could come in handy for you someday.

I'm in the Fresno area and have a Fiberglass pool. So far I have saved a ton of money on it. Compared to my gunite pool I had, I use only about 1/4 of the chlorine and 1/3 of the power. I do use soda ash to keep the PH up and have run into the problems with cobalt staining which cost $12 to get rid of with Jacks Magic Chemical. I did find that not a lot of people or services know how to take care of a fiberglass pool. But I did find a guy that worked for the company that installed it that went beyond to teach me everything about the pool. In my opinion and my friends that bought fiberglass pools after I did, gunite is a joke to me!!! The only draw back was that I wanted to customize a little on the pool and could not because i had to pick from what they make. So far it has been 8 years since it was put in. They did warn me not to drain it for any reason and so far I have not needed to for any reason.

I live in Southern California (Riverside,CA) and I am looking for an installer for a fiberglass pool. I was wondering if anyone was able to recommend someone in my area. I am very worried that I will get someone who does not know what they are doing and I am not sure on how to go about checking. It seems that all the installers of the pools are dealers and are not associated with the manufactures and this worries me.

I live in Riverside county as well and am interested in a fiberglass pool. Can anyone recommend a good installer?

I had a $25,000 (1985 dollars) concrete pool "float" up with WATER in it...San Antonio, Texas black gumbo soil.

Put two identical homes side by side in July, in So Cal for a family of 4, one with a pool and one without, and the home with the pool will sell for more due to that pool.

I was told something like the above when I received my Broker's license many years ago but the real truth is that any pool can be a problem in selling a house. I have had many clients love a home, but hate a pool so the sale was out of the question.

I also am looking for a fiberglass pool installer in the San Bernardino area. Can someone make a recommendation?

To the OP - please ignore Repair Guy, as he knows not what he says. The fiberglass pool will FAR outlast a unite pool in every way, shape and form. It is also infinitely way, WAY easier to keep clean in every aspect, as well as maintenance…. and let's not even compare how much money you'll save in pool chemicals with a fiberglass pool. $40 per season is all it takes with my fiberglass pool. Go with fiberglass… you'll be kicking yourself if you try to get the same results out of gunite...

While I'm sure your advice is well-intentioned, jerseypool, I suspect this is probably a moot point for the OP, who posted the question almost six years ago.

[By the way, in case anyone ever pulls this up from a search, as someone who has owned both fiberglass (previous 7 years) and gunite (built this summer), I can recommend both, and both have their pros and cons. I will say that my colored gel coat on my Viking fiberglass pool did fade over time.]

I agree but the concrete pool doesn't have gaskets and cannot be scratches

All I can say is wow!
I found the right discussion, or should I say debate, on concrete vs
fiberglass. It looks like I may be a few
years behind, but perhaps people are still willing to bring this conversation
back..?

As a background, I came here looking for a good discussion
on which type of pool to look for in buying a new home in northern KY, or maybe
which type of pool to avoid. I just
moved here from FL and the last two homes I’ve lived in had traditional concrete
pools. In fact in FL, it really wasn’t much
of a discussion to have. It was very
rare that I saw a pool that was anything other than concrete. I’ve seen many high quality pools in the time
I was in FL and for some reason I can’t find many homes that seem to compare here
in KY.

Just so everyone knows, Im not trying to defend what I am
biased towards given my history of purchases, which would be concrete, I simply
am trying to reignite the debate to perhaps better understand the reasons why someone
would lean towards buying a home with a pool of any specific construction? Or perhaps the answer would be, the pool
construction type would Not influence the purchaser either way? Keep in mind, this topic is for buying a home
with an existing pool, not to build a new pool, which I completely understand
would change many opinions just on the purchase cost alone.

There are a few topics I would like to comment on, given I
have owned and maintained pools and hot tubs for close to 15 years now. For one, it seems that a handful of folks believe
the chemistry is drastically different for pool types where fiberglass is said
to be “impervious” to pool chemicals. I Strongly
believe this is false and the folks who have debated otherwise have not
convinced me with what seem to be opinions, not facts. Sure, concrete as a material is not 100%
impervious because it absorbs, which is partly why it needs to be surfaced/sealed. I can also see how surface texture could influence
things a bit. You could maybe even argue
that concrete’s heat coefficient could influence surface temperature and in
turn cause further issues, but at the end of the day, chemistry is
chemistry. If you use a pool daily, the
pH levels change, and acid levels needs to be modified. This is caused by chemicals that come from humans,
not surf ace materials people. Humans
sweat, are often dirty and/or wear lotions, and this causes alkalinity levels to
rise. It has nothing to do with surface
materials. For textured surfaces, algae
is captured and it shows, for slippery surfaces, it goes somewhere else. As for high maintenance and cleaning for
concrete pools, I don’t buy this one either.
I’ve had times where for months if my previous concrete pool was not
used and weather was OK, I had literally no maintenance. I’ve had other times when it was being used
often, that I had to test levels and add chemicals daily. In parallel to the concrete pools I’ve had, I
have also had concrete spas and fiberglass spas. The material had almost no influence on
chemical treatment, only it seemed cleaning was a bit different given texture
and openings. Sure the concrete was rougher
and when algae formed, it was more difficult to clean. As for the fiberglass spas I’ve had, the
algae seemed to find its way further into jets, which caused me to have to
scrub even more to clean them. So at the
end of the day, it was about the same.

The bottom line for me has been, when I find a pool that was
made by a good quality concrete installer, the pool not only feels of higher
quality, but it looks of higher quality and appears to settle well with the
space around it. I’ve seen about 15
homes now with fiberglass pools, and not only do most of them appear to be of
lessor quality, but most of them seem to have issues with the materials that
were built up around them. For example,
in some cases where decking was constructed around the pool, the material has
aged and/or is warping. In other cases I’ve
seen folks pour concrete around the fiberglass pool (which just feels like a mistake),
and in one case I saw differential settlement that caused the surface water to
drain between the two which will eventually result in disaster (hence I didn’t buy
that house).

Is this perhaps just a coincidence of what I’ve seen, or can
someone convince me that fiberglass can be better, and I should look for a
house with a fiberglass pool..? For now,
I feel that I would not only stick with concrete, but would further avoid
fiberglass all together.

So, what should I go with? Gunite or fiberglass I'm ready to sign but want to make the best decision

My name is Steve Goodale and I am a second generation pool & spa builder. After 25+ years in the field, at the highest end of the industry, I built a website www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com to help people learn about pools and spas. As an established pool & spa industry expert I continue to be amazed by this debate which continues on. While I am retired from building now, when I was building world class swimming pools I had the opportunity to build any type that I wanted to. I had 12+ years doing vinyl liner installations and 12+ years doing concrete pool installations, both in incredibly affluent areas where budget was usually a secondary, if not tertiary concern. I used to have fiberglass sales people contact me to try to get my business. I attended multiple installation workshops as well as dozens of site visits to other industry contacts who install fiberglass pools. Based on the experience that I had, and the candid information that I was able to gather and process as a swimming pool expert, there is absolutely zero question as to which are the best. Concrete pools are vastly superior to fiberglass pools. There is no question. The fact that a fiberglass pool installation costs as much, or more, than a concrete pool installation is quite honestly laughable. This is about the point that fiberglass pool owners and fiberglass pool installers get their backs up...listen, I am not saying that fiberglass pools have no place in the industry...just like vinyl pools have a place. But that place is most certainly NOT as the premiere pool type. Fiberglass pools are leak prone, restrictive for remediation options for maintenance and failure related repairs, and cheaply constructed. They are also incredibly easy to install requiring little to no actual experience as a pool installer to put one in. This is actually the main reason that they are as popular as they are, as they allow less skilled people into the luxury pool installation market. Installing a concrete pool is very hard, at least a quality one, assuming that your builder does not subcontract the whole process out. I can build international award winning swimming pools with my bare hands, which I have done many times, and I am telling everyone reading this simply that concrete pools are the superior product. The only people who will say otherwise are either selling you a fiberglass pool, or have bought a fiberglass pool and want to feel justified in the purchase decision.

I've heard of installed by a reputable contractor and using gravel backfill as opposed to sand will save some potential problems. In my case the fiberglass is about the same cost as gunite. I think I'm pretty much guaranteed I'll have to refinish a gunite ($$$) and may more for chemicals as opposed to fiberglass. I personally don't like screen cages so mine will be wide open. As for waterline tile, I was told that most of the fiberglass customers don't opt for tile but I can't imagine a pool without it?

Lots of good info, thanks. Here in Las Vegas the quotes I got for fiberglass were up to $20,000+ more than gunite.

I have two friends with fiberglass pools. One settled a few months after install leaving an unsightly gap around the edge, the other shows chalking on the waterline and exposed spa areas after just a few years in service. Both were built by the most recognized fiberglass pool mfg in our area. IMO fiberglass on pools has the same problem it does on boats- after a few years in the weather, it chalks and fades. Requiring someone to buff off the oxidation to make them look decent.

In contrast, my pool is gunite/pebbletec and 11 years old. Finally drained this spring (due to high CYA) and acid washed it before putting it back in service. Pool looks like the day it was installed. I also upped the rebar schedule to make the shell even stronger for a few hundred dollars during the build. Can't do that on a fiberglass pool (that I'm aware of).

As to the comments above indicating that it will be $$$$ to refinish the gunite pool down the road. You probably will need to refinish a plaster pool every 20 years or so but the finishes like pebbletec, quartzite, have lifetime warranties so $3k in initial investment negates the shorter lifetime of traditional plaster.

I have a question about soda ash and fiberglass. First of all, we love our fiberglass and I'm not arguing for either side. I just need some help. We have copper staining for the first time in 12 years and are unsure how to clean it other than through a stain remover from Leslie's Pool Supplies. We have already used the metal free, but is there any other way besides the Stain Remover?

fiberglass products is very strong,and can use many years without maintanence

fiberglass products is very strong ,and can use many years ,and I am a expert of it