Do I want a house with a pool?

[joebh]

Swimming pools are more dangerous than guns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps0waR0LBpo

And cars are even more dangerous than both.

Agreed. And this is why I think USA needs more mass transit rail options, so more people have the option to live without a car, if they want.

But in the meantime, in most of America, you need a car to live a normal life, to get to work, shopping, dating, social events, etc.

On the other hand, backyard swimming pools are not a necessity. They don't have lifeguards 24/7, but they do have little kids running around nearby.

Wait a minute - dating is dangerous, too!

Seriously, you can attempt to eliminate everything that you might consider "dangerous" from your child's life.
Or you could live a normal life and just be careful.

Comparing the relative danger of pools and guns as a way to make a purchase choice makes no sense.
Otherwise, buy a gun - because guns are safer than pools.

[health teacher]

I love my pool. We have to be cautious with the little tykes, but to me personally watching the kids in our back yard with a pool is less stressful than watching our kids in the front yard with the street right there.

Sure it takes time and money, but for us at least it has created and will continue to create many memorable experiences. My son keeps me young by begging me to do cannon balls all summer.

[krannerd]

Had a pool in Phoenix. It was wonderful. Maintained it my myself and costs were low. It's not hard if you check weekly.

In Minnesota now. No way do I want a pool.

Hope this helps.

[normaldude]

Swimming pools are more dangerous than guns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps0waR0LBpo

And cars are even more dangerous than both.

Agreed. And this is why I think USA needs more mass transit rail options, so more people have the option to live without a car, if they want.

But in the meantime, in most of America, you need a car to live a normal life, to get to work, shopping, dating, social events, etc.

On the other hand, backyard swimming pools are not a necessity. They don't have lifeguards 24/7, but they do have little kids running around nearby.

Wait a minute - dating is dangerous, too!

Seriously, you can attempt to eliminate everything that you might consider "dangerous" from your child's life.
Or you could live a normal life and just be careful.

Comparing the relative danger of pools and guns as a way to make a purchase choice makes no sense.
Otherwise, buy a gun - because guns are safer than pools.

Pitbulls, explosives, drag racing, heroin all have risks too.

It's up to you to weigh whether the risks outweigh the rewards.

[frugalfraggle]

We will be looking for a new home soon do to relocation. We specifically will NOT be looking for a home with a pool. Too much hassle and cost. We will seek out rivers and lakes to swim in or a public pool.

[Moolala]

I would be terrified to own a house with a pool if I had a young child or lived in a neighborhood with many kids. I've heard more than one first-hand horror story and that alone was enough to make me want to skip it. If a community pool isn't an option, better to spend the money buying a membership to a good gym. It will be cheaper, air conditioned, you'll get more bang for your buck, and you will only be responsible for convincing yourself to go exercise.

[SR II]

We will be looking for a new home soon do to relocation. We specifically will NOT be looking for a home with a pool. Too much hassle and cost. We will seek out rivers and lakes to swim in or a public pool.

I hear you!

We bought our future retirement home (renting it out for now) in the Las Vegas area a couple of years ago and the one thing we absolutely agreed on was that it would NOT have a pool. That's after 20-something years of a pool in our yard in Southern California. Been there, done that. And, won't be doing it again, thank you very much!

[pindevil]

Kids definitely enjoy the pool. We use ours several times a week in the summer. Maintenance is not difficult to do yourself especially if you have a salt system.
The cleaning is very monotonous...Leaves blow in the pool and I dig them out. A week later the wind has blown more crap in and I dig it out. This never ends.

[normaldude]

Just in the past few days...

===============
2-year-old girl drowns in swimming pool on Long Island

May 28, 2016

http://pix11.com/2016/05/28/2-year-old- ... ng-island/


5-year-old girl drowns in pool in yard with broken gate at neighboring Metairie home

May 26, 2016

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/ne ... airie-home


2-year-old drowns at Spring Hill home

May 25, 2016

A 2-year-old child drown Tuesday in Spring Hill, deputies said.

The child was found in an above ground pool in the 14900 block of Little Ranch Road, according to Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

The child was playing with a 6-year-old sibling in the yard when their parents heard the older child scream, deputies said. The parents then discovered the 2-year-old in the pool.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/regio ... -hill-home

===============

The big problem with backyard pools is that there isn't a lifeguard on duty 24/7. Even if a parent is nearby, most parents are not experienced in performing CPR.

Kids do crazy, risky things. I should know. I was a kid. And when I was a kid, my friends and I would literally jump off the roof of his house, into his backyard swimming pool, when parents weren't watching. In hindsight, that was incredibly risky. One slip, and my head could have hit concrete, with my unconscious body falling into the pool. My childhood friends didn't know CPR, and I have no idea if the parents did either.

Personally, I think it's best to have kids swim in lifeguard-monitored areas (like YMCA swimming pools) with friends/parents next to them. Yes, there's still risk. But at least you have trained lifeguards ready to jump into action, to quickly pull the person out, and perform CPR if needed.

[Non7WoodUser]

A house with a pool is not recommended. Look for developments with a community pool or join a gym with a water park.

[island]

I plan off knocking off work early today and putting my feet up with a good book next to my back-yard pool. No need to go to a gym nor go to a public pool with noisy kids and who-knows-whats-in-the-water. No need to drive in Memorial Day weekend traffic. No need to worry about driving home after having a few gin-and-tonics poolside.
This decision is really about lifestyle/personal preference more than it is cost in my opinion. But speaking of cost - yes you might spend $1000 per year on upkeep - but if you don't have your own backyard oasis how much might you spend on a membership somewhere and additional weekend get-a-ways? To me - my backyard oasis is a bargain.

Daft and I are of like mind and couldn't have said it better myself.

We put one in over 20 years ago. Our expenses are similar to Daft's. Trivial, as is the time it takes to care for it. Hours of enjoyment even when not in it. I too feel like we have a private backyard oasis and have no need to be anywhere else on hectic summer or holiday weekends. It's an idea gathering spot for family and friends...IF we feel like sharing.

I'm in coastal So Cal. Our property is fenced all around as are most properties in the area because lots are relatively small. So it's not seen and we don't broadcast that it's here. Ours also has a spa and we enjoy that a lot too, especially on chilly nights.

No regrets.

I grew up in PA. Parents went through a couple of above ground ones in the 70's-80's when us kids were home. We lived in it, as did all our friends. Memorial Day weekend was typically the official opening weekend. Water would be so cold. Father did the initial jump in and the season was on! Good times. More care needed for that because of surrounding trees and winterizing, but parents would tell you they got their money's worth. They took it down, got rid of it after we were all out of college and moved on. Grass grew back in and you'd never know it was there.

Close friends elsewhere have in ground pools in places as varied as CA, WI, MO and VA and no regrets.

[JonnyDVM]

Wow thanks for all the opinions guys. Been out of town for the holiday and haven't had a chance to peruse the forum. To answer some of the questions we live in Atlanta where it's already 90 this weekend. Our schedules are highly variable but there would be time especially for the Mrs to relax poolside. The homes we are looking at now are typically sized where a pool pretty much eats the entirety of the backyard. While we originally were thinking we'd be in a community with a pool, I don't think that's going to happen now. The gated community thing where a lot of the communities have pools- it's just not us. I already have a gym membership but I'm thinking more outdoor summertime fun. There's some public pools around that will have to do. I brought up the topic because of the home we are looking at. The occupants are moving a just few blocks away to a house with a pool. Made me wonder if I'm missing something. We decided we'd rather have a yard for kids to run around in and hopefully they can make friends that have a pool. Funny enough, our friends keep asking if the homes we are looking for have a pool There's probably a lesson there.

[letsgobobby]

There is no doubt, if I had to choose between yard to play in or pool, I would choose yard to play in. On a very large lot, there may be room for both, and that's where the gears start turning... private backyard resort, etc.

The community pool can be a very nice option. Unfortunately, in my area there are almost no such communitiies other than apartment rentals. One of our friends lives in the only one I know of, and it's great. But the house is small, it has literally no yard (just a concrete pad about 6x10), and otherwise doesn't meet our needs. All the homes in the neighborhood are the same.

I don't buy that "going to the city pool" has anything in common with a backyard pool. Likewise, I plan to park a travel trailer on my property, not at an RV parking lot. Accessibility means frequency of use, and frequency of use means value. You cannot cook dinner, drink a beer, have friends over for margaritas at the city pool.

[plumberboy]

I think at one time pools were considered a status symbol of sorts.We had a pool for 10 yrs. in a climate where it was only useful about 3 mo. out of the year.Not worth it unless you can use it year round as in Florida or similar climate. Pretty much a hole in the ground you throw money into.

[anoop]

No. Join a gym or fitness club that has a pool.

You can't control the quality and harshness of the chemicals or the cleaning schedule. Besides, it's a lot easier to jump into the pool at home for a few laps than having to drive to the gym, use the locker room, swim, and then drive back.

If I could be sure I could afford it, and if I had the yard space for a large enough lap pool, I would get a heated lap pool that I could use year round. Swimming is really the only form exercise I enjoy (other than walking).

[jebmke]

You have to have a pretty big pool to so any serious lap swimming - 25 meters at least. Ours is 32 feet long and still too short. Home pools are for floating around, cooling off. Except lap pools, maybe.

[anoop]

You have to have a pretty big pool to so any serious lap swimming - 25 meters at least. Ours is 32 feet long and still too short. Home pools are for floating around, cooling off. Except lap pools, maybe.

I do realize that...that's why I gave up on the idea of getting a lap pool. Fence-to-fence is probably 70 ft or so, so 50 ft would be doable, but that is pretty small. Plus, the cost of a decent pool (with gutters, etc.), heating, etc. would probably be well upwards of $50K. I didn't want to spend that much money and then find out that I wasn't enjoying it.

[Offshore]

Never again!
There is a constant worry about some new bill coming in. Either it is a worn gasket, a blown pump or something not on the radar. If it's not that, it is expensive chemicals, and we keep the pool in service year round.

A swimming pool is not a reversible decision, so think hard before you take the plunge.

[TRC]

Looking for a new home I was thinking we would be in an area with a community pool. Now it's looking like that won't be the case. Worrying about costs for upkeep and increased liability I was thinking it would be better not to have one. Now I'm wondering if I should be looking for a house with a pool since it's so darn hot around here. What does it cost to maintain one? What is the insurance cost impact? Do you regret having a pool or is it worth every penny? Additionally, we have a 9 month old. I was sort of worried about pool accidents but I'm wondering if that's a dumb fear for normal careful parents.

We installed an in found pool 3 years ago. Our kids were 3 and 5 at the time. Cost us probably about 100k for everything (pool, paver deck, fence, landscaping, etc). We live in mass, so we use it Memorial Day - mid September. For us it's worth every penny. Our kids use it for hours at a time daily all summer. Our house is the social scene for their friends. My wife and I use it every morning after our workout. And sipping coronas by it on the weekend is priceless. My wife handles the upkeep- Cleaning the skimmers every couple of days and adding salt whenever the pump tells us to (once a week, if that). by no means is the pool a lot of work for us. We love it. My advise - get a salt water pool, get a heater and enjoy!

[goblegoble]

Used to own a house with in ground pool...will never buy another home with a pool...don't do it. I enjoy my huge community pool now.

[ChrisC]

Nice pool, TRC. Looks like you have a Pebble Tec finish/liner. I have stamped concrete as my deck and thinking of replacing that. What type of pavers did you use for your deck?

[Afty]

My family had a pool when I was growing up, and having watched their experience there is no way I would buy a house with a pool. It was a constant maintenance nightmare for them. The pump would break down every so often, the chemicals would get out of balance, the draining chlorinated water killed our trees, etc. They filled it in immediately after I left for college.

[TRC]

Nice pool, TRC. Looks like you have a Pebble Tec finish/liner. I have stamped concrete as my deck and thinking of replacing that. What type of pavers did you use for your deck?

Thanks! We have pavers by unilock. To the comments about chemicals and upkeep, pool technology has come a long way since the 80s and 90s. Salt water pools are extremely low maintenance in our experience, not to mention much less harsh on the eyes and skin.

[edge]

My club has a salt water pool and is within 15 minutes of driving. It also has a variety of other activities I find useful. I eat there too sometimes. The food is good. Families now seem to prefer meeting with other families / neighbors here because of the amenities (eg no cooking or cleanup).

The pool would have to be huge for 'laps' to be viable.

The pool makes it harder to unload your house when the time comes. Especially if you do something bizarre like put in an Olympic size pool in a small lot. 'Must be Michael Phelps' house' probably doesn't sell as well as it sounds.

The pool is a hazard.

The pool is a maintenance headache.

Too many negatives and the positives are easily substituted.

No. Join a gym or fitness club that has a pool.

You can't control the quality and harshness of the chemicals or the cleaning schedule. Besides, it's a lot easier to jump into the pool at home for a few laps than having to drive to the gym, use the locker room, swim, and then drive back.

If I could be sure I could afford it, and if I had the yard space for a large enough lap pool, I would get a heated lap pool that I could use year round. Swimming is really the only form exercise I enjoy (other than walking).

[JonnyDVM]

We installed an in found pool 3 years ago. Our kids were 3 and 5 at the time. Cost us probably about 100k for everything (pool, paver deck, fence, landscaping, etc). We live in mass, so we use it Memorial Day - mid September. For us it's worth every penny. Our kids use it for hours at a time daily all summer. Our house is the social scene for their friends. My wife and I use it every morning after our workout. And sipping coronas by it on the weekend is priceless. My wife handles the upkeep- Cleaning the skimmers every couple of days and adding salt whenever the pump tells us to (once a week, if that). by no means is the pool a lot of work for us. We love it. My advise - get a salt water pool, get a heater and enjoy

That looks like a heckuva nice setup you got yourself there. Looks like you still have a little bit of yard too. Nicely done

[anoop]

My club has a salt water pool and is within 15 minutes of driving. It also has a variety of other activities I find useful. I eat there too sometimes. The food is good. Families now seem to prefer meeting with other families / neighbors here because of the amenities (eg no cooking or cleanup).

Is this club a chain? If so, which one?

The club I have a membership with is pretty decent in terms of chemicals, not as bad as the public pool, but I don't know if it's salt water. That it is a 5 min drive away helps my decision to not get a pool.

[anoop]

Those pavers in the picture do look really nice. I am somewhat tempted to hijack this thread and talk about pavers since I'm about to get them in my backyard, but I'll refrain from doing so!

[lightheir]

You have to have a pretty big pool to so any serious lap swimming - 25 meters at least. Ours is 32 feet long and still too short. Home pools are for floating around, cooling off. Except lap pools, maybe.

Kinda off topic, but I'm a fairly serious triathlete, and swimming is something that I have to work pretty hard at to stay decent at (meaning I'm not one of those naturals who can swim like a few times before race day and do fine.)

I own a Vasa swim machine (you can google it) with which you can train freestyle swimming on dryland (no water!) It's not cheap at $2k, but it's completely legit, and having used mine as much as I have, there's no way I'd ever consider buying a pool for my home for training purposes given that this thing works so well as a freestyle water substitute. Zero maintenance.

It's not for beginners who need to learn how to swim IN water, but once you pass that stage and want to build the muscles/power needed to swim faster, this is it. I actually swim faster when I'm doing 50% of my swim training on this machine, as opposed to doing 100% of my training in the pool. It's my secret weapon, as swim training is by far the most time-intensive part of triathlon training given the driving back and forth to the pool as well as accessibility to lap lanes at the right hours, so this thing has been the difference between me being a back-of-the-pack swimmer, now a front-of-pack swimmer. (Note that a Back-of-pack triathlon swimmer is still typically faster than nearly all recreational swimmers.)

[lightheir]

You have to have a pretty big pool to so any serious lap swimming - 25 meters at least. Ours is 32 feet long and still too short. Home pools are for floating around, cooling off. Except lap pools, maybe.

Kinda off topic, but I'm a fairly serious triathlete, and swimming is something that I have to work pretty hard at to stay decent at (meaning I'm not one of those naturals who can swim like a few times before race day and do fine.)

I own a Vasa swim machine (you can google it) with which you can train freestyle swimming on dryland (no water!) It's not cheap at $2k, but it's completely legit, and having used mine as much as I have, there's no way I'd ever consider buying a pool for my home for training purposes given that this thing works so well as a freestyle water substitute. Zero maintenance.

It's not for beginners who need to learn how to swim IN water, but once you pass that stage and want to build the muscles/power needed to swim faster, this is it. I actually swim faster when I'm doing 50% of my swim training on this machine, as opposed to doing 100% of my training in the pool. It's my secret weapon, as swim training is by far the most time-intensive part of triathlon training given the driving back and forth to the pool as well as accessibility to lap lanes at the right hours, so this thing has been the difference between me being a back-of-the-pack swimmer, now a nearly-front-of-pack swimmer. (Note that a Back-of-pack triathlon swimmer is still typically faster than nearly all recreational swimmers.)

[edge]

Yes, a chain. Lifetime Fitness.

My club has a salt water pool and is within 15 minutes of driving. It also has a variety of other activities I find useful. I eat there too sometimes. The food is good. Families now seem to prefer meeting with other families / neighbors here because of the amenities (eg no cooking or cleanup).

Is this club a chain? If so, which one?

The club I have a membership with is pretty decent in terms of chemicals, not as bad as the public pool, but I don't know if it's salt water. That it is a 5 min drive away helps my decision to not get a pool.

[anoop]

Yes, a chain. Lifetime Fitness.

Interesting, that's where I am a member too. I just joined a couple of months ago.

I'll have to check if their pools are salt water as well. They have 4 pools at this location -- 2 indoor and 2 outdoor. I usually prefer the warm indoor pool.

[letsgobobby]

Nice pool, TRC. Looks like you have a Pebble Tec finish/liner. I have stamped concrete as my deck and thinking of replacing that. What type of pavers did you use for your deck?

why do you want to replace your stamped concrete?

[ChrisC]

Nice pool, TRC. Looks like you have a Pebble Tec finish/liner. I have stamped concrete as my deck and thinking of replacing that. What type of pavers did you use for your deck?

why do you want to replace your stamped concrete?

Tried to upload an picture I just took, but couldn't find the upload image button. Basically, the prior owner used stamped concrete for 75 percent of the patio and decking (around 2600 square feet) but in a few places he replaced the stamped concrete with pavers (and I had to add pavers to extend the patio for placement of an outdoor kitchen/grill). This patchwork looks ugly and the stamped concrete doesn't look like its been power washed or sealed for a while, so I'm thinking of replacing or overlaying the entire deck with travertine tile or pavers -- if I demo the entire back the quotes I got from three contractors are very high. I could just leave it alone, as some of my friends have suggested, but I spend so much time in the area that it taxes my feelings to look at it.

[btenny]

Oh and I forgot to tell everyone about the injury risk with pools. I have a good friend that got his teeth almost knocked out and a broken jaw from a pool plumbing rupture. The pool filter top broke and flew off and hit him in the face. See below. Plus pools have explosive chemicals that can explode when used incorrectly and hurt you bad. So beware.

http://www.serviceindustrynews.net/jour ... ojwhxlkyzx

https://www.google.com/search?q=poolplu ... Y4FBDsCQhb

[anoop]

Oh and I forgot to tell everyone about the injury risk with pools. I have a good friend that got his teeth almost knocked out and a broken jaw from a pool plumbing rupture. The pool filter top broke and flew off and hit him in the face. See below. Plus pools have explosive chemicals that can explode when used incorrectly and hurt you bad. So beware.

http://www.serviceindustrynews.net/jour ... ojwhxlkyzx

https://www.google.com/search?q=poolplu ... Y4FBDsCQhb

Those sound like freak accidents rather than the norm. Freak accidents can happen anywhere. The shower is one of the most common:
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/09 ... s-20110609
That doesn't prevent most people from taking a shower every day.

[mikep]

Never again!
There is a constant worry about some new bill coming in. Either it is a worn gasket, a blown pump or something not on the radar. If it's not that, it is expensive chemicals, and we keep the pool in service year round.

A swimming pool is not a reversible decision, so think hard before you take the plunge.

Chemicals don't have to be expensive.. review troublefreepool.com in detail. Spend the money on the taylor test kit they recommend. I buy my chemicals at the grocery store:

Don't use tablets due to out of control cyanuric acid buildup. The only way to lower it is to drain the pool and refill. Don't use shock (dichlor) either for same reasons .. unless you want to raise CYA then it is much cheaper than the stabilizer from the pool store.
Don't buy 10% liquid chlorine from the pool store. I use 8.25% bleach from the grocery store. I always calculate the cost per % and get that, sometimes 6%, 8.25% or 10%.
Don't buy "alkalinity up" from the pool store, instead get baking soda from the grocery store.

The only thing I use the pool store for is to buy the high strength muriatic acid and to get free Polaris repair, and say no to everything else they say my pool needs.

And plan for the big ticket items .. we just got ours resurfaced. Now the solar heating is broken so that is next.

[Watty]

While we originally were thinking we'd be in a community with a pool, I don't think that's going to happen now. The gated community thing where a lot of the communities have pools- it's just not us.

I also live in Atlanta and there are lots of regular subdivisions like ours that have pools that are not "gated communities" so you might keep looking for one. This is especially true for older less formal subdivisions.

In Atlanta you will get around 3.5 months use of the pool and if you are like me then you will likely be out of town on vacations or weekend trips during the summer for part of that time. It is likely that you will only have about 10 to 12 weeks a year when you can use it AND are in town.

As others have mentioned the loss of the back yard is a big deal. When your kids are in grade school and middle school having a backyard that they can play in is very good to get them out of the house more and once they are they that age they can play in the backyard with little supervision.

One downside to consider that has not been mentioned is that when my son was growing up there were a few occasions where we would not let him go over to a friends house and play because they had a pool. We didn't feel like they would be property supervised around the pool at that house even if they were not planning on swimming.

[ERISA Stone]

On the other hand, backyard swimming pools are not a necessity.

Neither are guns.....

[an_asker]

I know families that have bought houses and filled the pool in because they have a young child.

That seems silly. Did they get rid of their cars, too?[...]

The better analogy would be "Would they pack their garage after they sold their car?" and to answer that question, they probably might!

[an_asker]

Swimming pools are more dangerous than guns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps0waR0LBpo

And cars are even more dangerous than both.

Agreed. And this is why I think USA needs more mass transit rail options, so more people have the option to live without a car, if they want.

But in the meantime, in most of America, you need a car to live a normal life, to get to work, shopping, dating, social events, etc.

On the other hand, backyard swimming pools are not a necessity. They don't have lifeguards 24/7, but they do have little kids running around nearby.

Wait a minute - dating is dangerous, too!

Seriously, you can attempt to eliminate everything that you might consider "dangerous" from your child's life.
Or you could live a normal life and just be careful.

Comparing the relative danger of pools and guns as a way to make a purchase choice makes no sense.
Otherwise, buy a gun - because guns are safer than pools.

Pitbulls, explosives, drag racing, heroin all have risks too.

It's up to you to weigh whether the risks outweigh the rewards.

Procreating is 100% correlated to dying, so stop procreating, people!! I knew the Chinese government was onto something ...

[emp2b3]

In case people want to review some of the evidence about pool safety for themselves (there is a section on swimming ability).
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/c ... /e253.long

[WasabiOsbourne]

I know families that have bought houses and filled the pool in because they have a young child.

That seems silly. Did they get rid of their cars, too?

We don't have a pool at home, but our 4 year old loves the pool at her grandmother's house, the pool at her daycare, and every lake, beach, etc.

pools LOWER the value of houses, not raise them........ at least that's my experience/understanding - everyone has their own geography, R/E market etc.

so it's not like they are getting rid of something they paid for.......

has OP thought of some sort of temporary "above ground" pool? my parents have a pool but i mostly dip in it - which i could do in a large bathtub.

2 more things:

pools are very nice asthetically and i think a bit of a status symbol... but like i said they lower property values more than raise them. in theory, they might just lower the house value by the cost of filling it in.

pools cost a ton to heat.............. my parent's pool costs as much to heat per summer than the entire house for the whole year and i don't think my parent are crazy about heating it (78 - 82 much of the time). should note that A) i live in neither cold nor warm place - ok winters, not hot summers; B) i don't pay the bills so i could be wrong about heating costs.

[alfaspider]

I bought a house with a pool 3 years ago. I live in Texas, so the pool is swimmable 6 months out of the year and does not need to be closed down for winter. There's a built in hot tub that is nice for 3-4 months when the pool is too cool. Originally, we had a "no pools" criteria, but the house was otherwise perfect, so we jumped on it. Now that I've had it for a while, I wouldn't go an install a pool for a house that didn't already have one, but I don't mind having it. It's really nice to jump into after doing yard work or going for a run in the summer. It's probably a neutral to slight positive on house values around here.

Costs: I spend about $40 a month in chemicals during the summer (I use nothing but hardware store bleach and acid- most pool specific stuff is overpriced junk) and $20 during the winter. I have so-far done all the repairs myself (mostly cracked plastic bits on the pump, filter, and robotic cleaner), which have run another $150 or so a year. The heater broke this last December and I opted not to get it fixed as I was unable to diagnose the problem and didn't want to spend the money at the time. We've only used the heater for the hot tub, so it just meant losing 2 months of hot tub use. Probably will get it fixed this fall.

Time: It took more time before I really figured out the maintenance thing. Now that I have it covered, it's about 15 minutes a week.

Safety: our pool is behind a bug-proof screen, which would require a child to at least be able to open a door to gain access. We are expecting a child this fall. The plan is to teach the child to swim by the time they are able to reach a door handle. My parents taught me to swim at age 2, and I think it's part of the reason I've always felt very comfortable in the water. However, there is certainly an inherent worry being that the enclosure is merely a screen, especially as the child ages and as they may bring friends to the house that can not swim or are weak swimmers. There are products on the market that will temporarily cover a pool and support the weight of a child such that they cannot fall in. We may have to do that for a few years to feel fully comfortable.

[UALflyer]

nvm...

[j0nnyg1984]

Oh and I forgot to tell everyone about the injury risk with pools. I have a good friend that got his teeth almost knocked out and a broken jaw from a pool plumbing rupture. The pool filter top broke and flew off and hit him in the face. See below. Plus pools have explosive chemicals that can explode when used incorrectly and hurt you bad. So beware.

http://www.serviceindustrynews.net/jour ... ojwhxlkyzx

https://www.google.com/search?q=poolplu ... Y4FBDsCQhb

Do you realize how explosive GASOLINE vapor is? Yet here we are, voluntarily putting ourselves mere inches from 15-40 gallons of the stuff. Even worse, this explosive compound is being ignited, again, mere inches away from our fragile human bodies! The horror!

[afan]

We used to have neighbors who had a pool. They loved it. Used it the entire season. While they were working they would swim first thing in the morning. Once they retired they would wile away the hours in it, next to it, entertaining friends. It made sense for them. Although they offered essentially"drop by anytime" access, I think I wnet in it about once every 5 years. A home pool was too small to get exercise swimming and our house was air conditioned.

I would not want one. But their are neighborhoods in which lack of a pool would be a negative on the market. Particularly in warmer sunnier areas and higher priced home a pool may simply be expected.

I don't live in such an area and I don't want a pool.

[markes]

We defy most of the conventional logic of in ground pool ownership.
1) We live in a cold climate (Northern Wisconsin)
2) Kids are all out of the house (although they and the grandkids travel from a long distance and visit each summer)
3) Love to swim laps (even though our pool is only 34 feet long).
4) Enjoy pool use virtually every day (most years mid-May to mid-September. Ten year average just shy of 4 months annually).

Someone earlier put it so succinctly and accurately. Know thyself!!!

In my own personal self analysis (flawed but inexpensive ), I used the reverse logic of,..... summers are short, so use them to the fullest.
Believe me, after living on a lake for 17 years up here, a heated pool is FAR more swimmable in May and September. Plus, no late summer season green algae, all season long half crazed vacationing boat drivers, duck lice etc.
To me, the keys are....A) Will you REALLY USE IT? Not just once a week, but most days of any given week. B) does it fit your budget? Budget must include both the preliminary installation PLUS daily and eventual down the road replacement costs of liner, pumps, filters etc. C) Do you like putzing around the pool doing daily cleaning, light maintenance etc.? D) And most importantly, do you have a safe location and/or precaution filled environment/situation? It doesn't matter how much fun it is, if you're a nervous wreck, worrying about what might happen when you're not in the pool vicinity.

So, bottom line, DON'T be idealistic. To repeat my previous poster point, know who you are. If you've succumbed to a fad (the dusty kayak?), this could end up being an expensive blunder. But, If you love to swim, and/or read while enjoying a summer beverage next to sparkling, warm water and don't mind a daily dose of cleaning (usually a half hour or less a day, sometimes WAY MORE the first week or two)..... then a pool might be just the fix for backyard beauty,relaxation, exercise and entertainment.