By: Brett Getter
There is a gentleman in the Outer Banks area that runs a business repairing fiberglass pools. I know this sounds funny because fiberglass pools are (as we have been led to believe) hands off and so well manufactured that the lack of required service completely offsets the incredibly steep cost of purchasing, delivering and installing one of these pools. Because of this, you would think this gentleman had made a bad decision regarding a business to run, but the Reality of his story is pretty telling.
The Reality is that this gentleman would not be able to fit you in for a fiberglass repair for over a year
because he has so many repair jobs lined up. I have a personal friend that has recently fulfilled a lifetime
dream of purchasing a home in the Outer Banks. This home happens to have a small fiberglass pool on
the property. This pool was installed in 2006 and now, 17 years later, there are so many chips and
missing pieces of gel-coating and cracks along the top that the pool is in obvious need of serious repair.
When my friend got together with the Gentleman I spoke of in the first part of this article, he was told
the repair would cost between $10-$15 thousand dollars (this pool is only 10×20). His first thought was
that he could install a new liner pool for just a few thousand dollars more. Especially because he would
only need the walls and a liner since the filter and other peripheral equipment already exist.
This gentleman explained to my friend that the “Gel-Coating” on a fiberglass pool is what we would
consider the equivalent of the liner in a liner pool. This coating is very thin and over time will chip and
crack off the pool leaving open fiberglass to exist to the touch. He then explained how he is so busy
repairing this same situation on countless other pools in the area that he would not be available for
repair until around November of 2024 (that is over a year).
Needless to say, if this had been a liner pool my friend could have had a liner bought and installed for
about $3,000 and his pool would be looking brand new within a few weeks… and if he installed it
himself it would save him about a thousand dollars.
We have been in business here at Medallion Pools since 1960 and we have seen it all when it comes to
our pools and others as well. We have had customers come in after 30 years, not because the liner is
leaking or torn, but because they simply want a new look to the pool. This customer could have changed
their liner 3-5 times for the same cost as the fiberglass resurfacing charge.
I will not sit here telling you that all manufactured liners (or anything else for that matter) are going to
be perfect and last forever. There are different types of pool owners as well and their level of care and
upkeep regimens will vary from vigilant to lackadaisical, but in the end the lasting quality and
inexpensive replacement cost of a liner is but a fraction of the cost attached to repairs on other popular
types of pool construction. I am not even touching on the vast amount of design choices you have with
liners that allow you to have a completely new and unique look to your pool without any extra cost.
In the end you will want to do your homework so you can understand whats ahead of you regarding
each type of pool. What type of problems can occur with each type and what is the cost to fix those
things? Once you have a real handle on what to expect, you will have a much easier time justifying
whatever choice you make.