How to Successfully Plan for your Fiberglass Pool Installation

So you want a pool but you don’t know where to start! I’m here to share our experience from start to finish of our fiberglass pool installation. We’ll go from the ground down (get it?) and why we chose a fiberglass pool. All that info as well as accessories we chose, safety measures we put in place, and what we learned. 

**Disclaimer: the following information is all our own opinion. I recommend you check within your own state regarding laws about safety and pools etc.

Pool Options

There are so many pool options and before making our final decision, we got about 4 bids. My first tip would be to get several bids to compare not only price, but what’s included. There are so many different things companies do and don’t include so make sure to ask for an itemized sheet so you know what is included upfront and what is expected of you.  

There are 3 main types of pools: Concrete/Gunite, Fiberglass, and Vinyl liners. We chose Fiberglass for its price point (less expensive than concrete but more sustainable than a pool liner). For a fiberglass pool, you buy the pool pre-fabricated. It comes in one piece ready to be set inground and installed. 

You can buy fiberglass pools directly from the manufacturer or from a pool dealer/installer. Our pool is made by Imagine Pools and they have tons of options. We are very happy/impressed with the product we received. Ours is the celebration pool in storm grey. I would encourage you to shop around different companies, call to ask lots of questions and look up reviews.

Also ask if there are any pools in a stockyard that haven’t sold. We got our pool a little cheaper because it had been sitting in a stockyard for over a year. We didn’t get to choose the color (thankfully we love it) but it was worth the price savings to us and it saved a ton of time since it was already made. If we would’ve had one made, it would have taken an extra 12-16 weeks minimum. Lead times may be less now.

Installation

Once you have your pool, you’ll need an installer. Our best advice is to meet with potential installers and make sure you feel comfortable with what they say and previous work they have done. We asked for lots of pictures of previous work. Do your due diligence to also ask about lead times from start to completion, as well as what they include. In most cases, you will also need to hire an electrician separately to do that part of the installation.

Our pool is heated which does create an added cost but this was worth it to us to extend our swimming season.

Cost

Total cost for our pool was $120,000. This included the fiberglass pool (40k), installation/labor/equipment/materials for a heated pool (40k), automatic cover (15k), concrete decking (10k), the electrical work (10k), slide and diving board (5k). Don’t quote me but a similar concrete pool would probably have been about 25-50% more (this varies pending size and shape). A similar vinyl pool would probably have saved us 25%. But the vinyl liners need replacing every so many years as well and have more upkeep.

Safety Measures

Water safety is SO important. I repeat, it is so important. Although nothing is 100% guaranteed, there are safety measures you can take to help. That is why Tim and I have several of these safety measures and rules in place for our home, our boys, and guests to our pool. Since it is our pool, we can make the rules/boundaries and expect people to abide by them to stay safe. This is non-negotiable even with our closest friends and family. These are things we do and use.

Door Alarms

We have them (click here) on every back door out to the pool. You can hear them throughout the house and every time someone goes out the door they have to call out “It’s mommy” or “It’s Jude” so we know where our kids are. If they don’t call out, chances are a little one is trying to open the door. I can’t recommend these enough. They would be great even if you didn’t have a pool but need to keep an eye on young kids. 

Automatic pool cover

You can’t put a price on safety. Different states have different requirements for either a fence or cover. Make sure to check what you may need. Our state requires either a full cover or full surround fence. We chose to go with an automatic cover from aquamatic that is installed in between the pool and cement so that there are no openings. It is also rated to hold up to 2,000 lbs. The key/button to open and close the cover is installed higher than our children can reach in an out-of-the-way spot. Before closing the cover, we walk around the whole pool to make sure no kids are swimming or diving underwater. The cover is expensive at around $15k but worth it to us. 

Swim Lessons

We have started all of our children in swim lessons around 3 years old and are so thankful for that. It teaches incredible life long skills regarding swimming and also teaches them water safety. We continue to keep them in swim lessons each summer even if it just means to work on technique (example: our oldest Jude learns different strokes and swimming laps). I also know so many people recommend ISR for even younger children but that is not something we have available in our area and we have never experienced it…so I can’t personally speak to it. 

Lifevests

This is personal preference but we have plenty of lifevests available for children. Our personal rule is that if your child cannot swim the length of the pool on their own, then they are not allowed to swim without a lifevest or an adult holding them. So whenever a new child comes to the pool, the first thing we do if they want to try, is watch them swim and determine if they are able to without a life vest. These life vests from Costco are the ones we like to buy

Phones

This is a tough one I know. Especially since Instagram is my main hobby- I get it. But for us personally, we have decided to put the phones down while enjoying the pool so our full attention is on the kids in the water. I’m even working on just leaving my phone right inside the door. Sure I may grab it to take a quick video or picture of the boys swimming. But otherwise, I’m learning to discipline myself and put the phone away. Scrolling my phone isn’t worth the possibility of something happening. 

Pool Fun/Accessories

Pool Slide

Spendy but 100% worth it. It is the highlight of our pool. We ordered this ourselves for $3500 to save on markups through our installer ordering it. Click here for ours. 

Diving board

Another fun accessory that we are so glad we chose to install. Click here for the one we got.

**Please note it is required by law that pools be a minimum of 8 feet deep in order to install a diving board. 

Pool Floats 

Target has a lot of great options right now! Click here to shop these pool floats and lots more!

**Make sure to take out all pool floats when not in use**

Diving toys

Treasure Chest Dive Gems // Torpedo Dive Toys // Dive Rings and Sticks

Goggles

Lots of great options on Amazon. Click here to check some out.

Pool Towels

Click here to check out this great set on Amazon.

Pool Lounge chairs 

I LOVE these lounge chairs we got. They have a side tray and it’s the best for drinks or food.

Storage Box

We got this storage box to hold all our Life vests and other toys, and it’s been such a great thing to have.

Outdoor Towel Rack

I bought 2 of these Outdoor towel racks to hang towels, goggles, basically anything that’s wet to drip dry. I love them!

This is a ton of information, but I hope it helps in one way or another. Whether that’s the installation of a pool, or safety measures around water, or just some fun toys to play with outside. If you’re looking for more ideas for a summer full of fun, check out this blog post we put together last year- 5 Tips for a Summer of Fun! It’s still great today.

xo, Sarah