Anybody have advice on swimming pools for home...

[Bird]

i always see more comments of folks after a year or 2 not using a pool. and it just ends up setting there for next few years or more after that.

We had our in ground pool built in 1978, and I can't say I was ever sorry I did it because our daughters were 9 and 12 years old at the time. They could already swim a bit, but they learned to swim like ducks. And then when they got in high school and became life guards at a public pool . . . . well, we sold that place in 1989 and no one had used the swimming pool for the previous 2 years.

 

[FTG-05]

We just sold our house in the city. We had a 45K gallon pool installed in 1998 and used the heck out of it until the kids went off to college a couple years ago. This it was just me on those long hot North Alabama days. A big pool, deck chair with tennis balls feet and lots of cold beer - it doesn't get any better than that!

I'm going to miss the heck out of that pool!!!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

A friend of mine bought a house with a 24' above ground pool, and gave it to me many yrs ago. I took it all down, have all the parts in my shed, have never installed it, and at this point in life, probably won't. It did need a couple of the bottom ring pieces replaced, last I checked they were still available from NAMCO. Also needs new liner.

 

[TnAndy]

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.

Seen a LOT of that....ahahahaaa....

Year 1: They love it

Years 2-4: Well, yeah, it's ok......

Year 5: MAN, I wish I'd never put that dang thing in......

 

[Walkin Horse]

I made it to year 2

 

[MossRoad]

Look into a salt water chlorine generator.
Basically, you add 99% pure salt (water softener solar salt) to the pool to bring it up to 3300 parts per million (same as human tears). That's 10 times less salty than the ocean, and since its the same concentration as human tears, you can open your eyes in it.

The salt water runs through the filter, through the generator, and back to the pool. An electric current in the generator converts the salt into chlorine, and sanitizes the pool. That type of chloring reverts back to salt. Since salt cannot evaporate, it stays in the pool, whereas normal pool chloring evaporates with the sun.

You never have to add chlorine to the pool with this method. I've been using it for about 5 years and have never had to shock my pool, except when a squirrel committed suicide in it!!! I just used chlorine bleach from Walmart for that.

My typical costs for pool chemicals for the past 5 years has been about $40.00m per year. That's two bag of salt $10.00, 4 gallons of bleach $12.00 and two bottles of chlorine stabilizer about $15.00. I'm very happy with it.
It does use electricity, but I only run mine for 4 hours a day. The filter runs about 7 hours per day.

And one more side benefit of a salt water pool.... its soft water! You get out and your skin is soft, your hair is soft, blonde hair doesn't turn green and you suit dosen't fall apart at the end of the year.

I highly recommend it.

 

[MossRoad]

14 years on our pool. 5 years on salt water. I'll never go back to fresh water. :thumbsup:

 

[Big Barn]

14 years on our pool. 5 years on salt water. I'll never go back to fresh water. :thumbsup:

I'm on year twelve with the salt water chlorine generator. I am fortunate in that all my pool maintenance costs are looked after by my pool guy. He rents a building here on the farm for his shop and storage space. Apparently he is encountering corrosion problems in these systems that have been around for awhile. I think they have gone to a UV system of some sorts now. Terry

 

[ultrarunner]

The nicest private pool I was ever in was in Austria high up in the mountains.

The entire large pool was stainless steel... it was burnished to a nice finish.

The owner made stainless steel industrial and AG tanks...

Here's one from a quick internet search for USA

Custom Residential Stainless Steel Swimming Pools | Diamond Spas

 

[MossRoad]

I'm on year twelve with the salt water chlorine generator. I am fortunate in that all my pool maintenance costs are looked after by my pool guy. He rents a building here on the farm for his shop and storage space. Apparently he is encountering corrosion problems in these systems that have been around for awhile. I think they have gone to a UV system of some sorts now. Terry

Yes, corrosion is possible on metal with a salt water pool. I had a small leak in a hose and the supposedly stainless steel band clamps started rusting. Also have to be careful with steel wall pools, leaks in liners, etc... however, I bet the average life of an above ground pool (due to owners getting sick of them) is probably 10 years, or the year after the last kid leaves for college.

Our first pool was "free" if you can call it that. It was 10-15 years old and the owner was giving it away. We hauled it off the guys yard for free, my brother-in-law's promise of helping me install it and paying for half the chemicals lasted about as long as a decent peice of chewing gum's flavor and I ended up putting it up by myself. A hundred bucks for a new liner(you can't reuse a liner). $300 bucks for a new filter the next year. Child developed an allergie to chlorine, so we had to switch to Baquacil for 8 years (I liked Baquacil, but it was stupidly expensive, built up in the water, left a metal taste in your mouth and created a mat in the sand filter that had to be removed each year) but it was low maintenance. Lost a liner to moles. Lost a liner to a weed eater!. Kid outgrew her allery to chlorine. Switched to salt water chloring generator. Lost the steel sidewall to corrosion (pool was now 25-30 years old).

So, 2 years ago so we decided to finally get a new pool. Found one on clearance for $1500 with liner. Put that one up myself. Expect the liner to last about 8 years before pressing your luck. Will re-evaluate pool and consider hot tub when time comes to replace liner.