Get a pool?

[Aerides]

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Originally Posted by Broland Here's an update for all those who contributed to my question ... First, thanks to all for the feedback! We met with a pool guy this past week and have decided to go forward (including some suggestions by those on this forum!).

Do get dates. Milestones, etc., from your pool company. IE: When permits will be filed, then how long till break ground, etc. I assume you've done your due diligence re reviews and their recent performance? Just make sure you know whatever they told you, it will take twice as long.

[iloveyoga]

Our grandkids have their own very nice pool. We put ours in for us and use it daily during pool season, which is sadly coming to an end. I only wish I had taken the plunge and done it early.

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Broland Here's an update for all those who contributed to my question ... First, thanks to all for the feedback! We met with a pool guy this past week and have decided to go forward (including some suggestions by those on this forum!). + 45'x20' rectangular (so we can put an automatic cover on for safety) + Electric heatpump to keep it heated year-round (we have a lot of solar so this is more cost-effective than natural gas) + Saltwater + A 6' - 18" deep area for small grandkids and for a seating area (wanted to do the beach feature with sand, but local (very odd) rules require more flat area that we wanted to devote if we included sand) + Water feature on the back raised wall (for looks & sound) + Probably 6-7 feet deep (definitely not 10') + Definitely going to have a pool service Still undecided on adding a spa, or not, attached to the pool. We have a very good stand-alone spa already and our current thoughts are to just keep that, but definitely open to others' thoughts on this.

While we have awesome folks here, I would highly recommend checking out www.troublefreepool.com forum. There are a lot of very smart folks out there and they have been a God send for learning about our pool...and dealing with some issues.

[qwerty3656]

Another data point - I commented that I thought a friends water feature (basically a waterfall) looked cool - he replied that his wife didn't like it because it was too noisy.

[ncbill]

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Originally Posted by badatmath I guess I am the only one who thought grandkids = Drownings! A lot of small kids die here every summer falling in the pool. It only takes a minute for a toddler to slip away. I think they are nicer to look at but seldom used. I wonder if there is some kind of splash pad or other creative water feature that could be admired and used. I have no idea.

Yep, any pool nowadays needs a 4' (minimum) high fence with self-closing & self-latching gate.

There are retrofits fences (mesh, removable) available for older homes where the pool can be accessed directly from the house, so even if a toddler gets onto the pool apron outside the back door they can't actually access the pool itself, e.g.:

https://poolfence.com/pool-fence-info/

[Time2]

I recently visited my daughter and son-in-law, they have some friends with a small built in pool may 12ft x 20 ft, plus on one end there is a built in hot tub. It was very nice, we all got in the hot tub had a drink or two, then slide over the edge into the pool to cool down and then back in the hot tub. It was a very nice setup, I tried to get adopted!

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncbill Yep, any pool nowadays needs a 4' (minimum) high fence with self-closing & self-latching gate. There are retrofits fences (mesh, removable) available for older homes where the pool can be accessed directly from the house, so even if a toddler gets onto the pool apron outside the back door they can't actually access the pool itself, e.g.: https://poolfence.com/pool-fence-info/

We had one of these installed to keep the dogs from drowning. It wasn't cheap, however (and no gates, either). It is peace of mind as most of the "water alarms" were useless because of false alarms. My only beef is that they aren't very sightly but they are easy to remove.

[Andre1969]

I didn't get a pool, but I did the next best thing. I bought a house that already had one. That wasn't my initial plan. My original goal was to get a house that already had as much garage space as possible, plus enough land that had a suitable enough terrain to easily build more garage space, if needed. But, a pool never factored into the picture. In fact, initially, I had it set in my mind that I specifically did NOT want a house with a pool.

But then, I started noticing that with the houses I was looking at, all other things being more or less equal, a pool didn't seem to affect the asking price much. And I also resigned myself to the fact that there was no way I was going to find exactly the garage I wanted. Then I used the convoluted logic that, if I found a house I liked that didn't have adequate garage space, I'd have no problems building a garage. But there's no way I'd splurge on a pool, if the house didn't already have one. So, I talked myself into a house with a nice, big 23x51 in ground pool, but storage for only one car, and that was little more than a carport. And then, splurged on a garage.

As for the pool, I hate to say it, but it does lose its magic after awhile. I don't regret it, not at all. It's just that initially it seemed so awesome, but once I got used to it, it was just "there". Hedonic creep, or whatever they call it. Sort of like the first time I bought a car that had power windows, it seemed downright luxurious. But then I got used to it.

I bought the house in September 2018, and I remember we were going in it as much as possible, trying to wring every last bit of summer we could out of it, although reasonably, by the beginning of October, it was getting too cold to go in, above my waist.

In 2019, my housemate and I were in it again, as much as possible, and it seemed like we were constantly having friends over. We never had any really HUGE blowouts, but definitely got our use out of it.

Then in 2020, COVID hit, and that put a bit of a damper on the get togethers. But, it also had me working from home. I think that might be when I really started taking it for granted. It was always there, 24/7, anytime I wanted it (at least until it got closed down for the winter). There would be days, sometimes, where I'd just feel too lazy to leave the house and walk over to it.

Seems like this year, there's been less pool time, again. Even today, it's actually pretty hot out, and the water is nice. I'm working from home and it's a slow day. But I just don't feel the need to run out there and jump in. But, next week it gets shut down for the season, and I know as soon as that happens, I'm going to start missing it. And, with my luck, we'll have a hot spell!

Still, even though it sounds like I'm a bit indifferent to it, I'd never want to give it up! Hell, now on second thought, I might just jump in for a bit!

[ExFlyBoy5]

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Originally Posted by Andre1969 I didn't get a pool, but I did the next best thing. I bought a house that already had one

After reading so many horror stories from folks that had a pool put in, I am 100% convinced that the BEST thing is acquiring one that is already there!

We also bought our house in Dec of '18 and have noticed that the use of the pool has actually picked up the last couple of years. Of course, YMMV.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Broland + 45'x20' rectangular (so we can put an automatic cover on for safety) + Electric heatpump to keep it heated year-round (we have a lot of solar so this is more cost-effective than natural gas) + Saltwater + Water feature on the back raised wall (for looks & sound) + Probably 6-7 feet deep (definitely not 10') + Definitely going to have a pool service Still undecided on adding a spa, or not, attached to the pool. We have a very good stand-alone spa already and our current thoughts are to just keep that, but definitely open to others' thoughts on this.

I for one appreciate the thread as we are considering this ourselves.

Kids are 5 and 2.5, so probably 6 and 3.5 (at best) by the time this gets done. No neighborhood or other public pool close by; many homes in our area have in-ground pools as well. I think I am going to drive toward a rectangular pool so I can put an endless pool in for myself and an automatic safety cover as well. Friends have this feature with four kids from toddler to 9y.o. and love it. They get good use out of their pool in TX. Our pool season could be close to year-round here, so I'm leaning towards it as part of our outdoor remodel project. We will have to address pool safety - cover, alarm, fence, etc. all on the table. Our entire yard is fenced by 7' fiberglass fence and is lockable, so when we travel I can lock everything out as well.

With your design, I like the idea of saltwater, auto cover, and we have solar power so interested in how to tie that into pool heating as well. I'm inclined to pay someone to maintain it for the time being while I'm still working.

Wife and I enjoy the idea of a spa close to the outdoor living space, so if we can swing that on our budget we probably will.

[mebden]

I have had pools all my life and I would never have anything but a salt water pool so much less maintenance. I use my pool everyday here in South Louisiana I don't know how peeps live without one down here, oh yea they stay in their houses with their AC on full blast and if I don't swim in it it also works good as a big bathtub LOL. Especially right after hurricane IDA came thru my backyard and no power or water.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncbill Yep, any pool nowadays needs a 4' (minimum) high fence with self-closing & self-latching gate. There are retrofits fences (mesh, removable) available for older homes where the pool can be accessed directly from the house, so even if a toddler gets onto the pool apron outside the back door they can't actually access the pool itself, e.g.: https://poolfence.com/pool-fence-info/

There are other effective safety options out there. Accidental drowning is no joke, of course, but there's more than one answer. Legally, I believe CA requires two of seven safety options, of which a fence is one.

[iloveyoga]

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Originally Posted by qwerty3656 Another data point - I commented that I thought a friends water feature (basically a waterfall) looked cool - he replied that his wife didn't like it because it was too noisy.

We added fountains to our pool and I could live without those. I do love the salt generator and the auto cover and we have to have a heater here in Iowa. We do our own maintenance and it does not take much time at all.

[ncbill]

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Originally Posted by nash031 There are other effective safety options out there. Accidental drowning is no joke, of course, but there's more than one answer. Legally, I believe CA requires two of seven safety options, of which a fence is one.

Drowning is a surprisingly (depressingly?) common cause of accidental death for young children of upper middle-class parents.

There's no real substitute for the type of fence I described to deny access to the pool, even if you do need to drill those holes into the concrete apron.

As others note floating alarms will be turned off or ignored because of the multiple false alarms they generate.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncbill Drowning is a surprisingly (depressingly?) common cause of accidental death for young children of upper middle-class parents. There's no real substitute for the type of fence I described to deny access to the pool, even if you do need to drill those holes into the concrete apron. As others note floating alarms will be turned off or ignored because of the multiple false alarms they generate.

Actually, the safety covers are pretty good. Most can support 450+ lbs walking on them. Even if I had a fence - which we might anyway - I'll have an automated safety cover as well. Fences can be climbed (and here they have to be at least 5 feet high with gate operators no lower than 54" off the ground.

I agree about the efficacy of the alarms, but they are one of the seven legal options. I was responding to the comment that you must have a fence. You don't have to; there are other legal and effective options.

[Koolau]

No personal experience with pools but office mate bought a house with an in ground pool. They found they didn't use it and were paranoid that the neighborhood kids would sneak in and drown while they were at w*rk. They filled it in.

[Kamwak]

Our grandkids love swimming in our pool. We have them over at least once a week.

[steveark]

Don't do it, buy a membership somewhere that has a pool. Much cheaper, more kids to play with and real lifeguards.

[51togo]

You already got experience with a pool so you know what you’re getting yourself into ha ha. We have a small pool with a jacuzzi, several years ago I want to remove the pool in lieu of remodel and replace it with a three cars garage for my cars. But my daughters asked me to keep the pool. Now the grandkids come over all the time “ I want to go to grandpa’s house!” So that’s priceless. I know there will be a day where my grandkids will stop using the pool, but in the meantime I got to use it more myself while swimming with them. So the memories will be something I will treasure… it’s only money spend their inheritance.

[2cheap2eat]

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Originally Posted by RunningBum Seems like you already have experience with this. If your kids didn't use it much, what are the chances your g-kids will much? How about something else out back that might get more use, with less maintenance? A fire pit maybe? A play structure? A multi use court surface? Outdoor kitchen? Hot tub? A fountain or waterfall which might be relaxing to sit around? Garden maze, or just some really nice landscaping including lighting?

I don’t have a pool but always wanted a water feature. I could see a splash pool as it’s good exercise and nice way to cool off in Texas heat.