Aluminum—The Best Material For Swimming Pools

When deciding on a swimming pool you need to consider many factors - size, style, safety and even material itself. All may seem important but facts regarding physical properties and internal mechanism show that the material you select will be the most crucial decision of all.

Resin pools are at most only 20% resin. The balance of the pool is either steel or aluminum. Resin (plastic) does not have the strength to hold water and will also fade and crack over time. Usually the resin parts to a pool are for cosmetic reasons only.

Steel is a heavy, hard and strong metal, but is highly corrosive and is severely affected by the cold of winter and the heat of summer. Battleships and bridges are made of steel but must be sanded and painted because the environment will rust steel. Even galvanized steel may rust in some areas, its paint will break down over time and you will be left with a deteriorated pool.

Aluminum is an abundant element in the earth’s crust, which is protected by a layer of its natural, rust resistant shield. This metal is extremely reactive; when exposed to air, it rapidly becomes covered with a tough, transparent layer of aluminum oxide that resists corrosion. Aluminum oxide acts as a shield, when it comes in contact with water, the aluminum and oxygen molecules shift apart from their normal positions. As a result, when the outer layer of aluminum oxide gets wet, its structure changes just enough to become chemically inert and is able to react rapidly with additional water molecules or atmosphere oxygen. Aluminum does not tarnish or rust and has an extremely high strength to weight ratio. It also becomes stronger and retains its toughness, as it gets colder.

The Pool Factory products are all made of extruded aluminum material, which is powder coated and baked to provide a durable, resilient pearl gloss finish. The same material is used to build jet liners, moving trailers, mail trucks and skyscrapers.