We all know that fibreglass pools are made of fibreglass, right? But how are they made exactly? There are many intricate steps involved in producing a fibreglass pool. To give you a basic understanding of how they are made, we have put together this article to highlight the process of manufacturing a fibreglass pool shell.
Here at The Fibreglass Pool Company we only use superior quality shells for our pool builds.
There are 3 main components involved when constructing a fibreglass pool.
Part 1: The pattern
The very first thing that is required to make a fibreglass pool is the pattern. It is built with filler, primer, timber, and fibreglass. The pattern will determine the shape size and design of the fibreglass pool. It is made to look the same as when your pool is installed at your home. From this, we build the mould. Once we have built the mould it is removed, and it is used to build the fibreglass shell on. When it comes time to install your fibreglass pool, pool builders will find it difficult to place the pool correctly if the shell that has not been built level. If the shell has not been constructed level, it can result in time being wasted as the pool is continuously lifted and replaced to attempt to place it correctly. If the pattern is made properly, the shell will be to scale, and the installation of the pool is likely to be straight forward. Reputable pool manufacturing companies use laser levels to avoid this from happening. Once the pattern is finished, we can move on to the next step which is creating the mould.
Part 2: The mould
The quality of your fibreglass shell is highly dependent on how good the mould is as the pool is built on it. An inferior mould can compromise the structure and quality of the pool shell drastically. If the mould has defects so will the fibreglass shell. It is essential that your pool shell is built on a mould that is precisely level, otherwise your pool will not be level. All pools that are manufactured by The Fibreglass Pool Company have a 5-digit number which is unique to each shell. This allows them to track the shells once they have left the manufacturing plant. Each of the shells go through a strict quality control process. Once it has been released off the mould it leaves an indent of the digits.
Part 3: The pool
Your fibreglass pool is made from the inside out, constructed with various layers. Each layer is hand laid or sprayed onto the mould.
Here are the layers that make up the shell of a Fibreglass Pool Company shell:
1st layer: Interior surface finish
The first layer that is constructed onto the mould is an Advanced Pool Colour Technology gelcoat. This makes up the interior surface of the pool it is applied on at 0.8mm to 1.0mm thick. This layer is UV and chemical resistant.
2nd layer: Anti-corrosion barrier
The second layer that is used is a high-quality Vinyl Ester resin layer. This acts to provide excellent bonding to the Advanced Pool Colour Technology and adds to the resistance of chemical and UV impacts on the pool. This ensures it has the highest protection.
3rd layer: First structural and additional chemical resistant layer
The 3rd layer is an additional coating of high-quality Vinyl Ester resin that is combined with JUSHI E6-CR glass fibre. It is applied on at 1.5mm to 2.0 mm thick. This will further increase the resistance to corrosion and strengthens the laminate.
4th layer: Second structural layer and lifting hook application
Layer 4 consists of a layer of high-quality polyester resin combined with JUSHI E6-CR glass fibre. This layer also has additional strengthening properties to add to the solidity of the structure of the pool. No filler is added. Lifting hooks are put in place at this stage and are glassed in. They are used to lift the shell of the mould once its ready. They get glassed over an additional time to ensure optimal strength.
5th layer: Reinforcement layer
The reinforcement layer is now applied, this is an additional layer of high-quality polyester resin with JUSHI E6-CR glass fibre with added strengthening properties. Again, no fillers are used, and this adds to reinforce the structure of the pool shell. It is rolled to get rid of any air that may be trapped in the glass.
6th layer: Outer core laminate
The 6th layer used to manufacture the shell is a Klegecall/Divinycell sandwich core laminate layer. This product is commonly used on luxury yachts as well as F1 racing boats. Klegecell/Divinycell are world renowned and leaders in high performance sandwich core strengthening.
7th layer: Outer sealer coat
The last and final layer used to construct the fibreglass shell is an outer sealer coat. This is the outer layer of the pool. It has a glossy finish coat that is made using high quality polyester resin to protect the interior layers of the pool.
Once all 7 layers of the pool are complete, there are some final steps involved before getting the pool installed, these are:
Curing and release from mould
Once the pool has been completely built and has had adequate time to cure, the next step is releasing it off the mould. It is removed from the mould by the hooks that were glassed into the pool layers. Once it is removed it is trimmed and detailed. When the pool is built, brick ties are placed to allow the pool to be tied into the concrete bond beam when it is being installed into the ground.
Trimming, final inspection and detailing
The pool shell is supported on drums and detailed and trimmed. At this stage, the skimmer box is cut into place and the main drain hole is placed before it leaves. The skimmer box cut out along with detailed production records, the pool number, the size, and shape of the pool are all filed together for future reference if required. Next, the shell will undergo its last quality control inspection.
Finished pool ready for delivery
The last step involves loading the fibreglass shell onto the truck for delivery. All paperwork will be checked to ensure that the details are entirely correct before leaving the manufacturing plant.
Where are the fibreglass pool shells made?
The Fibreglass Pool Company shells are constructed onsite at their manufacturing plant in Beaudesert, Queensland where no expense has been spared. There pools are made in state-of-the-art temperature-controlled plants with the ability to produce 26 shells a day. On site, they not only have enough room to house their entire collection and equipment, but they also have a warehouse that is dedicated to mould maintenance and research. This is where they ensure that their pool shells are unrivalled in quality. They are the highest quality pool shell on the market and we are proud to be able to offer such a superior product to our customers.
We hope that this article gave you a brief understanding to the construction process involved with building fibreglass pools. If you are considering a fibreglass pool for your place or if you have any questions, give our friendly team here at The Fibreglass Pool Company a call today, we are more than happy to help.
