Steel and liner type pool vs. gunite

[crgcar]

I'm sure this has been discussed but I don't have access to the search function. I am in Florida and would like to purchase a kit. Can someone with experience please give me some pros and cons of a steel or composite construction sidewall with 28-30 mil liner vs. going the standard route with a gunite pool. Thank you.

[PoolDoc]

Can someone with experience please give me some pros and cons of a steel or composite construction sidewall with 28-30 mil liner vs. going the standard route with a gunite pool.

I can't; I've never built an inground residential pool.

But I need to caution you: unlike pool chemistry, pool construction is *intensely* local! There are reasons why they do certain things in south Texas differently than they do them in south Florida or northern California. In a few cases, I know what those differences are, and the reasons for them. But in most cases, I don't. Sometimes it's just custom, but in other cases, local contractors have developed certain patterns to avoid local problems.

An online forum is really not a good place for questions like this. 90% of the people who respond will NOT be from your area. You've listed your location as "Florida" . . . but there are differences between south Florida and the Panhandle. So even answers by Floridians may not apply.

A lot of times, I recommend that people ask questions about construction at PoolSpaForum.com, because they have a much higher percentage of contractors than I have allowed here. But even then you face the problems I've described, because many contractors don't realize that the methods that work for them in Kalamazoo may not work near New Orleans!

I can tell you one problem -- if you are in south Florida, or any location less than 100' above sea level a liner pool is likely to 'bubble' due to ground water, unless you locate it in a built up area, and keep it VERY full during rainy periods.