Geographic Considerations
Building & Design
What are the local building requirements where you live?

• Do building requirements differ in various counties and cities?
• How do you know you are building to local and national code standards?
• Where do you get permit & construction documents? The cost of permitting can vary greatly from one locality to the next.
• Do you have sufficient electrical service at your home for a new swimming pool?
• How do you get construction design and details? This may be needed when permits are pulled, they're also handy to have when building a new poo.
• Are your utilities going to be re-routed? Overhead power-lines, gas lines, or septic lines don't move on their own and depending on the utility and be quite expensive to move.

TYPES OF POOLS
Let the age old battle begin!  What to build and what should it be built out of may never have a universally agreed upon answer. Yes, there are sometimes structural reasons why you may consider one material over another but what to choose is more a matter of opinion.

Above Ground Vinyl Liner Pools
Homeowners with backyard swimming pools depend on vinyl liners to keep their pools looking beautiful season after season. Nearly 70 percent of the residential pools in the United States rely on durable and easy-to-clean printed flexible vinyl to protect the interior pool surface from environmental elements and manmade conditions.
Conditions that might cause damage
Vinyl pool liners are susceptible to damage if the right precautions are not taken. The most common cause of damage to a liner is through the misuse of water treatment chemicals . Make sure that you’ve read and followed the chemical manufacturer’s instructions for recommended use. When you do add chemicals to your pool, be sure you add them one dissolved chemical at a time through the pools filtration system. This technique allows for a more even dispersion throughout the pool. In addition perform regular water PH tests in order to ensure the right balance of chemicals. When it comes to cleaning vinyl pool liners, never use sharp objects or abrasive cleaning agents . Only use cleaning methods recommended by your pool lining manufacturer.

In Ground Fiberglass Pools
Fiberglass pools are delivered on the back of a flat bed truck, lowered into a pre dug hole by crane or backhoe and filled with water. The equipment’s plugged in and it’s all done in a few days.
Fiberglass pools are not new and have been in production since the 1950’s. The concept of fiberglass pools came from the revolution of the fiberglass boat industry. In fact, a fiberglass boat is the closest comparison to a fiberglass pool.
A fiberglass pool and a high quality fiberglass boat or yacht, are similarly manufactured, using many of the same resins and fiberglass materials. A fiberglass pool and a high quality fiberglass boat or yacht, are similarly manufactured, using many of the same resins and fiberglass materials. A high quality boat or yacht does not have an “expected life span.” It should be expected to perform for as long as you own it. A fiberglass pool will perform for a lifetime as well, just as the very first fiberglass pool ever made still does today.
Fiberglass composites have revolutionized nearly every industry we know today. The inherent lightweight strength and flexible quality of composite products have made fiberglass the product of choice to manufacture medical equipment, the aviation industry, the storage tank industry and many household items you may already be familiar with.
One of the attractive benefits of fiberglass is that a manufacturer can tailor the material and resins to accommodate the expected usage of the fiberglass part. A race car body can be manufactured to be inexpensive, lightweight and flexible, while an airplane body and helicopter rotors must be manufactured to withstand constant pressure change, temperature changes, stress, and wind velocity to perform as expected. A fiberglass boat must safely withstand the stress, pressure and torque of skipping quickly across the waves, carrying precious human cargo. A fiberglass pool is manufactured to withstand temperature changes, freeze-thaw of the water inside and maintain its beauty for a lifetime.
The technology in the fiberglass composites industry has come a long way since the first fiberglass pools were made. Over the past decades, specialized resins have been formulated for permanent underwater use in boats and pools; reducing the burden of expensive resurfacing or the relining of a pool's surface.

InGround Vinyl Liner Pool
Unique, in that the surface is also the body of the pool. When the surface is lost, the pool is lost. The thickness of vinyl can vary from 12 to 40 mils; relies on a support structure of block, steel, aluminum or composite material. Properly installed with minimal stress on the liner, vinyl can last fifteen years or more. Advantage over a fiberglass pool is that a liner takes less expertise to replace than a fiberglass pool does to refinish and is about half the cost assuming you can find a professional fiberglass refinisher if ever required.

InGround Concrete/Gunite Pools
Concrete was the original ‘production’ pool material; the Romans invented concrete and some of the pools and fountains they built are still in use today. The flip side to that is your home will most likely no last as long as the Roman Ruins, so does it really matter? Concrete is the only structural pool material that actually hardens (without turning brittle) as it ages and the only material not adversely affected by direct contact with pool water. In Freeze conditions, special precautions must be taken, such as dropping wood logs into the pool or placing foam composite ‘bumpers’ along the walls to the depth of expected ice layers. Concrete doesn’t fare well either, when earthquakes hit. A greater distinction can be drawn between ‘package’ and ‘custom’ concrete pools than between concrete and the other types of pools available. An extra two inches of cement on the walls makes more difference in the durability of the shell than does the specific use of shotcrete, gunite, fiberglass or vinyl.