ruskent

I keep on striking out on fiberglass sales. I am starting to think maybe they arn't popular in certain regions for a reason.

Whats killing me is size, price, and dept. They are limited by size, are only so deep, and are alot more than a liner pool.

I 've had a few people that were ready to get going on pools until we did a lay out in the backyard and they saw how small 550 sq feet was.


Originally i wanted to get into fiberglass so i could be the first one in the door on a backyard project so i could pickup all the landscape work. Than i thought it would be great to build a repubutation as good pool company, so one day i could do gunite pools. I figure fiberglass would be a easy sell since they are backed by a manufacture.



Now i seemed to have worked my way in on a couple of design/build projects and i have found a great pool company to use for the gunite pools. So basicly i am getting to where i want to be alot sooner than i ever though possible. I am thinking about scraping the entire fiberglass idea. i get leads from the manufacture, but its time consuming mailing out catologs and trying to accomadate people that live all over the state.

I might tell the pool manufacture to just find another pool co in the state to set up as a dealer for them. I feel like i am almost wasting their leads since most of them are to far from me or are just for basic set ups, which i really want nothing to do with. Then by some chance i have a client that was a fiberglass pool i'll do it, but it just won't be my main gig.


I guess i am just thinking out loud. Seems like since day 1 in business i have always been changing direction little by little, trying to figure out exactly what it is i want to do with my life.

Matt

dirt diggler

welcome to the pool biz ... the most exciting and simultaneously depressing/stressing "trade"

this is one thing that is best to adhere to the old saying "when in Rome"

what is the popular type in your area???

if it's vinyl - then you need to be building vinyls
if it's gunite - then you need to be building gunite



I've always thought the NY/NJ area had an incredibly strong vinyl presence (and above ground as well i believe)



I would not argue or fight with the principles i've laid above ... i tried to "go against the grain" on this too --- to no success


what kind of pools do these people you're talking to want??

how do you know what is the popular kind??

dirt diggler

and that is a bad reason to build pools ... in my opinion ... which doesn't count im sure

ruskent

Most middle class is liner pools. If the average person in a 500k house is getting a pool its a liner pool.

The people in these new devlopments with 900k houses are all going gunite.


The higher end people who want some thing special go gunite.


Overall, i'd say with in a 50 miles radius of my house, liner pools dominate.

dirt diggler

hello - mcfly??


(lol, it's funnier when i say that out loud)

POOLMANinCT

& knock on his forehead...

matt post our PM on this one if you still have it

__________________
......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

ruskent

From me and rays PM conversation

"hi matt..
yup I agree. first ask urself why you wanted to do fiberglass pools..
chances are they seemed like a practical way to get into the pool biz w/o the
years ot experience.
then manufacturers ropaganda may have fired you up about fiberglass.

if cutting losses or protecting your time for other projects is what your gut is telling you, listen to yourself...

I don't know your biz, but you are leaning towards design build...
try to sell a coue in your local area, to get install expierance...

don't walk away from fiberglass. use them as part of your design build plans... bc if the homeowner accepts a design w. a fiberglass pool installeed by you that's seriouus money for matt!!!!

I have a pretty good service biz, do a lot of ppools we well I didn't build..
where I see fiberglass,
small yards, yards were the pool is not focal point of design, indoors too

want to bust a thread on this?? ill be signing on later.."

Teetorbilt

I think that all of the fiberglass pool guys around here have gone belly-up. We don't even hear about vinyl (must be a yankee thing).

If you want details on why fiberglass bites, ask.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

ruskent

Teetor???

Teetorbilt

Your local fiberglass/epoxy expert.

Mostly yacht building but includes composite material sales to everyone including autobody repair shops and cultured marble.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

Teetorbilt

Cat got your tongue? Earl got your tongue?

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

thom

Well, teetor, I got a question for you.

Back in 1985 I installed a built-in, in ground spa. The shell is vacume formed rovel. It developed a leak. I let the water drain to determine the location and it drained. Found a hole on the bottom.

A section, about 6" diameter is quite flimsy. Feels like it's paper thin. Drilled a 1/4" hole, it is paper thin. It was made with a sprayed on foam on the exterior that is now burried.

What is the appropriate way to patch/repair this material (rovel)?

POOLMANinCT

vinyls can take the 12month UV exposure,, cuts lifetime to about 5 yrs

__________________
......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

dirt diggler

landfill ... hehe

Teetorbilt

thom, your best bet is to find somebody that welds plastics. Not much sticks to ABS despite the claims.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein