taking the plunge

[momz]

We have decided to have an inground pool built. Would like to have a quality product while still watching the bottom line (have to have our disney trips too).

The design consultant is coming out on Thursday evening. What questions should I ask? The obvious and the not-so-obvious. Any ideas on things we may overlook.

Any suggestions for websites to review to educate ourselves on the process?

We came to this decision after considering re-locating to a larger house with a basement for entertaining. But, considering we are within 5 years of owning our home, have decided that the idea of having no mortgage is more desirable than having a basement that would result in a bigger mortgage. Plus the cost of installing a pool vs. moving to have a basement is considerably less $$.

 

[mrodgers]

Any suggestions for websites to review to educate ourselves on the process?

No suggestions for websites on the process of having a pool installed, but have a website for maintaining your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com After installation, read the Pool School articles, learn how to test and maintain the chemistry of the pool, and tell the pool company to get lost after the install and before they want you to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars in chemicals.

I've read many of comments where a pool store was telling them to add this chemical, then add that chemical when the first chemical quantity they sold them took a specific measurement way above what is safe just so they can sell the 2nd chemical to take that same measurement down to safe levels. Result was the sale of $100 worth of chemicals where when armed with knowledge, the pool owner could have fixed the original issue for about $10.

 

[jmunutt]

We put a pool in a few years ago and here is what I would recommend, find out who is highly recommended in your community for pool installations and service. Get more than one quote. Go with who you feel most comfortable with.

Decide if you want a salt water or regular chlorine pool. We went with a salt water pool and love it!

I would also recommend looking into an automatic pool cover. We decided against it at the time because of the initial cost, now we're going to install one at the end of the season. Also, put in way more pool decking than you think you'll need, you always want more!

Don't forget to plan for storage around the pool for chemicals, cleaning tools and toys. Also in the overall budget you'll need pool furniture, loungers and chairs and shade if you need it.

Depending on where you live and how much sun your pool gets, I recommend a pool heater too. We've been using our pool for about a month, but only because we have direct sunlight and a pool heater. I like the pool at around 86 degrees, I know people in my community who have a lot of shade and no heater and their pools are at 70-72 degrees. Brrrr!

Decide how you'll be using the pool and go from there. Get the quote with everything you want in it, and then go from there prioritizing what you can live without or add later.

Have fun planning and enjoy your pool!

 

[Princess Dolly]

I don't know what the building code is where you live. Where I live you now have to get at least a two speed pump. We upgraded to a variable speed pump. With either one of these you will save $$$$ over the long run on electricity use/cost. It may seem more expensive upfront, but the savings are truly remarkable when compared to a one-speeed pump.

 

[okeydokey]

Go salt! It is the best and so much cheaper to maintain.

A large part of the cost is going to be the patio around the pool, but this makes a huge difference. Go as big as you think you can afford. You will glad to have the extra space.

 

[mrodgers]

Go salt! It is the best and so much cheaper to maintain.

Easier yes. Cheaper, not if you use the BBB method.

$600+ for a SWG or $0.50 per day for bleach (assumption.) It would take 8+ years for the SWG to break even with 5 months of use using a quart of bleach per day (assuming you would lose 2ppm of FC or similar) using my pool gallon size.

Though the Intex SWG works pretty good for a very little money compared to "real" equipment. You don't have near the control though with these systems.

 

[semo233]

You've already gotten some good advice. I'd like to offer some new words and second some others:

1. Pool companies will build whatever you want, so know some of the features you want: Diving board? Jumprock? Slide? etc. I wanted the largest shallow end I could get and chose the shape that fit this need. Then, we decided to make it even bigger! Diving boards scare me, but they dragged a huge rock out of the woods and we have a jump rock instead! The company that built ours has a picture gallery at mypoolscool.com

2. We found that the salesmen have a huge profit margin to work with...don't be afraid to ask them to throw something in for free (equipment or services) or bid against each other. Make sure you know EXACTLY what is included in the price. Talk to people in your area and get recommendations.

3. Some salesmen are good at designing and other are just pure pool guys. Get as many suggestions as you can! Research web sites and find pictures with ideas you like.

4. One of the features that everyone loves about our pool is the waterfall. We only have a three foot long one, where the water comes out like a sheet from under a raised deck. The extra cost for the waterfall was about $1500, and my husband now says that he wishes we went for a bigger one!

5. As another poster said, get more deck area than you think you will need, especially in the main entertaining area.

6. We love our salt pool (it's only as salty as your tears) and we feel it is way easier to balance and take care of than chlorine. Gentler on your skin, hair and bathing suits too.

7. Ask both the pool, deck and fence people for ALL available options. If my husband hadn't visited another customer and seen that there are decorative stamps in addition to the regular stamps, we never would have gotten a compass rose on our poured concrete decking! And there was no extra cost for the stamp, just the stain we had added.

8. Lighting. Check out some pools at night. Our pool is away from the house and we need to add A LOT of lighting for the pool deck. Fiber optic lighting for the pool can only be located so far from the light box and it isn't really bright, but does look nice.

9. A winter cover was not included in the pool price and was $5000 extra.

10. If you go with a straight rectangle, you will be able to use an electric cover or roller. If you go with any curves, it will need to be custom made and will not work with a roller....but they are beautiful!

11. Depending upon where you live, you should look into what kind of solar covers are available. We like in CT and use a solar cover during June and September. It is expensive to heat the water and the cover really helps keep the water warm and reduces evaporation.....but since we have a custom pool, it is a pain to put on and remove. There are some new options out there that are a little easier, one being the circles that you put in one at a time and have magnets that connect them.

12. I found lots of advice on gardenweb.com. The have a section all about pools. TONS of questions and advice. You could even post a question and hopefully someone will answer!

13. Unless you are independently wealthy, it will be a process. There are some things that you will need to do now and other things that you can add as the years go by. We could not add a waterfall now or extra lighting in the pool, so find out what you HAVE to do during installation and what you can add later if you want.

14. TAKE YOUR TIME! It is a big investment. Make sure you do your research and get what you want!

Best of luck! Feel free to private message me with anything else. I may not look at this thread again.

 

[meriface11]

we are in the process of our pool project right now and my piece of advice would be to assume it will cost you more than you initially think--over budget for any surprises.

when we were doing our research, one article I read said to figure the decking, fencing, landscaping, etc. would cost about as much as the pool itself and i thought that sounded crazy, but it turned out to be about right. we have to have an extra self locking gate installed for zoning/safety compliance purposes due to the layout of the fence and connection off of our garage. all of the companies we had come out to quote said we wouldn't need any backfill--well turns out we needed a couple of trucks worth. we now also need to build a retaining wall that no one anticipated we would need to build. now have to have a landscaper come out after the project is complete to do more grading due to the "platform" that was built up around the area where the pool was installed, and to lay more dirt because we can't get any grass to grow in the soil that they dug up from so deep and piled around the pool area. had to have 3 trucks of water delivery when we thought we would only need 2. and we still have to buy our winter pool cover come the end of the summer.

not saying we wouldn't have done it had we known what the end cost would be, but we only figured about $7-10K in decking and fencing on top of the pool cost, and the final cost will be closer to $20K. we could have anticipated the extra fencing cost had we planned a little better, but my sense is all of the companies who came out to quote misguided us on the realistic costs of dealing with the topography challenges that are ending up costing us close to $10K (and we have a pretty level yard).

 

[semo233]

we are in the process of our pool project right now and my piece of advice would be to assume it will cost you more than you initially think--over budget for any surprises.

when we were doing our research, one article I read said to figure the decking, fencing, landscaping, etc. would cost about as much as the pool itself and i thought that sounded crazy, but it turned out to be about right. .

That sounds about right to me.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

ivillage has a pool forum with really knowledgeable folk. The best way to save money is by going owner builder, if you are comfortable with that. We saved about 20%. Salt was not a good option for our area and water; it was a pain and we had to buy a ton of acid and chlorine to keep the pool balanced. Too much acid erodes the plaster so, it becomes a bit of a conundrum.

 

[msmama]

My suggestion would be to go to a pool store or try to find some pool catalogues and check the prices of what things will be if/when they break. That might help sway your decisions on some things. It'll also show you pretty much everything you will need in your career in pool ownership, lol.

I inherited the pool with the house and never saw it uncovered until I'd lived in the house for 6 months (bought in the winter). My pool is some odd custom shape so replacing the winter cover and replacing the liner is going to cost me about double what having a "normal" shaped pool will cost.

I have chlorine but would prefer salt but can't afford that upgrade.

Don't know where you are, but how many months out of the year do you think you will get use? Apparently pools are meant to be run and used so if the pool is going to only be open a few months out of the year, you might need to budget more for repairs/replacements so maybe go smaller on the original project.

You will need a fence.

You might want to check with your Homeowners insurance to see if your rate will go up with a pool.

Since this is the budget board, just trying to throw out some budget things to think about. Good luck!!

 

[momz]

I really appreciate the advice you all have given. It gives me plenty to think about.

We are considering a kidney-shaped pool, not sure if we will chose vinyl or fiberglass. How does this shape affect things like the auto cover, solar cover or winter cover?

I'm also concerned about the landscaping issues a PP mentioned. Did you know about these issues when you signed the contract, or were the costs added on later?

We are hoping to be under 40K for the construction costs, 35K would be even better. We have not secured a loan or discussed financing options yet. That is something else we need to make decisions about.

Talked with insurance agent yesterday, our premium will go up by $10 (ten dollars) per year. I think we can swing that.

 

[Nayan]

While everyone has given you excellent advice, I'm gonna say don't do it! I hate my pool, we never use it (it came with the house, which we inherited), it costs time and money to maintain and the rise in the electric bill is a big one. If I could afford it I'd rip the darn thing out.

 

[Ginny Favers]

While everyone has given you excellent advice, I'm gonna say don't do it! I hate my pool, we never use it (it came with the house, which we inherited), it costs time and money to maintain and the rise in the electric bill is a big one. If I could afford it I'd rip the darn thing out.

Thank you for this. I was just reading this thread and salivating a little because we can't afford one and I've always wanted one!

 

[jmunutt]

One other piece of advice for anyone thinking of putting in a pool, do it for you, not your kids! My DD never uses the pool, she maybe gets in once a month while it's open. Me, I'm in it for several hours a day during the summer. I have a waterproof case for my kindle and lounge on a float reading and listening to music. It beats sitting inside all day and it makes me more likely to stay home during the summer instead of shopping or planning expensive trips.

 

[simonsmom]

realize the process will be stressful!! I really wish we had put in a hottub at the same time we did our pool. If you are interested in having a deep end ask them where your water table is. We didn't find out until our yard was ripped up that to get a deep end meant 17 truckfulls of dirt for us. don't get a dark blue liner they make the pool so dark! go for a light blue with a pattern so you don't see the dirt or cracks as much. and don't stress about which pattern liner to pick- once the water is in you'll barely notice it.

 

[momz]

That's all sound advice. Thanks.

For those of you that have a pool, what are your pool rules regarding visitors. I have some concern about neighbor kids thinking it's a free-for-all party whenever they want. I certainly don't mind them playing with my kids when we invite them, but I don't want any uninvited guests. How do you handle this situation?

 

[momz]

realize the process will be stressful!! I really wish we had put in a hottub at the same time we did our pool. If you are interested in having a deep end ask them where your water table is. We didn't find out until our yard was ripped up that to get a deep end meant 17 truckfulls of dirt for us. don't get a dark blue liner they make the pool so dark! go for a light blue with a pattern so you don't see the dirt or cracks as much. and don't stress about which pattern liner to pick- once the water is in you'll barely notice it.

We are planning on 5 feet at the deepest. Still, our home is located over the well field for our city, that is why we cannot have a basement. But, other homes have pools on our street so I don't anticipate a problem.

 

[riley2008]

That's all sound advice. Thanks.

For those of you that have a pool, what are your pool rules regarding visitors. I have some concern about neighbor kids thinking it's a free-for-all party whenever they want. I certainly don't mind them playing with my kids when we invite them, but I don't want any uninvited guests. How do you handle this situation?

We are in a rural neighborhood, so not everyone that has a pool has a fence. Our kids and their friends have repeatedly been told the rules - you may only swim when an adult is present. We haven't had any issues. We did take precautions, such as locking our back gate, which connects to a neighbor's yard. (The parents know the code.)

One thing we did have a problem with, is the boys' friends expecting that they would get to swim whenever we (or just the boys) were in it. They must hear us, and come over sporting their suit. Did have to explain to them that, just because we are outside, doesn't mean we are open to company. Sure they were sad, but their parents have been supportive; (and their kids are usually here more than at home anyway). We had anticipated hurt/angry neighbors when their kids would get home, but wasn't an issue.

Our experience - We had a gunite pool put in this spring. Pool is finished - we went with chlorine as we wanted stone around the edge. (Salt eats stone and I didn't want to worry about sealing it yearly, or even twice a year.) We did lots of decking, as advised by many others, and we LOVE it. They broke ground in January, the rain set in, they finished end of April!

We are still working on an attached pool room. Foundation was poured when the pool decking was poured mid-March, and the bricklayer will be here Friday.

Everything - pool and bathroom - were all scheduled to be completed by March 15. We have gotten the dirt graded around the pool, grass laid and a huge flower bed put in, so it's really the pool room and another large flower bed left to go.

My advice - have patience! Lots of it.

 

[mrodgers]

For those of you that have a pool, what are your pool rules regarding visitors.

Rule #1 - I don't swim in your toilet, do not pee in my pool

We don't have close neighbors so we don't have to worry about people just showing up and using our pool. The 2 houses with kids on my road already have their own cheap pool like mine.