I spent the first 30 years of my life with pools, so I understand what's involved with maintaining one. One piece fiberglass pools don't seem to be too common here, but every time I'm driving in the South, I see truckloads of them being delivered. I'm not sure if it's a regional thing or not. Maybe they don't do well in areas with frost. If anyone here has one, I'd like to hear how it holds up over time.
They sell them up north, lot's of ads about fast and easy install. As far as how common, I couldn't say.
They are pretty much the bottom of the barrel for in-ground pools. I think they've improved a lot in the past 10 years or so, but they don't do well in northern climates from what I understand. Their plus is that they are easy to install, so they are a lower cost to the buyer.
We had a in ground pool growing up - the kind with a vinyl liner in it. Then we got a dog that liked to swim and she caused all sorts of damage to the liner trying to get out.
Obviously fiberglass is going to have limitations on the overall size and depth as they have to travel over the road and then get into your back yard. If you can’t have a deep in ground pool, then why not just save lots of $$ and get an above ground?
racerdave600 wrote: They are pretty much the bottom of the barrel for in-ground pools.
How so?
On guy a town over was so proud of the one piece fiberglass basement they put in his new house, guaranteed never to flood.
The next spring, when the town flooded his basement was dry as a bone, and his house had floated up off the foundation and settled in such a way that they tore it down instead of calling in a house mover and foundation crew. Fine print on the instructions said that if flooding was expected the basement should be cleared out and filled with clean water to keep it from floating.
So, up north where it freezes, do you have your fiberglass pool destroyed by the water in it freezing or do you have it float away?
"We have a pool—and a pond.... pond'd be good for you." -Ty Webb
drainoil wrote:racerdave600 wrote: They are pretty much the bottom of the barrel for in-ground pools.How so?
Several reasons. First, it's basically dropped into a big hole and back filled with sand. That can cause the insides of the pool to deform if the sand shifts. They are also not really meant to be repaired or refinished. They are what they are, and as they age, or if you do not keep your pool chemistry in shape, they can look pretty bad. For example, on a gunite pool, you can refinish it, or a liner pool, simply replace the liner, and either will look like new.
My pool for instance is a liner pool, but it's concrete underneath on the sides and bottom. After almost 30 years the concrete still looks like new, and when I bought the house 5 years ago, I replaced the original liner. People that have never seen it before can't believe it's that old. A fiberglass pool to have the same effect would have to be removed and replaced in it's entirety.
One other issue. Since they are so cheap in some instances, fiberglass pools have created a bunch of companies putting them in that have no real experience. You can end up with a really expensive money hole in your backyard if it is not done correctly. And by that, I mean it has to be designed to have proper water flow. There's nothing worse than a pool without a main drain in the deep end for never ending money pit. Done correctly though, and it's a joy.
This leads to one other issue with fiberglass, the back fill can cause the pipes to shift and break underground.
So, in order of expense and quality I would rate pools like this: gunite>vinyl>fiberglass.
Many years ago I managed a pool store and grew up around them. They're kind of like owning an Italian car. If you know what you're doing and take of them, they won't be an issue. If you don't, they'll make you regret the day you took your first breath. 
And starting with a properly designed pool is by far the best step towards that process. If you don't, nothing you will ever do to it will matter.
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