Taking the Dive into a Custom Swimming Pool

So you’ve decided you want to install a custom swimming pool. Fantastic! You start researching for just the right pool for you and your family when you realize there’s a lot of decisions to make – what type, what size, salt or chlorine? All very important decisions because they can affect your wallet up front or in the long term.

Types of Custom Swimming Pool

Vinyl lined pools – this is your cheapest option and comes with a variety of patterns and colors. However, the liners do need to be replaced every 10 years or so and they are not indestructible – they can be punctured or torn.

Concrete or gunite pools – super long lasting and can accommodate any size pool. But, you’re going to pay quite a bit more for concrete pools than you will for vinyl liners.

Fiberglass – a pre-molded shell manufactured off site. They come in different sizes and shapes and are pretty durable. No liner means no punctures.
Now that we have decide on the type of pool we should look at the water purification.

Chlorine, Salt, or UV Custom Pools

* Chlorine pools are generally less expensive but do require a bit more maintenance and checking the pool water ph. This includes chemical juggling and shocking the pool every month to take care of excess bacteria that may be present. It’s a balancing act. Most of us would probably just hire a pool service to do this for us. So, if chlorine is the way you want to go, make sure you factor in the cost of a service or if you’re willing to play amateur chemist.

* Salt water pools are becoming hugely popular. But did you know that a salt water pool is still a chlorine pool? The difference is a salt water pool has a generator/salt water chlorinator. This means the generator electrically converts the salt in the pool into chlorine. Salt water pools are a bit more expensive to set up and the salt cells have to be replaced every few years ($500+). The only ‘downside’ is the potential damage to your deck, grass, and pool equipment due to the salt water splashing onto it. So really, if your heart is set on a salt water pool – make sure you take the area surrounding the pool into consideration (grass, wooden deck, etc).

* A UV sanitizer is your third option. Not a whole lot is known regarding cost to the average consumer considering this option. The process has been used for a really long time to sanitize water, but the cost estimates of maintenance to an individual are still very limited because it’s not as popular as salt and chlorine. How does it work? The UV pool sanitizer emits a high intensity germicidal light that alters or disrupts the DNA or RNA of organisms such as algae, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and organic matter. There are downsides, as well. Firstly, the water being treated cannot be cloudy. If the light cannot penetrate the water it cannot destroy the microbes. Two; ultraviolet purification offers no residual treatment. Unlike chlorine which stays in the water and continues to disinfect it, ultraviolet radiation does not. Any microbes missed would stay in the water. For this reason, chloramine is sometimes added to water purified by ultraviolet radiation after the fact.

Now onto the size and shape. There is a plethora of ways to go here. Let’s have a look at a few examples…