Swimming Pool Types

Above-ground pools are the cheapest construction option, as well as the easiest to build. Most above-ground pools are made from prefabricated kits, which even an amateur can put together (though most people go with professional installers). First, the installers level off the ground to form a flat building sur. Then they assemble a perimeter track, which supports the outer wall (made of metal, plastic or wood). Next, they spread sand in the pool area and lay the plumbing. Finally, they secure the vinyl liner over the pool walls, fill the pool with water, smooth the liner and fasten it into place.

Fiberglass pools are made from fiberglass-reinforced plastic, which has been molded into a basin shape. To install the pool, a construction crew digs an appropriately sized hole, lays the necessary plumbing, adds some sand filler and lowers the preformed pool structure into the hole. Then they level the pool, hook up all the plumbing and backfill in the area around the pool. Usually, the pool is surrounded by a concrete deck structure.

Vinyl-lined in-ground pools are a lot like above-ground pools, structurally, but they look more like conventional in-ground designs. The construction crew digs a hole and assembles a metal, plastic or wood frame wall around the hole's perimeter. As in an above-ground pool, the crew lays sand along the bottom of the hole and secures the vinyl lining to the structural wall. These pools are a lot cheaper than other in-ground designs, but not as durable. Typically, the liner needs to be replaced every 10 years or so.

Poured-concrete pools are similar to gunite pools, but they're a lot harder to build. Instead of spraying concrete material around a rebar framework, concrete is actually poured into conventional wooden forms. With the rise of gunite methods, poured-concrete pool construction has mostly fallen by the wayside. In masonry block pools, the walls are constructed with concrete blocks.