Custom Pool & Spa Packages to Suit Your Lifestyle
Feb 23, 2024
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Once you’ve decided to transform your backyard into an oasis with a new pool, you need to make the first big decision: fibreglass or concrete swimming pool? There are advantages and disadvantages to each, so to make an informed decision, you must understand the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Concrete pools are 100 per cent customisable to your exact requirements. You have the freedom to choose the pool size, shape, and interior options. However, all of that flexibility does come with a pretty hefty price tag.
The entire surface of concrete pools can be covered with different materials, depending on how you want it to look. Plaster is the most popular finish as it looks amazing and provides excellent grip, but it’s also rougher underfoot and the least durable. Other interior finishes include mosaic tiles and pebble crete.
Concrete is a hard-wearing and long-lasting material, so a well-constructed concrete pool should last for decades when properly maintained. If not installed by a qualified concrete pool builder with extensive experience, concrete pools can quickly deteriorate. Concrete is less durable than fibreglass pools and is more susceptible to algae. Concrete pools require regular repair work and chemical treatments to retain their appearance.
Concrete pools require ongoing maintenance, including regular vigorous scrubbing, to keep them clean. They also consume more electricity than fibreglass pools. A well-maintained concrete pool needs its filter to run for 10 hours per day and be vacuumed daily with a robotic pool cleaner. Plus, a concrete pool should be resurfaced every seven years and drained of water for an acid wash once a decade.
But despite being the most expensive with the highest maintenance demands, you might still prefer the look of a concrete swimming pool.
Concrete pools are constructed from scratch on-site. Once a hole has been dug to suit the pool shape, a framework of metal rebar is installed to create the pool shell. Multiple layers of concrete are then created by spraying either Shotcrete or Gunite into the moulds around the metal rebar to form solid pool walls and flooring.
Once the concrete has been sprayed on, it is left to strengthen for about 28 days. When the concrete has completely hardened, the final finishing coat of tiles or plaster is added, which is again left to set. All in all, it can take 3 to 6 months to install a concrete pool, whereas a fibreglass pool can be ready for swimming in just a few days.
Simultaneously built tough and reasonably priced, a fibreglass pool typically costs less than concrete pools. Well-known for their durability, fibreglass pools are constructed using several highly durable layers of fibreglass and finished off with a UV-resistant gel coating. They have a smooth interior finish and come in a wide variety of different pool colours and pool design choices. Did you know you can customise your fibreglass pool with an infinity edge, splash deck, spa and water feature?
Fibreglass pools also have low maintenance costs. Thanks to their non-porous gel coat interior, algae and mould growth is minimal. You’ll spend less time testing water, which minimises the cost of pool chemicals and makes cleaning less labour intensive. So overall, fibreglass swimming pools can save you time, money, and energy.
Fibreglass swimming pools are quick and incredibly easy to install. Because fibreglass pools are prefabricated, once the hole is dug and the plumbing connections installed, the pool shell is lifted into the ground. While every fibreglass pool build is unique, most pools can be installed, levelled, backfilled, and ready for swimming within just a few days to around a week!
Your pool building process begins by meeting with your local pool builder at your home. Together you’ll choose a design and develop a plan. Once your pool builder obtains the necessary permits, excavation can begin.
The prefabricated pool shell is loaded on a truck and delivered to the site once the hole is ready. A crane places the pool shell into the hole, and your pool builder installs the structural beam to lock everything in place. Once the filtration, heating, and lighting systems are connected and your pool builder has tested everything, your pool is ready for swimming!
Narellan Pools are an iconic fibreglass pool manufacturer. With almost 50 years of experience designing, manufacturing and installing pools, the Narellan Pools network of local pool builders are the best option to help you design and install the fibreglass swimming pool of your dreams in no time at all!
