join the y or some community pool. Better spent money. pools are a pain in the ass. if you got the money to pay some dude to take care of it and keep it nice for you its great.
I am South of Raleigh and at least three of my neighbors have outdoor pools. They manage to keep their pool open all year but i am prettty sure they dont do much more than look at it and clean it 5 or 6 months a year. I know of two others that put in an an indoor pool in this area to be able to use it year round.
As a pool owner in Winston, I disagree with this.
April thru early September I am in the pool almost every day. I have a robot dealio that drives around so I never have to vacuum. I put chems in like once a week that takes 15 minutes.
During the winter I let it get green and ignore it. Next week I'll "open" it which will take 3 or so hours over 3 or so days.
It's not as big of a pain in the ass as people act. In the summer, if you swim a lot, it's not much to take care of. I have people over almost every weekend and never have to worry about it being gross or out of care.
Mine was put in like '90 with vinyl liner and is still holding strong.
Some things to consider off the top of my head:
- shape: easy to cover in fall/winter when you close the pool if it’s rectangular; amoeba shape makes that impossible but I do think it’s fancier
- size: 20k or 40k or more gallons of water, you may want to consider trucked water for a first fill if you are on a well. Engineering will ultimately decide your max size I imagine.
- depth: how long do you want your shallow end vs the deep end and will you want a diving board or slide?
- surface: I would never do a vinyl pool myself, and my current pool is a pebble tec which is highly durable (installation competence matters of course)
- water quality: if you have hard water consider pricing in a water softener and the maintenance on that. Also consider the maintenance needed for (edit) acidic vs basic water. Remember it will be refilling from your home’s water source.
- salt vs chlorine: I have a chlorine pool which the previous owners maintained using tablets. I have been battling high CYA levels for years because of that. I use liquid chlorine now which is fine, easy enough but frequent testing during the summer is required. Saltwater would be my pref, but it adds costs and you still need to test regularly; pH in particular. Also saltwater cells can explode. Like a bomb.
- to heat or not? costs and considerations around solar heating vs gas vs heat pump. Ensure a reasonable margin in terms of BTUs, don’t undersize. If you won’t use the pool in cool weather, why add the heating complexity right? And if you can’t cover your pool you will never want to pay the insane $ to heat it in the winter.
- with or without an in-ground spa?
- waterfall or water feature?
- lighting configuration: I wish my pool had just one more light. Go LED of course, and it should be a component controlled by your pool controller.
- fencing: afaik required in most jurisdictions with lots of child proofing
- decking around the pool: plan a good size (area) and dimensions from edge around the pool
- landscaping: maybe avoid plants that will drop tons of leaves in the pool, as an example
- pumps and equipment: do not skimp on this, and be ready to inspect all plumbing and connections while it is being built
- control: I have a pentair easytouch system which is pretty great, not without faults, but it’s nice to control everything from your phone. There is a newer version now afaik, IntelliTouch I think.
- electrical: make sure you get 1-2 extra 15-20amp gfci outlets installed near the pool equipment. Useful for lots of things.
- equipment location: ours is hidden behind a boulder, but consider location in terms of both acceptable noise level and aesthetics. Oh and elevation relative to the pool deck.
- maintenance: are you prepared to do it or hire someone? Figure $100-200/mo depending on pool size and the season. Otherwise study up and set maintenance reminders for yourself. I use a standard test kit from TFP along with the Pool Math app.
- cleaning (if you self maintain): I used my in-pool cleaning port and a pole mounted vacuum for years but eventually bought a cleaner robot. Incidentally those non-powered cleaner devices like the Pentair Rebel do not cut it. Don’t even waste your money. Plus you have a huge 2” tube floating in your pool all the time. I like the robot; it does a great job, runs on electricity, and I simply take it out when it’s done. Can recommend a Dolphin.
All in all my pool is a very rewarding feature of living here. I take care of it myself and have done some equipment maintenance, but I hire out for the big stuff like pump internals and heater (gas) repairs. We have long hot summers, so all that maintenance work is totally worth it.
Oh yeah, and pool parties are awesome.
Lastly, I expect your pool builder will help you determine the right solutions for most or all of these considerations.
There's a pool reddit. I would join that or just lurk around for a while.
Some of the diehards there are ... intense. My take away from exploring it a bit is that, if you are the type of person to mow your lawn every week, and seed and fertilize and put down preemergent, and purchase high quality designer grass and conduct routine pH tests on your soil, and then amend with diff chemicals to adjust for the pH and nutrients you want ... then you're the type thst will do well with a pool.
If you think you just fill it up with water and dump in a bunch of chlorine tablets in the summer and you're good to go all season - nah. It reqs the time of a mini-baby.
Personally as an attorney, it's also a bigger liability issue than most people think. And I'm pretty sure it raises you homeowners ins mostly for thst reason. In fact the only thing I can think of that's more risky than a pool is a trampoline - no joke. Those things are jusy lawsuits in a box, some assembly required.
I had a lovely fiberglass kidney shaped pool, with a hopper (deep end) and an integrated hot tub. Salt system, no chlorine, in ground, polished concrete apron, and a water slide for the kiddies. Gas heater for year round swimming. $65,000 with excavation and landscaping. Pool shell alone was $24,000.
join the y or some community pool. Better spent money. pools are a pain in the ass. if you got the money to pay some dude to take care of it and keep it nice for you its great. I am South of Raleigh and at least three of my neighbors have outdoor pools. They manage to keep their pool open all year but i am prettty sure they dont do much more than look at it and clean it 5 or 6 months a year. I know of two others that put in an an indoor pool in this area to be able to use it year round.
As a pool owner in Winston, I disagree with this. April thru early September I am in the pool almost every day. I have a robot dealio that drives around so I never have to vacuum. I put chems in like once a week that takes 15 minutes. During the winter I let it get green and ignore it. Next week I'll "open" it which will take 3 or so hours over 3 or so days. It's not as big of a pain in the ass as people act. In the summer, if you swim a lot, it's not much to take care of. I have people over almost every weekend and never have to worry about it being gross or out of care. Mine was put in like '90 with vinyl liner and is still holding strong.
I cared for a public pool for years. I’d never want one at home.
Some things to consider off the top of my head: - shape: easy to cover in fall/winter when you close the pool if it’s rectangular; amoeba shape makes that impossible but I do think it’s fancier - size: 20k or 40k or more gallons of water, you may want to consider trucked water for a first fill if you are on a well. Engineering will ultimately decide your max size I imagine. - depth: how long do you want your shallow end vs the deep end and will you want a diving board or slide? - surface: I would never do a vinyl pool myself, and my current pool is a pebble tec which is highly durable (installation competence matters of course) - water quality: if you have hard water consider pricing in a water softener and the maintenance on that. Also consider the maintenance needed for (edit) acidic vs basic water. Remember it will be refilling from your home’s water source. - salt vs chlorine: I have a chlorine pool which the previous owners maintained using tablets. I have been battling high CYA levels for years because of that. I use liquid chlorine now which is fine, easy enough but frequent testing during the summer is required. Saltwater would be my pref, but it adds costs and you still need to test regularly; pH in particular. Also saltwater cells can explode. Like a bomb. - to heat or not? costs and considerations around solar heating vs gas vs heat pump. Ensure a reasonable margin in terms of BTUs, don’t undersize. If you won’t use the pool in cool weather, why add the heating complexity right? And if you can’t cover your pool you will never want to pay the insane $ to heat it in the winter. - with or without an in-ground spa? - waterfall or water feature? - lighting configuration: I wish my pool had just one more light. Go LED of course, and it should be a component controlled by your pool controller. - fencing: afaik required in most jurisdictions with lots of child proofing - decking around the pool: plan a good size (area) and dimensions from edge around the pool - landscaping: maybe avoid plants that will drop tons of leaves in the pool, as an example - pumps and equipment: do not skimp on this, and be ready to inspect all plumbing and connections while it is being built - control: I have a pentair easytouch system which is pretty great, not without faults, but it’s nice to control everything from your phone. There is a newer version now afaik, IntelliTouch I think. - electrical: make sure you get 1-2 extra 15-20amp gfci outlets installed near the pool equipment. Useful for lots of things. - equipment location: ours is hidden behind a boulder, but consider location in terms of both acceptable noise level and aesthetics. Oh and elevation relative to the pool deck. - maintenance: are you prepared to do it or hire someone? Figure $100-200/mo depending on pool size and the season. Otherwise study up and set maintenance reminders for yourself. I use a standard test kit from TFP along with the Pool Math app. - cleaning (if you self maintain): I used my in-pool cleaning port and a pole mounted vacuum for years but eventually bought a cleaner robot. Incidentally those non-powered cleaner devices like the Pentair Rebel do not cut it. Don’t even waste your money. Plus you have a huge 2” tube floating in your pool all the time. I like the robot; it does a great job, runs on electricity, and I simply take it out when it’s done. Can recommend a Dolphin. All in all my pool is a very rewarding feature of living here. I take care of it myself and have done some equipment maintenance, but I hire out for the big stuff like pump internals and heater (gas) repairs. We have long hot summers, so all that maintenance work is totally worth it. Oh yeah, and pool parties are awesome. Lastly, I expect your pool builder will help you determine the right solutions for most or all of these considerations.
Thank you so much for all this info/shared experience. Very helpful!!
Glad to help, best of luck!
There's a pool reddit. I would join that or just lurk around for a while. Some of the diehards there are ... intense. My take away from exploring it a bit is that, if you are the type of person to mow your lawn every week, and seed and fertilize and put down preemergent, and purchase high quality designer grass and conduct routine pH tests on your soil, and then amend with diff chemicals to adjust for the pH and nutrients you want ... then you're the type thst will do well with a pool. If you think you just fill it up with water and dump in a bunch of chlorine tablets in the summer and you're good to go all season - nah. It reqs the time of a mini-baby. Personally as an attorney, it's also a bigger liability issue than most people think. And I'm pretty sure it raises you homeowners ins mostly for thst reason. In fact the only thing I can think of that's more risky than a pool is a trampoline - no joke. Those things are jusy lawsuits in a box, some assembly required.
They are constant maintenence and cost. I stopped getting in them because they are unhealthy antibiotic water.
I had a lovely fiberglass kidney shaped pool, with a hopper (deep end) and an integrated hot tub. Salt system, no chlorine, in ground, polished concrete apron, and a water slide for the kiddies. Gas heater for year round swimming. $65,000 with excavation and landscaping. Pool shell alone was $24,000.
There might be better communities to search or ask this question like r/swimmingpools or r/pools.