poolgirl22
Inground. I guess I know the pros. Wanting to know if the pros outweigh the cons. I have a 5 & 10 yr old. Is maintaining it overly costly or time consuming. I would be the pool guy.
Answer
Get the pool, but only if you are willing to "feed it" just as you would a pet. DAILY-- even when you can't use it because it's too cold. You must commit to cleaning (made easier by automatic cleaners), checking and adjusting chemicals, emptying bags and baskets, adding water to it. Higher utility bills are a given. Pools don't cost much in repairs UNTIL the warranties expire. Then get ready!
And, most importantly, do NOT buy price! Quality costs money. Remember, this fixture is attached to your property and can add to-- or take away from-- your property value. It will not add as much value as it's cost, however.
Consider a pool as you would a room addition. An outdoor room!
Get the pool, but only if you are willing to "feed it" just as you would a pet. DAILY-- even when you can't use it because it's too cold. You must commit to cleaning (made easier by automatic cleaners), checking and adjusting chemicals, emptying bags and baskets, adding water to it. Higher utility bills are a given. Pools don't cost much in repairs UNTIL the warranties expire. Then get ready!
And, most importantly, do NOT buy price! Quality costs money. Remember, this fixture is attached to your property and can add to-- or take away from-- your property value. It will not add as much value as it's cost, however.
Consider a pool as you would a room addition. An outdoor room!
Question for Inground pool owners?
Dani
We are a family of 4 and wanting to buy a house with an inground pool. We have never owned a house with a pool before, so we are basically clueless as to what all it entails. I know we would use the pool a lot. So, we were wondering:
1. How much is upkeep (pool service, chemicals, etc.)
2. How much does it add to your house taxes
3. We live in Arizona, so would it be beneficial to have saltwater or chlorine
4. Anything else we need to consider / advice
Thanks in advance!!
Answer
1. I've found that upkeep costs differ from season to season; we'll spend far more on the pool during the swimming season than in the winter months. I have an in-ground gunite, and in the summer, ballpark cost figure I would guess would be $500 total. No pool service or hired cleaner; we do it all ourselves. Again, this is an estimate!!! It depends a lot on where you buy your supplies, how often you use your pool, etc.
2. I am not aware of any huge chunk it costs to our property taxes, if anything at all. Hell, our homeowner's insurance is only $8 a year more for our pool, and that's because we have a diving board.
3. I've heard some pretty great things about saltwater pools. Chlorine is derived from salt, so maintenance is supposed to be a lot easier and less time-consuming.
4. If you do get a pool, make sure you buy locks for all gates leading into your back yard, if they don't have any already. I use just a simple locker-combination lock on mine.
Pools can be time-consuming if you want them looking great day after day, so if you want a great looking pool but don't want to spend a lot of time on it, you should seriously reconsider. I don't consider cleaning mine a chore; I wanted a pool in my house so I consider myself responsible for it's care. It is a hobby for me, as swimming is my favorite sport.
Essential cleaning supplies: a brush, a vacuum (manual or automatic; automatic will wash hours of cleaning time off your hands), a hose that covers the length and depth of the pool, a skimmer pole, skimmer net; I have one flat one and one that's a basket, a chemical test kit to see how the chemcial levels in your water are, and a "backflow" garden hose attachment for possible clogs in your underground pipes. Depending on your pump system too, you might also require a backwash hose. Also keep in good supply of chlorine tabs (big duh, right?!), pH add and/or decrease, alkalinity plus, some filter aid (sand or DE, again depending on what kind of filter you have) and some bags of shock, just for extra measure. I don't do this myself, but I know some pool owners also keep algaecide handy, even though you only need to use that for an algae outbreak in your water. But that should only happen if you don't take care of it! And I tell you all of this because if you have to buy all that stuff at once, it will get VERY expensive. We specifically looked for a pool that already had all the equipment there; we just had to buy the chemicals and even then, the water was already in pretty good shape so we didn't have to buy every single chemical all at once.
I hope I didn't ramble on too much. But I enjoy my swimming pool immensely and enjoy entertaining my friends and family with it. It's a wonderful investment, as long as you don't consider taking care of it a problem. Happy swimming!
1. I've found that upkeep costs differ from season to season; we'll spend far more on the pool during the swimming season than in the winter months. I have an in-ground gunite, and in the summer, ballpark cost figure I would guess would be $500 total. No pool service or hired cleaner; we do it all ourselves. Again, this is an estimate!!! It depends a lot on where you buy your supplies, how often you use your pool, etc.
2. I am not aware of any huge chunk it costs to our property taxes, if anything at all. Hell, our homeowner's insurance is only $8 a year more for our pool, and that's because we have a diving board.
3. I've heard some pretty great things about saltwater pools. Chlorine is derived from salt, so maintenance is supposed to be a lot easier and less time-consuming.
4. If you do get a pool, make sure you buy locks for all gates leading into your back yard, if they don't have any already. I use just a simple locker-combination lock on mine.
Pools can be time-consuming if you want them looking great day after day, so if you want a great looking pool but don't want to spend a lot of time on it, you should seriously reconsider. I don't consider cleaning mine a chore; I wanted a pool in my house so I consider myself responsible for it's care. It is a hobby for me, as swimming is my favorite sport.
Essential cleaning supplies: a brush, a vacuum (manual or automatic; automatic will wash hours of cleaning time off your hands), a hose that covers the length and depth of the pool, a skimmer pole, skimmer net; I have one flat one and one that's a basket, a chemical test kit to see how the chemcial levels in your water are, and a "backflow" garden hose attachment for possible clogs in your underground pipes. Depending on your pump system too, you might also require a backwash hose. Also keep in good supply of chlorine tabs (big duh, right?!), pH add and/or decrease, alkalinity plus, some filter aid (sand or DE, again depending on what kind of filter you have) and some bags of shock, just for extra measure. I don't do this myself, but I know some pool owners also keep algaecide handy, even though you only need to use that for an algae outbreak in your water. But that should only happen if you don't take care of it! And I tell you all of this because if you have to buy all that stuff at once, it will get VERY expensive. We specifically looked for a pool that already had all the equipment there; we just had to buy the chemicals and even then, the water was already in pretty good shape so we didn't have to buy every single chemical all at once.
I hope I didn't ramble on too much. But I enjoy my swimming pool immensely and enjoy entertaining my friends and family with it. It's a wonderful investment, as long as you don't consider taking care of it a problem. Happy swimming!
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