[lmitchem]

Hi Everyone,

Don't get to stop by hardly at all anymore since Krista is home but I'm not complaining. She is such a joy!! I'll try to post pics later.

Wanted to ask if any of you have swimming pools at home. We are looking at pools and was wondering if anyone can give me their input on pools? Did you do above ground or inground? Whats a good above ground pool? Is the maintenance really bad? Did you build decks around your pool? Would love to see pics!!!!!

Thanks!
Lisa

[afl]

I think it may depend on where you live as to whether above-ground or in-ground is better.

We live in FL and just about everyone has pools and they are almost all in-ground and have decks and screen enclosures.

Here's a pic of ours.

And of course, I had to include a pic of my bathing beauty...

[annaguat]

We have a 28ft round above ground pool. It goes from 4 to 7 ft deep. We build a partially raised deck around it and it is fenced in. We also have an 8x10ft above ground spa in the same enclosure. We sometimes heat it with solar panels but have no other way to heat it. Above ground pools seem to warm up faster fromt he sun. Originally when we got our pool we did not own our place plus it was just to coslty to put in an in ground pool at that time. We do like it alot and use it near daily 7 months out of the yr. Curently we are building a new home and we plan to move our pool and spa. Maybe in the long run I would like to put in an inground pool because of looks but I will definitely keep the spa above ground. DH does the pool on Saterdays and it takes maybe a 1/2 hour or less. The main thing is to stay on top of it. Also it is worth spending the money on a good filtration system. Anna

[toribugsmom]

We have an inground, but we live out in the country so we have a very large yard. I like the fact that we have a shallow end and a deep end. If you go with an above ground I would definetly look for one that has that. Above grounds have some cool deck kits you can get. I don't know how to post pics!!!!!!

[jules17]

good thread...

we are thinking about putting an in ground pool in next spring/summer...we have a very large backyard and plenty of room.

i am not too nervous about the maintenance (but maybe i should be?)

i am worried about the safety issues - yes, we would have a locked fence around it...but wondering if i would forever be panicked that one of our children would figure out a way to get in??

[cjrogers]

I have an inground pool - but I'm in dallas Fort Worth. Most of us have them here, even though they are like bathwater come August.

I don't really know the measurements, but it takes up my whole backyard. We don't have children at home yet, but we do have the holes to put up a fence and the safety fence. We did not put the pool in, we purchased the home w/ the pool.

It is in ground Gunite. I previously had an inground with a vinyl liner and it was horrible. In hindsight, with the baby, I wouldn't have a pool at all.

Just stressful - but I guess you can teach baby to swim early and get her/him comfortable with water... and get a fence and an alarm too! And kids love them!

Either way, maintenance is a huge pain. Depending on your climate, you may have higher or lower maintenance. Hot, rainy climates - high maintenance. Mild, dry climates, a little lower maintenance. Get a great vacuum and learn how to manage chemicals and prepare to maintain, skim and be boggled by the clear water on Monday and green by Wednesday.

I grew up with an above ground pool in Chicago, but it was very small and easy to maintain... and we only used it a few months a year. Plus above ground pools are fairly inexpensive these days, easy to assemble, quick to fill and you can buy your chemicals at target or walmart.

In terms of our existing situation, we got so frustrated with the chemicals and the algae and the skimming, we hired a service - about $150 per month for them to come out weekly and do it all for us. I'd actually pay more than that to not have to deal with the pool cleaning and chemicals. It's great. If you're in a warm weather climate, you probably can find a service for about $30.00 or less per week. I'm not sure about cooler climates, but I"m sure they (services) exist. Here we have year round service so that we don't have to deal with the opening and closing of the pool - which is also a time consuming pain.

And also consider that you'll be running the filter in excess of 8 hours a day - adds up to a large utility bill.

Hopefully I don't sound too negative. There is a lot of upside to having one. It's just a lot of work... and expensive. If you have the time, money and patience, then it's for you. If not, you may want to get a good sprinkler and/or take the kids to the community pool.

Also, I am editing this to mention the following (that we've figured out over the years): 1. If you go inground, get the stairs into the pool - I think that is standard these days, but it's helpful for kids and pets (dogs) who might fall in or go in voluntarily. They can get out easier. Also, I've always had the shallow and deep ends. Love it.. but it's hard to play volleyball or any type of game if you can't touch the floor and have your head above water. I would probably get a play pool if I got one again... and also, diving boards drive up your home insurance prices - and in some states, they won't even insure you if you have a diving board...

Okay, enough from me!
Heres' a pic from last fall. Good luck and I'd be happy to chat about pools in general.

[BobMiami]

I live very close to our downtown area, so my property is very small. My entire back yard is my pool.

I made sure that the alarms on the sliders leading out to the pool worked and then I quickly started my son on swimming lessons. Nowdays (he is 5) he swims better than I do. But still, he is not allowed in the back without me and I still have an uneasy relationship with the pool.

Its amazing what toddlers can learn, however, and I defininately recommend swimming lessons as early as possible.
Bob

[afl]

If you do an inground pool, you definitely should get the pool fence around it. They have latches and locks on them, so there's no way a kiddo can get it open unless they can get the key and unlock it. Definitely use the locks, not just the spring latches.

[lmitchem]

Oh my goodness you all have beautiful pools!!!! Yes, the safety issue does concern me A LOT but we are going to put her in swimming lessons and it will be fenced off and we will have alarms. Oh gosh, just typing this i'm getting nervous. Thanks again for everyones help.

lisa

[2xaround]

We are in Illinois and have a 21 ft, 4 ft deep round above ground pool. We also built a deck all the way around it, so it has the feel of an inground pool. I would say the worse part about the care is opening it in the Spring and closing it in the Fall, but depending on where you live, you may or may not need to do the open/close thing. We've had our pool for about 11 years and just had to change the liner last year, so it's served us well.

[shelbydog]

We had one but moved to VA and now have a tiny yard. So I've been in both situation. Ours in our old house was in a huge yard, and was in ground. I will tell you that it was a CONSTANT worry. My son fell in when he was 3 and my husband was standing RIGHT there. We also had a 5 yr old niece fall in at a Bday party with tons of adults, etc. within 10 feet of her. She slipped in.

My kids are now age 2 and 5, and I will tell you that it is a relief and joy NOT having one. I can let the kids play in the fenced yard with no worry. We go to our neighborhood pool as often as we want with no worries about one in our yard.

Our inground pool took alot of time to maintain. Between vacuuming, chemicals, skimming, opening and closing, etc. it was alot of work....

That said, if I lived in the south, like FL, etc. I would definitely have one. But in a climate where you only use it 3-4 months out of the year, we found it to be not worth the safety issues and maintenance. We are relieved not to have it. Just a different perspective

[shelbydog]

Also find out about water charges. Our water bill was HUGE the month we filled the pool, and we only had to fill it half way - we kept it half empty through winter with the liner on. If you don't have well water, find out what your water charge will be....sometimes you are charged at a higher rate if you surpass "usual" consumption. That is how our township worked and it was alot of money to fill.

[afl]

I wanted to add to the info about the water charges. Here, the sewer charges are the biggest part of the water bill. If you show the water company something that proves you just had a pool installed, they will not charge you for the sewer for that many gallons. It really helps.