Levelling
Before backfilling around the outside, it is important to ensure the pool is level. Industry standard is to within 25.4 mm (1 in.) around the entire pool, but aiming for 12.7 mm (0.5 in.) or less at this point of the install will allow for minor movements later and still result in a properly levelled pool.
Levelling pools with large tanning ledges may prove tricky, as their unsupported weight could also be lowering the elevation. Getting under and packing these areas properly with stone can be difficult and using products like flowable fill can unintentionally lift the pool if it is not being held in place properly. The author’s company offers a backfill-eliminating structure designed to solve all of these issues. This optional add-on can be fabricated as part of the one-piece shell and simply extends the slope of the pool floor to create one constant slope. This product supports a large tanning ledge for the life of the pool and can help reduce installation time.
Plumbing
Plumbing fibreglass pools is not any more difficult than plumbing any other type of pool construction. Fibreglass pools can be installed with or without main drains. If a main drain is used, it is installed in the deep end wall of the pool and not in the floor, like a vinyl or gunite pool. When a main drain is not used, returns with slotted fittings are recommended for the deep end of the pool to help increase circulation.
There are also new skimmer options available which are even more efficient when building fibreglass pools. The author’s company offers their own type of skimmer, which can help save builders’ time by cutting the opening with a simple hole saw. It does not require the marking, levelling, and cutting of a rectangular opening. The only tool required to cut any fitting in a fibreglass pool is a hole saw. All cuts in the fibreglass pool structure, be it lights, returns, main drains, or skimmers, are all installed without gaskets and are sealed with 100 per cent silicone.
Pro tip
Schedule 40 hard polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe is recommended for all fitting and plumbing lines. Drilling holes in the outside coping of the pool shell and hanging the pipe from the pool coping is also recommended. This helps to reduce movement of the pool shell independent of the plumbing to reduce stress on connections to the pool.
Installing automatic pool covers
Automatic pool covers are becoming more common, so is important to know how to order one for a fibreglass pool.
When ordering an automatic pool cover, the builder or installer needs to provide the inside dimensions of the pool to the manufacturer. In most cases, the inside dimensions of a fibreglass pool are narrower than its marketed size. It is not uncommon for the inside water dimension of the pool to be just 4.6 m (15 ft) wide for a fibreglass pool marketed as 4.9 m (16 ft) wide. If the builder orders the cover at 4.9 m wide, it will be too big. The width of an automatic pool cover is key for proper fit and function.
To avoid this mistake, builders and cover installers should either wait until the pool is installed and take measurements or contact its manufacturer and ask for the inside measurements before ordering the cover. Most automatic covers are essentially custom products, so it is important to provide precise measurements.
Pro tip
Keep automatic pool cover track components installed symmetrically down the length of the pool on both sides. Most cover manufacturers provide enough track for the entire pool, but installers need to cut the track on-site during the installation. To help ensure a better installation, even if there is a variation in the pool’s width, it is important to install the track the same on both sides. Installers should lay the track around the perimeter before cutting it and be sure the lengths of the pieces are the same on both the right and left sides.
