Prefabricated pools, stainless steel, or concrete: What are the advantages and disadvantages of these materials?

Swimming pools made of glass fiber reinforced plastic, stainless steel or concrete differ not only in appearance, but also in design. Swimming pools made of stainless steel are manufactured using a welding process from cut-to-size plates. This means that almost any shape and size is possible. However, transitions, weld seams and weld points are visible through the water. And: there is no such thing as rust-free! Stainless steel is exposed to varied pH values, disinfectants and, above all, chlorides in the swimming pool water. If these exceed the load limit, even the best stainless steel will rust. In this respect, water care in a stainless steel pool is an important point. If this is kept well in mind, stainless steel will bring pleasure for years to come. The disadvantage: compared to other pool variants, stainless steel pools are more in the upper price range.

Concrete is another material used in swimming pool construction. The advantages lie in the freedom of pool design, as concrete can be cast into almost any desired shape. However: with the concrete pool, only the static pool shell is initially built. This requires a waterproof inner skin and a visual surface. Water tightness is usually created by coatings or epoxy resin coatings. The visual surface is usually provided by liners or mosaic coverings. Wall and floor insulation are applied separately from the outside. Installation components must be cast in a watertight manner when the concrete is poured.  At this point, the construction of a concrete pool definitely belongs in the hands of a specialist company that specializes in this work. Due to the different curing times, the construction time of a cast concrete pool is between six and eight months.    

The one-piece swimming pools from RivieraPool are made of epoxy acrylate in combination with glass fiber reinforced plastics – as used in aircraft or shipbuilding. This combines the extreme strength of fiberglass with the chemical resistance of epoxy acrylate. The material is particularly well-suited for swimming pool construction because the one-piece pools are watertight, extremely weather-resistant and insensitive to frost and heat. Microorganisms, bacteria and algae stand almost no chance on the smooth surface, making the GRP pools particularly easy to care for. At the same time, fixtures for technical components can be molded in, for example with recesses for floor drains, massage jets, built-in niches and support edges for the roller shutter and stairs. The pool body in sandwich construction is reinforced with PU foam. This keeps the walls dimensionally stable and insulates them against cooling. The pool is transported to the construction site in one piece and pre-assembled, which reduces installation times on site.  These pools can be configured in advance, are manufactured in the factory and not at the construction site under often adverse conditions. This provides the security of a system that is built quickly and offers enjoyment and investment security for many years.