San Juan Fiberglass Pools – The Key to Quality and Strength

Fiberglass Pools are not all the same. The big difference in fiberglass pools is how the pool is actually constructed. Each San Juan Fiberglass Pool is made with a minimum of 5 hand laid layers of fiberglass.

The Type of Resin Makes a Difference

From the marine industry we have learned that only Epoxy type resins are impervious to water. Vinyl Ester resins are made with many of the same products that go into epoxy. This is why all good boat builders and all good swimming pool builders use a Vinyl Ester resin for the layer of fiberglass next to the surface.

Vinyl Ester resins also have better mechanical properties than polyester resins. This is why the very best boat builders continue the use of Vinyl Ester resins throughout the laminate.

At San Juan Pools we realize that the back of the pool shell needs to be impervious to water just as the front, and that the better mechanical properties of Vinyl Ester resins make for a stronger shell. When looking at the total cost of a pool project, it does not make sense to use cheap general purpose resins in the manufacturing of your pool shell. San Juan Pools is the only fiberglass pool builder that uses Vinyl Ester resin throughout the laminate.

We Use a Proprietary Vinyl Ester Resin Bought Exclusively Through

The Type of Fiberglass Reinforcement Makes a Difference

The aerospace and marine industries would never think of using chopped fiberglass for structural components, yet most of the fiberglass swimming pool industry uses chopped fiberglass for the majority of their shell.

Anything that is sprayed on a mold with a gun is not structural! Filled resins, ceramic cores and chopped fiberglass make a part thicker (stiffer) but do not add significantly to the strength of the laminate. Which do you believe is stronger, a continuous piece of rope or a rope that has been cut into little pieces and glued together?

Woven roving is a fabric made by weaving continuous strands of fiberglass together. San Juan Pools uses at least 48oz per square yard of woven roving everywhere, with many areas of the shell having more than 72 oz per square yard of woven roving.

We Use an American Made Fiberglass Reinforcement Purchased Exclusively Through

Having The Best Laminators in the Business Makes a Difference

After picking the best materials for our product, we must make sure the workmanship that goes into our product is also first class. At San Juan Pools many of our laminators have been with the company for more than 20 years. This leads to consistency of product. We value our employees as their sense of quality is second to none.

Having The Best Management Team in the Business Makes a Difference

None of this would work without top quality management. We are certified by the ICC-ES as one of the few manufacturers with a quality control program that is internationally recognized. This also means our pool shapes have been inspected as being compliant with NSPI/ANSI-5. This leads to easier permitting since your inspector knows that the product is certified by the same company that writes the building code. We are also a licensed fabricator for the City of Los Angeles. This means our factories have been inspected and are in compliance with our quality control program. No other manufacturer has as long of a history, or has been in continuous compliance with these internationally recognized organizations as San Juan Pools.

What does this actually mean for the fiberglass pool ?

A stronger fiberglass pool. Using hand laid fiberglass, you get a consistent level of thickness throughout the fiberglass pool shell. Of course this means it is more expensive to produce, but the benefit of this outweighs the cost. Mostly all of the other companies that produce fiberglass pools construct their pools with fiberglass that is shot out of a gun and in pieces and then glued together. If you were hanging from a building which would you rather have a rope that is continuous or one that has been constructed with pieces and glued together.

Which do you think is stronger?

A continuous piece is much stronger than one made up of pieces.

When you spray fiberglass out of a gun you will never get a consistant layer and your pool shell will be compromised. The construction of a fiberglass pool is almost the same as a fiberglass boat.
There is a reason why a 24ft boat from one company is 35,000 and another company is 65,000. Its due to how the boat is constructed and with what kind of materials.

In some areas of the US we go through that thing called winter with whats called a freeze thaw cycle. There is constant movement happening underneath the surface. Its this movement that creates most fiberglass pool failures. Having a pool that is produced with hand laid continuous fiberglass vs fiberglass shot out of a gun is less likely to have a failure. This video will show you how a San Juan Fiberglass Pool is constructed. Before you make any fiberglass pool purchase in the North, or any other area, for your own benefit find out how the fiberglass pool is constructed.

ICBO Report

Engineering Reports

The first step in manufacturing your San Juan Pool Shell is a clean waxed mold.

Next we cut materials (All fiberglass is hand laid, none of our reinforcement is shot out of a gun)

All of our shells have a minimum of 48 oz per square yard of woven rovingeverywhere.

First we apply the surface. Then we skin this with 1.5 oz per square foot of chopped strand mat. Then we lay up the pool in panels with each panel consisting of a 1.5 oz mat, a 24 oz woven roving, a 1.5 oz mat, and another 24 oz woven roving. Deep pools get an additional layer of mat and woven roving.

The pools are hand laid in panels.

Ribs are strategically placed to stiffen the walls.

We have two types of surface finishes.

Our White and Sulli Blue pools use an NPG/ISO (Neopentyl Glycol Isophathalic) based Gelcoat. This is specially formulated for the pool industry, it is UV stabilized and corrosion resistant. The strength of this finish is well proven with many pools having this finish that are well over 25 years old. As crystal clear water will always have a sparkling blue look many pool owners see this as the most beautiful of all finishes.

We also have our new Iridium colored finishes. This is a solid surface material consisting of oven cured colored chips in a clear UV and chemical resistant clear resin. This surface finish is backed up by a color matched gelcoat that acts as a barrier coat as well as a primer for the fiberglass.