Maryland-based Brighton Pools, which does business in Blair and surrounding counties, is off to a great start.

Brighton is seeing a spike in business despite higher fuel prices and some cold weather in early March when its season begins.

“Our sales this year will be up 30 to 50 percent. For April our sales are up 95 percent over last year and March was up 30 percent,” said CEO Gary Hohne.

Randy Colyer, owner of Greenwood Pools and Spas, said the increased fuel prices may actually help his business.

P.J. Esgro of Rhodes Pools and Patios sets up the control system. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“It seems like it should hurt us, but some people may not travel much and spend more time at home and put in a pool. We bought a lot of our products early before the price increases for the early part of the season,” Colyer said.

Kara Glova, owner of Holiday Pools and Spas, Duncansville, said the volatility of fuel prices is impacting her business both as a customer being charged for receiving products, as well as having to charge customers for services appropriately.

“We pay increased charges for inventory to be shipped to us, which is unknown at times until the actual product arrives with an invoice. This can make quotes and pricing a challenge, especially with large sized and heavy products, which can vary hundreds of dollars,” Glova said. “Gas pricing also affects our travel and availability. To keep service call prices reasonable, we try to schedule our days with geographical location in mind. At times this can be done, other days we have large travel areas.”

Glova said fuel prices are impacting the prices of pools and other products.

“The unfortunate reality is that we need to price according to what we are being charged. In some cases, we can absorb the increases, but especially in large or heavy products, we need to charge according to what we pay,” Glova said.

Brian Lingafelt of Rhodes Pools and Patios waits for the pool cover to retract before skimming and vacuuming. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Jessica Rhodes, owner of Rhodes Pools and Patios, Altoona, is also seeing the impact of increased fuel prices.

“Our bulk water hauling trucks and service trucks operate on diesel fuel which has become costly; however, as of right now, we have kept our pricing for services and water hauling the same as previous years. If the cost continues to increase, we will need to reevaluate our pricing,” Rhodes said. “The pricing of chemicals, pools, and other various products has increased by the manufacturers.”

Melissa Cisney-Foster, marketing director at Cisney & O’Donnell Pools, Huntingdon, said at this point it has been business as usual with no huge impact from fuel prices.

According to Reno Sys Corp., a company that offers products and services for the swimming pool industry, approximately 60,000 to 61,000 new in-ground swimming pools were built in the U.S. in 2025, continuing a steady trend of residential construction. The overall U.S. pool construction market reached a value of $9.84 billion to $16.5 billion in 2025.

According to FoxHomes, a full service building contractor, the United States is home to 10.7 million swimming pools, 6.1 million are residential in-ground pools and 4.3 million are residential above-ground pools.

P.J. Esgro of Rhodes Pools and Patios sets up the control system. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

There is roughly one swimming pool for every 32 people in the United States. With approximately 130 million households nationwide, about 8% of U.S. homes have a swimming pool.

The early spring weather has had some impact on local dealers.

“It is hard when one day you have 20s, 80s the next and 30s the next day. It is hard to get stuff planned, hopefully the weather will stabilize,” Colyer said.

“The weather has caused some havoc. We do a lot of pool remodeling. We mainly do pool installations, vinyl is affected by the cooler temperatures so we may have to wait on those, it is a moving target,” Cisney-Foster said.

Glova said this year’s spring weather was better than last year.

“It was so rainy through April, May, and most of June last year that it was difficult to do anything before July. We have had a nice amount of warm and sunny weather this spring and been able to get a jump on projects, Glova said.

Most dealers expect sales to be about the same as last year, but Colyer is optimistic for a good year.

“I am optimistic it (sales) will be up slightly, the economy is pretty strong, the stock market is doing well, people have more money in their pockets,” Colyer said.

Locally, most dealers’ top sellers are inground pools.

“Ingrounds are our biggest sellers but we also sell a lot of above grounds and hot tubs. Hot tubs can be used year round,” Colyer said.

Fiberglass inground pools have become extremely popular sellers at Holiday Pools and Spas.

“Our installers have become very knowledgeable and efficient with fiberglass installations, so the process is rather quick. Our fiberglass pools have a lifetime warranty for cracking and fading, which is unlikely to happen when properly installed, but provides peace of mind for customers. Another perk to fiberglass is the lifetime savings of not replacing a liner approximately every 10 years,” Glova said.

Above-ground pools are popular for Cisney & O’Donnell.

“I would say from sheer numbers, more above ground go out the door. Inground pools may also include things like hardscaping, an outdoor kitchen, that adds to the length of the project. As far as shear numbers, more above ground kits go out the door,” Cisney-Foster said.

Spas are a big seller at Rhodes Pools and Patios.

“Our line of Aspen Spas are a popular seller. Our spas are affordable and made in the USA,” Rhodes said.

It is not too late to have a pool installed this year.

“We are not fully booked for the year, as we do install all year long. We start inground installations in January and are still installing in December. As long as the weather permits, our installers are working,” Rhodes said.

“We can still schedule installations. We have two businesses, remodeling and pools, we have guys who can go back and forth. Our remodeling guys can also work on pool installations,” Cisney-Foster said.

Colyer said he is booked and Glova said her business is mostly booked for the season.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.