What is the easiest type of pool to install?

Swimming pool installation time frames vary depending whether it is a concrete, vinyl liner or fibreglass pool. Fibreglass pools are considerably quicker to install and not as delayed by poor weather as concrete pools are. So let's talk about how long pool installation takes and what is involved.

Vinyl Liner Swimming Pools

Weather has an impact on when the swimming pool can be installed. If your vinyl swimming pool is installed on a cold day, the liners don’t stretch as well as on a warm day. The liner will be cut assuming some stretching during pool installation to get a tight fit. However, if it is less pliable and subsequently overstretched due to the cold, it will reduce the liners life. Ideally, a warm and calm day is required.

The basic process requires excavation of a hole to the dimensions of your pool, installing perimeter walls on concrete footings, and pouring a concrete floor which requires dry weather. Once the concrete has cured, the vinyl liner is then installed using a vacuum process to pull the liner tight against the walls and floor. Filtration equipment is installed and the pool is filled with water. As the pools arrive on site in DIY pool kit form, assembly and installation can be completed in as little as 5 days, weather permitting. However allowing up to two weeks is a good allowance. 

Concrete Swimming Pools 

A concrete swimming pool is completely manufactured onsite where it is installed. All materials are delivered individually to site and the pool is built in stages. A concrete pool requires a lot of manual labour and is dependent on the weather. Cold, wet or windy days generally stop work onsite as it impacts the consistency of the concrete and quality of the curing process. Once the concrete is poured, concrete needs to cure for several weeks in warm weather, longer if the weather is cold. Following this, the final plaster finish needs to be applied and allowed to cure, which is also weather dependent. The quality of the pool is directly impacted by the skill and experience of the workers mixing and applying the concrete and final plaster finish on the day. It is one of the reasons the structural warranty is usually only 7 years on a concrete pool.

As a general rule of thumb, depending on size and complexity, a concrete pool takes between 4 and 6 weeks to install if uninterrupted by unfavourable weather, making scheduling in finishing trades difficult.

Fibreglass Swimming Pools

Manufacturing of fibreglass pool shells continues in all weather conditions in climate-controlled factories. Weather will not delay the delivery of your order, quality can be carefully controlled and checked before leaving the factory. This is why our pools come with a lifetime structural warranty. Once quality checked, the fibreglass pool shell is delivered to your house. Before the fibreglass pool shell is lowered into the excavated hole, a bedding material is laid down and compacted for the pool to rest on. A crane will lift the pool (over your house if required) into the hole. The gaps around the sides are back filled and a strip of concrete (called a bond beam) is set around the top edge of the pool to prevent movement. The pool filtration equipment is connected and pavers (called coping) are laid over the edge of the pool shell and bond beam. Your pool is ready to be filled with water.

Once the shell is delivered to your house, installation can be completed in as little as 5 days. Weather does play a part in this however, generally only driving rain will cause delays in installation. While 5 days is possible, a good rule of thumb is to allow at least two weeks for installation.