Stainless steel is a great choice for above grade, podium deck or elevated applications due to weight and durability, as well as ability to build it off site and deliver into place pre-configured.
Above Ground, Podium Deck, or Elevated Application
Concrete is best designed for in-ground, or ground floor applications and its natural compressive property will shift, settle and crack especially on multilevel buildings
Long-term Value
Stainless steel has higher initial cost but provides best long-term value for money over the life expectancy of the project. 25 year warranty!
Concrete is cheaper than stainless steel for initial cost but usually only a 1 year standard warranty so long-term cost potential is higher.
Pool Weight
A stainless steel pool with an all tile finish is approximately 35 lbs per square foot. This lighter weight allows a larger degree of flexibility regarding pool placement and needed support.
Concrete is a very heavy material. Rebar required for added structural support significantly increases weight. Roughly 250lbs per square foot based on standard walls and floor thicknesses.
Maintenance and Leaks
Stainless steel vessels are fully welded and under normal operating conditions are leak proof and provide lasting water tightness and lower maintenance cost;
• Less chemical usage due to absorption by plaster / shotcrete and concrete finishes
• No acid washing required unless staining occurs by other means.
• No cracking or delamination.
Elevated concrete pools are typically vaulted because of the latent potential for shell cracking and eventually leaks. Adding this vault for leak protection increases construction costs increasing the overall weight of the pool and structure to almost 500 lbs/sq. ft. Concrete is also a porous material which allows water and chemicals to continuously penetrate causing floor and wall cracking and eventually delaminating.
Pool Installation Time
Stainless steel pool installations expedite completion of the project as a whole because of the speed of the pool installation itself. There is no time consuming concrete forming and no curing period which helps speed up the construction schedule.
Overall, stainless steel pools have a shorter on-site construction time because they are less affected by weather changes or challenges.
Because of this weight factor, concrete pool construction results in an increase in structural planning time, structural material cost, specific material cost, labor cost, and more importantly in many cases – time.
Overall concrete pools take much longer to construct. They are weather dependent and require large staging areas. Engineers know that it is not “if” but “when” it will leak usually resulting in more costly remediation