VINYL LINER POOLS
We prefer vinyl liner pools because they afford the best mix of durability, flexibility, and value given the climate and soil conditions in the Hudson Valley and Catskills.
Gunite
A gunite pool has a concrete shell. The shell is covered with plaster and/or ceramic tile. A gunite pool is built entirely by hand on-site over months. They have an abrasive finish if not completely tiled.
VINYL LINER
A vinyl liner pool’s shell is a liner set over a polymer wall and a vermiculite concrete base. These pools are built from precision-made components assembled on-site. Mountain Pools finishes construction in three weeks. The finished interior is smooth. Our vermiculite pool bottoms insulate the pool to reduce heat loss.
FIBERGLASS
A fiberglass pool shell is made in a factory, shipped complete on a trailer, and is lowered into an excavation. A fiberglass pool should only take a week to install.
Durability
Our soil is clay-rich and we have harsh winters. Clay-rich soil expands when wet and shrinks when dry. Similarly, moist soil expands when it freezes and shrinks when thawed. These forces pressure pool walls. A gunite shell is completely rigid. If the shell is not uniformly strong, or subject to uneven forces, the shell cracks to relieve the pressure. Repairing plaster cracks and re-attaching tiles in the Spring is expensive and prevents you from using your pool as you await repairs. Gunite’s susceptibility to cracking is why they’re typically built either in places without winters (FL, TX, AZ) or in places with very well-drained sandy soil (Jersey Shore, Hamptons).
Most people want salt water pools for their lower operating cost, more precise chlorine control, and soft water feel. Fiberglass pool manufacturers don’t approve their pools for salt water applications because the salt causes the interior finish (gel coat) to take on a chalky hue in about five years.
Vinyl liner pools have some flex- not something you notice with your naked eye, but enough to safely relieve variable soil stresses. Vinyl liner pools never crack. They don’t have the regular repair issues of gunite pools. Vinyl liner pools are fully compatible with salt water, unlike fiberglass pools.
Flexibility
Gunite pools are fully customizable. If it’s important to have a pool shaped like a guitar with a grotto in the middle, you have to build a gunite pool. Otherwise vinyl liner pools have the design flexibility to meet your needs.
Fiberglass pools’ size and shape are limited by what fits on a trailer over public roads. Their design is also limited by the factory’s set of production molds. If you want a pool with a 30’-long deep end at 5’ depth, that’s likely impossible with fiberglass, but a cinch for vinyl liner. Further, fiberglass pools need to be placed complete to the pool site with a crane. If you have trees between the road and pool site, you may have to cut down trees to get the pool in place.
Vinyl liner pools can be made in any dimension with any bottom design and stair configuration. Vinyl liner pools are assembled on-site from smaller precision-made parts, so trees, structures, and other obstacles can remain in-place.
Value
Gunite pools cost about twice as much as vinyl-liner pools. Their maintenance is also expensive. They need to be replastered every 7-10 years, in addition to regular crack and tile repairs. Replastering is a labor-intensive job costing more than a liner replacement.
Fiberglass pools are also more expensive than vinyl liner pools because the factory overhead, molds, transportation, and crane costs offset the labor savings from fully producing the shell in a factory. The benefit of a fiberglass pools is that the shell lasts the life of the pool. Heating costs are higher as they lack the insulating vermiculite bottom that Mountain Pools’ vinyl liner pools have.
Vinyl liner pools are the most efficient in-ground pool to build and operate.