Hey everyone, I live in South Jersey and am a sucker for punishment so I have decided to buy an in-ground pool in this economy.
After researching the pros/cons of different pool types, I have fallen into the Fiberglass pool camp but have quickly realized after getting some “proposals” from nearby PBs, that gunite would be roughly the same price (~80-90k for 600-800 sq ft). I am still convinced Fiberglass would be cheaper long-term, especially since pools are covered for 8 months of the year in NJ anyway so the gelcoat isn’t exposed to elements year round. I also live in the woods so I want to do an auto-cover (I know this would add probably 15k), but I don't know how the pool would stay clean if I didn't have one.
Anyway, San Juan and Thursday dealers near me pretty much have a "can't be bothered/take-it or leave-it" attitude and I have seen scores of people recently posting pictures of their newly installed pools w/ cracked shells from both of these companies lately on FB groups (probably COVID builds and Crud installs but still alarming).
I luckily happen to live minutes away from a Fiberglass pool manufacturer (Dolphin Industries) and have only heard good things about their build quality/reputation but their models are kinda Miami Vice era dated.
My wife is dead set that she has to have a tanning ledge and I am trying to not have 2 bodies of water if possible (separate spillover tanning ledge). We also have two boys (4 & 8) so a turbo-twister waterslide is also a must.
I have a large backyard and want to go with the largest shell with a tanning ledge that I can get which pretty much eliminates almost all of the Dolphin Industries models.
They do have 1 model (Island Beach) that looks like it might work. The obvious difference between the tanning ledge/sun shelf on this model (Island Beach) from the larger manufacturers who have updated their styles is that it is separated from the other section of the pool and evidently has a spillover, although it looks like it is the same elevation, so I don’t know how that would work gravity-wise.
I am pretty much directly comparing this model to the San Juan Great Lakes Beach and the Thursday Aspen models.
Although I haven’t got a quote for the Island Beach, I am guessing that due to proximity and less brand demand (they pretty much do no marketing whatsoever), it would probably be 20-30% less in price (for shell and transport).
The big pro to using the Island Beach is that I can possibly get the manufacturer or someone who works for them to do the install since they are close by.
What are your thoughts on this shell vs the other 2?
Which one would you pick?
Does anyone have the Island Beach or the other 2?
Here are pics for reference:
After researching the pros/cons of different pool types, I have fallen into the Fiberglass pool camp but have quickly realized after getting some “proposals” from nearby PBs, that gunite would be roughly the same price (~80-90k for 600-800 sq ft). I am still convinced Fiberglass would be cheaper long-term, especially since pools are covered for 8 months of the year in NJ anyway so the gelcoat isn’t exposed to elements year round. I also live in the woods so I want to do an auto-cover (I know this would add probably 15k), but I don't know how the pool would stay clean if I didn't have one.
Anyway, San Juan and Thursday dealers near me pretty much have a "can't be bothered/take-it or leave-it" attitude and I have seen scores of people recently posting pictures of their newly installed pools w/ cracked shells from both of these companies lately on FB groups (probably COVID builds and Crud installs but still alarming).
I luckily happen to live minutes away from a Fiberglass pool manufacturer (Dolphin Industries) and have only heard good things about their build quality/reputation but their models are kinda Miami Vice era dated.
My wife is dead set that she has to have a tanning ledge and I am trying to not have 2 bodies of water if possible (separate spillover tanning ledge). We also have two boys (4 & 8) so a turbo-twister waterslide is also a must.
I have a large backyard and want to go with the largest shell with a tanning ledge that I can get which pretty much eliminates almost all of the Dolphin Industries models.
They do have 1 model (Island Beach) that looks like it might work. The obvious difference between the tanning ledge/sun shelf on this model (Island Beach) from the larger manufacturers who have updated their styles is that it is separated from the other section of the pool and evidently has a spillover, although it looks like it is the same elevation, so I don’t know how that would work gravity-wise.
I am pretty much directly comparing this model to the San Juan Great Lakes Beach and the Thursday Aspen models.
Although I haven’t got a quote for the Island Beach, I am guessing that due to proximity and less brand demand (they pretty much do no marketing whatsoever), it would probably be 20-30% less in price (for shell and transport).
The big pro to using the Island Beach is that I can possibly get the manufacturer or someone who works for them to do the install since they are close by.
What are your thoughts on this shell vs the other 2?
Which one would you pick?
Does anyone have the Island Beach or the other 2?
Here are pics for reference:
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