- Totally hear you on the kid handprints—mine treat any glass like a canvas for sticky art.
- Aluminum’s not winning any beauty contests, but it survives my family’s “roughhousing” and still looks decent.
- Tried glass once. Looked great for, what, three weeks? Then it was fingerprints, water spots, and endless cleaning.
- I do miss seeing the pool at a glance, but honestly, my weekends are for relaxing, not scrubbing panels.
Aluminum’s not winning any beauty contests, but it survives my family’s “roughhousing” and still looks decent.
That’s been my experience too—aluminum isn’t flashy, but it takes a beating and doesn’t show every smudge. I do wonder about the environmental side, though. Aluminum’s recyclable, but glass is too, right? The upkeep on glass just feels endless, especially with hard water. Anyone tried powder-coated aluminum? I’ve heard it holds up even better and comes in more colors, but I haven’t seen it up close.
Powder-coated aluminum’s been a win for us. Had it installed five years ago—still looks sharp, barely any rust or chips. Way less hassle than glass, especially with kids and pets. I do wish the color options were a bit less... basic, though.
I get the appeal of powder-coated aluminum, especially with kids running around—less stress about shattered glass or sharp edges. But I actually went with glass panels last year after a ton of back-and-forth. The price tag was higher, but honestly, it made our small backyard feel way bigger and brighter. Cleaning fingerprints is a pain, sure, but I just keep a squeegee nearby and it’s not too bad. Plus, the color issue you mentioned—glass just blends in, so I didn’t have to worry about matching anything. If budget’s tight though, aluminum definitely wins out.
I totally get the glass appeal—my neighbor did it and their yard looks like a fancy hotel lobby now. I keep wondering if my dog would just smudge up the panels faster than I could clean them, though. Did you ever have any issues with birds flying into it? The “blends in” part sounds great until you realize your backyard wildlife doesn’t see it either... But yeah, the brightness factor is tempting. My wallet’s still recovering from our last reno, so aluminum might be my only option for now.
