I didn't listen to all the folks I worked with, all-who said don't do it, you don't have kids, you'll never use it after the first year.

They were right, but here's what we have anyway. A salt pool, Pebble-Tec, paper filter and it's been good for the last 17 or so years. We've had several types of pool cleaners, mostly Navigators, never very satisfied with any of them. We started off doing all the stuff on the pool ourselves and hated that. It's a lot of work to keep it looking pristine.

We never considered a pool cleaning service and, again, everyone-all-said don't do that since you have a salt pool, they'll just show up and throw some chlorine in and drive away.

Finally, we decided to find a pool service anyway (going to be gone for nearly 4 weeks and knew what we'd see when we got back), and we were blessed amazingly. The service company we got is family owned, the owner can do anything on pools (licensed, etc) and Brandon, our weekly guy, is great. Shows up, keeps the pool looking perfect, he's polite and personable. Better be for $165 a month.

Here's the one thing we've now added that really helps-an auto filler. The services don't/won't fill pools as that takes them off their route with their other customers too long, but an auto filler, $200 or less from Amazon, adds water when your pool needs it-a wonderful thing in Florida's summers.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:

Hmmm, if I read their FAQ's correctly, about $2K plus installation. Any idea how much installation is?

No clue. I literally thought to myself--"They make heat pump water heaters for residential use. I wonder if they make one for pool use. I bet it'd be the size of a central AC unit. Hmm, I wonder if you could just use the same compressor as your AC unit...hah, I bet someone's figured out how to just use the pool as giant heat sink for their AC unit."

And then I googled it. What you have here is basically my thoughts on the matter in real time.

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter1:
Here's the one thing we've now added that really helps-an auto filler. The services don't/won't fill pools as that takes them off their route with their other customers too long, but an auto filler, $200 or less from Amazon, adds water when your pool needs it-a wonderful thing in Florida's summers.

Bob

We had an auto-fill built in to our last pool. Set & forget, works like a toilet plunger.
Definitely considering one here, too.

Initial estimate from one of the builders.
Free-form shape with hot tub, pebbletec, decking & a retaining wall (10" rise in the yard)
$80-90k, starting

Our neighbors are completing an architecturally complex new pool installation at the moment. They've already learned one important lesson. With the trees in our back yards and in the preserve behind us, there will be leaves in their pool quite frequently in the spring and summer and probably non-stop in the fall.

Want to meet relatives you never knew existed, their families and friends? And neighbors who you never had any contact with at all?
Install a pool! And you get to maintain it so every moocher can enjoy it.
Never again!

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:


Initial estimate from one of the builders.
Free-form shape with hot tub, pebbletec, decking & a retaining wall (10" rise in the yard)
$80-90k, starting

I just want to throw this out there.

$90k in an interest bearing account, plus another $300 a month deposited in as savings from not having to maintain/heat/clean/chemical a pool, buys *a lot* of vacations.

You could, literally, pop into a nice resort and use their pool for the day (or two, if you wanted to stay overnight) every month and never touch your principle balance. Or take an additional $5k vacation each year. Or buy $5k worth of booze to gift to various friends to use their pool.

The pool doesn't necessarily add value to your home, and certainly not 15 years from now where anyone looking at it will simply think it being a money sink for repairs.

Buuuut, that's just me.

There is a great amount of good advice here but as a civil engineer I must caution you to assure your contractor does the following:
1. Uses quality backfill material. Not the same material he excavates out for the pool, or any material with friable rock or loose aggregate. He also needs to compact this material sufficiently when the material is dry. My father-in-law learned this the hard way after his pool bottom, pool deck slabs, and ladders all settled irregularly. When I say irregularly, I mean inch plus gaps started opening up, pool deck slabs were not on the same walking plane (corners and edges sticking up everywhere), etc.

2. Do not allow your contractor to pour pool deck slabs using fiber matrix concrete. Pay for having him place welded wire fabric (minimum of W4 x W4) or rebar and don't allow for a pool deck slab to be thinner than 4" inches either.

3. If you intend to run perimeter lighting or other electrical that will be exposed to the elements just choose conduit and not direct burial. You can thank me later.

I’m in NTX. It’s so hot and humid in the summer here that the pool is lukewarm until 30 minutes after the sun goes down. If you’re hell bent on this (I would not put one in as costs have gone up dramatically) design a way to at least shade 1/2 the pool. If you can keep the sun off it all day, at least half, it should be decent in the summertime. It’s so hot and humid here that mine is unusable until it’s nighttime. I literally don’t use it in the day time sans the few weeks in spring and fall before the cold comes if we even get those weeks at all. IE 70’s or low 80’s and lower humidity. People don’t understand the geographic climate plays a huge effect on how much use you will actually get out of a pool. And that geo climate difference means a lot more than just simple use.

I’d also suggest putting in an auto-fill so you don’t have to go out there with the hose to fill it up. Due to TX heat and humidity, the evaporation can be extreme. Prior to the auto-fill I’d turn the hose on and go run an errand and I think you can figure out the rest.

You also need an overflow valve. Plumb it into PVC and run it to somewhere like an alley or where it will run down the street into the sewer just like rain water. When we get the floods, which are every year, that valve tremendously helps dispatch the water. But sometimes it floods so hard and fast I have to run the motor in backwash mode anyways. But overflow takes care of it 80-85%.

I take care of my own pool except for a few equipment things. My guy says (independent, honest) the equipment has all doubled in price and isn’t going back down. I’m glad I replaced some major things prior to the pandemic because I checked and they are indeed double the price now. Does not bode well for the future when things need to be replaced.

Whomever said it above about Leslies, I couldn’t disagree more. They have migrated to a new water test system that is electronic and that little machine works extremely well, better than strips. In 3 or so years since they implemented it I’ve had only one single issue with it and that’s because I tested my water immediately before the machine failed for some reason. I got some skeptical readings which I didn’t believe and I got a phone call immediately not to do anything (no chemical changes whatsoever), that the machine was bad. So I just went to the next closest store the following day and all my readings were inline.

I cannot wait to sell my house. I won’t own another pool. It’s not worth the time or expense to me. I use the spa infinitely more than the pool so I will purchase a fiberglass one or a chintzy one off Amazon that I found for $800. Great for muscle recovery from lifting weights. Pool, meh, I’ll just drive 5 minutes to the lake.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:


Initial estimate from one of the builders.
Free-form shape with hot tub, pebbletec, decking & a retaining wall (10" rise in the yard)
$80-90k, starting

That sounds comparable to costs in my area without knowing specifics of size, equipment, etc. The builder I recently used for a major renovation tells potential new customers to plan $100k for a concrete pool when all is finished; fence, landscaping, yard repairs, and the like get overlooked.

We have a great Leslie's nearby that actually advised me against spending money a couple times. Points for them & made me happy to keep going to them.

Luckily, we have a double gate, so no fence teardown needed. Yard repairs & irrigation changes will need to be factored in.
We had no trees at our old house, so a warm pool is well known by us. Lots of trees & shade here, and both builders said no trees need to be removed.

Pay attention to the height of water in the pool in relation to the level of the pump.

There are devices that have to be above the height of the water. Pool light junction box has to be above the water line. Also the blower for a spa (adds bubbles) needs to be above the water line.

I saved money on a quartz finish vs the brand name pebble tech, we love it can’t tell the difference between it and pebble tech.

If you include a heater check the heater gas requirements. My pool heater is a 400,000 BTU while the gas service to my house is 250,000 BTUs. The gas company has to run a new service line. They are doing for free, they make up the cost by selling more gas but I am at their mercy and their contractors timing. I’m on month 3 waiting for the new gas service and regulator / meter. My install date is 2 weeks. With a little luck I’ll be in my spa for Christmas.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
but was advised by local experts that the local water chemistry worked as well or better with chlorine.

I'm really curious of an explanation of this. It makes no sense to me.

I'm not a chemist, play one on TV or have stayed at HI Express last night but the gist of it was that due to the hardness of the water and the specific minerals causing said hardness that the salt water systems weren't worth the added expense in Vegas.

Unfortunately you were lied to for some reason.

Anyhow, lots of good advice here. Glad people have had good luck with Leslie’s. I did not. But I assume they are franchises and all differ. I’d rather test myself. I have a strong background in water chemistry so it doesn’t bother me.

I am also an outlier in that I get maybe 3 months of use. We easily spent 50k on the pool and over 100K on the patio and retaining walls. I’d do it again. Love having a pool. Maintenance is easy as pie. Friends and family never invite themselves. But we enjoy the parties. We keep the pool open from April until the end of October just for the look of it. Swim maybe June-August. Heater doesn’t matter in cooler months. If it’s 60 outside I don’t swim even if the pool is 83.

Texas, yeah I’d have a pool and love it. A water level system is a great idea. Even here I have to add from evaporation and drain from lots of rain.

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter1:
I didn't listen to all the folks I worked with, all-who said don't do it, you don't have kids, you'll never use it after the first year.

They were right, but here's what we have anyway. A salt pool, Pebble-Tec, paper filter and it's been good for the last 17 or so years. We've had several types of pool cleaners, mostly Navigators, never very satisfied with any of them. We started off doing all the stuff on the pool ourselves and hated that. It's a lot of work to keep it looking pristine.

We never considered a pool cleaning service and, again, everyone-all-said don't do that since you have a salt pool, they'll just show up and throw some chlorine in and drive away.

Finally, we decided to find a pool service anyway (going to be gone for nearly 4 weeks and knew what we'd see when we got back), and we were blessed amazingly. The service company we got is family owned, the owner can do anything on pools (licensed, etc) and Brandon, our weekly guy, is great. Shows up, keeps the pool looking perfect, he's polite and personable. Better be for $165 a month.

Here's the one thing we've now added that really helps-an auto filler. The services don't/won't fill pools as that takes them off their route with their other customers too long, but an auto filler, $200 or less from Amazon, adds water when your pool needs it-a wonderful thing in Florida's summers.

Bob

We don't have any kids and people told us we'd neve use it.

Guess what? We not only use it daily when the water's warm enough, we added a solar blanket to extend our season.

And yes, an autofill is a wonderful thing. Works on the same principle as your toilet to keep the pool full. We've got one.

I did enjoy one group of guests at my pool. The Barn Swallows would make high speed, low level passes across the pool hunting bugs. And dip occasionally to get a drink.
Poetry in flight!

Don't do it!

What most people call saltwater pools are not. Maybe 1% of pools are actually saltwater. Just adding salt to the pool and using a chlorine generator does not make your pool a saltwater pool.

The actual chemistry behind using liquid chorine or a chlorine generator is exactly the same when it comes to keeping pools clean. The only difference is instead of buying jugs weekly at the pool store, the chlorine generator makes the chlorine at your house. That’s it.

You still have to have your alkalinity, pH, and stabilizer levels right. You still have to maintain the right level of free chlorine available. You still have to super chlorinate when the combined chlorine level gets too high in relation to free chlorine. You do have the added task of making sure the level of salt is right, but that is usually only and issue when if it rains a lot.

I found having a chlorine generator easier to maintain my pool. I could leave it for two weeks and it would be fine when I came back. I actually left it for two months once and it was fine when I came back.

Both our pools looked really big when our kids were little (12x36 and 14x28). But they seem small now. I’d have a longer pool with a 5’ min. depth if I do it again.

The ocean is 35,000PPM in salinity and salt water pools are around 3,000PPM, so there's a huge difference in salinity.

But if it isn't fresh water and and it has a salt level, it's a salt water pool.

Rain water doesn't make much difference in the salinity of a pool. Consider that my pool is around 15,000 gallons and I might get a hundred gallons of water during a microburst, a change of around a half a percent and change in salinity of perhaps 20PPM, nothing to even think about.

What does lower the salinity of the pool is people getting out. They carry a little of the salt with them every time they get out and also each time I take the solar cover off to swim in the spring and fall, more salt comes out so with my pool this means I'll probably have to add another 40 pounds of salt once a year.

quote:

What do you wish you'd done differently

1) Pay attention to landscaping.

In our case, the prior/original owners must have read a book entitled "Plants to keep far away from in-ground pools" and strictly used that in populating the yard.

So, near/above the pool they had put in plants with..:
- stiff, poky leaves (live oak) right up against the edge of the pool walking area,
- trees with significant litter drop three seasons of the year, large enough that branches overhung the pool- flowers, seeds, leaves (Tulip tree)
- trees that attracted aphids which exuded sticky residue onto the pool walking area (same Tulip tree)
- trees with useless sticky fruit (loquat)
- trees with fruit drop (plum)
- shrubs that continuously dropped flower petals that blew into the pool (oleander, leptospermum (NZ tea tree)
- trees with messy fruit, that also attracted bees (privet)
....

Hopefully the point is made. Think not only about appearance, and, potentially shade (which you might or might not want) but also the other aspects of the plantings.

2) Think about pool covers when you put in the pool.

A good cover can help heat the pool as well as reduce evaporation and keep out some of the crud. Planning for this up front beats having to put it in afterwards.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
The ocean is 35,000PPM in salinity and salt water pools are around 3,000PPM, so there's a huge difference in salinity.

I'll be that guy.

"This is a list of bodies of water by salinity that is limited to natural bodies of water that have a stable salinity above 0.05%, at or below which water is considered fresh.

Water salinity often varies by location and season, particularly with hypersaline lakes in arid areas, so the salinity figures in the table below should be interpreted as an approximate indicator."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...of_water_by_salinity

And your handy-dandy conversion tool:

https://calculate.plus/en/cate...vert/g-per-kg/to/ppm

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:.

Rain water doesn't make much difference in the salinity of a pool.

Maybe not in Arizona, but it makes a big difference in Florida.