Pool Industry

[Saluki]

Besides the inground concrete pool and the above ground vinyl pool, I learned yesterday that there is something in between which is made of fiberglass, built off site and plopped into a hole in your backyard.  Obviously, the shapes are not as customizable as the poured concrete, but the time to install seems to be quicker and the price seems to be cheaper than a concrete pool. It appears maintenance is less too, since you don't have to acid wash it, and it's less likely to have fungus or whatever growing inside it. How is the durability though?  

 

I noticed that the largest company that makes these pools, Lathan Industries, went public during the pandemic when people were stuck at home and building a lot.  The stock was down 90% but recently double on higher than expected sales.  Other than installing the pools, is there any possibility of recurring revenue for the installer, for things like maintenance?  if someone buys one of these, are they more likely to be a DIYer and buy their chemicals from Leslie's or hire a pool guy who buys from POOL? 

 

Other than being limited to the size (the pools are made offsite and delivered by truck and craned into place) and shape, is there anything else standing in the way of choosing the cheaper option for a pool than the traditional concrete pool? For example, some HOAs don't allow above ground pools, are there any that don't like fiberglass? 

 

[gfp]

In my market the water table makes the fiberglass shells pop out of the ground so they only use them indoors like new hotel pools and condo buildings.

[Spekulatius]

1 hour ago, gfp said:

In my market the water table makes the fiberglass shells pop out of the ground so they only use them indoors like new hotel pools and condo buildings.

Seems like can save a lot of money and just dig a hole in your area and voila, you have a pool. Throw some chlorine and bleach in it for the price of mind and should be good to dive in.

[Red Lion]

I’ve been shopping for pools in California, and I ended up getting a way better concrete pool for less money. Maybe it’s just market inefficiency, but I’m not so sure fiberglass actually is cheaper to the consumer. Or perhaps very dependent on the topography at an individual site. 
 

Also some really high end neighborhoods in the foothills commonly have fiberglass pools and they’re really nice too. 
 

Edited November 5 by Red Lion

[Gregmal]

Yea pools are just too tough. I have a 20x40 inground; its a constant expense. I can get a quote for the same here in NJ for $60-80k. Meanwhile in Florida a 12x24 POS Hamptons style pool 3 ft deep is pushing $90-125k...Lotta different things at play. 

[Blake Hampton]

Interesting thread. From everybody here who has a pool, would you personally recommend for someone else to get one?

[Kizion]

1 hour ago, Blake Hampton said:

Interesting thread. From everybody here who has a pool, would you personally recommend for someone else to get one?

haha, I have a pool since last year and I only regret it - only luck is that it came with a house we bought and I didn’t make the decision myself. 
 

Reason why I don’t like it is because cost benefit it’s negative for me. It takes me too much effort to maintain during summer and it costs me a lot of money (electricity for pump, heat pump (dont use it tbh), products & time) vs. the few times we could actually enjoy it. I hope it turns more beneficial once kids can start using it. 

[Red Lion]

7 hours ago, Blake Hampton said:

Interesting thread. From everybody here who has a pool, would you personally recommend for someone else to get one?

 

I wouldn't go without it. It gets miserable in the summer here without one. I know people that waste more money in fancy car depreciation in 5 years than I spent on a swimming pool that will last for 50 years.

 

They're a lot of maintenance though. Not good for investment properties. 

[Pelagic]

8 hours ago, Blake Hampton said:

Interesting thread. From everybody here who has a pool, would you personally recommend for someone else to get one?

 

Yes, once you get them set up they're fairly easy to care for. I went from having a pool outside to having one on a screened in patio. The difference is night and day between the amount of work required. The screen is mainly intended to keep bugs out to make the patio enjoyable but it also keeps so much organic matter out of the pool that it requires maybe a quarter of the work my previous pool did. If that's an option then a definite yes, without the screen I'd say it's a toss up.

 

In any case I'd recommend going a size larger on the pool pump than recommended for your pool and go with a quality automated cleaner. Between the two I basically only need to add tablets to a floater once a week and wash the filter every 3 months or so, which I was doing weekly with my previous pool.

 

Most of the modern pumps have a dual power setting where you can run them on high 1 or 2 days a week for a full cleaning and then low the rest of the week for reduced electricity draw.

[gfp]

Yeah I will add to the above that if you are installing a new pool definitely do your research on variable speed (as mentioned by pelagic above) and other lower-power-consumption pump options because a traditional old school pool pump can add a decent amount of usage to your power bill.  Same with heaters and chillers.  I recommend salt water chlorinators, which should be automatic each night and you will only have to shock the pool occasionally - never have to add chlorine outside of a shock.  The salt water feels nicer anyway but make sure no hardware anywhere near it can rust.

 

[73 Reds]

8 hours ago, Blake Hampton said:

Interesting thread. From everybody here who has a pool, would you personally recommend for someone else to get one?

I put pools and boats in the same category - nice to have friends with both but would no longer want to own either one.  

[Spekulatius]

20 hours ago, Blake Hampton said:

Interesting thread. From everybody here who has a pool, would you personally recommend for someone else to get one?

No. I would not buy a house with a pool. It’s a maintenance and to a lesser extent insurance nightmare.

Edited November 7 by Spekulatius

[brobro777]

5 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

No. I would not buy a house with a pool. It’s a maintenance and to a lesser extent insurance nightmare.

yea I'd be scared of some California plaintiffs lawyer coming after me with some slip and fall nonsense and the insurance company disclaiming coverage 

 

wow that's scary man scary 

[Red Lion]

5 hours ago, brobro777 said:

yea I'd be scared of some California plaintiffs lawyer coming after me with some slip and fall nonsense and the insurance company disclaiming coverage 

 

wow that's scary man scary 

Just get a good policy and an umbrella policy. Not that hard. Then maybe a pool fence for starters. 
 

Funny thing is it’s impossible to get insurance in California right now, but the pool hasn’t been an issue. 
 

[Spekulatius]

17 minutes ago, Red Lion said:

Just get a good policy and an umbrella policy. Not that hard. Then maybe a pool fence for starters. 
 

Funny thing is it’s impossible to get insurance in California right now, but the pool hasn’t been an issue. 
 

Texas and Florida are also bad. Lots of shark lawyers and no damage cap.