Skip to main content

Basics


Prefabricated swimming pools, stainless steel or concrete: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the materials?

Swimming pools made of glass fibre reinforced plastic, stainless steel, or concrete differ in appearance and construction. Swimming pools made of stainless steel are produced by welding from cut-to-size sheets. This makes almost any shape and size possible. However, junctions, welds, and welding spots are visible through the water. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as rust-free! Stainless steel is exposed to swimming pool water with different pH values, disinfectants and, above all, chlorides. If these exceed the loading limit, even the best stainless steel will rust. Therefore, water care is of great importance in a stainless steel pool. If you maintain a good eye on this, stainless steel will ensure you get enjoyment for years to come. The disadvantage is that stainless steel pools tend to be in the upper price range compared to other pool variants.

Concrete is another material used in swimming pool construction. The advantages lie in the freedom of pool design since concrete can be poured into almost any desired shape. However, with a concrete pool, only the static pool body is built. It needs a waterproof inner skin and an optical surface. Watertightness is usually achieved by painting or epoxy resin coating. The optical surface is usually provided by foils or mosaic coverings. Wall and floor insulation is applied separately from the outside. Installation parts must already be cast in a watertight manner when the concrete is poured.  At this point, the construction of a concrete basin must be carried out by a specialist company that specialises in this particular type of work. Due to the different curing times, the construction time of a cast concrete basin is between six and eight months.    

RivieraPool’s prefabricated swimming pools are made of epoxy acrylate in combination with glass-fibre-reinforced plastics - just as in aircraft construction or shipbuilding. Here, the extreme strength of fibreglass is combined with the chemical resistance of epoxy acrylate. The material is particularly suitable for swimming pool construction since the one-piece pools are waterproof, extremely weather-resistant, and insensitive to frost and heat. Microorganisms, bacteria, and algae have little chance on the smooth surface, making the GFK basins particularly easy to clean. At the same time, fixtures for technical parts can be moulded in, for example, troughs for the floor drain, massage nozzles, installation shafts, and a support edge for roller shutters and stairs. The basin body with its sandwich construction is reinforced with PU foam ensuring that the walls remain rigid and insulated against cooling. The pool is transported in one piece to the construction site and pre-assembled, which reduces installation times on site.  These pools can be configured in advance, are manufactured in the factory and not at the construction site, which is often subject to adverse conditions. This provides the security of a system that can be quickly built, providing many years of pleasure and investment security.