Anyone here have a pool?

[Finch]

Appreciate the advice everyone. I've kinda put the pool idea on the back burner. The wife still wants one but I'm on the fence.

 

[Tyglick]

I live in North Dakota. Never thought I’d be in this conversation. But 3 years ago I jumped in head first. I put in an underground pool. And my family loves yet. Yes we have young children which I agree. It is new and with young kids it will eventually wear off. But not in the near future. Our decision came between a boat/ cabin and all the extras or a pool. With our oldest in summer softball a lot of the weekends and my wife only works 4 days a week. We use the hell out of it. Kids love it. Parents love it. We would end up using cabin a lot less. My wife would never go up there without me. Pool is open on her days off, evenings, and every weekend we are home. We only use it 3-4 months a year. But it is recreational. I have guns optics and bows that I only use 4 months a year. Very expensive on all counts. But hunting supplies is a must. Boat could sit in storage 8 months aswell. Maintenance is a piece of cake. I check it once a week every Sunday. Either add or good to go. Not hard at all. Plus half the yard. So equals out. It’s not hard and we enjoy it. Hope you do aswell. You only live once. Enjoy it!

 

[AaronMColeman]

I’m a pool contractor. Don’t get one. They cost a lot, they cost a lot to maintain, they cost a lot if they break. I’d say if you have a solid 6 months a year you can use it and kids who will be at the house for 10+ years, ok. I just see way too many problems and way too many older couples with a pool that has just been sitting since the kids left. They can be fun but a lot of cost in long term maintenance.

 

[TheGDog]

Maintenance is a piece of cake. I check it once a week every Sunday. Either add or good to go. Not hard at all.

It's a piece of cake.. right up until it's not a piece of cake.

 

[Sacrvrrat72]

If you are worried about what it costs then don’t get one. They are not cheap. That said I wouldn’t have a house without one. We use it 5-6 months a year 2-3 days a week. Even with the kids grown it still gets used weekly. Having someone clean it and keep up with the chemicals once a week is well worth the $115 a month it costs me.


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[Opah]

Yes you can add the salt systems after the fact, just need 119 or 220 volts for power.
For 800 to a 1000 I am all in

 

[DontHuntWA]

I’m not especially (the maintenance and cost) but my wife is super excited to move into a house with a pool this summer.

 

[satchamo]

Just bought a house with a nice in ground. Had to close it immediately upon possession as it was already October and the pump went out in that time. Soooo I’m on a new pump and the old owner replaced the liner last year.

So give me a year but honestly- I’m looking forward to it. I love swimming and having it outside my back door now almost seems surreal.

 

[RO1459]

Others have said it, you will love or hate your pool. They are work and can be expensive to operate. Before you make a final decision, try a site that has been a god send for me. I was spending hundreds of dollars a week going to a pool store for help with balancing the pool. Then I found www.troublefreepool.com. I reduced my expenses by about 70% and have a sparkling pool. You will have some up front costs for a good testing kit and the right chems, but well worth it.

Good luck with your decision. BTW...we are in our 70's and love our pool.

 

[xajoles]

I’m a first time pool owner. We bought a house with an in ground. Can use it 6 months a year. 7 or 8 if you can take some chilly water. I refuse to heat it. It is nice after a day of yard work or coming home from dirt bike riding to jump in the pool and have a beer. On the real hot Texas days it makes it easier to be outside. Like BBQing when it’s 106f. My son is young and loves it and it helps get him outside.

Once you learn how to take care of them they are not that bad. It is regular maintenance though, no to ways about it, so be prepared for that. We have a a lot of trees and get bombarded with leaves and the other one million things oak trees drop seemingly year round. I dread January and February pool maintenance. Ours had some issues with the water balance and equipment that was a real pain to figure out. I had zero knowledge of pool maintenance and equipment and spent a good number of hours learning, troubleshooting, and repairing. Now it is leaking and we have to add water regularly to keep the water level up. Not great for the water bill. I think I know what the issue is but it won’t be easy to fix. Tip, don’t build a pool among a bunch of oak trees. Roots go where they want.

Overall I’m glad we have it. Only because the weather is hot here and we have a lot of sunny days. And it has been fun for my son and his friends. Can’t imagine owning one in the Midwest where we use to live. To many cold and grey days to make it worth the trouble. I’m one and done though and won’t own a house with one again. Have many other ways I’d rather spend my time and money. No real regrets after three years of living with it but won’t miss having one when we eventually move.

Hello,

We are planning a knock down rebuild of our fibro home. The home we have decided on comes in a bit under our budget, so we are considering getting a pool in our construction loan.

Our house needs to be raised, which means our alfresco area will be around 1.3m off the ground, so we would probably look at extending the Alfresco but running decking out around a pool etc. Some of the fiberglass pools have a 1.2 shallow end to a 1.7 deep end we like, so the shallow end would sit near ground level.

Has anyone had a pool similar to this done that can share their experience??

Getting the pool isnt a definite at the moment, still trying to convince the wife

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Hello,

We are planning a knock down rebuild of our fibro home. The home we have decided on comes in a bit under our budget, so we are considering getting a pool in our construction loan.

Our house needs to be raised, which means our alfresco area will be around 1.3m off the ground, so we would probably look at extending the Alfresco but running decking out around a pool etc. Some of the fiberglass pools have a 1.2 shallow end to a 1.7 deep end we like, so the shallow end would sit near ground level.

Has anyone had a pool similar to this done that can share their experience??

Getting the pool isnt a definite at the moment, still trying to convince the wife

For pool advice you should be on trouble free pools not rokslide.

 

[Mds2004]

Another in-ground pool owner here to echo other opinions. We built ours in 2016 even though I was hesitant to do so. I've had one ever since I was born and didn't use it enough as a kid to warrant building one. On the flip side, my wife never had a pool but was on the swim team and always wanted one...so she won and we built it.

There is definitely ongoing maintenance, and if you think there's less maintenance for having a salt water pool that isn't true. Instead of adding chlorine I add muriatic acid every few weeks. Other than that my only maintenance is the occasional brushing of the sides, making sure the vacuum is doing its job, and emptying the baskets. I put in a sand filter because it's less maintenance. If you want a pool guy they are about $100/month which isn't worth it to me.

Although I didn't think we would use it much we use it all the time and for now, I am glad that we put it in. My wife swims laps from late April/early May through September for exercise and my kids, ages 5 and 7, swim a few times a week which helps keep them off their electronics and stuck in the house.

 

[TreeWalking]

Have a pool. In ground. Salt water. Heated and cooled. Automatic cover. Love it. Did not install it for ROI. Yes, it costs a lot to build and a lot to maintain. Wife loves it. My knees love it as battle to get in shape. My son and his wife and their two young kids like it. Visitors like it. Someone swims about every day, year around. We are in AZ so your mileage may vary if have very chilly evenings part of the year. We rarely see lows below 40F so our heater can usually keep the pool at 86F all year. We do have to cool the water in summer.

 

[def90]

Get a hot tub, useable all year round, not nearly the same amount of work to keep it going.

 

[crossfox21]

I've owned 2...Intex makes the best in my opinion. Be sure to get a good filtration system and you'll be set

 

[xajoles]

Another in-ground pool owner here to echo other opinions. We built ours in 2016 even though I was hesitant to do so. I've had one ever since I was born and didn't use it enough as a kid to warrant building one. On the flip side, my wife never had a pool but was on the swim team and always wanted one...so she won and we built it.

There is definitely ongoing maintenance, and if you think there's less maintenance for having a salt water pool that isn't true. Instead of adding chlorine I add muriatic acid every few weeks. Other than that my only maintenance is the occasional brushing of the sides, making sure the vacuum is doing its job, and emptying the baskets. I put in a sand filter because it's less maintenance. If you want a pool guy they are about $100/month which isn't worth it to me.

Although I didn't think we would use it much we use it all the time and for now, I am glad that we put it in. My wife swims laps from late link April/early May through September for exercise and my kids, ages 5 and 7, swim a few times a week which helps keep them off their electronics and stuck in the house.

thank you so much for your suggestion

 

[RS_Non-Res]

I turned the Costco-special above-ground into another hobby. Took the OEM pump and sand filter, added solar panel, temperature controlled diverter valve, salt-water chlorinator, extra HD sump pump to a fountain. Been doing the solvent welding and electrical myself (fitter and 4-20 boys!). Got some LED lamps hanging overhead for midnight mood. Back side of the pool looks like the interior of Apollo 13. Approaching the maintenance from a water chemistry and microbiology perspective is handy.

OTOH this is only my second season. We'll have a 6-month season before solar heating isn't enough. Pretty sure I'll not be springing for a gas fired heater. Maybe more solar panels.

We have a hot tub too. Same amount of chemistry-balancing work and actually uses more water (changeouts). Wife likes to have a post-apocalyptic water supply and if a fire comes through (current apocalypse?) I've got pumps and water.

@Mds2004 You should only have to add acid until your total alkalinity gets down to the right range. Lower the pH and add aeration (fountain) to get there. You should also read about and consider using boric acid to help buffer the pool. When I added borax it had an almost magical effect on pH stability. I use a Taylor micro chem kit and PoolCalculator.com almost daily: it's therapeutic, but I could easily go to weekly once it's setup in the spring.

 

[bozeman]

Have had an in-ground pool for last 5 years. Enjoy it, kids (pre-teen, teen) enjoy it.

 

[Mds2004]

@Mds2004 You should only have to add acid until your total alkalinity gets down to the right range. Lower the pH and add aeration (fountain) to get there. You should also read about and consider using boric acid to help buffer the pool. When I added borax it had an almost magical effect on pH stability. I use a Taylor micro chem kit and PoolCalculator.com almost daily: it's therapeutic, but I could easily go to weekly once it's setup in the spring.

Thanks I'll check out the Borax. My pH is constantly rising as that is a more common adverse reaction due to having a saltwater pool. My pool isn't gigantic but still about 25,000 gallons so the salt cell is constantly working hard to keep the chlorine up which keeps causing my pH to go up.

Messing with it over the years I've learned during the summer a 1/4 gallon every 7-10 days keeps it just right. During the winter the cell doesn't produce chlorine because of the cold water so I just throw chlorine tablets in a floater and don't need to add any more acid then.