My wife and I are probably putting in an offer on a house tomorrow or Saturday. It is pretty much exactly what we want but it has a pool which I was kind of opposed to. I am just wondering how much time does it take to maintain a pool and how much does it cost to maintain a pool?
Depends if it's in-ground, above ground, salt water, or fresh water. Above-ground pools of any kind are way too high-maintenance IMO. On top of the stuff you have to worry about with an in-ground pool, there are the walls and liner which are even more work and far more expense in the long term.
GameboyRMH wrote: Depends if it's in-ground, above ground, salt water, or fresh water. Above-ground pools of any kind are way too high-maintenance IMO. On top of the stuff you have to worry about with an in-ground pool, there are the walls and liner which are even more work and far more expense in the long term.
In ground. If it was above ground, it would be gone.
I am guessing fresh water with chlorine. I don't actually know. Fresh water is harder to maintain then salt water correct? How hard is it to convert?
Hire a pool guy, makes it simple. 
I'd actually go on the other side of it from what Gameboy said. We had a large above ground pool for years. Maintenance was easy. We bought an Intex salt water system from Wal-Mart and it was AWESOME. When I open the pool for the summer, dump a few bags of salt in it and the rest of the year was minimal maintenance...as in 10 minutes a week. Water stayed crystal clear and well balanced. The most work was in opening for the summer and closing for the winter. That did take a few hours due to cleaning, prep (remove the filtration system, etc...), but it was only twice per year. I think people make pool care more scary sounding than it really is.
Now we've got a hot tub, and I'm finding the same thing. Maintenance is much easier than I was lead to believe.
EDIT: Probably should be really easy to convert to salt. You'll need to buy the equipment, but can't imagine installation is horrid. For our above ground pool, it was really simple. It just sat next to the pool.
Well I used to live at a house with an in-ground pool, it wasn't very expensive or labor-intensive to run. Most of the work is cleaning out fallen leaves, and if you get an automated system to do that there's very little work ramaining, just taking care of the pool chemicals which is easily under 15 minutes per week. You might have an occasional big job, the worst is changing the pump which will cost a few hundred and take around 2 hours.
I had an above-ground fresh-water pool and that thing was a nightmare. Liner disintegrated after a few years, walls were metal and rusted away.
Converting an in-ground pool at most might need a new pump and filter. It's worth looking into, a salt water pool needs more expensive gear but is much cheaper in the long-term.
I might be looking at a house with an above-ground pool as well. I used to do a hot tub at my moms and it was just a question of balancing then keeping chlorinated.
How does the salt system function and about what is the timeframe for return on investment?
Talking with the wife, we might run the pool for a year or two and consider taking it down if it becomes a pain. That is, if we get that house.
Have friends with in ground pools. Remarkable to me the money they spend on them in the way of maintenance. Grouting and plastering and caulking and sealing. The water chemicals were all but the least of it.
While chlorine is common, there are other methods. But this is probably the least of the costs/issues of owning a pool.
Don't forget the legal liability issues that come with pool ownership. Neighbor kiddie invites them-self into your pool without your permission and gets hurt, you are liable.
foxtrapper wrote: Have friends with in ground pools. Remarkable to me the money they spend on them in the way of maintenance. Grouting and plastering and caulking and sealing. The water chemicals were all but the least of it.
Never had to do this...but mine didn't have tiles. Those make the surface slippery but greatly increase the required maintenance and algae/mold likes to grow on them. The downside of not having tiles is that you could get a scrape on the sides or bottom of the pool.
foxtrapper wrote: Don't forget the legal liability issues that come with pool ownership. Neighbor kiddie invites them-self into your pool without your permission and gets hurt, you are liable.
That is my other worry. I don't understand how it would be my fault that the kids are idiots but I know for some stupid reason that is how it works. What can I do to reduce the liability? The backyard is fenced in with half privacy fence and half chain link.
I worked at a public pool all through HS. My vote is empty it and learn to skateboard.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: I worked at a public pool all through HS. My vote is empty it and learn to skateboard.
I really want to try it for a summer before I try for the nuclear option. Of coarse, it I did fill in the pool, I'd suddenly have room to build a massive workshop...
Klayfish wrote: Hire a pool guy, makes it simple.
So, everything he just said was exactly right.
Didn't I just do this to you Klayfish? Maybe I ought to just start following you around, shouting, "YEAH!" after everything you say.
93EXCivic wrote:foxtrapper wrote: Don't forget the legal liability issues that come with pool ownership. Neighbor kiddie invites them-self into your pool without your permission and gets hurt, you are liable.That is my other worry. I don't understand how it would be my fault that the kids are idiots but I know for some stupid reason that is how it works. What can I do to reduce the liability? The backyard is fenced in with half privacy fence and half chain link.
The legal term is "attractive nuisance". Pretty much anything you can do to reduce the attraction and repel boarders so to speak may help, and your insurance company may require some specific ones. But, in the end, you own the attractive nuisance and are liable for it.
Call your insurance agent. Ask for quotes for the house as is. Then ask for a quote if it is filled in. I'd expect that the difference in insurance would pay to fill it in within 10 years, and that doesn't even include maintenance.
If you only plan on staying in the house for 4 years, probably wouldn't make sense to fill it in. (But I don't know, I don't have any real numbers to work with)
Pool maintenance isn't too hard if you do it right. I suggest renting a medium to small excavator with a hydraulic hammer attachment. Start by punching a bunch of big holes in the bottom of the pool, then break up the top rim of the pool about 1-2 feet down and all the way around. Knock the top edge into the bottom of the pool and then fill 'er up with clean, free draining fill like the broken concrete from the patio around the remains of the pool. Apply desired landscape treatment and profit.
As a former pool owner, the happiest day of ownership was the one I took a bobcat to it.
But, the late night pool parties have their good fuzzy memories.
Hire a pool guy, easy button for you and gives the Mrs something to do when you're away on business trips.
I'd recommend removing the diving board if you have one. Residential pools aren't big/deep enough for them and the cervical injury that results from getting a dive wrong will leave you......bad.
KyAllroad wrote: I'd recommend removing the diving board if you have one. Residential pools aren't big/deep enough for them and the cervical injury that results from getting a dive wrong will leave you......bad.
Good call. I didn't think about that.
I guess the other side of this is Mrs. 93EX is pretty good looking and so are her friends so there is that.
mtn wrote: Call your insurance agent. Ask for quotes for the house as is. Then ask for a quote if it is filled in. I'd expect that the difference in insurance would pay to fill it in within 10 years, and that doesn't even include maintenance. If you only plan on staying in the house for 4 years, probably wouldn't make sense to fill it in. (But I don't know, I don't have any real numbers to work with)
Just did this. State Farm said no difference in cost between have a pool and not having one.
I've never had a pool but my wife's recollection is that the work was too hard vs payoff. She won't look at a house with a pool. Trauma runs deep with her.
I've had mine for a number of years, and honestly, with a salt system I rarely do anything to it anymore. When it was chlorine, that wasn't true. Get a salt system (probably about $1,500 installed, but I put mine in myself) and an automatic pool cleaner and you will be good. Check it once a week and enjoy. It really is that simple. My sister bought a house with a pool last year and I taught her how to take care of it in a few hours. She didn't have any issues.
If you do get it, give me a call and I can go through it with you. I don't get to use it that much, but my wife and her friends do. It's great early in the mornings too! Don't be scared of a pool, they really are much easier to maintain than they used to be.
My 2 cents worth says try it for at least a season or two. If you fill it in right away you will never know from your own experience if it's for your or not.
93EXCivic wrote:mtn wrote: Call your insurance agent. Ask for quotes for the house as is. Then ask for a quote if it is filled in. I'd expect that the difference in insurance would pay to fill it in within 10 years, and that doesn't even include maintenance. If you only plan on staying in the house for 4 years, probably wouldn't make sense to fill it in. (But I don't know, I don't have any real numbers to work with)Just did this. State Farm said no difference in cost between have a pool and not having one.
That is astounding to me.
Convert to salt - easy peasy.
I do all the work on my pool - open, close, cleaning and all maintenance. The opening and closing takes me pretty well a full day each. The other jobs are not that difficult to keep up with.
Salt water is much more forgiving than chemical chlorine. The chlorinator separates the NaCl to create chlorine. Once you get the chemicals balanced off in the spring, it remains pretty stable after that.
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