Rob is calling pool companies about having one put in. I don't know anything about it. If you have one, can you tell me a little about it?

What features do you like? Hate?
If you had it put in, how much was it? (Is that too rude a question?)
How big is it? What do you think would be the best size?
Heated or no?
Screened or no?

Um... anything else?

yep, we love it! It does require maintanance though. Ours will need to be redurfaced next year and we will redo the coping. Right now we have square bricks around it (done in the 80's :rolleyes: ) but we will pick a more rounded edge next time.

also, go for the spa. there wasn't one in this pool and I'd dearly love it! :eyes:

My parents had one put in 10 years ago. They have a slide which the kids love. I'ts 8 1/2 feet deep I think. We love that the shallow area is large and the drop off to the deep part isn't a giant slope. My mom wishes it was bigger (and it was huge by the pool people's standards). They have solar heat, which is awesome. I'd look into salt chlorination if I were you. Much easier on the skin and eyes. What do you mean by screened? A fence? Definitely! I'd suggest when you decide on the final size, you have them mark it in your yard with spray paint, that way you are positive of the size. When my mom told friends to do that they ended up making it bigger, because it wasn't as big as they thought it would be. I think the cost was into the 30,000's

We used to have a spa, but it was really old and was having electrical issues so we pulled it out.

We have a full size diving pool and it is alot of maintanance. Chlorine is really all we use, tho on occasion we need soda ash/acid or clear blue stuff. We bought a pool vaccuum, it was about $400 and makes the cleaning alot easier but you still have to brush the sides, skim the top (some vaccuums have a skimmer built in but i still have to skim leaves), backwash and rinse etc.

Like LAB, we need to resurface but we're holding off til winter to hopefully get a better deal and because we're not draining our pool in 115 degree arizona summer. lol.

Our pool is not heated (Arizona... we swim May-September but when family comes in to visit they'll swim in December. brrrrr)

we are completed fenced with gates that lock.

If I were buying a new house I'd probably not get the full size diving pool. Its alot of fun for the kids to dive, but its alot of work. Maybe a small 'play' sized pool. I've seen those advertised for about 15K

But I love my pool. I'm in it every single day in the the summer months and have been for the 7 years we've owned this house

Like LAB, we need to resurface but we're holding off til winter to hopefully get a better deal and because we're not draining our pool in 115 degree arizona summer. lol.

that's what we're hoping for, LOL!

forgot to say, we had to have a fence installed before we moved in since the previous owners were in their 60's when they had the pool put in. :rolleyes: We went with Guardian Fence...I think you can google it. I'm sure they have something similar in Florida. They drill holes in the pool deck and sink the poles inside. It's a heavy duty screen that you can see through but can't climb up. Since the pool spans the entire length of the back of our house, we had a gate put right out from each of the sliding glass doors. Oh, and of course, they lock.

We also had solar heat installed. My kids think anything below 88 is freeeeeeeeeeezing, LOL. :rolleyes: well...uh...actually, I do too. :lol:

anyone have a dark bottom pool and know if it would be a better option when resurfacing? wondering what exactly you'd do it for...is it warmer? or what?

I only have one of those simple set ones. I do want a built in one eventually. I hear that they can run around 30,000! Definatley screened in here in FL. I get eaten alive in my pool. It constantly has to be cleaned too. I have been doing some reading myself and I read that the fiberglass pools last longer and don't need as many chemicals. I read they cost more,but save $ in the long run. :)

We have one. We love it and use it tons!!
We really like the jumping rock (large rock in deep end). And we like that we have a waterfall that has a bench under it! We also have a cool light that makes the water turn different colors at night. We added gecko tiles to our pool....each of us got to choose where to put ours...and it makes our pool more personalized! :) . You could choose different bottom colors and we chose light (light, med, dark). I wanted med, but I'm glad now because it gets too hot!! Oh, and we have solar...which I LOVE!! And last but not least, we have a fence around our pool...lots of our friends do not....but I just wouldn't risk it. And I think our pool cost $38,000 about 4 years ago. I don't think the maintenance is hard: I do it! Last thing, I promise...I did not want my spa attatched to the pool because you would have to turn on the heat . We have a freestanding spa.

Hope that answers your questions!!

Just a word on fiberglass pools. They do nothing for the value of your house if you are going to be selling it. A regular inground pool will add aobut 8K to your house value.

I want a pool baaaaaaadly, but we don't have the funds for it now. Maybe in a few years when the little ones are older.

I'm goin' to play in Elizabeth's pool tomorrow and bringing my Off! ;)

Our neighbor had one put in a couple of years ago and it was around $30k...typical Florida, not super huge but good size, kidney shaped pool with screen enclosure. Seeems that is the going rate around here. Oh it is heated, too.

It costs at least $100/mo for maintenance...my ILs have one and have someone balance the chemicals and that's what they pay. You can do it cheaper yourself, I'm sure.

We don't have one in our yard but our community has a huge one just a very short walk away. I love that because it's all the fun (ok, not quite as convenient as right outside your door, and not as private though no one is ever in ours) - and none of the hassle!

By screened, I don't mean the fence. The fence is a given - for safety. By screened I mean like a screened porch. Growing up, we had both open (no screen) and screened. I preferred the open. It seemed like the screened was never warm enough. Plus, it's just not as pretty. But my father (who did all the pool work) preferred the screened because it was easier to maintain.

We never (in either pool) scrubbed the side or skimmed the top or anything. We had one of those pool cleaner things. We always called it "creepy crawly." It went up the sides and the little filter traps on the sides got the other stuff.

I didn't know that fiberglass isn't good for home value. Why is that? Good to know, though!

we call our pool sweep, "scooter". :)

we were warned by our realtor about a house with a fiberglass pool. They aren't as durable and a lot of other blah blah blah I don't remember. If you're going to get one, may as well get the real deal. :happy:

now, the screened in thing? is that a Florida thing? is it because of bugs? wow.

We love our pool! It has a spa that waterfalls into the pool. I swear everyone should have a waterfall LOL We love sitting out by the pool to have our meals, so soothing to listen to. :)

Our pool was here when we bought the house & already had a net cover. We loved that it had that (we did end up getting a guardian fence since we had to in order to get our foster license but as soon as we can we are taking it down. hate it. I definitely suggest the net pool covers!Our social worker agreed it was perfectly safe, but her superior was not knowledgable about them, so we had to get the fence.)

We have an inground pool. It's well worth the money to me. It's fairly large compared to most in my area from what I have seen. We have an oversized screened lanai. We use the pool cleaner that scoots around and my dh skims the top & keeps the chemicals in order. We have a pool heater now. We used to have solar panels but they blew off in the storm. My dh didn't want anything nailed into the new roof after that.

We have friends that have a metal gate all around the pool as opposed to the cage. It looks nice. The cage filters the light. We can swim all day and never get a sunburn. I think the metal gate looks nicer but I can't stand the mosquitos so I doubt I'd go in much with that.

We spend quite a bit now with the heater and chemicals. I think the pool cleaner runs around $400. as well but it's a one time purchase. You have to use the pool a lot to make it worthwhile. We do and my dd loves it. It's great for entertaining.

And yes, the screened enclosure is for bugs and critters. We have plenty! As far as the fiberglass, it's no different than getting a fiberglass tub or shower. It's looks lower end and people notice that when buying. I would be afraid of scratching it too. It's pretty hard to scratch a concrete pool. I would think the fiberglass would wear easily.

Good luck with whatever you choose! We can swim here nearly year round. Well, if you go for the pool heater you definitely can :smirk:

When we get around to redoing our pool our dream is to do pebble tec and the self cleaning popup things (rather than the creepy crawler). I'd like to go to salt water, but DH isn't really sold on it. If we still had more money to throw at it we'd get a solar heater or cover so we could swim earlier and later in the year.

A friend was telling me that in some neighborhoods the creepy crawler things are getting stolen - of all the things to steal! But something for people to think about depending on the fencing surrounding your pool.

~amey

Thanks for the heads up about the fiberglass! My parents neighbors are snow birds and they let us swim in their pool all summer. I love that I don't get burned because of the screened in closure! That is too cool since I hate sunscreen! :happy: They have the old style screens though,the flat top. I don't care for that because it doesn't seem as open and also,junk collects on top. They have really nice pool cages now that have high,arched tops. That is what we want. :)

We went swimming today and I thought of a few more things. My parents pool has a really large set of steps. It's hard to explain, but they have a step that wraps around the spa. It's super nice for little ones to be able to sit on or walk around on. The other cool thing that they did was have small tiles (1 inch) layed in two rows at the edge of all of the steps. That way you know where the edge of the steps are, again nice for little ones. They also have a seat/step in the deep end which is great for the kids to climb in and out with. Makes getting out to jump or dive easier :)

I'd love a saline pool but alas dh is way too scared of pools and little kids. Maybe when they are a bit older.

My kids' swimming instructor has a saline pool and it is so awesome. She says its about the same $ to maintain and you don't have all the chemicals to worry about. I like that I can swim in it w/o my eyes burning.

We have one. We love it and use it tons!!
We really like the jumping rock (large rock in deep end). And we like that we have a waterfall that has a bench under it! We also have a cool light that makes the water turn different colors at night. We added gecko tiles to our pool....each of us got to choose where to put ours...and it makes our pool more personalized! :) . You could choose different bottom colors and we chose light (light, med, dark). I wanted med, but I'm glad now because it gets too hot!! Oh, and we have solar...which I LOVE!!

That sounds really cool, Nanci! Would ya mind posting a pic? I'm having fun imaging myself on my raft floating by your waterfall right now, lol!

That sounds really cool, Nanci! Would ya mind posting a pic? I'm having fun imaging myself on my raft floating by your waterfall right now, lol!
Yes! That sounds so nice! Pic please! :happy:

A regular inground pool will add aobut 8K to your house value.



just a note...i think that depends upon where you are. in FL, yes...we're not that far away, just atlanta (are you still coming next weekend!?) and when we were looking for our house earlier this year, houses will pools were going for the same price as similar houses w/o pools. most subs around here have them and they are viewed as an annoyance by alot of people buying homes here-something else to keep up with...granted some people love them but they just didn't add the expected amount to the selling price. just a thought.

http://www.salinepoolsystems.com/
Here is a link on saline pools. The town we used to live in just put one in as thier community pool :)


Here is a very funny link I came across searching saline pools
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/835904/posts

I don't have one, but have looked into it a little since we are finally buying. I saw a very cool lap pool in an environmental mag. It isn't the name brand 'lap pool' (the ones you install inside) it was just long enough to do one full lap, and wide enough to turn around to do another lap (so a long narrow rectangle). In the pics, it was set into the backyard and looked like a reflecting pool, but it's way big enough for the kids to play in and adults to swim laps in. I think I'd do something like that, and spend the rest of the money on landscaping and restructuring the backyard. I'd also do solar heat, the ionizer stuff instead of chlorine, a retractable cover, and outdoor shower/cabana type thing, and a waterfall would be cool out!

Have good fun, can't wait to hear about it!

(are you still coming next weekend!?)

Yep! I'll pm ya'll with my cell # before I leave next Thursday. :)

I don't have one, but have looked into it a little since we are finally buying. I saw a very cool lap pool in an environmental mag. It isn't the name brand 'lap pool' (the ones you install inside) it was just long enough to do one full lap, and wide enough to turn around to do another lap (so a long narrow rectangle). In the pics, it was set into the backyard and looked like a reflecting pool, but it's way big enough for the kids to play in and adults to swim laps in.

Oh - that sounds awesome! Do you know what magazine that was?

I'll look through my stack here and see if I can find it! :)

Good lord, I have many magazines. It was in Organic Style, this month's issue (July/August) page 98-99.

I think I found it here (http://www.organicstyle.com/feature/0,8028,s1-37-0-0-1144,00.html)! Super cool!

Yep, that's the one!

Here are some pics of our pool:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/usmoes/May2005swimming060.jpg
My dd jumping off the waterfall...there is a 6 foot bench under it...so you need to jump out!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/usmoes/0bf244bc.jpg
My nephew jumping off the jumping rock!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/usmoes/June2005stevemoesfamilyhere145.jpg
We have a wading bench that is about 6 feet and it's perfect for little ones..there is also a hole for an umbrella too!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/usmoes/65563103.jpg
My silly ds....but it gives you a better idea of what our pool looks like!

These are a few pics of our friends new pool...much more expensive due to size 32,000 gallons and deep (8 feet)...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/usmoes/familydinnerinpollock-zachandkim022.jpg
Their waterfall is much bigger than ours...you can stand under the water on their bench!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/usmoes/familydinnerinpollock-zachandkim026.jpg
You can see their wading area....very cool and more enclosed for little ones. They have a darker bottom pool and stamped concrete too!

am i the only one who got shivers while picturing heads cracked open on the rocks? LOL

beautiful pools nanci but they scare me lol

:monkeydan so those that asked can see pictures!! :monkeydan

Beautiful pools, Nanci! Thanks for sharing :-)

Its gorgeous, Nanci! Makes me wanna grab my suit and go for a dip :) Was there a special company you used to install the landscaping? I can't imagine your run of the mill pool co. putting in something like that?!?

Thanks for letting us see!

When we get around to redoing our pool our dream is to do pebble tec and the self cleaning popup things (rather than the creepy crawler). I'd like to go to salt water, but DH isn't really sold on it. If we still had more money to throw at it we'd get a solar heater or cover so we could swim earlier and later in the year.

A friend was telling me that in some neighborhoods the creepy crawler things are getting stolen - of all the things to steal! But something for people to think about depending on the fencing surrounding your pool.

~amey

My parent's home has a pebble tech pool and I love the look of it. They also have the passive solar heating (the black tubes on the roof). It is also a saline pool, rather than using just chlorine, the chlorinator pulls the chlorine out of the rock salt (like that used in soft water tanks). They have a spa too. The pool was built in the fall of 1998 and it cost about $19K. However, my dad contracted the labor rather than someone coming in and doing it all.
I have plenty of pictures of it, I should post one...