Pool? Inground or above ground

[castleview]

Hi,

I need everyone's thoughts on whether to do an inground pool or above ground. The estimate on the IG was in the $40,000 range (including stamped concrete, a good fence, heat, and blasting). I'm finding it really hard to justify, though.

The AG seems to be A LOT more bang for the buck. I won't go broke putting it in either.

However, an IG would probably look nicer. This will sound very stupid too, but when my kids are in the teen years (oldest is 6 now), I'll know where they are during the summer.

Anyone who has experience or thoughts on this, please let me know. We said we'd have a pull up by the time our oldest was eight. But we go back and forth.

 

[staci]

Where do you live? How many months of the year will you be able to use it?

 

[castleview]

Where do you live? How many months of the year will you be able to use it?

I live in CT. A friend of mine says she can use her heated pool from around Memorial Day to the end of September.

 

[luvflorida]

I posted a thread last summer about the installation of our in-ground pool. I documented the whole process and posted it on the DIS along with photos of each step. The thread is still here somewhere but unfortunately the photos are no longer there. I'm not sure what happened to them.

Anyway, the thread might be of interest to you and maybe would answer some of your questions. The pool was finished toward the end of August so we didn't get a lot of time to use it. We live in Maine and the swimming season is short.

However, we were thrilled with the finished project and we can't wait to get a full summer out of the pool! It was the right decision for us and well worth the cost.

 

[Crankyshank]

Honestly it really depends on how much use you will get out of it, how easily you can afford it, and whether or not it's worth it to you to go all out and get an inground pool.
My best friend and her wife were hemming and hawing over the same thing and they decided to go with a hot tub and an above ground pool because often enough there's summers where they might not use the pool more than a dozen times but they sure will get a lot more use out of a hot tub in MA.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We put in an in ground pool when we built this house 8 years ago...I hate it!!! I really , really hate it. We had no choice but to put in an inground as DS has disabilities and we wanted to use the pool for therapy in the summer. If we put in an inground he would not swim he would walk...anyway. The cost was $$. The cement (we went with the plain grey no stamping etc.) the chemicals, the heat, the liner, and the water to fill it is $$$$. We somehow got a rip in the liner....no idea how it happened. We could not find it, all we knew was it was losing water fast...well we had scuba guys here looking, we bought some sort of dye to find the leak, we had to let it drain until it stopped and then look...it took forever to find the leak. We had to get a new liner $6000. The cost to open and close the pool is $$ The care is hard, chemicals, the vaccuming is hard...lots of curves and lots of leaves. The cost of solar covers and winter covers is $$. I hate the pool and wish we had been able to put in an above ground pool. We live in upstate NY (Near Rochester/Buffalo) and we open the pool in May and close it in Oct so we do get lots of use out of it but to heat it is $$. I know lots of people love their in ground pools and people are going to say I am spoiled because we have it and I complain but I would go with an above ground !!! You mentioned the look of the pool. My friend has a above ground pool and they put on a vinyl deck and rail. It looks beautiful!!! She has beautiful plants and planters on the deck and rock around the pool. It is beautiful and it cost so much less then ours......I vote above ground. One hint if you put in an inground take photos of the pipes etc before they bury them.....The installers told us to do this and it has been helpful in locating the pipes etc.... My voet is still AB

 

[dixipixi]

We just installed an above ground pool. We wanted a pool for years, but we had several 100+ y/o oak trees in our back yard (that's a lot of leaves to keep out of the pool!!).

Thanks to Katrina, we didn't have one single tree left in the backyard and we had to rebuild our house...so we just went ahead and put in the pool while the backyard was a mess anyway.

We chose an above ground pool because we have a well (underground electric and water pipes), and our electricity is underground as well. Our back porch is also about 4 ft. off the ground, so we put the pool right up next to it and it's just the same look as an in ground from the house/porch.

The difference between an in ground and above ground for us was about $30,000. We can use our pool from early April through October so we think it was a good investment...but we still couldn't justify the huge money difference, and with all the repairs we had to make...every penny counts!!!

 

[Horseshoes]

...This will sound very stupid too, but when my kids are in the teen years (oldest is 6 now), I'll know where they are during the summer.

I think you will get more use out of your pool when your kids are little. I know of 2 families that their teens dont want to swim in them any more. One of them is my neighbor, they put an inground pool in. They are barely ever in it. They spend more time cleaning it than swimming in it.

I vote for above ground, that way if there ever comes a time that no one wants to use it, then you just take it down. Even if its 15 years down the road, you will certainly have gotten your monies worth.

As a matter of fact, we are getting an above ground this coming summer, and I cant wait!!!!

 

[castleview]

I vote for above ground, that way if there ever comes a time that no one wants to use it, then you just take it down. Even if its 15 years down the road, you will certainly have gotten your monies worth.

As a matter of fact, we are getting an above ground this coming summer, and I cant wait!!!!

Oooh! I totally forgot about being able to knock it down. Actually I do remember my dad saying that my taxes would go up on an IG because it's considered a permanant structure...and enjoy your pool!

 

[crz4mm2]

We always wanted a pool too so when we moved to our current house in the country we put up an above ground pool (couldn't afford an inground one!). We used it like crazy for the first 5 years. Then we didn't use it as much the next year. I ended up selling it. It was too much money to just leave running (chemicals, electricity and time to clean etc) to not use it regularly.
I agree with above ground- then you can get rid of it if you no longer use it.
We had a deck 1/4 of the way around ours and it was wonderful.
I have a friend that has their AG right outside their back door and have a deck all the way around. It looks beautiful.
Our pool was about 20 feet from our back door.

 

[Melrosgirl]

The in ground will look better. We put an in ground in a few years ago. It was a nightmare of a project, but on those hot summer days, I whisper to dh, it was worth it, lol. Above grounds are not going to be as deep as you can get an in ground to look for one thing. I've seen some above grounds that do look nice (with the finished deck around it). Most of the time they look plastic and cheap though (without the deck).

Our concrete pool was around $40,000 when all was said and done (fence, heater, landscaping) also. I do not recommend Anthony and Sylvan pools. I hated them. Finished product looks nice but we had a lot of problems with them during the build.

Maintenance, dh tells me , is easy on the pool. Doesn't cost a lot either. Couple of hundred a year. We use ours Memorial Day to Labor Day basically too. Would I build another one? No.

 

[marlasmom]

My in-ground pool was about $20,000. We had in-ground pools in CHicago suburbs and southern California. This one was put in before we bought the house and is not as deep as the others - I guess because the water level in Florida is so high. I don't believe in vinyl liners - you should go for full cement. Maintenance is not hard or expensive at all.

It was wonderful when my kids were teens. KIds were always here, always respectful and I knew where they were.

 

[dg39]

We had an IG pool installed 2 yrs. ago. So far, one of the best improvements we made. The whole family loves it, especially my dh. We did everything you can think of in our yard. During May thru Oct. we practically live out there.

 

[Bearvet]

We put an in gound pool in 9 years ago when we moved into this house. My mother had recently passed away and I wanted to use some of the money I received to buy the pool (I always had one growing up). It was worth every penny! I have 3 boys (now 16, 12 and 10) and we still live in the pool all summer. I agree with the poster that their friends will always be at your house and you'll know where your kids are. I keep plenty of soda and hot dogs on hand, we build bonfires at night and have a blast! We did add a heater about 2 years ago, which was one of the best investments we ever made. Living in MA, the heater has really extended our swimming season.

I think the kids still use our pool because it is an IG - you can't dive and do tricks in an AG.

We also just finished off our basement (bar, big screen TV, video game area, etc) and with 3 teen boys it's been a lifesaver! Again, all of their friends want to be at our house and that's fine with us! We live in a very rural area, so it's nice for them to have a cool place to hang out! DH and I also enjoy the basement and are planning to host a Super Bowl party next month. BTW we are very cautious with bar items and the teens - DH collect glassware from different microbreweries we visit, but we keep all alcohol upstairs under lock and key (well almost). We do trust DS, but with a group of teens you never know...

 

[Jennifer S]

My best friend put in a inground pool last summer and we lived in it. My best memories of the summer are at her pool. SHe had one of those automatic vaccums thay you just turn on and it does all the work. Yes she had many headaches getting it in but she said it was well worth it. It looks beautiful.

If money is not an object I'd do in ground - much nicer looking IMO.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Anyone who has experience or thoughts on this, please let me know. We said we'd have a pull up by the time our oldest was eight. But we go back and forth.

OK....I add my 2cents as we also debate whether to do a pool or not. Everywhere we live you HAVE TO put in an inground pool. We are facing relocation so the "pool" is on hold.

Basically it boils down to....
How long you plan on staying in your house? Long time (10yrs+)...inground The above ground will be "old" by the time your kids are teens and the pool will lose it's value.

Neighborhood? If you had to move suddenly, YOU WILL lose money on BOTH pools probably. Obviously you will lose bigger on the inground. Can you afford the "loss"??
Will the neighborhood support your upgraded house value? If no, I would go AB.

If you HAD TO move suddenly only pool people will look at your house and will PREFER the inground, so having a AB will be less desirable, even though you may lose $$$ on the pool. It becomes more of a selling point.

Of course if you plan on staying you will have "paid for" the pool and wish you would have put in a inground possibly.

Good Luck on your decision!

 

[krcit]

We're getting an above ground pool this spring. An IG was'nt even an option for us financially, lol. My brother just had a pool put in half above/half in. It's buried about 2 feet and has a deck built around it. It's gorgeous and it was about $6-7K as opposed to 30-40K. It's also not considered a permanent structure so that helps with taxes which around here is a huge issue, lol. I have also heard that an inground can decrease the value of your home-I don't know how true that is but I do know that when I was looking to buy a house, 8 years ago, my oldest dd was 2 and I did not want a pool.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I forgot to mention the insurance on an Inground pool. We had to pay as it is a permanent addition to the property. We also had to get a bigger insurance policy to cover injury etc..I am sure this is the same with all pools though.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

The trick to an inground pool is to make sure whoever designs it knows how to do it for low maintanence. Where the skimmers and jets are located, a decent automatic vacuum and chlorine feeder can make all the difference between a pool that is a maintanence headache to one that barely requires much care at all.

 

[mrsmom]

We put a inground fiberglass pool in , It cost alot less than a concete pool. and uses less chemicals. and i breeze to clean. we had it for 5 yrs before my dh had transfered to a new state. So we will be getting another fiberglass pool , The only thing i regret was i didn't get a big one last time and i will this time . My kids lhttp://www.permaglasscorp.com/about.ht
We sent this picture in when we got the pool , and the used it. But check out the differences between the concete pools ans fiberglass. GOOD LUCK!!!
Kim