Some additional info. I live in NJ and I understand that Water World and Dolphin pools are built locally. They seem to be less expensive than San Juan or Viking. Does anyone know how they compare quality wise?

I went with Viking for two reasons, lifetime shell warranty and the dolphin only came in one color...white! We wanted a deeper blue color, that was a huge factor for us. I know Dolphin is local, built in NJ by a company who builds boat hulls and does pools as a side.

First ...sorry for the long response but I think you will find it informative.

We just signed with Waterworld Pools in Hammonton NJ. We first contacted them the end of March and since then I have done extensive research on this site and many other comparing prices and etc. I called every single reference and asked for more. Waterworld has done everything so far that I could have asked. They do not pressure sale you and are invited to come see how they make their pools at the factory. You can now get white or 2 shades of blue and then the "corian" looking colors. We are getting a 14x32x6 freeform, installed by them. Hayward pumps, tile border, SWG, and Heat pump, concrete decking, solar cover and electrical done by their subs for $24500. The Heat pump I got myself (Heat Siphon)so that was in addition to the 23500 but they are hooking it up in that price. The only other charges we have are the permit costs and had to have trees removed. I havent been able to find any information they have told me that wasn't true. I even did investigative work into the alleged name changes and that was a "dealer" who used there name without permission to sell their pools. That "dealer" is the one who changed the name once he was caught. You get to speak with the owner who makes all the final decisions. We compared vinyl also and felt the most comfortable with waterworld and their overall truthfullness and willingness to answer all my questions of which their were many. We hope to have the pool installed next week or the one after...just waiting for the final permit to be issued. I live near Toms River and am very excited about our new fiberglass pool. We ended up choosing white because we first like the white..they have a display and second want to leave the coping showing...no concrete cantilever. When you sit in the built in seats or climb out the pool it will be smooth with no rough edges. We battled this decision and feel for us we made the right decision. The color is up to you. As for Viking and other makers we chose waterworld because they do their own installs. So many issues we have seen result is the pool manu. pointing fingers at the dealer/installer and vice versa. Waterworld handles everything...they cant blame your installer and say it was the installers fault. We know there are issues with Viking honoring warranties due to dealer errors...just be cautious..search online you will see for yourself. In NJ they will deliver, install and setup your pool including all pumps and motors for $3000. Your pool is tested before they leave. The next day the electrician comes and hooks up everything electrical. If you do decide on whatever pool give waterworld a call and see what you think for yourself. This will be my first pool. I would say I have put in over 100 hours of research into every aspect of the pool. Feel free to ask me questions directly. Thanks.

Lsbarkley

lsbarkley - I appreciate the response. It is very informative. Can I ask you a few mork questions? How much concrete decking are you getting? Is it the standard 3'? Also is the $3,000 included in the price of $24,500 or is it $27,500 in total? Also, what is SWG? Thanks

We went with Dolphin. It's built locally and has a lifetime warranty. We wanted white with waterline tile so it actually looks like a gunite pool. No one knows it's fiberglass until they get in. Pools reflect the sky so the water is a beautiful light blue. We paid under $30,000. Good luck.

As for concrete decking 30" on the backside of the pool and 4' on the other side. On the deep end its 3' of concrete and the shallow end its 4'. We plan on adding pavers myself for the lounging area at the shallow end and along the 30" possibly to expand that area if needed. The price includes everything but the heat pump which was over $2500. A SWG is a salt water generator. I am going with Autopilot Dig 60. It is a salt water cell that can handle a 50-60,000 gallon pool although mine will only be 14,000 gallons. The reason for this is if you run a small SWG you will need to run the pump 8+ hours or more to maintain proper chlorine levels. I have talked with several people and the company and going with the DIG-60 to produce more chlorine which equates to running pump less and saving electricity. I plan on running the pump 4-6 hours. This will also extend the cell life of the SWG. What a big learning curve its been so far but interested in all aspects of my pool. Keep researching and asking questions!

Ls

I have to agree with fool52 about Viking. Even if they build a good product, they need to have more accountability for their installers. Our install wasn't the greatest and trying to get Viking to step in to help was impossible. Don't go with Viking because of BAD customer service.

lsbarkley - I took a visit over to the water world plant and was very impressed. I spoke with Rick who was great. I think I'm getting closer to taking the plunge to buy one. Please let me know how your installation goes. Thanks

larrycb- My install didnt start off too good but finished well. The side of my house where the pool was to go around was too tight to make it. It was thought prior there would be no issue. So last Thursday got delayed for several hours to figure out what plan B would be. The solution was to crane the pool over the house. Yes I was nervous but in the end it was awesome sight to see, your pool going over the house..lol. After that everything went according to plan. So it took two days because of the delayed start. Crane couldnt come until Friday at 2pm. Since Thursday been working on pool area non stop and havent been able to check in. The first thing i added when water was going in was a metal out chemical (have iron in my water). Electrician came Sat to hardwire everything. Then this morning added my salt and this evening my muriatic acid to bring down my ph which is very high. This is my first pool so learning on the job. I am going to post my test results and see what others think i should do as well as make a few calls tomorrow. I have many pics but not sure how to post them as of yet. I will try to figure that out soon. The crew was great and if you do use Waterworld make sure you use there recommended excavator Jose. His price is very fair and he stays all day and knows exactly what to do. I as so thankful that I used him. He was excellant as was Tony from Waterworld and the crew. So much has happened in the last 4 days its crazy. Glad weather has been so nice. Let me know how its going...if you do talk to Waterworld mention Lamar and they should know who I am...lol...I drove them crazy with all my questions but I researched like crazy. Now onto my test results post.

lsbarkley - How's the pool from waterworld? Are you up and running? Any pictures?