4 things to know about the concrete pool construction process.
The process to build a concrete pool can be a long, messy and at times frustrating ordeal. Understanding these 4 critical concrete pool issues will help you make the most informed decision when deciding whether to purchase a concrete or a fiberglass pool.
Pool Pros specializes in building fiberglass pools, but we know concrete pools all too well, and we are here to help. Our blog has info on hidden cost of concrete pool ownership, concrete pool design, budgeting, and common maintenance problems to help you make the most informed choice when making your pool purchase.
1: TIME: The typical start to finish time frame for a concrete pool is 60-90 days. During that time frame the concrete pool shell sits empty for up to 30 days while it cures. As a comparison, a fiberglass pool typically takes 2-4 weeks and is filling with water by day 3.
2: MESS: Every type of pool construction is messy, but an in-progress concrete pool takes the cake. The builders are spraying concrete out of a high pressure hose, and it gets everywhere. They try to contain the mess, but it’s a lot of dust and a lot of overspraying. Multpily that by 2-3 months!
3: POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO INTERIOR SURFACE: The initial start up of a concrete pool is critical and technically challenging. If done incorrectly the entire pool interior can become stained or worse fail completely. In some cases the surface may need to be removed and started over from sctrach adding more time to you project.
4: DIFFERENT CREWS, DIFFERENT PEOPLE: Just when you get comfortable with the strangers working in your yard, a new group shows up, then another, then another and so on. Most large scale concrete pool builders use a compartmentalized workforce. Meaning that there is a crew for each individual portion of the project. This allows for great efficiencies on the job site and great specializiation of each task. You can expect an excavation crew, rebar crew, plumbing crew, shotcrete crew, tile crew, plaster crew, flatwork crew, and start up crew.
If the thought of the headache involved in purchasing, building and owning a concrete pool makes you feel uneasy you may want to compare it to your other options, vinyl liner pools and fiberglass pools.
