Pool Maintenance Costs

rich_one

rich_one

Members
We are considering getting a home that has an in ground pool. Does anyone in the club currently have one? If so, can you please pm me? I have some questions I'd like to ask, as this would be our first. Thanks!

-Rich
 
blkmjk

blkmjk

Members
It is no worth it . Plus the risk of injury and death to me with little ones around I personally would not recommend it. But they are great for adults and experienced swimmers. A fence specifically around the pool and concrete is a must with small children around that way they can't get to the pool when your not looking. And a 6' privacy fence is required by most counties to keep neighborhood folks out of potential harms way. The homeowner insurance you currently have will need to be upgraded to cover the pool.

Now let's talk about pool maintenance.

New pump every 3-5 years.
Sand filters.
Shocking it after parties and before parties.
Chemical testing daily before swim time.
Vacuum the bottom and clearing the baskets.


And more I'm missing I'm sure. Bottom line it is alot of work not something I could do right now for sure. But just like our great hobby if you enjoy it you'll make time for it.


Drew
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
Is it expensive to have a service take care of all of that stuff? Is there a way I can determine an average cost kinda thing? I know it varies based on a person's specific pool, but just wondering if there is a website or a way I can determine average pool service cost for my area or something like that? Haven't been able to find what I'm looking for on google.

-Rich
 
verbal

verbal

CCA Members
Maybe the question is how much would it be for an enclosure and heating to convert it to a year-round tropical pond? :)
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
LOL @ Jesse!

Thanks, Drew. Anyone else please chime in. I am on the verge of making a big decision that will not be easy to undo. Just trying to be as informed as possible. Wifey really wants an in ground pool. My two oldest kids are grown. I do have an 8 year old, but we feel we can manage that. We are trying to assess the potential financial aspect of it. We are not concerned about the work as far as maintaining it... more so the cost. That's really what I'm trying to get my head around. Thanks for all the info!

-Rich
 
spazmattik

spazmattik

Members
If only you posted this last night. Lol. I bowl with a guy on mondays who does this for a living. I can ask him next monday and get numbers.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
verbal said:
Maybe the question is how much would it be for an enclosure and heating to convert it to a year-round tropical pond? :)
Click to expand...

Funny you mention that, Jessie. Our speaker, Steve is from Portland. He and his wife moved into a house and instead of fixing the pool that needed mechanical work, turned it into a goldfish pond. No filter, just a natural pond. He was considering enclosing it for a while and despite me hounding him further - years after the decision was already made, he wasn't going to do it. Too much cost for the structure, loss of natural sunlight and monthly winter heating costs.

All that common sense aside, how friggin' cool would that be to have a Malawi reef in your back yard that you could snorkel in? Greg Steeves has one, but he's also in Texas...

Rich - I say that if you think you'll use it, do it. Will talk to my aunt and try to get an idea of costs as well.
 
S

stlbluesaddict

Members
It's not worth the headache. There are so many other factors to consider. Weather plays a part as well, leading to more shock treatments following rain. Plus of you have a DE filter you have to deal with replacing the grids if they're not properly cared for. A 48 square foot filter set can run around $300. if the light breaks, you're looking at up to $800. On top of that a good cover is expensive.

Electric bills will see a hit. You're looking at running the pump(s) at least a couple of hours a day to keep it looking good. And to top it off you're only going to get a few months of use a year and you lose all that yard the rest of the year.

If it's concrete you have other concerns to consider such as cracks. With all on ground pools you have to consider washing away of the back wall. Pool paint is expensive as well.

Just my. 02 following dealing with my pool.... Lol



Matt
 
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Frank Cowherd

Frank Cowherd

Global Moderators
Staff member
Well, you all are talking of the old technology for keeping swimming pools safe as far as water quality. Limiting access to the pool, preventing accidents still has to be addressed and always considered. But there is new technology for maintaining water safe to swim in. Basically it is adding salt to the water at a level you cannot really notice. The salt is key to the generation of chlorine. The pool water is filtered as normal but a portion of the solution is run through an electrolysis cell which generates chlorine at one electrode and sodium hydroxide at the other. The sodium hydroxide raised the pH very slowly so that every month you need to bring the pH back down to pH 7 or so. The chlorine is generated and destroys bacteria and maintains water save to swim in. Since it is basically generated as needed, 24/7, it never caused the problem of burning eyes or faded clothes or any of the other possible bad things of high chlorine. ANd you never have to handle the chemical the old system use to require.
 
McGrubble

McGrubble

Members
+1 to Frank's comment. Saltwater pools are extremely low maintenance and well worth the initial cost, IMO.

Good luck with the decision making, bud!
 
daninmd

daninmd

Members
I grew up in Florida and only moved here about 4 years ago. I never understood why you would have a pool up here? you just don't get enough use out of it I don't think. It makes sense down south where you can use a non-heated pool from about April to October and a heated pool pretty much year round with the exception of really cold snaps. But up here, it seems like a huge cost for what, 3 maybe 4 months of use?

that said, when I did have a pool I didn't find the maintenance that bad. it was just something you did before you used the pool. vacuuming was minimal but I had a screened in enclosure.

you can convert a conventional pool to saltwater as well, which is the way to go maintenance and water quality wise.
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
Well, I understand what you are saying, but not being from Florida, the fact that we can't use it all year round isn't something in my head... so I guess that doesn't bother me in the least. I'm just more doing research to see if it will be an excessive thing to try to maintain or not. My wife has always wanted a pool, and we work as hard as anyone, so I figured if she wants a pool and we can afford the pool, why not?

Frank gave me some information in regards to converting it to saltwater, and that seems like an interesting idea for sure. I'm looking more into it. Definitely appreciate your input! I'm thinking right now that so far, barring something catastrophic, it doesn't seem like an overly expensive thing, so long as we don't mind doing a little work. Maybe I'll be wrong, but it seems like it's worth a try. Thanks for all of the insight... all of you have given me plenty of food for thought, and I'm still mulling over things.

-Rich
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Our house in California has a pool and the main burden of maintenance is in the spring and fall, as there are lots of big trees and flowering plants in the area.

Having a modern, efficient pump and Polaris (thing that cleans the bottom) are key.

I maintained the pool myself when we lived there. Now that we're renting the place out, we have a pool service (paid for by our tenants) that runs ~$100 per month. We could probably find a cheaper guy but sometimes you get what you pay for!

The weather in Cali is such that we get a lot of use of the pool. Here it would be harder for me at least to justify.

Matt
 
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