Well I might believe low maintenance, but "maintenance free"? That's stretching it a bit for any pool :-)

Can't tell if this is just a solicitation for interest in a fiberglass....but my brother-n-law has been cleaning pools/servicing pools for 25 years and has seen lots of issues with fiberglass pools...the new materials are too new to really tell how they hold up to the newish salt water type pools...funny that they last a lifetime but are only guaranteed for 10 years..are most lifetimes 10 years??
Tara

I've seen several. No thanks, I don't want a swimming pool that looks like a kiddie pool dig into the ground. I'd do an above ground before that.

Love my gunite.

I personally don't feel that my pool looks like a "kiddie pool". In our area, gunite is seldom installed, I guess it's geographics. When it is, it's extremely expensive. Every type pool has it pros and cons and each person has to weigh those according to their specific needs. Fiberglass was just the best choice for us.

I hate to look as if I'm assisting an apparent spammer because these kinds of posts can really ruin a forum like this.
But I do want to put in a word of defense - Gina, I'm not sure how your opinion about fiberglass pools was formed, but I was very impressed by what I saw when I recently started pool shopping. They've definitely come a long way from their roots! Brands like Leisure, Viking and San Juan Pools are making beautiful designs that are very competitive with gunite, IMO. I would buy one over gunite if only I could have it custom made for our odd yard & the shelving that we want.

I have had no issues with my fiberglass pool to date. We shopped every type of pool and wanted the most long term easy to care for pool we could get. For our size (14x30) the fiberglass was the most expensive, then gunite, then vinyl. We were told by several pool builders that gunite would need refinished eventually, can't remember 10 years or so? Vinyl would need a new liner (not an option with a dog for us)The first 2 years I used the typical pool chemicals from the pool store. My chemicals ranged around 500 a season, especially after getting back from vacations and almost always having some form of algea to treat by throwing in this or that, raising the cost to over 600. After switching to the BBB method 3 years ago, I can honestly say this has been the most cost effective pool to maintain. Heat distribution with the infloor cleaning heads make it so I have no "cold" spots in the pool either. The kids like to sit under the water fall/fountain thingy and have the 86' water fall over them. There are many bells and whistles that are available with the fiberglass pools now that you can't seriously not consider them when looking for a pool. The only problem I have had so far is with the heat pump not working, but that is a whole other story that I don't want to dredge up! Just put in yet another new one (3rd time is a charm!)

Hey Gina -- no need to insult fiberglass pool owners. There's a lot of us here.

sorry if i offended anyone. i think i was a little cranky because the first post seemed like a commercial/ad, and i thought those were banned here.

next time i will think twice, and type once.

My DH and I are considering a fg pool for next year. I would love to see more discussion on them in this forum.

stir fryi,
They're out there - add a new post with your questions & get the ball rolling! :-)

I agree with gina171, the initial post does look like an advertisement. Just my two cents.

Wondering if any of you fibreglass pool owners could enlighten me on the cost of this type of pool. While searching the San Juan website (I think that might be the only available in my area in Canada) I could not find any pricing info and really didn't want to delve into talking to a salesman at this point. Also if any of you installed the pool yourselves and what the cost was for that. Thanks for any info you could provide. Thanks.

Fiberglass pools are typically more expensive than gunite. I've never heard of anyone installing a fiberglass pool themselves because it's got to be delivered by large truck and set in place by crane. Most DIY pools are vinyl, but some people act as their own PB- hire subs and do a gunite pool. Personally I don't suggest doing it yourself unless you are very savvy about construction.

jannylee -- I actually have a price list from a local (Detroit) San Juan dealer that he sent to me by mistake. Most of the pools (depending on the model of course), seemed to be in the $30,000 (installed) range. This does not include heater, fencing, lighting, esafety cover....

I think a lot of the price depends on the options you choose.