Plastic pool v traditional brick built

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shaz
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Plastic pool v traditional brick built

Post by shaz »

Does anyone have a plastic pool. Not the above ground ones but the ones that are installed in the ground and look like a swimming pools. Pros and cons of having one please. Also do you need planning permission to have the plastic type.
Dusty
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Post by Dusty »

By "plastic pool" I assume you mean a pre-formed fiberglass one and by "brick built" I assume you mean a concrete pool with liner. If my assumtions are correct I imagine the fiberglass one would be tougher than concrete one as it is less likely to be damaged than the liner, but I don't know about the cost comparison.

As to whether you need planning permission or not, it depends on where you are. I would have thought the planning permission would be for the pool itself rather than the construction.
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Post by AndrewH »

I know I shall be treading on many owner' toes here, but to me a plastic liner looks "cheap" compared with a tiled pool, but maybe it is a lot cheaper in money terms.

Pure white tiling in a northern climate is probably fine, but in say a Mediterranean context (where the summer sky is blue and the sun is strong) a pool with white tiles can be very glaring. We were advised to use slate grey tiles and with reluctance we accepted that advice. However we are very happy with the resulting colour when the pool is filled. If you take a look at a couple of the gallery photos of the swimming pool on our website (below), you may see what I mean.

These are just my personal views, and I am certainly not trying to advertise our rental.
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Post by COYS »

Reinforced concrete, tiled finish. Better resistance to ground movement & fill pressures, less susceptible to accidental damage.
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Bassman
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Post by Bassman »

We have a "coque polyester " preformed fibreglass pool this is its 14th season. Generally we are happy with it & only had 1 problem which was fixed under the guarantee. The downside is they are limited in size, our is 11m x 4.1m which was the largest available at that time.
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bornintheuk
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Post by bornintheuk »

Bassman wrote:We have a "coque polyester " preformed fibreglass pool this is its 14th season. Generally we are happy with it & only had 1 problem which was fixed under the guarantee. The downside is they are limited in size, our is 11m x 4.1m which was the largest available at that time.
Also they tend to be of a constant depth so diving and jumping in can be a problem, if not ill advised !
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Bassman
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Post by Bassman »

bornintheuk wrote:
Bassman wrote:We have a "coque polyester " preformed fibreglass pool this is its 14th season. Generally we are happy with it & only had 1 problem which was fixed under the guarantee. The downside is they are limited in size, our is 11m x 4.1m which was the largest available at that time.
Also they tend to be of a constant depth so diving and jumping in can be a problem, if not ill advised !
Mine has a Depth range of 0.60m - 2.00m
shaz
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Post by shaz »

Thank you for the replies
Dusty
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Post by Dusty »

AndrewH wrote:I know I shall be treading on many owner' toes here, but to me a plastic liner looks "cheap" compared with a tiled pool, but maybe it is a lot cheaper in money terms.

Pure white tiling in a northern climate is probably fine, but in say a Mediterranean context (where the summer sky is blue and the sun is strong) a pool with white tiles can be very glaring. We were advised to use slate grey tiles and with reluctance we accepted that advice. However we are very happy with the resulting colour when the pool is filled.
Hi Andrew, I am interested in whether you feel your slate grey tiles warm the pool more efficiently? We stayed at a B&B in a conservation area a while back, they weren't allowed blue/white pools as it would spoil the view from the air so they went for a grey liner, which I thought looked very attractive. I did consider whether to go grey when I replaced the liner on our pool last year but decided against it, I think I would be braver now.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

Dark pool finishes definitely warm the water better than light colours. However if you don't have much insulation around the pool that extra heating could be lost very easily, not a problem in the heat of summer but makes a big difference at the shoulder seasons.
No one has mentioned the height of the water table in your area which is one of the reasons not to choose a polyester coque pool. We in the industry call them boat pools because if the ground water level rises, so can your pool.
In areas with ground movement a panel and liner pool can take structural movement and be far less capital outlay than reinforced concrete pool of the required strength.
Not all liners look cheap or have to be blue! some of the better liners are really stunning now and the water chemistry can be a lot more forgiving. I laugh at the stupid restrictions that your pool can't be this or that colour because from the air they still look like pools and usually blue from the water! Our local Chateau which is the museum of pre history, denotes all pools cant have blue liners..........What colour roof did they put on the extension to the Chateau museum?? Swimming pool blue!! I give up with civil servants, they no bog all about what they have power over, A stone (ton pierre) coloured liner looks just as blue from the air.
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Bassman
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Post by Bassman »

teapot wrote:Dark pool finishes definitely warm the water better than light colours. However if you don't have much insulation around the pool that extra heating could be lost very easily, not a problem in the heat of summer but makes a big difference at the shoulder seasons.
No one has mentioned the height of the water table in your area which is one of the reasons not to choose a polyester coque pool. We in the industry call them boat pools because if the ground water level rises, so can your pool.
In areas with ground movement a panel and liner pool can take structural movement and be far less capital outlay than reinforced concrete pool of the required strength.
Not all liners look cheap or have to be blue! some of the better liners are really stunning now and the water chemistry can be a lot more forgiving. I laugh at the stupid restrictions that your pool can't be this or that colour because from the air they still look like pools and usually blue from the water! Our local Chateau which is the museum of pre history, denotes all pools cant have blue liners..........What colour roof did they put on the extension to the Chateau museum?? Swimming pool blue!! I give up with civil servants, they no bog all about what they have power over, A stone (ton pierre) coloured liner looks just as blue from the air.
A good point re water table, we have drained our pool once but before doing so we had to drain the water underneath. For me the biggest problem re c/p pools is there limited size
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Post by AndrewH »

Dusty wrote:Hi Andrew, I am interested in whether you feel your slate grey tiles warm the pool more efficiently? We stayed at a B&B in a conservation area a while back, they weren't allowed blue/white pools as it would spoil the view from the air so they went for a grey liner, which I thought looked very attractive. I did consider whether to go grey when I replaced the liner on our pool last year but decided against it, I think I would be braver now.
It's not an aspect to which I had given much thought till now. I would take on board Teapot's answers. In theory, a darker colour absorbs more, and reflects less, heat which benefits the water temperature. If it were me and I had the choice, I would certainly opt for a grey pool liner.

I also agree with Teapot that there are too many officials who know nowt but dictate everything. I exempt from this, the country where I live (Greece, the home of democracy) where officialdom does often take note of what the public think. - sorry, way off thread.
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Post by Dusty »

teapot wrote:Our local Chateau which is the museum of pre history, denotes all pools cant have blue liners..........What colour roof did they put on the extension to the Chateau museum?? Swimming pool blue!! I give up with civil servants, they no bog all about what they have power over, A stone (ton pierre) coloured liner looks just as blue from the air.
Love it! :D
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Casscat
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Post by Casscat »

Shaz I think your place is in Spain, yes? In Spain the norm is to have a constructed pool with tiling. Pre-formed fibreglass pools are available, but somewhat frowned upon. Plastic liner pools are common in France but almost unheard of in Spain.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

Casscat wrote:Shaz I think your place is in Spain, yes? In Spain the norm is to have a constructed pool with tiling. Pre-formed fibreglass pools are available, but somewhat frowned upon. Plastic liner pools are common in France but almost unheard of in Spain.
No technical reasons? Just the local trades wishing to keep building?
One of the issues I have with polyester pools, are manufacturers with the fittings in a set position and most manufacturers do not understand the relevance of placing things like skimmers and returns in the optimal positions, that can often be said of traditional pool builders to.
I doubt I can get over to the Barcelona trade show this year but I would love to visit that market place.
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