Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My advice would be to join a pool club.

This. My neighbors have an in-ground pool and the pool maintenance company is over there all the time. I often wonder if they make more money on pool maintenance than on installing the pool.

And just to be clear, their maintenance is NOT adding the chemicals and running the Ph tests. It is all the pool machinery and gizmos that are making the pool company rich.

What in the hell are you talking about? It's a pump and a simple filter. Pools are so much less work than people claim. It's truly bizarre when people start trashing them. Is it jealosy?

Ok ok pool contractor…relax. There are a few idiots who will still install or buy homes with pools.

Anonymous wrote:You'll want additional umbrella insurance coverage if you have a pool.

Cost can be $100k+ to install a pool.

It won't necessarily help resale as while some people really want pools, others really don't for safety, cost, or maintenance reasons.

You'll want a fence around the pool in some way.

We are back to pre covid. 90% don’t want pools.

Those of you who worked at pools in high school don't count. Pools are MUCH more self-sufficient today.

We put a pool in in 2011. Hot tub is attached to pool with sheer decent waterfalls from the spa into the pool. Our pool is salt water. Absolutely get salt water - you won't need chemicals except for when you open it in the spring. Plus it's much better for your skin. Get a Polaris pool vacuum robot and that and the pump and skimmer baskets practically maintain the pool by themselves. We have a pool service come once a month for maintenance and we have them open the pool in the spring and close it in the fall.

Definitely get a heater and you will extend your pool season by a few months. We open our pool in April and close it early November. Spring and Fall are perfect hot tub weather. We use the hot tub almost nightly in the spring and fall.

Depending on the size of the pool and other work you choose do to (hardscape, etc.) the pool will cost you $100K minimum and up to over $200K for hardscape, hot tub, cool pool features, etc.

We love having our own pool. DH is a germaphobe so he will not swim in a public pool. When our kids were toddlers, we went to the local pool club and a kid puked in the pool. They closed it for the rest of the day. That was the end of going to the pool club for us!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My advice would be to join a pool club.

This. My neighbors have an in-ground pool and the pool maintenance company is over there all the time. I often wonder if they make more money on pool maintenance than on installing the pool.

And just to be clear, their maintenance is NOT adding the chemicals and running the Ph tests. It is all the pool machinery and gizmos that are making the pool company rich.

What in the hell are you talking about? It's a pump and a simple filter. Pools are so much less work than people claim. It's truly bizarre when people start trashing them. Is it jealosy?

Neighbors live their pool, but they complain all the time about recurring maintenance and repair costs on machinery, replacing the liner, and what not. They do their own chemicals and Ph tests. I don't care either way if one has an pool - do what makes you happy.

Are you doing concrete or vinyl liner? If the latter, get a regular shape, which will make liner replacements over the years less costly.

The pool maintenance is simple. A robot vacuum cleans the bottom and sides while the skimmers automatically suck debris off of the service. We only have to check the pool chemistry and place chlorine tablets in about 2x a week, plus dump shock in 1x per week. Even the cost of the chemicals is cheap. It’s a great setup for crystal clear water. You can pop in and out all day. You can aqua exercise in it or float around in quietude—it’s heavenly.

I worked at pools in high school and had fears that our new pool would require similar upkeep. It's so much easier to maintain this saltwater pool. I check the skimmer baskets every few days and throw the robot vacuum in when I think it needs cleaning. The vacuum even scrubs the walls and waterline so I'm not going around the sides of the pool scrubbing tiles like I had to when I was a lifeguard.

The only chemical I find I have to add once a week is 1/2 a gallon of acid to bring the PH level down. Other than that, it's been surprisingly simple to maintain.

How much does the size of the pool determine the cost of upkeep?

OP here, thanks all for the thoughts/feedback.

PP below: I have a lot of questions!
How recently did you put it in, and how long from idea to completion was the project?
Solar panels just for the pool? We have them on our house, but I assume you mean a separate array?
Could you share any ballpark figures about the annual maintenance costs?
If you were doing it again, what would you do differently? (Lessons learned...)

I appreciate the info about the rules. We'll have to think hard about depth, diving board, etc...

Anonymous wrote:Best thing we’ve done to our house. Just lay some ground rules and stick to them. We don’t ever allow any type of diving or horse play, no glass near the pool, and no one is allowed in the pool without an adult present. The last few years, we’ve extended the season from about April 1 - Nov 1. We added some solar panels and use that to heat the pool for the most part. We do have a backup gas heater but if we’re diligent about shutting t he cover at night, rarely use it. We also just outsource all the maintenance, weekly visits, opening & closing to a pool company, and it’s worth every penny. It’s actually brought hot our kids closer together bc they are in it with each other almost daily. We also did salt, and it’s been pretty maintenance free.

We bought a house with an in ground pool and I would never put one in unless you know for sure you or your spouse will use it a lot to make it worth the money and effort. My DH loves it and takes care of all responsibilities in owning a pool happily, while I use it a handful of times a season. My own kids who are older teens lost interest a few years ago and maybe go in 1–2 times a season.
If you’re doing it, I would hire someone for weekly maintenance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My advice would be to join a pool club.

This. My neighbors have an in-ground pool and the pool maintenance company is over there all the time. I often wonder if they make more money on pool maintenance than on installing the pool.

And just to be clear, their maintenance is NOT adding the chemicals and running the Ph tests. It is all the pool machinery and gizmos that are making the pool company rich.

What in the hell are you talking about? It's a pump and a simple filter. Pools are so much less work than people claim. It's truly bizarre when people start trashing them. Is it jealosy?

I managed a pool in high school. It was a good amount of work every day that probably goes down to once/twice a week for the average home use. Cleaning, routine service, water chemistry. To completely outsource it these days, it’s at least 4-6000 per season….

We don’t have a pool, not out of jealousy, but because it makes no sense to pay that much for extra work/cost, for something that will become a yard ornament over time.

Public pools are gross.

Anonymous wrote:My advice would be to join a pool club.

So crowded.

We bought a house with a saltwater pool. Maintenance is easy to DIY, but we pay someone to cover and winterize it (our neighbors DIY that too, it's not that hard but it's a pain). Also, something in the filter or saltwater setup has to be replaced every 2-3 years.

Ours is a big free form shape without a lot of yard space at the edges. It's pretty, but if it were smaller and rectangular we could have either a hard cover (so it could be a play space in the off seaaon) or a glass enclosure to extend the season. As it is, we only get 3 months out of it.

When planning, think about access to the mechanical stuff, bathroom access, toy storage, avoiding leaves dropping in, adding outlets and lights on the far side of the pool, and other practicalities.

Anonymous wrote:Best thing we’ve done to our house. Just lay some ground rules and stick to them. We don’t ever allow any type of diving or horse play, no glass near the pool, and no one is allowed in the pool without an adult present. The last few years, we’ve extended the season from about April 1 - Nov 1. We added some solar panels and use that to heat the pool for the most part. We do have a backup gas heater but if we’re diligent about shutting t he cover at night, rarely use it. We also just outsource all the maintenance, weekly visits, opening & closing to a pool company, and it’s worth every penny. It’s actually brought hot our kids closer together bc they are in it with each other almost daily. We also did salt, and it’s been pretty maintenance free.

NP. This sounds like a dream! It would be way too expensive for us but I would do this if I had the financial means.