Anyone own a pool
- Thread starter upearly
- Start date
delfin
Cathlete
Hi, we bought a home with a pool... a very old inground concrete one (about 50 years old). I think the costs involved depend on if you bought an ol geezer pool, like us, or a brand new one. We needed to replace all the plumbing lines, skimmer, pump, filter, and heater. Not cheap. It had to be drained, cleaned, and painted. Not cheap. If we really want to fix it up. It'll have to be drained again, then resurfaced with plaster or gunnite, and have the tile band and copeing replaced. We've already spent thousands on this baby.
Now as far as regular summer service... it depends on if you do it yourself or have a service do it. We chose to have a service do it, cuz we've got enough work to do and I didn't like dealing with chemicals... and there are alot of chemicals (unless you've got a salt chlorination system). There's not only chlorine tablets, there's shock, algecide, pH up and down, etc. The thing also has to be vaccumed, which the service co does. I'd say it's probably around $50 a week, give or take, depending on chemicals, for service.
Having a pool is alot like being in a love/hate relationship. You love it when it working right, and sun is out, the water's the perfect temp, etc. You hate it when it's acting up (our heater went on fire a couple years ago), it's been a string of rainy weather, and you're still paying for the pool service, and you have to make sure your kids' friends don't crack their skulls, etc. when they're having a blast in it.
Can you tell I get a little emotional about our pool???? Good luck!
Now as far as regular summer service... it depends on if you do it yourself or have a service do it. We chose to have a service do it, cuz we've got enough work to do and I didn't like dealing with chemicals... and there are alot of chemicals (unless you've got a salt chlorination system). There's not only chlorine tablets, there's shock, algecide, pH up and down, etc. The thing also has to be vaccumed, which the service co does. I'd say it's probably around $50 a week, give or take, depending on chemicals, for service.
Having a pool is alot like being in a love/hate relationship. You love it when it working right, and sun is out, the water's the perfect temp, etc. You hate it when it's acting up (our heater went on fire a couple years ago), it's been a string of rainy weather, and you're still paying for the pool service, and you have to make sure your kids' friends don't crack their skulls, etc. when they're having a blast in it.
Can you tell I get a little emotional about our pool???? Good luck!
Funny you should ask! We just moved into a house a few months ago, and it has a pool - we weren't looking for one, but liked the house, so here we are! We've survived our first summer - at least the last few months of it, anyway. The pool is older (20+ yrs), but most of the replacement work had been done before we bought the house, so we were lucky in that sense. It's an in-the-ground sand base with vinyl liner (not sure if this makes sense, that's how the owner described it to us) The liner and pump are brand new - he said that he paid a few thousand for both, if that gives you any idea of possible costs. We live in a four season area, so the pool is usable from about May to late Sept. The electric to run the filter didn't run more than $15 extra per month (estimated). Chemicals, we buy in bulk from Costo, Sams, or wherever there's a sale.
The work involved wasn't as bad as we expected, but it is constant maintenence. We weren't sure about hiring a service - it was later in the season and most of them were already booked, so we figured we'd go the DIY route. It's been about 15 minutes a day, every day: skimming, water testing, chemicals and checking the filters. Every 4 days, there's an extra round of chemicals and vacuuming (additional 20 minutes). We usually did it while the kids were swimming, so we were going to have to be out there anyway (our children are all under 4). We're in the process of closing the pool, now, and it's a huge learning experience. Not brain surgery, but definitely lots of stuff to remember for next time! And we did have to get someone to keep up with it all while we were out of town (luckily we have neighbors who were willing to work for beer and pool priveleges
)
While I am NOT a 'pool person' (hate cold, not a big swimmer, etc) I have to say, we have loved having it this summer. The kids are doing MUCH better at swimming and never got tired of going in the pool. It's good exercise and gave us some built-in family time every evening after work. There's nothing like dinner on the grill, eaten pool-side And that's not even counting the fun 'happy hours' with our friends and neighbors and a few 'cold beverages'
We're already looking forward to next year, when we'll have a full season and will be able to do a few renovations to the decking/pool deck to make it look better and more comfortable...
Bottom line (IMHO) if you get the enjoyment out of it, it's worth it, but it is a lot of responsibility. Once you get used to it, it's probably not that big of a deal. We're still in the learning curve: all the chemicals, tools, mechanics, etc. so it seems like a lot. I'm sure next season will be much easier.
Good luck! I hope you have a lot of fun!
The work involved wasn't as bad as we expected, but it is constant maintenence. We weren't sure about hiring a service - it was later in the season and most of them were already booked, so we figured we'd go the DIY route. It's been about 15 minutes a day, every day: skimming, water testing, chemicals and checking the filters. Every 4 days, there's an extra round of chemicals and vacuuming (additional 20 minutes). We usually did it while the kids were swimming, so we were going to have to be out there anyway (our children are all under 4). We're in the process of closing the pool, now, and it's a huge learning experience. Not brain surgery, but definitely lots of stuff to remember for next time! And we did have to get someone to keep up with it all while we were out of town (luckily we have neighbors who were willing to work for beer and pool priveleges
)While I am NOT a 'pool person' (hate cold, not a big swimmer, etc) I have to say, we have loved having it this summer. The kids are doing MUCH better at swimming and never got tired of going in the pool. It's good exercise and gave us some built-in family time every evening after work. There's nothing like dinner on the grill, eaten pool-side
And that's not even counting the fun 'happy hours' with our friends and neighbors and a few 'cold beverages' We're already looking forward to next year, when we'll have a full season and will be able to do a few renovations to the decking/pool deck to make it look better and more comfortable...
Bottom line (IMHO) if you get the enjoyment out of it, it's worth it, but it is a lot of responsibility. Once you get used to it, it's probably not that big of a deal. We're still in the learning curve: all the chemicals, tools, mechanics, etc. so it seems like a lot. I'm sure next season will be much easier.
Good luck! I hope you have a lot of fun!
We bought a home with a pool, too, and like everyone else has pretty much said, it's a love/hate relationship. When everything is in sync - weather, chemicals, temperature - it's wonderful. When you have a problem, you wonder why you even have it!
Just be prepared for your electric bill to jump once summer rolls around and your pump starts running! Between central air and the pool pump, our bill almost triples!
Just be prepared for your electric bill to jump once summer rolls around and your pump starts running! Between central air and the pool pump, our bill almost triples!
andtckrtoo
Cathlete
We've had a pool for about 5 years now - bought the house with the pool... We resurfaced it - cost about $6k just to resurface it. We live in California so it does not get cold enough to freeze here and maintance costs run year round. As the kids get older they don't use the pool very often, although we did more this summer as it was a very hot summer. DH really would like to fill the thing in and put in a simple jacuzzi.
Amber Mitchell
Active Member
The first house we bought had a pool and when we built a new house we could only live the first summer without putting in a pool here. Once the kids get used to having their own pool, it is hard to give it up! We love having one for many reasons. It is wonderful for entertaining because the kids will swim and leave the adults alone. My kids' friends always want to come to our house (which I love). DH and I can skinny dip at night Plus, they are just really pretty to look at.
Our electric bill is not that much higher and if you do the maintenance yourself, it really isn't that expensive. We use chlorine now which is really cheap, whereas we used to use Baquacil which was expensive. We also have a robotic cleaning system that makes cleaning it so simple. Just plug in the robot and let it do the work. Our biggest problem is leaves. We have trees all around and have a ton of leaves.
Plus, they are just really pretty to look at. Our electric bill is not that much higher and if you do the maintenance yourself, it really isn't that expensive. We use chlorine now which is really cheap, whereas we used to use Baquacil which was expensive. We also have a robotic cleaning system that makes cleaning it so simple. Just plug in the robot and let it do the work. Our biggest problem is leaves. We have trees all around and have a ton of leaves.
ivorygorgon
Cathlete
We don't have a pool, but I have to chime in to say that we are actually planning on putting one in, in a couple of years! We live a little east of San Diego, and just think we can hardly live without it! I can't wait.
I can't wait.Amber Mitchell
Active Member
I'm a worry wort also but honestly it isn't hard keeping everything balanced. You can buy the little strips that you can test your water everyday just by dipping the strips in the water for 15 seconds or you can take a sample to your local pool store once a week and they will test it for free. It really isn't hard!