I am surprised the FG is more. F/G can have a tile line. There are silicone based grouts available that will hold tile quite nicely. Expect about $2000 more if desired.

Are both proposals using the same brand of equipment? Expect a Pentair equipped pool to run a bit higher than Jandy or Hayward, it's better quality overall, IMHO. This is especially true of the multi-speed pumps they offer.

Get a soils engineer to do some core samples. If you have expansive soil, that is it has a lot of clay, I would go with the F/G. It can be over dug and back filled with extra 1/8 gravel or sand to act as a buffer.

If the water table is high, a sump or dry well is a good idea to remove water under the pool if it ever needs draining. This is valuable for both types of pools.

F/G is easier to clean usually. Both use the same flexible vac head, pool brush and skimmer net. Since there are no pores in a gel coat, nothing sticks that a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser or a stain bag doesn't clean off.

They both use the same chemicals except the F/G will need less calcium added if you have soft water, which in Tx, as I understand it, is a less than common situation.

F/G will be installed much quicker. The hole is dug, inspected, the shell is dropped, plumbed, backfilled and water added the same day usually. Then there is the electrical hook up, rebar grid and bonding, masonry, final inspection, and landscaping.

Gunite has a number of additional steps. It also has cure times that will add to the length of time the job takes before you can swim. It does allow a very customizable and flexible design to be created, more so than any other type of pool.

Check to see other pools the builder or installer has done. Use the usual gauges, BBB, other pools, etc... to assist in deciding.

I hope this helps.

Scott

I bucked the trend here in central Mississippi and have had my fiberglass pool since November. We love it. It is so easy on your feet and swimsuit! We have had no problems and the maintenance has been so much easier than we even imagined.
But, It all comes down to you. Make sure you get the best builder or installer you can. That is the key to any successful build (concrete) or install (fiberglass). Soil is a factor.
Leisure is a great pool line. We didn't have an installer here, and do now. But, I would probably still have gone with another line since the installer is new.

The concrete pool builder is very highly regarded. The fiberglass installer also is well respected. The are the exclusive installer for the city I live in, so they are my only choice. Both are offering a Hayward system, same pump size. The concrete builder is offering a DE Filter and the fiberglass person is offering sand or cartridge. We do have clay soil and rock, lots of rock here.

We had an existing fiberglass pool here in the Houston area (clay soil), when we purchased our home 20 years ago. We repaired extensive cracks and had to cover the bottom drain due to leaks about 6 years after we purchased the house - that was several thousand dollars. The pool ran off the skimmer for many years until we had it demolished and replaced it with a gunite pool. You might want to check home values on a home with a fiberglass pool vs. gunite.

Theres no dump in our area that takes fibreglass. What did they do with the old pool?

Just like readyami, I am bucking the system here in Memphis. Although there are fiberglass installs here, they are thought to be cheap by alot of people for some reason. In reality, I believe the pool I am getting is more costly on the front end than a gunite pool the same size and shape would be, but I am looking down the road at maintenance costs & have decided this pool would be the best choice for me. I grew up with gunite, and although it was many years ago, I recall my parents constantly having to have it drained and resurfaced. I had a vinyl liner built in my last house and it served the purpose beautifully at the time, but I am looking forward to easier maintenance in the fiberglass pool I will be installing next week. I used to think they looked like nothing more than a large bathtub, but the things that you can do with them now will have them looking just as good as a gunite. I will be personally putting the waterline tile in my pool and am saving $1700 from the quote I was given to have the builder do it. Its a tough decision, but if you go with your instincts.... you will pick what's for you.

Whoever put in Beckymc's original fiberglass shell apparently didn't over dig the hole, Sigh.

Scott

I don't know where they dumped the fiberglass, the pool was 16x32 or so with 9 1/2 feet at the deep end. There was lots of fiberglass - they had a couple of dump trucks going for a long time. The deck demo was really noisy. We demo'd everything right up to the house and replaced it with a large pavestone deck. We love the new pool.

From what I've read the Liesure Pool has the best warranty on the surface color, 15 years! and then something like 75 years on the structure. I doubt any concrete PB could match that. I've seen other Fibreglass pools that have 7 years on the color and lifetime on the structure.

Might want to visit Poolschool.us , very educational - a little bias but good.

We are in Houston too and are looking at fiberglass pools. We have been working with the guys at www.poolbuyersguide.com and they have been really helpful. We showed them the quotes we have gotten and in few of the quotes and contracts they found huge problems and probably saved us a lot of hassle! One question we had is who the best fiberglass pool installers are in Houston? We are leaning towards www.kangapools.com... Thanks for the help!

handrewp, we are in the Houston area too. we have been thinking of a FG pool for a while now but haven't been able to find someone who has had one for a while. I saw the comment from beckymc that had a FG pool with too many issues. how is you new pool? any recommendations/suggestions? Also on Kanga pool i haven't seem much of customers reviews. how was you experience with them? if you don't mind around how much was you TIC?

thanks

Christian

handerwp and chcros, Did you install the fiberglass pool? How has it been? Who was your installer? We're thinking about FG. Any thoughts? Thanks!