What Makes Up A Fiberglass Pool

Fiberglass pools have been around for a while now. In fact, they have been around for fifty years now. These are made in one piece shells  made from fiberglass, resins and are finished with a coating made of gel. This makes it a non-porous surface which is similar to the hulls of boats.

These pools can be bought in all shapes and sizes with various decorative tiles, fiber optic lights, and in-floor cleaning are all possible accessories. These are mainly maintenance free pools except for cleaning and you will need protection for the gel coat.

Actual Installation of These Pools

The first step of installing one of these pools is, of course, to figure out where you want the pool to be and then mark it with wooden stakes. When planning where to put your pool be sure to consider sun exposure, an area for you or your guests to sit, bathroom access, and accessibility of the pool. Traditionally guests will choose to gather on the shallow pool end and side closer to the house. Then pour your deck where you want it to be. Once you have the pool area established, mark it with chalk and begin digging the hole.

The next step is digging a hole according to the pool’s dig instructions. This step can take three to six hours and how difficult it is depends on how complex the pool’s shape is. A Sports Pool with a flat, level bottom is the easiest to dig.  The important thing to remember when digging the hole for your pool is to check and measure constantly using a builder’s level as you go. Or you can rent a laser level which is much more accurate. Once you have the hole finished you will need to use string to set the exact grade that the pool will be. This string will be your guide when you line the bottom of the hole with sand or gravel.

When the truck delivers your pool it will be ready to install. Either a boom truck or, if the pool is small enough, a trackhoe will lift the pool from the truck. The pool has to be level to less than an inch. This may get a bit boring if this is your first time installing a pool. One end cannot be higher than the other so this job is very important. Once this is done, backfill the dirt around the edges of the hole.

Drill two to four 2in. holes for the outflow and inflow of the filter. Plumbing is done by gluing together PVC pipes. Connect the plumbing and power to the filter. Take your time doing this so that no accidents happen. This can take 3-5 hours.

Now you can start filling your pool with water. A water truck is the fastest and easiest way to do this. The water has to be 12” higher than the backfill.  This will help the pool to keep it’s shape. This sounds like a lot to do but it can be done in about three days and you will be swimming in your fiberglass pool and having fun.

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Filed under: Doughboy Pools

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