Is a Fiberglass Pool More Affordable Than Concrete and Vinyl Liner Pools?
Two of the most common questions homeowners ask regarding an inground swimming pool are:
- How affordable are inground pools?
- How much does it cost to maintain an inground swimming pool?
The answer to both of these questions is, it varies. Swimming pool affordability depends on how you answer the following fundamental questions.
Top 10 Contributing Factors to Inground Swimming Pool Costs
- Area of the country
- Length of pool season
- Lifestyle
- Type of inground swimming pool
- Regular ongoing maintenance
- Scheduled preventive maintenance
- Water chemistry maintenance
- Pool pad equipment
- Landscape
- Hardscape
We’ll break down these factors into three more manageable groupings: Cost of building an inground swimming pool, regular maintenance costs, and long-term maintenance costs. Then, we’ll wrap it up so you can make an informed decision.
Cost of Building an Inground Swimming Pool
Creating a backyard Life of Leisure is more popular and more affordable than ever before. Just look at the coverage of outdoor living on the Discovery Network’s Home and Garden Television (HGTV) and the Do-it-Yourself (DIY) networks alone. In fact, dreamers of incredible outdoor spaces turn to social media such as Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube in ever-increasing numbers.
You can do more than dream of pool ownership when you have the right information upfront. It’s essential to understand your short and long-term equipment and maintenance costs, not just the costs of building an inground swimming pool before diving in.
Startup Costs: Inground Swimming Pool Costs
The return of your swimming pool investment (ROI) should be measured on dollars and time and NOT sentiment. Before deciding whether you’re genuinely invested in pool ownership, you should identify just what you’re willing to spend in cold, hard cash and time on maintenance.
It’s the Best Time to Build a New Pool – Ever!
Your outdoor function and finishes should reflect your personality, lifestyle, and the architecture of your home. Are you looking for a sleek swimming pool design to mimic the architectural simplicity of your mid-century modern home? Or, in contrast, would a swimming pool nestled in a lush landscape to create the feel of a natural spring-fed treasure be more your vibe? Your theming will set the tone for your entire landscape and the required budget to get started.
When it comes to the pool, focus first on the size, shape, finish, and realistic expectations for use before getting into how it first into the surroundings and amenities. Then build on step-by-step with your contractors for a cohesive design and all-inclusive budget to keep it affordable.
Selecting the Inground Swimming Pool Type For You
There are three types of inground swimming pools – composite fiberglass, vinyl liner, and concrete. Each swimming pool type offers features and benefits that can suit your desired look, feel, and budget. However, it’s essential to also look at how these materials will affect your costs over the swimming pool’s life. To learn more and compare these three types of inground pools, read our Advantages of Fiberglass Pools article.
Composite Fiberglass Inground Swimming Pool
One of the highest non-monetary costs when it comes to building a swimming pool is patience. In that regard, composite fiberglass pools have a significant edge because composite fiberglass swimming pools offer the quickest gratification or what we like to call – the fastest time to swim.
The main reason fiberglass swimming pools are the fastest time to swim is that the swimming pool structures are fabricated off-site. Once the swimming pool hole is excavated, the finished fiberglass swimming pool structure is lowered into the hole by installers and a crane That generally takes an afternoon (although the time for more difficult installations may vary). To complete the pool area, all that’s required is for the decking and landscaping to be completed. Fiberglass swimming pools can be fully installed and operational in as little as four days.
From a building point of view, fiberglass pools cost less because they are formed offsite by the manufacturer’s skilled craftsmen. They’re also able to offer above-average results, at a lower cost, because they are experts in quality. Every design detail is guaranteed – size, shape, features, finish, and color. And, they can offer superior warranties because the materials used in constructing higher-end fiberglass swimming pools are far superior to the vinyl liner and concrete pools.
Today’s fiberglass swimming pools hold up better to time, the elements, chemicals, and bathers. While not all fiberglass swimming pool manufacturers, their materials, and warranties are alike, Leisure Pools offer the industry’s most durable options and boast Lifetime Structural and Osmosis Warrantees.
Vinyl and concrete pool manufacturers and builders cannot offer lifetime protection on your investment. Only fiberglass!
Maintenance Costs
Short and Long-Term Maintenance Cost Advantages
In both short and long-term maintenance categories, composite or fiberglass swimming pools offer significantly lower maintenance costs than any other pool type. They maintain their color and soft-to-the-touch finishes like no other pool type – protecting your investment.
- Lowest Short-term Maintenance Costs:
Fiberglass pools’ smooth, nonporous surfaces make water chemistry more manageable and less costly to maintain. And, their finishes also inhibit algae growth. When paired with a salt chlorinator, pool owners will find their maintenance time is further reduced, and their swimming experience is superior with silky-soft water. - Lowest Long-term Maintenance Costs:
Some fiberglass pool manufacturers — such as Leisure Pools — offer a lifetime guarantee on their pool’s color and finish, unlike vinyl and concrete pool alternatives.
The quickest way to reduce your short and long-term costs depends on you and your pool type.
Keep your pool clean and your water in balance!
While fiberglass pools offer more straightforward and lower-cost short-term maintenance, the fact is, you still need to be vigilant. Keep your swimming pool clean, test your water often, and only administer needed chemicals, never more.
How often you need to clean and test your pool’s water is largely up to you and how you use the pool, and for how long.
FACT: when you keep your swimming pool’s water in balance and free of dirt and debris, the cost and time it takes to maintain your swimming pool’s water is significantly reduced. AND, doing so will protect your investment and dramatically reduce long-term maintenance costs. YES, you can alter your costs, significantly, by diligently maintaining your pool’s water. If you’re not up to the task, hire a pool professional to maintain your swimming pool. It can be argued that hiring a pro, even with weekly or bi-weekly services costs, will lower your overall costs.
Every time a pool is drained for maintenance (which should only be done in extreme circumstances in a fiberglass pool), there are substantial costs associated with new water. High additional costs with resurfacing and vinyl liner replacement include new water, chemicals to treat the new water and energy costs to filter, and in some cases, heat the new water.
Above and beyond the investment protection of a fiberglass swimming pool’s lifetime guarantee, fiberglass swimming pools offer significantly lower water chemistry maintenance. Due to their nonporous nature, the fiberglass swimming pool’s water is less susceptible to fluctuation due to the elements, bather load, and gas emissions associated only with concrete or Gunite pools.
Call Us For Your Free Design Consultation & Estimate
Please call us at (855) SWIM-123 to be connected with your design specialist who can help you with finding the right pool design with the right installation you need to enjoy your well-deserved “Life of Leisure.” You can also fill out our FREE ESTIMATE form at pools123.com/swimming-pool-estimate in order to be connected to the right designer for your location.