Your high water table can effect any swimming pool type. You do have a couple of things going for you there in Florida. First there are alot of professional pool builders available to you. Be sure to get one with a license and insurance to cover all liabilities. Get references of experience with your type of build also, look at some jobs if possible. Ask questions, how high is the water table and how will you install the pool? How much extra will dealing with the water cost? Is the cost a fixed or variable one? Will I have to monitor anything after my pool is built? Warranty and Warranty for any water damage? You get the idea.
As far as which one is better? They are all three great products and will fit a variety of budgets with the vinyl most likely being at the low end of the budget scale and the fiberglass and gunite at the upper end of the scale and all with the ability to add many features to enhance your families pool experience.
Ease of maitenance and high tech finishes are all available with todays Swimming Pools, you will be amazed at your options.
Enjoy your families new resort and don't forget to hire a licensed and insured swimming pool professional.
It great to go get a pool and enjoy all the family times it will provide.
Here in Michigan we sucessfully install in all conditions with both gunite and fiberglass and vinyl, after all we are the Great Lakes State.
good swimming getapool.com
If it is newly sprayed it should not be a problem.
I've been in the pool business for 19 years. All that's necessary is a couple of simple, inexpensive changes in the pump room and the wall return. We make this change frequently in the industry.
A LOT! Gunnite is make by mixing cement, sand, and water in an approximate ratio of 1 part cement to 4-6 parts sand with 1 part water using a high pressure spraying mechanism. Please note that the major component in gunnite is SAND and not cement. With this as a guideline, a 50 pound bag of cement would be mixed with at least 200 pounds of cement (approximate total mixture weight of 250 pounds). Thus,it would require approximately 8 such mixtures to equal 2000 pounds (2000 divided by 250 = 8) and since there is one bag of cement per mixture, it would require around 8 bags or 400 pounds of cement. Furthermore, one 250 pound mixture (containing one bag of cement) will cover approximately 5 square feet at a depth of 1 inch. So, to build a pool of any decent size, you will need MANY TONS of gunnite. Hope this helps ...
No. They should perform equally well in any state that has similar weather conditions.
A fiberglass pool requires less maintenance, less repairs structurally in the future, is quick to install, and is good for smaller pools. Gunite pools are better for a pool deeper than 8 feet, custom shapes, and is a bit harder on the feet than a fiberglass pool.
Yes, fiberglass pools have a smooth finish. Where a concrete pool was a pourus and rougher finish that gives alge something to grab on to. Also staining it. A low calcium level can pit a concrete pool, not a fiberglass, plus a fiberglass pool is more flexible,so ground movement wont crack it. In the long run the extra money you pay for fiberglass is worth it.
you will find that people will swear by either method and then others will say in ground gunite or concrete is best . If properly maintained they are all much of a muchness. from what I have seen When they are new the vinyl pool looks better. the problem is that the vinyl will need to be replaced eventualy while you wont have this problem with fiberglass.
Hum, not sure if you can actually plaster a fiberglass pool. The glass would have to be removed first. You will have to consult a pool builder, a company that installs fiberglass shells or a company that installs fiberglass in plastered pools - thus converting a gunite/plaster pool into a gunite/fiberglass pool. The later uses the old pool shell as the sub-grade or foundation so to speak. k
The in-ground pools are prefabricated. The bodies are made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic. This is an alternative to vinyl-lined, gunite and poured concrete pools.
I am researching the same question and this is what I have found so far: having a "freeze line" is not a good condition for fiberglass pools. Fiberglass pools are cheaper to install and use less chemicals to maintain. I was told the chemicals also do less damage to fiberglass, if any?, than to gunite pools. Fiberglass pools must be filled at all times to avoid "popping up". The only thing that still has me leaning towards gunite is a custom pool shape we have in mind. Hope this helps. I am also trying to decide between fibergalss and gunite. I have been told (by a gunite dealer) that there is a problem with staining in fiberglass pools. Besides a low water level, what else might cause a fiberglass pool to pop up?
there is a company that has a dealer base across the country called Fiber Tech. You will have to have a concrete floor but other than that they line your pool with fiberglass and special resins giving you a product with a 25 year warranty. They are located in Largo FL.
According to an ad for a fiberglass pool company, it is because of the abrasiveness of gunite and for being in the pool too long. I am still looking for other answers and solutions to this question as well.
No. An older (possibly better) type of Fiberglass pool was constructed in this manner, with a concrete/Gunnite/Marcite trowled bottom and Fiberglass panels at the side of the pool. Panels are caulked together along vertical joints. Actually not a bad deal, but caulked joints must be maintained. Once the concrete starts showing through at the bottom of the pool, its time to drain and resurface. Bottom of pool should be acid washed every 3-5 years to keep it sparkling and remove mold, mildew, stains. If bottom surface is chipping off, its getting close to time to resurface bottom of pool. Bottom is treated just like any concrete/gunite/Marcite pool surface. Sides are simply brushed, caulked in timely manner.
Our experience shows that gunite or fiberglass are good. Gunite would probably last the longest. CONCRETE tends to crack over years with normal ground shifts. Had two pools with concrete, so many cracks after 10 years, buried the thing, the repair costs were astronomical.
Swimming pool types include above-ground pools, fiberglass pools, vinyl-lined, gunite and poured-concrete pools. Learn the pros and cons of each type of pool.