Anyone Install or own a Swimming Pool?

[mgadfly]

My wife and I are beginning to look at houses that we might buy next year. We are not sure where we are going to live (I have to get a job first), but it will probably be in Seattle/Yakima/Spokane Washington. We've been arguing a little about whether we should look for a place with a pool, consider having one installed after we buy a place, or just keep using the pool at the gym.

I was wondering if anyone had any idea how much a pool usually costs to install? (Obviously this depends on what type/size pool, but I'm just talking about your basic in-ground smaller version, but big enough that kids could play in, and my wife and I could swim around in).

Does anyone have any experience on how much it costs to heat a pool? I've heard that with a pool cover that it can cost as little as $30-50 per month during the summer.

Thanks for any help.

[MrBug708]

MY parents put in a pool a few years ago (about 10) at our old house. I can find out how much it cost to install it for you. We put in solar power heating and it was awesome in the summer. THe water was always warm and going into 90 degree pool water at midnight was so much fun. You'd think it would be too hot to use, but it wasn't. Bu since you live in Washington, I dont think Solar Power heating would be a viable option though.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Unless you want to to have added expenses of an indoor pool, go to the Y and use thiers. Too much rain to use a regular backyard pool in that area

[clintl]

I have a pool, but it was here when I bought the house. I don't need to heat it because the average high here in the summer is in the 90s. Nature does the job just fine. I did have to get it replastered a couple of years ago, and that cost $3300.

[mgadfly]

Thanks. Mr. Bug, if you wouldn't mind finding out that'd be great.

I was hoping someone had a pool in a Seattle like area where there are a lot of days with cloud cover (Seattle actually doesn't get very much rain, less than NY for example). But the summers are pretty mild, so the expense of heating it (and solar heating would probably not work) might be a problem.

If I'm in Spokane or (especially) Yakima, it is a desert with summer temps that probably wouldn't even require a heater (and solar power would work). The question then becomes whether the cost is worth having a pool from mid-may to mid-september since the winters are so cold.

[Godzilla Blitz]

I have a pool, but it came with the house. Don't know how much they cost to install, but I believe they can be ridiculously expensive.

Pool maintenance is expensive, though. Chemicals cost a lot. Running the pool filter eats up electricity. I don't think heating will be your big expense, as I've heard you can heat them once early in the swimming season (for about $80-100), and then judiciously use the solar cover to maintain the heat. We don't heat ours, as we like the water cold, and usually we get enough heat from the sun.

We use a pool service company that costs about $500 for four months. Electricity costs are probably another $200. Closing is another $120. Add in all the little things and I'd say we're looking at about $1,000 a year to run the thing.

The other thing to consider is the time involved to keep the pool clean. Vacuuming, sweeping, trips to the pool supply store, etc., eat up a lot of time. With the pool service company, it saves tons of time and ends up being only slightly more expensive than doing it ourselves. Still, vacuuming, cleaning, and routine maintenance take time, especially before you get the hang of it.

All in all, though, we love our pool. The kids have a blast playing in it. I use to swim laps. There is nothing like it when the temperature gets over 90. It's great for parties and inviting friends over. No regrets here.

If I were going to build one myself, I would check with a real estate agent to see how they affect the value of the home. Here in Minnesota, they add zero to the property's value because the swimming season is so short. Unless I had lots of money to piss away, I wouldn't build one unless a significant portion of the cost would increase the property's value.

[rlfreeze]

My wife and I are considering putting in a pool in our new house. We just received a quote from one guy. It came in at 35K. However, that included have all the concrete put in in the backyard as well. Plus, I believe the quote came in at 4K higher than normal for a solar heating system.

[FrogMan]

We had a pool installed two years ago, almost to the day. Price for the whole thing was 16,000 CDN$, to which we had to add about 4,000 CDN$ for a fence around it. Not sure how much help this is, since we're in Canada...

That included that whole thing, but be ready to pay for some landscaping work if you have it installed on a land where the whole landscaping has already been done. For us, the house had been built the year before that, and the landscaping was to be done right after they were done putting the pool in, so they were free to roam with their big trucks and all that...

Here's what it looks like




It's 30 feet long, 18 feet wide on its wider section, and 14 feet wide on its narrower section.

I would disagree about the cost of chemicals being all that high. There's a cost to start the season, then I find it fairly easy to take care myself for the season. We don't have any heating system, although it's in the plans for the future.

FM