Anybody have advice on swimming pools for home...

[HEC]

If you are serious about a pool and plan on keeping it for any length of time go inground . A friend of mine who had a backhoe,dump truck, and I installed one for him and myself. They were both 20 - 40 with vinyl liners aluminum insulated frame work on a good concrete footing as we live in a cold area . All you need is a transit some basic working skills and hand tools and it was really quite easy . We bought a package deal and got the best we could get back many years ago when we did this . We have both moved from those homes and not sure if they are still in use or not as this was over 35 years ago . They both came out very nice , as good as any pro good do . You will get what you pay for so don't go cheap if you want it to last .

 

[rtimgray]

I've got the tools (dozer, backhoe, dump truck) for an in ground install, but the kit pricing on the ingrounds are double to triple the price for an above ground and nowhere near as large, in terms of length. Obviously, they could go deeper, but depth is not too much of a concern for us.

I've spent some time today contacting local pool companies, and came away feeling very negative towards them. Two of them that I spoke with more or less gave me the here's what we sell and you can buy it or not. They were not interested in hearing what I was looking for, only if I was interested in buying what they had in stock. I realize that this is probably a very busy time of year for them, but I was not impressed at all. One company that I spoke was very pleasant, but they did not offer pools in the size that I am looking for. Additionally, the largest on that they offered was thousands of dollars more than some that I have seen online.

Which brings me back to I'm still learning how to compare apples to apples - the units that the local installers sell may be much higher quality than some of the internet pools, although I know that one of them at least was the exact same model as one that I am looking at on the internet, and it was much more expensive.

Once again, I really appreciate the comments and welcome anyone else's experience and opinions. Thanks again.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

My buddy has an above ground pool, but he installed it about halfway in the ground. I think he dug the hole, built the pool, back filled with washed pea gravel and then built a nice deck all the way around that was about 8" above ground level. So the pool's rim was about 2' above the deck. I don't remember if he said he put some type of drainage underneath it or not.

 

[kenmac]

Too bad that some of you had a bad experience with your pool guys. I had an in ground liner pool with polymer walls installed about 12 yrs ago. The person that installed my pool was a GREAT guy !! He was the salesman, backhoe operator. his sons did the electrical and did the actual install and concrete work so, I didn't have to worry about any subs. He showed up when he was suppose to and would have finished on time if, it haden't been for a rain spell we had....I had an 18x36 installed with steps, dive board, slide, Polaris cleaner, hard safety cover for $18,500.00. I understand the in ground pools are much higher today. Very little trouble keeping the pool. I have an auto chlorine feeder to keep the chlorine in check & and the Polaris to keep it clean. My children have had a blast with all the parties they have had at our place because we had the pool. Now, it's the grand kids turn. It was well worth the cost

 

[RalphVa]

We had an in ground pool for about 20 years in NJ. It had a concrete bowl but with fiberglass wall about 3 or 4 feet. Only trouble we ever had with it was replacing the sealant between the concrete and the fiberglass at around 8 years. I did it myself but should have had the original pool builder do it (he was a good one).

We weren't looking for a house with a pool here but bought this house because it was what and where we wanted. Have lived here for 14 years. It's a liner pool.

Paint or liners last about 7 years and probably near the same price to redo/replace. So, toss up on this big maintenance issue. Think linered pools are cheaper to built. Long as you don't have stupid or very young (tend to be stupid because they haven't learned) people using it to poke holes in the liner, it's probably a good choice.

We had the bowl filled in this pool to convert it to a 3 1/2 foot deep lap pool. Best thing we did. Now vacuuming is no problem. Only needs to be done after storms. Depends on how close you are to trees. Junk blows or drops from them into pools. We had an automatic vacuum for a while. If you're real lazy, buy one of them; they're expensive. With the lap pool, it just isn't that much of an effort to do it by hand.

Even a deep pool is never deep enough for stupid people to use a diving board on. Most often dive out too far where the water is shallow. If you want a fun thing, put in a slide and anchor it well. It'll work even with a lap depth pool.

For chemistry, the most important thing is a good automatic chlorinator (ones that take off the discharge and return to the suction side of the pump) and to check the pH once/week. I add 4 ounces of algaecide once/week. This stuff and a little bit of constant chlorine will keep your pool crystal clear. Don't get over zealous about backflushing the filter. If the pressure stays down (on a centrifugal pump) below about 20 psi, you're okay. Long as it has enough suction to vacuum the pool, it's pumping enough.

About every other spring, I'll have to take some water to a pool testing place. They'll then tell you want it needs. I'd put 6 or 8 gallons of bleach in it first and let the pump circulate (after you vacuum the stuff off the bottom from the winter first) for a while, like you can buy at Sams or Cosco and cheaper than pool people's chlorine or bleach. THEN take you sample to go to the water testing place.

If you want a crystal clear pool on startup, get a solid plastic liner. If it's in a place where you or animals can fall into it in the winter, put one of those safety covers on it. However, they're porous and will let stuff come in to settle onto the bottom to be vacuumed out (by passing the filter) at the beginning of the season. With a solid cover, you can very often pull it, get the pump and filter going and have it ready to use in a day's time. With the safety cover, it'll often take a week to get it right.

Ralph

 

[mjarrels]

Many years ago, my uncle put in a round pool using the top of a concrete silo turned upside down and placed in the hole. Probably 45 years ago and still works fine.

yellow dot

 

[nc redneck]

My two happiest days with a pool was the day I got it and the day I took a sawzall to it. I like a hot tub. Easier to clean and maintain.

A pool is a lot like a boat or that car you always wanted in HS. Its great at first but after 5 or 7 years it gets old. I have a hot tub now mainly to fill large empty space on deck where pool was. But it can be drained and turned off. No power, chemicals or cleaning.
I would start with a cheaper above ground. It will easily last 5 or 10 years. You will learn a lot about pools, pumps, chemicals and winterizing. If you still love it 10 years from now you will be a educated pool buyer.
If you have any young kids ever come to your house that changes a lot of rules. Follow all codes to a T considering pump inlets, fences and I would get a Loop Lock winter pool cover, many small children drown in backyard pools.
Other side is we had a lot of good years with ours. Had many pool parties, taught my daughter to swim and the kids loved it when they were younger.
Not sure what part of the US you are in but think about trees around pool they cause a lot of leaves. Heaters are worth thinking about during install , electric heat pump or gas. Solar covers do work and also help hold heat overnight.
Good Luck
Scott

 

[Sigarms]

We've let the idea linger for quite a while, but now that our home addition is coming to an end (by next spring), we are looking to do another project, and everybody in the immediate family is in favor of a pool..

They're in favor of a pool because the only thing they can think of is fun in the sun and water because no one really thinks about the upkeep, and guess who that is going to fall on?

I was around when my aunt had an in ground put in close to 30 years ago, and hopefully the maintenance has changed with newer pools and chemicals, but after a couple of years of having that pool in back then, the upkeep took the fun out of it.

 

[KubotainNH]

My opinion is large oval above ground. You can sink it if you want. I also have a 18x33 Johnny Weismuller (JW imprinted on the corners), the frame is really built well. I think Esther Williams is the same maker. I walk on the wall whenever I need to vacuum. I got mine for free on CL and did the work myself, the first year just cost me the liner and laser level rental. I got some seat time.

Here's a quick list:
1) Quality pool and do it yourself if possible. They are cheaper and when you are done with pool life it's easy to get rid of.
2) Hayward pump/filter because parts are easy to get - I had a no name pump and couldn't get new seals a couple years after I bought it.
3) Chlorinate with mainly liquid chlorine (straight bleach with no additives). Most of the granular or puck style chlorinators have stabilizer in them so if used constantly you will end up with too much of it.
4) Salt water gens (SWG) are nice, makes pool life quite easy. Another perk is bees don't like salt water and the water feels softer. The local honey bees really liked my pool before I added salt.
5) Buy a good/complete test kit, when the chemicals are balanced you only need to spend a few mins a day on it. With SWG (it makes the chlorine) it's a few mins a week once you have it nailed down.
6) Get a decent automatic pool vac so it does the work instead of you.
7) Depending on where you live you may want a solar cover to keep the temp nice. I need it up here, pool is about 80 right now which is pleasant.
8) Craigslist is a great place for used pool stuff if you want to save money.
9) This should be number 1, go to this site and read. So many cool setups and the pool school (top right button) is a must read. Trouble Free Pool

 

[alchemysa]

Between me and my brother we have had 6 inground pools. (Installed 5 ourselves). All were concrete.

The best pool of the lot BY FAR was my brothers last pool. It was deep but very small. Maybe only 10 foot long and roughly oval shaped. It was cheaper to build, easy to maintain, easy to clean, cheap to chlorinate, easy to cover, easy to heat when required etc etc. It had the minimum amount of water required to provide a maximum amount of fun. It was built next to a rock wall so the kids could dive bomb into it. Basically, it was plenty big enough to have lots of fun without becoming an owners burden.

Personally I think home pools are for fun or relaxation, not exercise. Doing laps in a home pool is a waste of time in my opinion. You'll exercise your shoulders but thats about all.