Inquiring Minds Want to Know: How Do You Make a Fiberglass Pool?

Have you ever watched that show “How It’s Made?” It’s pretty easy to get drawn in. If you’re a naturally curious person, you could get completely geeked out watching them explain how things are made–especially things you’ve never given much thought to the inner workings of–like baseballs, aluminum foil, shoelaces, and those cute little paper umbrellas you get in your pina colada.

Well, if you’ve ever seen a giant fiberglass pool shell riding down the road on a trailer, you might have stopped to wonder, “how in the world did they make that?” The process of making fiberglass is cool enough but when you see how it’s transformed into a beautifully finished inground fiberglass pool, it’s even cooler.

Fiberglass is literally fibers of glass, spun fine enough to be molded into many forms. Your first thoughts of fiberglass may conjure up giant bubblegum pink rolls of insulation, but it takes many more forms than that. You’ll find fiberglass in your car, your home, and all over the world around you. Fiberglass is a key component in airplanes, wind turbines, medical equipment, and electronics. And if you’re in the market for a new inground swimming pool, you’d be really happy to find it in your own backyard.

The process for creating an inground fiberglass pool is fascinating. They’re constructed by hand, by craftsmen who are very skilled at their trade. The best quality fiberglass pools are made up of numerous layers of resin, chopped fiberglass, and hand-laid woven roving fiberglass for the greatest strength and durability, and the flexibility of fiberglass allows for a great variety of styles, shapes, sizes, and finish colors.  

So if you’re thinking about creating your own private backyard oasis this year and would like to know more about fiberglass pools, take a look at this awesome and informative guide that will tell you exactly how a fiberglass pool is made. (But if you do get a pool and want to try and make your own paper umbrellas to go in your poolside drinks, you’ll have to watch the show to see how those are made– we’ve got absolutely no idea.)