Building a fiberglass pool - need advice
 

I recently moved to a new house that had a vinyl lined inground pool. The liner is shot and the ground (dirt) has shifted enough to require some serious repair work.

I was thinking that it might be more "fun" to build my own fiberglass pool. I've done some small fiberglass projects (autobody stuff mostly.)

So, does anyone have serious fiberglass experience??


The size of the hole in the ground is roughly 45 x 30. I'mthinking it shouldn't be too terrible to build. Maybe start with one corner and slowly expand ******d?? All my experience is in one piece units so I don't know how well a multiday/multisection project will work. Obviously, waterproof sealing will be important so a nice gelcoats really necessary.

Can you properly build something like this by doing a 5' x 5' area first and then adding on to it? Do I need to do 1 layer over the entire pool, cure it, and then add another layer?

I've got a few books coming which might help a little but any (good) advice is highly appreciated.

my experience is in the marine environment
gelcoat is not actually waterproof... :) water will still get in the glass but at such a slow rate that it should not be a concern for you (pb for me though, it can add hundreds to thousands of pounds to a boat hull)
it can be done
but i have only done it using a mold and small repair work (
where i start with a fiberglass gelcoated mold
apply a nonstick coating, gelcoat, chop, then the fiberglass matting and resin
the number of layers of matting depends on boat size and use
chop is inch long bits of glass sprayed simultaneously with resin and it prevents the matting from showing though the gelcoat (because of the randomness of the spray it produces a much smoother surface

for your application, i have little experience. i'm pretty sure doing matting in sections will be not a pb, however be sure to leave an overlap of matting
a foot or so of matting with out resin with which you can lock in the next section

you can skip the chop, it is not structurally necessary, but produces a more ascetically pleasing product

each coat of gelcoat should be done in one shot and best results come from spraying it on

where in MI are you from? Saugatuck, MI has the Broward Boat Building plant (maybe, may have closed :( ) they might be able to help, however i think a lot of their work was in AL so don't kill yourself finding them. they build megayachts

I'm originally from out that way (Holland) but now I live in the Detroit Metro area.

I remember when there were a few mega-yatch companies out that way.


I was originally thinking that 4 layers of 10oz cloth would give me a really strong base. Maybe 6 layers over the bottom.

Then finish with a layer or 2 of 4oz cloth.

Do you think I need to go with an epoxy resin? Or can I get away with polyester.

Avoid polyester, it will get too brittle and does not have enough flex.
Use a good quality epoxy.
Be sure to work out all the air between layers, to avoid blistering.
Final coat should be just epoxy. You can color the final coat to help avoid UV rays.
My 2 cents.

Just a question, you know those pools with a soft squishy bottom and sides? What is that made out of?

?

You mean a lined pool? Like a vinyl liner or something? Or a soft/squishy material?

Can I just set the bottom layers on the dirt or will I need to lay down something? Or seal the bottom first?

Why not a thin concrete-and-wire-mesh shell?
When I was a kid I helped one of my Dad's friends build a large-ish sailboat out of this. It was pretty easy to do. Seems like making a pool liner should be even easier as you're not concerned with keeping to an efficient-through-the-water shape (I remember having all these plywood cutouts that the hull shape had to exactly fit) and weight isn't an issue for you either - so you won't have to worry about the skin being too thick.