Getting Quotes on FG Pool

[2Hipp]

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We have a salesperson from the company mentioned above coming tomorrow and I would like to have as much info as possible.
Thanks,
Bill

[South_Texas_Sun]

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We have a salesperson from the company mentioned above coming tomorrow and I would like to have as much info as possible.
Thanks,
Bill

Hi Bill,

I don't know much about pools other than what I've learned in building ours, but be sure to get the excavation charges FIXED before signing anything. We have rock in our area, and I had the good fortune/presence of mind to demand fixed excavation costs.....otherwise it would have cost a fortune. They not only charge by the cubic yard of rock, but some by the hour, and then they use a Bobcat!........lol... (instead of a backhoe with hoe ram attachment.) You could spend another $6000 without blinking.

The fiberglass pool blanks are not that expensive. Why so much ($43k) for the pool? I'd do some more shopping if I were you. $43k can buy a basic gunite pool (maybe even a spa) in most areas I've heard of.

[2Hipp]

STS,
Thanks for the reply. The $43k is for everything listed in the package not just the shell. We figured the pool would run us about $40k total. Also here in the Washington, DC Metro area everything is super expensive.

We too have rock in our area and will be sure to speak with the salesperson to see about a fixed cost for excavation. The first two contractors coming to give us quotes are located near my house so I'm sure they understand the type of excavating issues we might have.

Thanks again,
Bill

[waterbear]

Actually fiberglass main disadvantage has been that it is the mose expensive pool you can get. It's advantatges over gunite are numerous. With the rising cost of concrete you might find that fiberglass is less expensive or the same as gunite for a similar pool these days. It is in Florida but I don't know about other parts of the country. Much of the cost of a fiberglass pool is in shipping, the closer you are to a factory the less it should cost you. From my research it seems that San Juan and Hawaiian are two of the best and Viking is good but not of the same quality. It has to do with the way the pools are manufactured. Viking uses a different process than San Juan and Hawaiian.

[2Hipp]

The contractor coming tomorrow to give us a quote deals with San Juan and we have another contractor coming in a couple of weeks that deals with Viking and CPC. We have contacted Blue Hawaiian to find a dist in our area but have yet to hear back from any. Viking has a factory in West Virginia so that would be the closest to us.

I'm willing to pay a little bit more or equal to a gunite pool as I like the ease of maintenance FG has over guninte. Also the time frame for the installation of a FG pool is really appealing.

[waterbear]

The contractor coming tomorrow to give us a quote deals with San Juan and we have another contractor coming in a couple of weeks that deals with Viking and CPC. We have contacted Blue Hawaiian to find a dist in our area but have yet to hear back from any. Viking has a factory in West Virginia so that would be the closest to us.

I'm willing to pay a little bit more or equal to a gunite pool as I like the ease of maintenance FG has over guninte. Also the time frame for the installation of a FG pool is really appealing.

You might want to read my thead in the pool contruction and repair-lessons learned to see some of my experiences.
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=2178
My pool was supposed to be finished last june. I still haven't passed final inspection. My contractor did good work and had excellent references but something happened (drugs?, gambling?) and my pool and about 10 others were really botched up. He is the only fiberglass installer in my area. He was a San Juan dealer but they have recently dropped him. He just picked up Viking pools but he cannot pull any more permits until he fixes the jobs he's messed up. Just check out whoever you get very thoughly! (and yes, my builder is state licensed!) I am still waiting for him to come out and fix the things I talked about in the above thread and I posted that about a month ago!

[2Hipp]

Waterbear,
Thanks for the advice and I have read through your posts. Your situation is exactly why I came on this board before getting any quotes. I want to make sure I'm armed with as much info as possible.

The contractor that deals with Viking pools has done 2 pools in my neighborhood so I'll be going to speak with them in the next couple of weeks to see how their experience went.

Does anyone have any input on the standard package listed above? I want to make sure I'm getting properly sized piping, correct pump size, and should I get an additional skimmer?

Thanks,
Bill