River Pools & Spas Blog
The most educational swimming pool blog in the country, providing fiberglass pool articles and videos, as well as information on inground concrete and liner pools.
Fiberglass Pool Information | Fiberglass vs Concrete vs Vinyl Liner
Like many of you, I just was part of the ‘East Coast Earthquake’ of 2011. For 10 seconds, I was sitting in my office, feeling the floor shaking beneath me, and asking myself—“Am I actually in an earthquake?”
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Fiberglass Pool Information | Pool Design Guides
One of the more popular shapes in the inground swimming pool industry is the Roman End style—a rectangle with a half circle on each end of the pool. With its elegant look combined with its plentiful seating, Roman End pools can certainly enhance the look of a backyard.
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Don't blindly wonder if a fiberglass, concrete, or vinyl liner pool is right for you. Our educational ebook does a deep-dive comparison of the 3 types, all while noting the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Fiberglass Pool Information | Fiberglass Pool Manufacturers | Pool Design Guides
As we've mentioned many other times in the past, fiberglass pools have come light years in the last decade when it comes to beauty and aesthetics. Today, it's not uncommon to see fiberglass pools in the most luxurious of homes, much of which can be attributed to these advancements as well as the fact that consumers are now more informed than ever.
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So here we are, mid April, and many of you reading this are still looking at a pool in your backyard with a cover on it. This is understandable, and I’m sure you have your reasons, but I simply wanted to write this little article from the opposite perspective.
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Installation & Construction | Options and Accessories | Retaining Walls, Fence, and Landscaping
Note from Marcus: This is a guest post from one of the most prominent landscape designers in the Northern Virginia area, David Marciniak of Revolutionary Gardens.
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Fiberglass Pool Information | Finding A Pool Contractor
For full disclosure, let me just start off this little article by saying that I’m not an economist (although these days, that might be actually lend the following words quite a bit more credibility). But what I do understand, and clearly have my finger on the pulse of, is the state of the swimming pool industry.
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Fiberglass Pool Information | Fiberglass vs Concrete vs Vinyl Liner
For the past couple of days, my business partners and I have been viewing the new 2011 products of the swimming pool industry here at the Atlantic City Pool and Spa Convention.
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Finding A Pool Contractor | Pool Design Guides
Many of you reading this right now know you’re likely getting a pool this year. Yep, you’ve finally made the decision to ‘take the plunge’ (lots of pun intended). This being said, most of you are going about this whole ‘pool buying thing’ the wrong way.
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Options and Accessories | Pool Design Guides | Pool Maintenance
OK, so it’s Christmas week and I hope everyone is loving life with family and friends. But considering Santa is on his way, and that spring is (believe it or not) just around the corner, it may be time to think about a few ‘gifts’ for your swimming pool this coming year.
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Fiberglass Pool Information | Installation & Construction
How long does it take to install a pool? Now, that depends on what type of pool we’re talking. Doing a search for “how long does it take to install an inground pool from start to finish” will likely yield some wide ranges of answers if you don’t specify which type of inground pool. A little fun fact about us (or maybe a big one): we at River Pools manufacture inground fiberglass pools, but our time in the pool industry has helped us learn tons about inground pool types far and wide. So that brings us to the main focus of today’s article and let me say it’s one of the most mistaken and sometimes misunderstood parts of having a fiberglass inground pool installed in your backyard. Though fiberglass is where our expertise lies, we’ll also briefly go over some facts for concrete (gunite) and vinyl liner pools, just so you have all your options laid out in front of you. Let’s start with the ever-familiar concrete pools. These bad boys are built from scratch in your backyard, so they can be practically any shape and size you dream of (folks dreaming about a never-before-seen pool shape – we’re talking to you). With the excavating, rebar placement, plumbing, concrete-shooting, curing, coping and plastering, installing an inground concrete pool may take three to six months on average. Vinyl liner pools, also often referred to as just “liner” pools, also offer customization options and can be appealing due to their lower upfront costs and smooth texture. Keep in mind that the more custom the design, the more money you’ll likely have to pay. This goes for concrete, as well. These pools also require excavation, along with lining with metal wall panels, plumbing, creating the pool base/floor (this is often done with vermiculite or grout) and installing the liner itself. This process can take six to eight weeks on average. I find it a little funny when I look online and I see companies with the headline ‘We will install your pool in one day!’. Actually, I’m a little bothered by these statements because the task of installing a fiberglass pool in one day is nearly impossible. Why? Well here are the different phases of an actual complete installation:
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