s cesnick

Well, my daughters and my wife have been bugging the crap out of me for a few years now to put in a pool. researched a bit but as usual, every manufacturer says theirs are the best ( big shocker ) Gunite, fiberglass or vinyl liner???
Anyhoo, I am thinking of going with the fiberglass insert but not married to the idea yet. It is VERY cold where i live in the winter and I am concerned that the concrete type will heave/crack etc...
Any thoughts, experiences???

marine4life

I have a vinly, and yes I've seen concrete pools crack but most are reinforced to hold up to the cold. don't know much about the fiberglass though(probably expensive??). The vinly is cheap(well, cheaper), but it comes at a cost, most only have a life of about 10 years. Mine is on year number 8(pool was here before I bought the house), and lookin good. I'll tell you one thing though, installing a pool yourself is a pain in the rear especially if you live on uneven ground. I've installed 3 pools(all vinyl above grounds), and if you do not stretch the liner correctly when filled up the first time, plan on emptying it out and trying again. On top of the whole install, keeping the proper PH level is a challenge all in itself. Do you have a privacy fence? If not, most city's require you put on up. But, when the heat hits during dead of summer, you will be thankful you have a pool.

Busboy

I have a 28X15 foot by 5.5 feet deep end vinyl liner with steel wall in ground that I installed myself. It's very doable and will save you a bundle. Mines indoors and saves a bunch on chemicals and heating. I use non stabilized chlorine as I don't need the UV protection and being indoors it really stays clean. I run all year round and my chemical costs are about $85 per year for one pail of chlorine and one small container of Ph UP and about 3 gallon jugs of algaecide at $5 each. I heat with a hi efficiency natural gas boiler with a heat exchanger and keep the pool at 35-36 deg C I honestly hardly noticed the extra cost of heating but I did notice the extra electricity for the pool pump. Just do it while the kids are young...

06 DIESEL

At home we have a pool with a pvc liner made out of concrete silo staves of the outside. It works great and the moving of the ground is absorbed in all of the joints between the staves. I built the pool about 10 years ago and we will need to replace the liner this year for the first time since we built it.

AkTallPaul

Years ago I had a pool put in at my ex's, like you said they bugged me an bugged me. Gave in to the them knowing I wasn't paying to have it cleaned or treated. Fist summer they did ok I guess, next season it got used less an less, I showed up and found it full of algae and a layer of leaves in it. I bitched a bit and they said it was to hard for them to maintain, actually they were to lazy and wanted me to hire a service. I did, I had it drained and filled with sand, and gave the kid a badmitten set. Problem solved....

marine4life

Do you think that the sand counts as beach property.

Hvytrkmech

I have never had an inground pool, but I have had several above ground pools, all have been viynl liners. The pool I have the best luck with is a Splash super pool, bar none the easiest to winterize and maintain. I am sure you will get a bunch of varied opinions, (all good), but if you have any questions just pm me.


Tim

capt.Ron

I had an above ground for a few yrs. Just as your's the family did good the first yr.
The second yr I was cleaning it by myself and they used it a little. The third yr no one would get in it. About 1/2 through the summer I through my hands in the air an quite taking care of it. (Luckily it was used and got it cheap)
My biggest gripe about the above ground is it's a pain to keep clean unless you have a deck around it.
Standing on the ground around the pool trying to scoop leaves and sweep the bottom is tough. You're essentially holding your arms over your head the whole time and seeing into the pool is skewed. If I get another pool it will be in ground.
Oh and don't put it directly under a tree. The leaves will wear you out!!

TexasCTD

My opinion is a pool is a big waste of money. It's expensive to have a nice one put in.....and the costs just continue from there with water, chemicals, someone to clean it....or your own time to do it. Doubtful you would ever get the money back out of the pool you put in it...if you sold your house.


IMO, the money you would spend on a pool would be better spent joining a local country club or fitness club that has a pool that you can use often or pretty much when you want. Or find some friends that have a pool and offer to pay to use it, or clean it in return for letting you use it. Or use a city pool for a few dollars each time.

Shoot...go rent a room at a local hotel that has a pool.........even at $100 a day/night for the room (and use of pool)........you would still come out many $$$$ ahead for the price of an inground pool and maintenance on one.

I know that isn't what you want to hear.......and the thought of having a pool right outside your back door sounds tempting.....but I dare somebody to prove me wrong (financially speaking).


Hotel room nights you could rent (and use their pool)......Let's say 30 in a year. $100 x 30 = $3000. 10 years at $3,000 per year would be $30,000.

How much would a GOOD inground pool cost upfront? At least $30,000 probably. (prob more) and that doesn't count maintenance/time costs keeping it up.
..

bumpytruck

OK I live in the mid west very cold in the winter and pretty hot in the summer.I purchased a home that was built by a Dr. and it was in very bad disrepair.It has an in ground pool,made of concrete.It was very badly cracked and I found it to be about 8-12 inches thick with rebar.I chose to repair it ,and fitted it with a custom liner.I don't know how much frezze thaw you have by you,but my pool guy who has been in the bus. for 20+ years told me of inserts that have heaved in the winter,at which point you can only start over.As for use I have 3 kids 3-10 years old once its open they pretty much use it all the time,until the weather starts to cool down into the low 70,s high 60,s.My only problem is the weather only holds for about 3-4 months.Get an auto cleaner and maintainance will be substantially less.Also keep the chemicals right.Its not real tough.For the kids I,d do it again,otherwise I would take a pass on the whole pool thing.It also helps that its inground opposed to above,as it becomes more a part of the landscape,and the kids friends love it and always want to come swim here.Any questions I can help with just let me know.

TexasCTD

Which brings up another point...in our litigious society......you have a pool put in ......and the kids all want to come swim in it. Sounds fun! But what happens if one of them busts his head on the side of it diving? Or breaks his neck on your diving board? OR worst case....drowns? You better have one heck of an insurance policy.

I know I sound like a spoil sport bringing all of this up. I really love to swim as much as anybody! Not many people enjoy being in the water as much as me. But owning your own pool for a single family, to me, just isn't very practical.

Good luck with your decision. I just saw everybody jumping on the "get the pool!" bandwagon and I wanted to bring out some cons for discussion/thought. If you really want it and have the disposable income and think you will get your money's worth out of it for you and your family....by all means get it. It may be worth it to (you) to have your own private pool depending on the circumstances.

..

bumpytruck

Oh yea! Some insurance companies will not cover you if you have a pool. And TEXAS CTD You are not a spoil sport at all,just a realist.I guess even though those things are in the back of your mind you just have to move on and live a little.And I do have alot of coverage,which would prove not enough in a catastrofic event.So,with summer around the corner,lets hope for the best again.!!

VTRam

I Design & Build gunite pools for a living in New England of all places, and consult nationwide...Anyhow, i'm going to give some advice and you can take it with a grain of salt since I am obviously biased:

Doing the following will add typically $2-4k to your pool project. I now refuse to do work for a homeowner not willing to pay this nominal fee to ensure their structure stays in place for decades, instead of months. It does require you having the design of your pool already complete.

1. Pay for your own site specific soils testing by a qualified soils engineer(dont let your pool guy say "well, we open the hole and take a peek at it, and if necessary add a load of two of stone".) The soils engineer will tell you what the existing conditions are, and how they will affect structures.

2. Pay for your own structural engineer that has worked with swimming pool design before. This will ensure your structure is designed properly for soils conditions.

At this point, go to the pool contractor, and have him/her bid out the project based on the engineering. If they balk at being told what to do by an engineer, walk away with a scared look on your face. It's your money...

Hope this helps...

AkTallPaul

Very good advice VTRAM.....If I was closer I would have our lab do the soil tested for him.

nkennedy

My advice would be to buy the above ground pool. Set it up, and get a automatic sweeper. If you look on the internet you can buy a 50 inch tall x 24 ft round pool for around $1500. Get a DE filter, not a sand filter. Spend a couple hundred and buld a deck around part of it. In 3 years when they get tired of it, take it down. Been there, Done that.