Not an owner (yet), would like some advice...

[Otops]

Hello!

My wife and I have recently begun looking into the prospect of adding a pool to our home. We live in central Florida.

I don't know which forum this post would be placed but I was hoping I could get some basic help from the community. My questions follow:

I'm trying to understand the surfaces. I've been reading about gunite, Pebbletec, etc. I know my aunt's pool is marcite. It is older but it seems to be holding up well. We really like it. Do builders still use it? If not, what is the equivalent to now?

Is there a standard residential pool depth? It seems like most pools I have been in are somewhere in the viciinity of five feet to five feet, six inches. I'm six feet, two inches. I would like to have a deep end of five feet, nine inches or more.

At the present time we have a fairly large screened in backyard due to the previous owner of our home having pet birds. Inside the screen is a small pond, three small palm trees and a pretty large tree (of some kind). In a situation like this will our screened enclosure be able to be used again?

Does anybody have experience with central Florida pool builders? (Is this O.K. to ask?)

Thank you ahead of time and sorry if any of these are not O.K. to ask.

[aylad]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!!

The only question you asked that I know anything about is the depth of pools, and the answer to that really just depends on what you want to use the pool for. If you're swimming laps, then it doesn't have to be as deep as if, say, you wanted a diving pool! My pool (Louisiana) is 3 1/2 feet in shallow end, with a drop-off to 8 1/2 feet in the deep end--we have both a slide and diving board, and the pool is primarily used by my pre-teen kids and their friends.

As far as the other questions go, I'm sure somebody with more construction experience will be by shortly to offer opinions, but I mainly just wanted to welcome you to the forum!!

[waterbear]

Since you live in Central Florida check into fiberglass. San Juan has their main facility in Lakeland and they are one of the oldest fiberglass pool manufacturers (in business over 50 years). Fiberglass is non reactive so it makes water balancing much easier than in plaster (marcite or quartz) surface pools. The two main disadvantages to fiberglass are you are limited to the premade shapes (but San Juan has a HUGH catalog of pools available in many sizes and some even have attached spas and/or beach entry).
The other disadvantage to fiberglass is cost (historically they have been the most expensive type of pool because they have to be trucked to the site) but since you live close to one of their facilities this will be minimal (they have factories worldwide and 5 in the US besides the Lakeland facility, btw.) and with he recent rise in concrete costs over the past few years fiberglass pools are not ofent coming in at less than an equivalent gunnite or shotcrete pool.

Viking and Blue Hawaiian are other good fiberglass brands but they do not have a facility as close to you as San Juan does nor as extensive a catalog of pool sizes and shapes so you are less likely to find a good match at a good price. I have not heard good things about Trilogy fiberglass pools and they are a relative newbie into the field.

As to some of your questions:
Most non diving pools are 6 ft (about 5.5 water depth) while most diving and slide pools are 9 ft in depth.

As far as pool surfaces there are really only three (not including paint since it is usually used over an old finish, nor tile since a full tile pool is VERY expensive. However, because of the grout it is basically treated as an aggregate finish pool):

Plaster--pool can be built in any shape, surface is reactive to water chemistry and does need to be refinished every 5 to 15 years, depending on the original surface type and how well the water was kept balanced. Can be ruined by improper water balance. This is the most common type of inground pool in Florida. Surface can be plaster (marcite) or an exposed aggregate (quartz, pebble, etc). Plaster is the least durable but tends to be the most comfortable on the feet. Aggregate finishes tend to last a bit longer before needing resurfacing but some are very uncomfortable to walk on so try out the finish you are considering in an existing pool FIRST! Most plaster pools do need periodic acid washes in between refinishing. Maintenance costs and chemical costs are therefore a bit higher than other pool types over time. Their main advantage is that they can be built in any shape or size and customized in any way you prefer. New plaster surfaces require special start up procedures and special attention to water balance for about the first year of operation (or whenever they are resurfaced).

Fiberglass- surface is non reactive so water balancing is easier and it is much more difficult to harm the surface. Cannot be drained without taking special precautions (have a pro do this). (some say they pop out of the ground but ANY pool can pop out of the ground including concrete/plaster ones.)
Limited to premade shapes and sizes but there is a large variety available so this is not usually an issue unless a very non standard pool shape is required.
Surface will last 25 years or more without any problems and do not require any special maintenance. Maintenance and chemical costs are a bit lower than other pool types. More prone to iron stains than other pool surfaces (easy to remove with ascorbic acid--vitamin c).
Used to be limited to 'high end" pool installations because of the higher cost (much of it transportation to site) than other pools but with the rising costs of concrete and more fiberglass manufacturing sites in more areas they often come in equal or less in price than a comparable concrete (plaster surface) pool.
Install from start to finish is generally much faster than a plaster surface pool and often can be completed in as little as one week.

Vinyl liner pools are not that common in Florida except as above ground pools. They tend to be more common in climates where the ground freezes. They are relatively chemically inert but can be bleach out by high chlorine levels and damaged by low pH so water balance is a bit harder at times. Liners do need to be replaced every 10 to 20 years so their long term maintenance comes close to that of a plaster surface. They are often the least expensive type of pool to install. Limited shapes, sizes, and designs. Custom vinyl liner pools are possible but this adds a lot to the cost of initial build and eventual liner replacement.The vinyl liner can be damaged and can leak much easier than other pool surfaces during use or cleaning so this needs to be kept in mind. They cannot be drained without special precautions (have a pro do this).

As far as your existing screen room, it will probably have to be demolished and rebuilt. The builders will have to get excavation equipment and other heavy equipment into the area to actually build the pool (which won't fit through the door and if you go with fiberglass the entire pool will have to be put in the area, often with a crane that lifts it over your house) and, if your existing screen room was not built to Dade County code it will have to be (all of Florida now requires Dade county code because of hurricanes and tropical storms. My screens were flapping wildly last night as Beryl moved though my area and she was just a tropical storm but I had no damage since my screen room is up to current code. I am on the barrier island between the Atlantic and the Intercostal in N. Fl. and just slightly south of where she landed in Jax beach and a bit north of St. Augustine beach.)

[PoolDoc]

thanks Waterbear.

[Otops]

WoW!!! Thank you for the information Waterbear! I'm glad to hear the storm didn't mess with you and your home. My brother and his wife were in St. Augustine Saturday and Sunday for the weekend. I know they were without electricity for a little while. We like it up there.

We've been set on putting in a concrete/plaster pool but that's because that is all we know. So if I'm understanding correctly a fiberglass pool is actually better in FL? I like the quicker installation time.

- They are easier to maintain?

- You have a fiberglass pool?

Thank you again!!!

[waterbear]

,My current pool is fiberglass and I love it. IMHO, water balancing is much easier. Like I said, biggest drwbacks are the propensity to stain and the price. Chemical costs are typically a bit Kerri for fiberglass than plaster or aggregate, particularly during the first year

[waterbear]

,My current pool is fiberglass and I love it. IMHO, water balancing is much easier. Like I said, biggest drwbacks are the propensity to stain and the price. Chemical costs are typically a bit Kerri for fiberglass than plaster or aggregate, particularly during the first year

I hate spell correct on my phone. It made this post unreadable. I will try it again now that I am on a computer!

My current pool is fiberglass and I love it. IMHO, water balancing is much easier. Like I said, biggest drawbacks are the propensity to stain and the price. Chemical costs are typically a bit lower for fiberglass than plaster or aggregate, particularly during the first year.

[BeePee]

We currently have a fiberglass pool and it has osmotic blistering of the gel coat that is quite extensive. The pool is about 9-10 years old. Don't know the brand (we bought the house with it). Pool is still structurally sound but there are places where the blisters are large and the gel coat has flaked off exposing the fiberglass underneath. The pool would need to be drained and gel coat ground off and repaired, so likely as expensive as a replaster if not more. Just wanted to point out that all is not rosy when it comes to fiberglass.

The house above we are renting and we are planning a gunite pool for our house. One builder we have spoken to said they just did a replaster on a pool where the original plaster lasted 17 years. A coworker has a gunite with plaster that is at least 20 years old and in good shape. Just build it well and take care of it and you will likely be rewarded.

[waterbear]

Blistering gelgoat can also be a water balance issue, not just a manufacturing issue. Some of the older gelcoat formulations were more prone to cobalt spotting and blisthering than current ones. It does happen (just like calcium nodules happen in plaster pools and wrinkles, bubbles, and fungus under the liner can happen in vinyl pools). It most likely means the pool was not properly cared for. My guess is that the original owners were using triclor tabs and never paid attention to pH and TA and the pH was very low for an extended period of time. Same scenerio will also damage a plaster or vinyl pool btw and is fairly common because many people only test chlorine (if that--as someone who worked in a pool store I know first hand how many owners care for their pools. Granted, it they are trying to keep from being "pool stored" but they thing that all they need to do is add chlorine and that everything else, inlcuding water testing, is just a reason for the store to sell them something.) I have also seen some information that osmotic pressure plays a part in blistering so keeping the calcium harndess up can be another safeguard (there are some who believe that calcium is not needed in a fiberglass pool same as in a vinyl pool but I have seen some reports indicating otherwise for fiberglass so let's leave it at that.)

Blistering can also be a manufacturing defect and there was a filberglass company that I won't mention (and it was not San Juan) that did have problems with their gelcoat, particularly their colored one (at that time they offered blue in addition to white). There are also some smaller fiberglass pool manufacturers that have come and gone over the years that had a lot of problems with blistering of their gelcoat. This is why I gave the warning about Trilogy. They just have not been in business long enough to see a long term track record. I am not saying that their pools are bad, just that we don't have al history on them as of yet to be able to know how well they stand up. As I said San Juan has been in business for over 50 years now and Viking about 35 (and Viking bought Blue Hawaiian in 2010 after they had been in business for about 25 years). If fiberglass pools inherently had prblems do you think these companies would have been around for as long as they have? Ad far as the Pool/Spa industry goes, these companies are practially dionaurs!

As for the lengths I gave for plaster finishes above, realize that they are averages. There will be pools that will last much longer and those that will fail after a very short time. MUCH depends on how well the owner manages the water chemistry AND on the makeup of the fill water and these variables play a major part in how long any pool surface will last. A big problem with plaster, IMHO, is that how new plaster is cared for during the first year (which the pool owner is likely inexperience in pool care,balancing the water, AND the fact that water is the most difficult to balance because of the curing plaster during this time) is important to the life of the finish.

[TomC]

Hi Otops. My brother-in-law lives in Clermont. He had a gunite pool installed a few years ago, it really came out great! If you'd like , I can give him your phone number, and maybe he can tell you about his builder and how his build went. Email me or pm me if interested.

Tom