FAQ
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Q. I’m looking for a pool
but I really don’t know what is available.
Could you help me?
Q. I’ve heard of one piece fiberglass swimming pools, but what is a fiberglass wall concrete bottom pool?
Q. What does the concrete
in the bottom of the fiberglass wall concrete bottom pool do?
Q. What about the bottom
of the pool being plastered or painted?
Q. I have heard that
concrete pools crack. Can your pool’s concrete bottom crack?
Q. Does the fiberglass
wall concrete bottom pools have seams around the pool that leak?
Q. I have heard that
pools can float. How can a huge pool
float?
Q. I have read the claims
of the one piece fiberglass pool manufacturers as far as cost savings in the
comparison on their pools versus the other types. It seems so expensive to own any other type
of pool. Could they possibly be
right?
Q. I don’t understand it.
The warranty on a lot of these pools are for a lifetime. Doesn’t that prove they’re better?
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ALWAYS FUN FIBERLASS
WALL CONCRETE BOTTOM POOL FAQ's
Q. I’m looking for a pool
but I really don’t know what is available. Could you help me?
A. There’s basically 4
pool types of in-ground pools.
Gunite or shotcrete pools- The most expensive expensive
pool out there. This pool is the
Cadillac of pools, been around since approx. the 1950’s. It can be any shape or size or depth. Its prices can vary widely due to the fact
that the design could be simple or elaborate, and the builders' experience at
building them will alter the cost considerably. You definitely get what you pay for with these pools. It is one of the two pools of choice for
smaller commercial pool and spas due to the fact that it takes a huge amount of
abuse from their users.
One Piece Fiberglass Pools – One piece fiberglass pools have taken a significant portion of the pool
industry's business due to the
sleek designs and fast install times.
They offer some of the same benefits of gunite pools, such as the lack
of a vinyl liner, attractive freeform shapes and pools that are more resistant
to typical pool abuse. They also have
some pretty unattractive attributes such as draining and maintenance issues
that many times prematurely void the manufacturers' warranties, installation costs
that many times are comparable to gunite pools of the same size and features
due to huge shipping charges and then the biggie: size constraints. Most, if not all, are less than appropriate
for diving pools.
Fiberglass or
stainless steel wall concrete bottom pools - These
pools are not new. As a matter of fact they have been around for many
years. In many areas of the country, they are the pool of
choice for hotel / motel pool and spa construction. This is due to their
longevity and economical construction. Because they are made from an
assortment of rigid pool panels up to 8 foot long and approx. 3 foot 9
inches tall, and are permanently bolted together end to end, they form a
perimeter wall system that is unparalleled. The walls are then interlocked
into the thick concrete floor during construction. Together the walls and
floor form a very substantial structure. This unique wall system can be
made into a small backyard pool, or just as easily (except for the scope of the
job) can be used to build a pool twice the size of an Olympic sized commercial
pool and be 15 foot deep. The shape of the concrete floor determines the depth
of the pool. It can be a 3 foot deep splasher pool or 12 foot deep pool just
by how deep you dig the bottom out. The older stainless steel panel
pools are as durable but some feel they are somewhat sterile in their
appearance. Always Fun's designed our panels with 5 available colors
to be strong and durable but yet very attractive. Much less expensive than
gunite but yet extremely durable!
Vinyl liner pools – Vinyl
liner pools have been a boom to the swimming pool industry because it has
enabled more homeowners the luxury of owning an in-ground swimming pool. They are the least expensive pool
construction available but at a cost… The only thing between you and a leak in
your pool is a 20-30 mm soft and supple liner. Visualize it this way. You take a
clothes hamper and you put a liner-like material in it, say like a lawn &
garden plastic bag, then fill it with water, and now you have the basic concept
behind the vinyl liner swimming pool. The only thing that holds the water is the thin liner whose thickness is
measured in millimeters.
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Q. I’ve heard of one
piece fiberglass swimming pools, but what is a fiberglass wall concrete bottom
pool and how does it differ from the one piece variety?
A. The fiberglass wall concrete bottom pools differ from the one piece type because only the first 42” of the pool walls are fiberglass, whereas the one piece type are all fiberglass, the walls, and the floor. On the Fiberglass wall concrete bottom pool, the pool below the 42” wall ( the floor) is solid concrete. The fiberglass walls are made so that their bottom locks into the concrete floor. The concrete floor can then be painted or plastered to suit the owner's taste. This wall / floor interlock system provides the ability of combining the best of several benefits of both gunite and fiberglass pools in one economical yet very attractive pool.
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Q. What does the concrete
in the bottom of the fiberglass wall concrete bottom pool do?
A. The concrete in the
bottom of the fiberglass wall concrete bottom pool accomplishes a couple of
things.
#1 it provides a
base into which the fiberglass walls anchor. This anchoring provides a solid base for the walls and therefore helps
supply a structural advantage to the overall pool. The one piece fiberglass pool has unsupported
vertical walls for up to 8 feet. That’s the reason that they should not be
drained without a professional there to brace the walls as the pool is
drained. Most one piece pool companies
void their warranty if their pools are ever drained, so double check the
warranty before you buy!
#2 it enables the
pool to be much larger than any one piece pool could ever be. One piece
fiberglass pools are made in manufacturing plants. Then they have to be shipped on a truck to
their destination. Of course there are
limitations to what can be shipped on a roadway. Most manufacturers make a 16’ wide pool
(really a 15’ total inside width) with only one or two making a 18’ wide
(really a 17’ inside width) pool. The fiberglass wall concrete bottom pool can
normally be shipped on two to three pallets on any regular truck. They can also be made into almost any shape
and depth configuration. It could be as
large as an Olympic pool or it could be as small as a church baptismal. It also could be any depth you would
conceivably want. From 3’ down to 10,
12, even 15’ deep if you desired it. There’s really no limitation to the fiberglass wall concrete bottom
pool’s design, and that makes for a great pool!
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Q. What about the bottom
of the pool being plastered or painted? The one piece pool manufacturers say that this is a distinct
disadvantage. How does the pool’s bottom not being fiberglass affect the
maintenance?
A. The fact that the pool is painted or plastered really makes no difference at all. The one piece pools do have a smooth and tight bottom and normally don’t require any yearly maintenance, but the painted or plastered pool bottom is also tight and smooth. The issue about algae clinging on to other types of surfaces is really irrelevant due to the fact that you will not be dealing with algae in a properly maintained pool. Properly treated water does not allow algae to grow to where it would attach itself to the pool interior, and if it was encountered you would treat it with chemicals that would do the huge majority of the cleaning of the pool. It’s not like cleaning the grout in a tiled shower. You can still have as significant algae in a one piece fiberglass pool as you could in any other type of pool built today. The bottom of the fiberglass wall concrete bottom pool if painted does need periodic re-painting, generally every 5-8 years with epoxy paints, but the average homeowner can perform the job well and for less than $300.00 - $400.00. That’s just $43.75 per year on average. In addition, plaster applications such as Pebble Tech™ or SGM’s product called River Rock™ practically never need replacing or maintenance. Many companies call it the lifetime plaster. It’s really terrific-looking and isn’t too slippery.
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Q. What about the bottom
of the pool being plastered or painted? The one piece pool manufacturers say that this is a distinct advantage
to their pools as far as a reduction of chemicals needed and the time that the
pump needs to stay on therefore reducing the electrical costs. How does the
pool’s bottom not being fiberglass affect themaintenance in these aspects?
A. First of all let’s
understand the basics behind pool water chemistry. It takes a certain amount of whatever
sanitizer you're using to keep the pool free of algae, bacteria and viruses
that continually bombard your pool's water surface 24 hours a day seven days a
week. Swimmers usage (called bather
load) is the only additional issue that adds to the chemical demands in the
pool. It’s not the pool’s surface
material that puts extra burdens on the chemicals. It sounds plausible, but unfortunately the
other guy’s theory just doesn’t hold water. The fact is, whether it’s chlorine, bromine, a “salt water” pool – which
by the way is still a chlorine pool ˗
or a mineral system using copper, silver or other minerals, or even a
biguanacide treated pool it still takes a certain level of these products in
the pool to remove or “kill” the unwanted pests in the pool. It doesn’t make any difference what type of
material out of which the pool shell is made. As long as the surfacing is watertight and smooth enough that it won’t
hold debris, you’ll use exactly the same amount of chemicals to keep your pool
clean and clear of algae, bacteria and viruses.
Now as far as the
pump needing to run shorter periods to keep the pool water clear, let’s think
that through. Pool water is cleared of
small particles that get into the pool from “outside” sources. It’s not the pool finish itself that creates
the debris unless your pool is falling apart. Pool filtration principles are
fairly basic. There are three different
types of pool filters on the market today: sand, cartridge and D.E.
filters. They operate in different ways
to achieve the same result ˗ they remove these particles out of the pool water.
Although these filter types vary in the manner and efficiency, they complete
their task, but the one thing they have in common is the fact they require a
certain amount of time to complete what’s called a turnover of the pool’s
water. The national standard for
residential pools is to have the entire amount of the pool’s water turned (or
run through the filter system) at least every 8 -12 hours. Now the only thing that could reduce the time
the pool is filtered is by using a more efficient filter, such as the cartridge
or D.E. filter. For example, a cartridge
filter removes approximately 10 times smaller particles than a sand filter. I
wouldn’t go as far as to say that you can run your pool filters for 1/10th the time if you were using a cartridge filter, but in theory you could. We go by the rule that we follow the
guidelines set forth by the health departments for safety in the use and care
of your pool. Where the other guys are
coming from in their assertion that you can run the pool for shorter periods
due to the finish of the pool just doesn’t add up. Remember, it’s the external sources of debris
that the filter’s removing, not the debris caused by the pool itself.
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Q. I have heard that
concrete pools crack. Because your pool
has a concrete bottom, can your pool’s bottom crack?
A. It doesn’t matter what
pool you build with the exception of the vinyl liner pool. The bottom of all pools can and will crack
whether they are gunite, fiberglass or stainless steel wall concrete bottom
pools. You see, pools hold a terrific
amount of water. Have you ever carried a
five gallon bucket full of water? It’s
heavy right? Its 41.65 pounds to be
exact. Now imagine 5000 pails of water in your pool. Imagine the huge weight bearing down on your
pool. If any pool isn’t properly
installed, then it will crack, period. A concrete bottom pool properly installed
is not more likely to crack than a properly installed one piece, gunite or
fiberglass pool.
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Q. Does the fiberglass
wall concrete bottom pools have seams around the pool that leak?
A. Yes the convenience of the fiberglass wall
concrete bottom pool's design does necessitate seams every eight feet or so
along the pool's perimeter. These are
sealed during construction with an incredibly tough and resilient material that
lasts often ½ of the life of the pool. Normally the pool’s seams will be
touched up and/or resealed during some maintenance in the next 20 years of its
long life span. You’ll probably only do
this once, if at all, during your trouble-free ownership of the pool. There are many advantages to this style of pool
construction. #1 is the cost due to not
needing a crane to set the pool as with the one piece fiberglass pool
types. #2 is the cost savings of the
freight to get your pool to your location. This cost often exceeds $3,000.00 - $4000.00 per pool for the one piece
fiberglass pools. #3 is the distinct
advantage that if a part of the pool walls ever needed to be replaced, you
could remove a single panel instead of the whole pool. I have had to replace panels in pools where 2
x 4’s and other debris were driven into the pool’s walls and steps during a
tornado. #4, last but definitely not the least, these panels allow the freedom
for your pool builder to have the huge selection of size, shape, depth, width
and length of the pool to meet your particular needs and wants. How many connections, gaskets, and fittings
are in the car you drive every day? Imagine the thought of trying to put together a working machine out of
one piece of material. Not only would it not work, it couldn’t be done. Today,
our technology allows us to travel to the stars. It allows us to build cars, trucks, ships and
airplanes that travel millions of miles every day without failure. These same workhorses are individually built
out of thousands of parts with sealants in many parts of their construction
holding vital functions in check. Do you
expect Ford or Chevy or Cessna or Boeing to build their products without being
componentized? Of course not! The benefits
for fiberglass wall concrete bottom pools far outstrip any contrived issue
about componentized construction.
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Q. I have heard that
pools can float. How can a huge pool
float?
A. Pools can float due to
the age-old fact that if the total of the materials that the pool is
constructed out of plus the water in the pool is lighter than the water the
area of the pool displaces, it can’t do anything but float. Again, here is a downfall of the vinyl liner
pool. The entire pool won’t float, but
the liner will more easily float out of place, thereby creating an expensive
service call to reset the liner back in place, often in excess of $600.00. Gunite pools and fiberglass or stainless
steel wall concrete bottom pools have a distinct advantage here because they
can have what is called a hydrostatic relief valve installed in the floor’s
drains.
If the water around the outside
of the pool starts to exert pressure on the outside of the pool, this valve
opens up and relieves the pressure differential between the outside and the
inside of the pool. When the pressure is equalized then the valve closes and
all would be well. This would stop the
floating issue dead in its tracks. This
is also one area where the one piece fiberglass pools are at a big
disadvantage. They don’t put these
relief valves in their pool’s bottoms because of the issues that could be
created. Occasionally, these valves
stick open. In a normal gunite or
fiberglass or stainless steel wall concrete bottom pool, this would pose no
potential for damage however in the one piece pool's case this could wet the
backfill material, causing it to slump and bulge or even cave in the walls of
their pools. Not a pretty picture.
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Q. I have read the claims
of the one piece fiberglass pool manufacturers as far as cost savings in the
comparison on their pools versus the other types. It seems so expensive to own any other type
of pool. Could they possibly be
right?
A. Unfortunately the
claims of most of the one piece fiberglass pool manufacturers are very
exaggerated and border on the ridiculous. Any reasonable person could quickly discount the inflated costs for the
reasonable maintenance of the rest of the industry's pools and also as quickly
see their undervalued costs / fees for their own pools' maintenance. We have told it like it is in this document. The good, bad and the ugly of all the pool
types including our fiberglass wall concrete bottom pools. Don’t expect the taste of caviar when you buy
fish bait! You know, many other types of
“fish” can be “hooked” by falling for pretty painted, smooth feathered
lures. Be a smart consumer, be informed
and buy the pool that’s best suited for your individual needs.
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Q. I don’t understand it. The warranty on a lot of these pools are for a lifetime. Doesn’t that prove they’re better?
A. Pool wall warranties are often misleading. As with any product, check the terms of the
warranty. Make sure you understand it
fully and make sure you compare the various products advantages and
disadvantages. Generally it’ll always pay
off.
See what they will and will not
repair and whether you have to do the removal / reinstallation process and
other aspects of getting the completed repair done. Generally if it sounds too
good to be true then it is. Just because someone will give you a piece of paper
today doesn’t mean they’ll be here tomorrow or that the promise is really a
valid one. Buy the best product you can
afford.
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Q. Is that all the information you have for now?
A. Unfortunately yes. We will however add to this FAQ page so
please check back often. We just want to
leave you with this parting thought. There are a lot of truly good products out there, so be sure you get one
of them!
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For those of you who have specific
questions, please email them to us at sales@alwaysfunpools.com We’ll do our best
to answer your questions and remember try to Always Have Fun. |
