What to Expect When You’re Expecting (a Fiberglass Pool, That Is!)

Reasons for Possible Fiberglass Pool Delays & Other Concerns

Congratulations! You’ve finally taken the plunge and you’re expecting … a new, inground fiberglass pool! That’s amazing. It will be a fabulous addition to your family (not to mention lower maintenance than raising a teenager and much cheaper over time.) Your pool builder has probably given you a schedule of how long you should expect your inground pool installation to take, but there are other things you should know before your inground pool arrives. To start, it is important to understand the reason for many fiberglass pool delays and other situations that can prevent meeting the original timeline for the installation of your pool.

Getting a swimming pool installed is a construction project. As you probably know if you built your home or have done any remodeling, construction projects don’t always go exactly as planned. Sometimes the best-laid plans get a little sideways. Knowing about potential issues upfront, issues that could result in fiberglass pool delays is important. It is also important to have realistic expectations. These can help everyone in the family be prepared as you count down to pool opening day.

1. Expect a little mess. There’s no way of getting around it. A crew of guys is going to bring in heavy equipment and dig a giant, pool-size hole in your backyard. An experienced, trusted pool builder will work to ensure that there’s as little mess and disruption as possible during the excavation process, but you’re still going to have a pile of dirt, mud, gravel, boxes and equipment in your yard. Heavy machinery and trucks will be going in and out of your project site on a regular basis. During the construction process, you protect children, neighbors, and pets by keeping them out of the construction area. You might also want to give your neighbors a courtesy “heads-up” that your pool installation is starting (and remind them that all the awesome pool parties you’ll soon be throwing will make up for any inconvenience).
2. Expect a few delays. Under ideal conditions, a fiberglass pool can be installed in as little as three weeks. However, every pool installation project is different, and issues can crop up that are beyond your pool builder’s control. For example, deliveries and inspections can be delayed, equipment can break down, your builder could unearth unexpected soil conditions, and Mother Nature might decide to wreak havoc with your schedule. So, if you take an open-minded approach to your schedule and prepare yourself upfront for the possibility that there might be some delays, you’ll be much more relaxed throughout the process.
3. Expect communication from your builder. Your pool builder will be communicating with you throughout the different phases of construction. They will give you projected start, delivery, inspection and completion dates, and they may also help coordinate subcontractors for various portions of the project (like plumbing, electrical, concrete and automatic pool cover installation.) Let your pool builder know how much communication you expect from him throughout the process. For example, some homeowners want to know every time someone is going to be in their backyard, while others just want to know if there are any major delays and/or when the job is projected to be completed.
4. Expect to do a little work. Every pool builder has different things that they include as “standard” in any pool installation, but most won’t offer a completely “turn-key” package. This means that chances are pretty good that you’ll have some work to do when the pool installation is completed. Most pool projects finish at “rough grade”. This means that the finishing touches of the pool area, such as grass and landscaping the pool area, are your responsibility. And, while the pool builder will do a final clean of the swimming pool before they leave, you will still be dealing with dirt and dust collecting in the pool until your grass and landscaping start to take hold.
5. Expect to have great things to look forward to! Now that you know what to expect throughout your pool installation process, you can sit back, relax and enjoy watching the progress on your pool. You can take this time to review the rules of pool safety with the kids. And, to make it fun for the whole family, create a calendar and celebrate the milestones along the way, like Dig Day, Pool Delivery Day and Concrete Day, until you can finally celebrate the big one: Pool Opening Day!