Would anyone recommend a fiberglass pool over gunite pool if I don’t want a custom shape?

Do pools add or subtract value to a home?

We built a pool over the winter this past year. In-ground gunite rectangle with an elevated spa spilling over into the pool. The cost was high but it was a solid construction job, I was able to supervise the job and was happy with it. Our kids are young and we plan on getting plenty of use out of it over the years. We also put a nice size travertine deck around it, and its nice to sit out there on weekends and enjoy coffee looking at the pool and waterfall.

Pool construction is a shady business, so do your research on builders. There are a lot of guys who just slap some letters on their truck and try to undercut everyone else's price.

I would just go with a smaller nice gunite pool (12-18k gallon). If you keep the water balanced properly, mainly keeping pH and total chlorine in check...your gunite will last a very long time. We have a 15k gunite pool with spa overflow. It's the perfect size for our family and is relatively easy to maintain due to size.

Fiberglass is just as or more expensive than gunite depending on size. You're actually limited by size on fiberglass because they have to drive it down the highway and set it in place. Also, fiberglass won't work everywhere. If you have a high water table it can float. Neighbor of mine got a fiberglass pool and had a nightmare. A small crack appeared after they set it, probably from a rigging error. The contractor drained the pool to patch/repair the crack. A big rain came and floated the drained pool, all the concrete coping busted out and caused more damage to the pool and sidewalk. Now the neighbor is in litigation, but the contractor went out of business. The hell with that, go gunite or liner pool. FYI, I have a liner pool and it was half the price of gunite. Even if I replace the liner 7 times over the next 20 years it's still cheaper than gunite.

Also, if you move out of this house, you're probably not going to get a return on your investment at all. It's totally a luxury expense, so think of it that way and invest wisely.