Pool Owners Help! Pros? Cons? Cost?

[HeatherC]

Hi there!

We are thinking of getting an above ground pool this year but want to weigh all of the pros and cons before we commit.

We are looking at a 27" round Esther Williams pool with a salt generator. We are also considering adding a heater since the season here is so short. (May wind up just having the plumbing done for the heater to add at a later point if we feel we really need it.)

We are finding that the cheapest part of the whole process is the pool itself because we will want to add a deck on later for easier access.

Since we are located in the Northeast, an above ground just makes more sense for us cost and use wise.

That being said, I'm trying to figure out how much our electric bill will go up? They told us the filter has to run about 8-10 hours a day.

What are some other cons against doing this?
Does anyone have a heater? I know they must be expensive to run, but how expensive a month?

Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thanks so much!

 

[semo233]

We had an above ground pool for several years before we put in an inground pool last summer. We had one of those pools that you blow up the ring and then fill it with water...it was 18ft round.

Love the salt water. Our heater is huge, but heats up the water fast. Last year, when the pool was completed, our electric bill was $500...from a normal $150.

GET A SOLAR COVER!! It will help to heat up the water A LOT and reduce heat loss over cool nights...also helps with evaporation. It is also not very expensive. We had a cover with our above ground pool and I nearly burned my arm when first opening it up one day...mix up the water to prevent hot spots

As you can see, we live in CT and the solar cover really helps with our cool nights in June and August.

 

[my2minnies]

We just put in a 28 ft. round above ground pool yesterday. I know what you mean about the cost though--the pool is the cheapest part. Because I have little ones, we put up the deck like you want to.

It is filling up as we speak, so I do not know how much extra we will be paying in electricity, but having the electrician come out and hook the pool up is costing us quite a bit.

Good luck!

 

[JennSaint]

Hi there!

We are thinking of getting an above ground pool this year but want to weigh all of the pros and cons before we commit.

We are looking at a 27" round Esther Williams pool with a salt generator. We are also considering adding a heater since the season here is so short. (May wind up just having the plumbing done for the heater to add at a later point if we feel we really need it.)

We are finding that the cheapest part of the whole process is the pool itself because we will want to add a deck on later for easier access.

Since we are located in the Northeast, an above ground just makes more sense for us cost and use wise.

That being said, I'm trying to figure out how much our electric bill will go up? They told us the filter has to run about 8-10 hours a day.

What are some other cons against doing this?
Does anyone have a heater? I know they must be expensive to run, but how expensive a month?

Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Hi Heather!
We have a 24 foot round above ground pool and it cost us about $100 extra a month on our electric bill. We don't have a heater. Also keep in mind the cost of the chemicals. I just checked and we spent about $300 on chemicals last summer.
This will be our fourth summer having our pool. We opened it on Memorial day to find the track above the liner was cracked in several places. I'm still waiting to hear from the guy on when he can come and fix it. It's going to cost us about $500. Pools are nice to have but alot of work. Good luck!

 

[czycropper]

We've had one for several years. The initial cost was about $5,000 or so including installation, we do not have a heater but do have a solar cover which helps a lot but since I don't go in it until late July it doesn't matter to me My DDs wanted to go in it last weekend until I saw that the water was still in the high 60s so they didn't.

Chemicals can be a couple of hundred per summer but it all depends where you get them - my DH always gets them at the end of season for the next summer so he gets a great price.

We haven't seen a big difference in our electric bill but we have a pretty size house and the air runs since mid-May because of allergies so the pool really doesn't make much of an impact.

We've enjoyed it and are thinking of getting an inground since we've found out that we can get a smaller inground for not that much.

 

[3mickeymom]

the cost of drinks lunch and snacks from all the neighbor kids that show up to swim all summer. We have an inground pool so my cost is higher but we LOVE, love , love having our pool. Lots of fun and happy summer memories. Solar covers are a great help. A friend has a solar panel on her shed roof to heat her pool and that really helps. Don't know how much they cost. Salt water is suppose to be cheaper in the lng run. Sorry I am not much help with actual numbers but I just wanted to add that the fun is worth the cost if you can afford it. Best of luck with your decision.

 

[gk90]

One of the cons is the safety issue--a prizewinning economist estimates that "a child is more than 100 times more likely to die in a swimming pool than playing with a gun." In budget terms that means fencing, gates, locks etc. to keep your own kids or neighbor kids safe.
Here are more facts on the issue, from the book, Freakonomics by Steven Levitt http://www.wikisummaries.org/Freakonomics:_A_Rogue_Economist_Explores_the_Hidden_Side_of_Everything
and from insurance companies
http://www.grminsurance.com/riskalerts.php?raid=16

 

[JoanneNC]

the cost of drinks lunch and snacks from all the neighbor kids that show up to swim all summer. We have an inground pool so my cost is higher but we LOVE, love , love having our pool. Lots of fun and happy summer memories. Solar covers are a great help. A friend has a solar panel on her shed roof to heat her pool and that really helps. Don't know how much they cost. Salt water is suppose to be cheaper in the lng run. Sorry I am not much help with actual numbers but I just wanted to add that the fun is worth the cost if you can afford it. Best of luck with your decision.

This is so true - we installed out inground pool late last year so this is our 1st season and we already love it and the extra company. We budget $500 extra per month to cover electricity, chemicals (salt water) and FOOD and drinks both kids and adult.

One of the cons is the safety issue--a prizewinning economist estimates that "a child is more than 100 times more likely to die in a swimming pool than playing with a gun." In budget terms that means fencing, gates, locks etc. to keep your own kids or neighbor kids safe.
Here are more facts on the issue, from the book, Freakonomics by Steven Levitt http://www.wikisummaries.org/Freakonomics:_A_Rogue_Economist_Explores_the_Hidden_Side_of_Everything
and from insurance companies
http://www.grminsurance.com/riskalerts.php?raid=16

Another valid point... We have added an additional gate/gate alarm to our house deck, exterior fence gates as well as an in the pool alarm.

We previously had a 27foot above ground pool that was MUCH easier to keep secured as most small kids can't scale up the side. We added a wrap around deck (yes much more expensive than the actual pool) and a gate that was locked with an alarm. With all that said, I am finding that pool parties with multiple families/kids are equally as dangerous. More adult eyes but more distractions. We had a close call with our own son in front of multiple adults - we now hire a local certified lifeguard that also works at our community pool. That added dedicated overseeing is worth the money spent.

 

[dawz1026]

I had to chime in on this one! When I had ds in 2006 we decided to do a 15x20 oval above ground for dd to have some fun at home while the newborn was in the house.WELL what a disaster it turned out to be.We almost had the news people here because of the dilemma the pool place caused us and then after months of finally having it installed and reinstalled and liners ripping and being redone we realized it was not worth the hassle after all.We still have it and the cover failed this past winter and it froze and the ice ripped the liner AGAIN ..Its 500 for the liner and the cost of install is about 150-so we are deciding what we are going to do..oh yeah ane 400 dollar water bills to refill it several times and the floods when the liner ripped...ughhh I would never do it again unless I lived in a warmer climate year round ..and it would be in ground gunite lol

 

[HeatherC]

Thanks everyone for all your replies/suggestions/advice!!!

I keep flip flopping on this. I would love to have it for the kids and their friends. But...we go away at least 2 weeks every July to Maine (which we wouldn't stop doing) as well as many beach trips to Rhode Island since my brother has a house on Block Island that we get to visit a lot.

I called a couple electricians today and they are quoting me almost $1,000 for just electric work. Could be a little less, but 5 guys were around the same price.

Just seems like it may not make sense for us....but I still want it if you know what I mean. It's a lot of money for something we would probably use for like 3 months max a year.

I realize we'd have it open longer, but between school, sports, work, vacations....it may not be worth the expense and work involved in maintaining it.

DH will go either way.

What to do. Guess I need to sleep on it more. What I really want is that beach house by the ocean!!

Thanks again!

 

[sk!mom]

We had the same dilemma years ago. We decided to go with joining a local Swim/tennis club. Last summer cost us around $400 for a long season- mid May through Labor Day and tennis year round. That fee was cheaper than annual pool maintanence but the deciding factor was that DH and I plan on living in this house forever and we don't enjoy a pool and wouldn't want it once DD is grown. We didn't even join the Swim Club this season as DD13 will be gone 4-5 weeks of the Summer to camp and then vacations. Now it's cheaper to just pay the guest fees when she's invited to swim with a friend and by last year she only used the club if a friend was going anyway.

 

[jaminmd]

We got an above ground pool in 2004. If I recall correctly, it broke down like this:

Pool $900
Pump, filter $500-600
Electric - $1400! Yes, more than the pool! They had to dig a trench around the side & back of the house ($800) because our pool is located diagonally from our electric panel.
Sand for the base $150
Landscape rocks & stones for around the pool about $300-$400 including delivery.

Chemicals cost about $300/season & electric is about $100 more a month. If the pump goes, that's another $500. I need a new cartridge for my filter so that is another $100-150. The pool cover is about $80. It can get very expensive.

We also had a fence put around the entire property the year before. We want to keep everyone out. Now, we chose to do all of this at the time instead of going to Disney. It gave a several years of fun summers vs. a one week vacation. DD loves the pool and I'm glad we did it at the time. I am, however, getting a little tired of the upkeep. We have no plans to replace it when it goes.

I hope this info helps!

 

[tar heel]

As far as costs go, you would need to find out how much your homeowner's insurance would go up and what safety measures they would require to continue insuring you.

I'm one of the minority of people who wouldn't want a pool (I might take a $100,000 immaculately landscaped inground with a hottub, but I think even that would be too much trouble.) When we looked at houses, we nixed one b/c it had an above ground pool and I also eliminated an in-home daycare for the same reason. It probably makes a difference where you live -- here when you get a certain price range, neighborhoods have pools and there also are community swim clubs. I vastly prefer that to having the liability/upkeep of a pool in my back yard.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

We love our pool. We have a 20X40 inground pool that was here when we bought the house five years ago. I will say that while it is a little costly to run every year, to me it's worth it.

 

[dumbodame]

We have had an above ground pool for 15 years...at 2 different homes. We upgraded from an 18' round to a 24' round 3 summers ago.

The pool was $1500.
I already had the filter/pump.
We were able to do the electrical work ourselves. The permit was $25, the materials were $50, and the electrical inspection was another $25.
Sand was $80.
We bought the pool floor mat and the pre-formed cove for $160.
We don't use a heater. My husband ran 300' of black poly pipe onto our metal roof. The water runs through the filter, into the heated black pipe and back into the pool. The temperature of the water went from 58 to 80 degrees in 2 days.
We use a solar blanket to keep the heat in at night...that ran $90.
Our electric bill goes up by $40 per month.
I am "anal" about pool maintenance. If you maintain a pool properly, you won't spend crazy amounts on chemicals. I spend less than $200 per season for chlorine, shock, algaecide and clarifier.

We live on 30 private acres in the middle of nowhere. My insurance liability was a non-issue for our insurance carrier. Our homeowner's actually went DOWN $6 per month because we agreed to let the fire department pump the water out of our pool in case they needed to due to fire.

When we lived in town, it was another matter. We had to have a 6' privacy fence surrounding the pool with locks on the INSIDE of the gates.

Since we have no neighbors, we don't have the problem of neighbor kids in the pool 24-7. We DO however, have friends that come out every weekend to swim and bbq. THAT's where it get expensive. I cn pretty much plan on spending $150-$200 for food every weekend.

All that said...I wouldn't trade the pool for anything, and it is worth every dime we have spent on it. The fun that we, our family and friends have in the summer is immeasurable.

 

[01spirit750]

My parents put a pool in for us when we were kids and here is all I can remember:

1. Cleaning the pool every 2-3 weeks. Then having to shock the system with Chlorine.
2. The water being too cold to enjoy (the cost to heat it was more than expected)
3. Looking at an eyesore that we couldn't use for 7 months of the year.

When we moved into our house my mother in law said we should get a pool. I told her she should get the pool at their place and they can deal with it.

Luckily we have some good friends who have a pool and my daughter can go swimming anytime she wants.

Chris

 

[MrsPooh]

Our home had an above ground pool when we moved in. I don't really care for it but dh and dds were thrilled.

We did not have initial expenses so I can't address those.

We live in an area where water is inexpensive. Over winter the pool is half emptied so spring means filling half way and occassionally topping off during the summer. The added expense is low enough that we really don't even notice it on the bill.

We run the filter at night only and it adds only a small amount to the electric bill.

We generally only need to shock at opening and closing. Chlorine is the only chemical we buy regularly. It seems like we usually spend about $200 - $300 per year on chemicals. We did have to buy sand this year for the filter but that was about $10 I think.

We've lived in the house about 8 years and as I said the pool was already here. We had to replace the filter one year, the pump another and the liner another year. I don't have any idea on filter or pump prices but the liner was under $300 and we installed it ourselves (not fun).

Last year we did not open the pool because our finances were so stretched we could not afford any chemicals or extra at all. This year I found someone on craigslist selling several boxes of chemicals plus a polaris (our broke several years ago) for $75. This had enough chemicals for more than a year and various other pool stuff.

We've got it open and the kids are really enjoying it so far. Our pool season is from the end of May - early Sept.

We now have a little one. House rule is that the ladder is removed anytime the pool is exited. We have an alarm on the back door also so we would hear her if she tries to go outside without our knowledge.

I personally would not install one but for us the one here has worked well.