Steel vs. Aluminum vs. Resin

[ShelleyAnn]

I was just told by a pool salesman to avoid a resin top rail here in Colorado because the sun will bake it and make it crack. The other options are steel and aluminum. Does anyone believe his claim of the resin being a bad choice? I know one of the selling points aluminum pool manufacturers use is that it is stronger pound for pound than steel. Does that matter for me?

Thanks for all your opinions

[matt4x4]

He probaly does not sell resin pools!
In my opinion, resin is the way to go, first off it's white, does not attract much if any heat - mine's never even warm.
UV protectants are put in the resin and will likely outlast your wall, mine's going on 3 yrs, no sign of any aging to the resin.
I doubt that a manufacturer would give you 30 years warranty if the salesmans claims are correct.

[NWMNMom]

I also had one tell me NEVER order anything resin because we are in the north and it would crack the first freeze or in the spring if the ground shifts at all. How can that be? They sure sell a lot of them other places, but apparently not at HIS shop. I see that one up in Winnipeg sells oodles of them, Gee, colder up there than here (not by much) Could this be resin envy? They don't have them so they have to bad mouth it?

We really wanted to go with a resin bottom rail or aluminum to avoid corrosion where it meets the ground, vs just galvanized stell with coatings. We ended up with one that has an aluminum bottom rail weather coated and has lifetime guarantee on the rail, bottom plates, etc. against corrosion. Other parts are resin, steel and hybrid, however. The guy at that shop also had the same pool at $1,500 more than where I ordered it, then of course, plus tax AND having to go get ourselves 125 miles away. No thanks.

[CarlD]

Hype, hype, hype! Sure, pound for pound aluminum is a strong as steel (not stronger). But pound for pound it has 3 times the volume! This can be bad, it can be good. It can simply take up more space, or it can be crafted into stronger shapes. But the metal itself is much softer than steel, is not quite as elastic, and WILL corrode if not properly anodized.

But, if it's a well-made pool, it's a well-made pool--aluminum, steel or resin.

Salesmen ALWAYS say the other guy's product is garbage. The dumb ones try to tell you that what YOU have is garbage--like you'll want to buy from someone who just called you an idiot. In the golden age of audio stores, dumb salesmen would always say "Oh, if you listen to these EPI/Infinity/Polk (pick the brand) speakers you'll throw rocks through your Advent/Boston Acoustics (my preferred speakers)." "Oh, your Dynaco/Marantz amp is junk. You need the new Harman-Kardon/Audio Dynamics with 1400 watts per channel. That will REALLY make your apartment sing!"

Besides, these pool store guys will tell you you'll damage your pool if you use bleach to chlorinate...

[matt4x4]

I also forgot to mention this:
My RESIN pool can support a 250 lb person sitting in the center of the top rail without any deflection (so I think it will actually hold 300+ lbs), I'd like to see that on the typical extruded aluminum channel, I've seen them bend under my weight which is a measly 180 lbs in comparison.
The bottom track on mine is resin as well, we have harsh winters here in Ontario, this winter was especially harsh with regards to freezing and cold because we got NO snow, so nothing was insulated from those harsh humid winds, my resin would probably have been at temperatures around -20 to -30 Fahrenheit many days, I think at some point this winter the entire pool was a block of ice which rarely happens, yet, miraculously there is absolutely no damage to teh pool, resin, walls etc.
But since the salesman told you it was cr@p, I better go get a new one....

[gwrace1]

We elected to go with a combination steel and resin pool. It has the resin lower rail and boots across the bottom. It also has resin top seats. The pool came with a life time non prorated warranty from Artesian. I don't think you can do better than that. Here in the South Texas sun plastic and resins do not fair well. All you have to do is look at car interiors to see the affects of the sun.

[matt4x4]

Just an FYI - Car interiors are more vinyl than anything else, also, the heat buildup in a car is probably more than 3 times what your pool will ever experience. I would also think car manyfacturers do not add UV protectants to anything except maybe the dash.
You'll be very happy with the Artesian pool! Good choice

[falcon0321]

I have been a pool installer/repair man in Minnesota for the last 10 years and would not recomend buying a resin pool. Sure the resin will hold up and the walls wont crack... But when they do, it is a mess.

If you have seen a 20 year old resin pool and a 20 year old steel pool you would choose the steel. Simply because the resin breaks and doesnt bends as the steal does. When it does break, it is a totoal failure and llooses all support. The steel may corrode but you wont have a complete failure of the material.

A manufacturer can put a warranty on just about anything that they sell. What they wont tell you is that the labor to fix it is not covered. You could pay just as much getting your pool repaired as it was to get it installed.

Just one pool repairman's opinion.

Thanks,
Nick

[ShelleyAnn]

Nick,

In my heart of hearts I have to believe that resin won't last as long as steel...it's just affected by sun, rain, and temps too much to be as long a lasting material. Then there's you being a pool installer/repair person and having seen it all first hand.

This being the case, I have 2 questions for you. First, on a few of the steel pools, they advertise a resin top cap over the uprights. Are these top caps important to pool strenth, or are they just a cover to the uprights. If they're just a cover, then that wouldn't be so awful when they go bad. Secondly, do you have an opinion of extruded aluminum vs. steel? I'm going to have a ton of kids in this new pool we get, my husband being the biggest and rowdiest, and if there's a difference between alum. and steel for toughness, that just might help make my decision for me.

I guess I have a third question. After all this blah, blah, blah is the less expensive steel/aluminum pool with the 6" top rail just as good as the buttress free one with the 8" top rail? I had a rep tell me once that they all hold water the same 6", 8", buttress free, buttress. It would save me a little bit if $$ if they were all the same and all these choices are just marketing gimmics.

Thanks.

[matt4x4]

First, the resin, aluminum or steel upright and top plates are NOT structural components, you can remove them all on a full pool (round) and NOTHING will happen to the pool, they provide stability to the wall - if someone pushes on them to get themselves out, the weight is supposed to transfer to teh associated uprights and to the ground from there.
My pool is 2 years old, my resin uprights and top plates are as nice as the day they were bought, there is NO sign of any UV damage such as drying flaking etc. If they all rot out down the road, replacing them will cost me 0 dollars because they take about 2 minutes to remove (for 1 top rail and 1 upright) and I can replace them without needing to do more than releasing one bolt per set.
Oh, BTW as an FYI, - My neighbour's pool is about 20 years old - Aluminum structure, steel wall, at each joint between top plates, he has resin or plastic caps, they are all in better shape than any of the aluminum structure on the pool, matter of fact, they look new and the paint on teh aluminum is so oxydized, touching it makes it chalk off, so somehow, I have a hard time believing the resin/plastic stuff will fail early.
UV protectants are added to just about anything that is required to be outdoors 24/7 nowadays, my Brother in law has a resin shed approximately 5 years old - still looks as good as the day he bought it.
The wall on the pool is not made from resin, all pool walls are either aluminum or steel, mine's steel with umpteen coatings on it.
I would NOT recomment Aluminum posts or top plates because they are not very strong - meaning, you have a 200 lb person pushing on them to jump out of the pool (instead of using the steps) and you'll have permanent damage (dents etc) to the top plate, you bang an upright with your lawnmower and the same happens, at least steel is a bit stiffer.
With the resin, it barely flexes under a 250lb load.