We’re in the process of planning our pool. Installation next next June. Wondering if you guys have any insights for a new unground pool owner.
- Thread starter Jigstick
- Start date
Don’t skimp on the liner, something like pebble tech is awesome, go with a solar heater, and surround it with some type of patio that’s easy to pressure wash (no paint or pavers with sand.
Benches seating depth that run along at least one side is really fucking nice too as is a saltwater pool. The salt is cheaper and easier to maintain and actually good for your skin vs chlorine being terrible for your skin.
That’s about all I can tell you from having one for the last 3 years and going in a few dozen others down here.
Benches seating depth that run along at least one side is really fucking nice too as is a saltwater pool. The salt is cheaper and easier to maintain and actually good for your skin vs chlorine being terrible for your skin.
That’s about all I can tell you from having one for the last 3 years and going in a few dozen others down here.
We’re definitely going salt water. 28mm liner. Metal framing and insulated panels between the metal and liner. Planned on using a heat pump instead of natural gas. Pretty common here in PA. Haven’t looked into solar. The seating is interesting. Had not considered that. Our steps are 8ft wide.
Wife has one, I don't fuck with it, but would definitely second salt.
Was told once "2 best days as a pool owner are the day you get it and day you get rid of it".
Was told once "2 best days as a pool owner are the day you get it and day you get rid of it".
A hole in the ground that you throw money into. I’d rather have a boat. At least you can sell a boat without selling the house…
22 year pool owner here.
1) look around and define you budget with a very hard stop.
2) make a list of features you want, rank order them, then get bids on the base plus each addition. Figure what fits in your budget.
3) read the contract, make sure you understand what a “working day is”, generally it’s not calendar based. If you need it by a particular day, then pay the difference/ incentive.
Otherwise the “5-10 working days” will occur 1 day per month for 5-10 months.
4) try to not put a high % down but payments are reasonably spread out over working days.
5) a friend had a pool built that was NTE / COD, 100% Not to Exceed/ Cash on Dive-in. There was a problem (there frequently is) the undocumented / mid-placed sewer pipe was in the way, contractor was highly motivated to fix ASAP. The extra 10% he paid for NTE/ COD was substantially less than the overall cost he been
6) remember the 2 happiest days of a pool owners life are the first day they use it and the day the sell it. Enjoy it while you have it.
1) look around and define you budget with a very hard stop.
2) make a list of features you want, rank order them, then get bids on the base plus each addition. Figure what fits in your budget.
3) read the contract, make sure you understand what a “working day is”, generally it’s not calendar based. If you need it by a particular day, then pay the difference/ incentive.
Otherwise the “5-10 working days” will occur 1 day per month for 5-10 months.
4) try to not put a high % down but payments are reasonably spread out over working days.
5) a friend had a pool built that was NTE / COD, 100% Not to Exceed/ Cash on Dive-in. There was a problem (there frequently is) the undocumented / mid-placed sewer pipe was in the way, contractor was highly motivated to fix ASAP. The extra 10% he paid for NTE/ COD was substantially less than the overall cost he been
6) remember the 2 happiest days of a pool owners life are the first day they use it and the day the sell it. Enjoy it while you have it.
Let me know when you need it filled. Won't be the cheapest, but I'll hand you a beer and we can laugh about it while you spend another 10k to make it go away.
We love ours. Wish it was salt, may convert later. You are smart to go with a heat pump to save money on heat, but understand that they don't heat very well below 60 degrees, and that could be a problem up north. Here is a picture of Ms 502 working some of her paint magic on ours a couple weeks ago. 
Well, I thought she was in it. Y’all probably wouldn’t want to see her in a bikini anyway.
My last home had a infinity edge salt pool - in 12 years never got the salt system to work, went through numerous pool guys who constantly had to "shock" (chlorinate) it. Turns out the builder used a pool guy with limited experience in infinity edges - don't know if thats what the difference was, but it was a pain.
If you have kids, or your family just loves the water and swimming, go for it. Just research your builder well, and don't be cheap - 15K is not worth a headache and not being able to use your pool as intended. My .02
There is a pool builder here to chime in...
If you have kids, or your family just loves the water and swimming, go for it. Just research your builder well, and don't be cheap - 15K is not worth a headache and not being able to use your pool as intended. My .02
There is a pool builder here to chime in...
just big enough - the feet cheap and easy doubles over as a beer cooler just add ice and beer .
Pools are for fools! I’ve had a built in pool most of my life and my current pool is a gunnite plaster large 10 ft deep pool. I make it work good normally but when you have issues it’s a bitch and money pit. Mine is 42000 gallons.
As I get older I regret it. I used to swim like a fish but not much anymore and the teenagers are idiots who can’t take care of it yet.
Ohh and if they hit rock or water while digging then you gotta spend more.
Ever heard of dewatering wells???
I doubt your gonna do 10 feet deep but you can still hit water at 6 feet. All depends. At least on the east coast
Wife can’t fix it when it has issues. Yadda yadda yadda.
Yeah. Get one you’ll dig it! Especially in an economy like this.
As I get older I regret it. I used to swim like a fish but not much anymore and the teenagers are idiots who can’t take care of it yet.
Ohh and if they hit rock or water while digging then you gotta spend more.
Ever heard of dewatering wells???
I doubt your gonna do 10 feet deep but you can still hit water at 6 feet. All depends. At least on the east coast
Wife can’t fix it when it has issues. Yadda yadda yadda.
Yeah. Get one you’ll dig it! Especially in an economy like this.
You want me to come pee in it ? ............ no charge !
Best way to have a pool is have a friend who has a pool. You show up to drink. The end
And yes I’ll pee in it
And yes I’ll pee in it
17 years in pool repair, 10 as a builder. Retired in 2019.
Feel free to PM if you’d like to talk over the phone for more details.
ALL pools require maintenance. Anyone that tells you otherwise is a liar. There is no magic mechanical item that will replace you maintaining it. So don’t believe otherwise.
With that said, you should not be spending more than 30-40 minutes a week on it.
Salt water is definetly worth it. Some are great some are junk. I would personally only own the AquaRite. Number one problem that people have with salt water is they don’t maintain the PH and they don’t clean the cell when it’s needed. If you do both of those your g2g.
Variable speed pump. I prefer the Pentair.
Go with a DE filter if you have a place you can backwash to. Don’t let the builder try to tell you cartridge is better just so they don’t have to trench a waste line. They simply cannot match the performance of a DE filter.
Heat pumps are great but they lack performance in low temps and high altitudes.
Jandy isolation valves. Don’t let them give you anything else. Everything else jandy sucks. Ask me how I know?
A good auto cleaner is well worth it. The MX8 was the best deal a few years ago. They wear out, just plan on replacing it every 3-4 years.
Number one reason I made money is because customers would not take the time to do the maintenance.
Yes, I’d still own a pool after fixing thousands. Planning my next one now.
-Dan
Feel free to PM if you’d like to talk over the phone for more details.
ALL pools require maintenance. Anyone that tells you otherwise is a liar. There is no magic mechanical item that will replace you maintaining it. So don’t believe otherwise.
With that said, you should not be spending more than 30-40 minutes a week on it.
Salt water is definetly worth it. Some are great some are junk. I would personally only own the AquaRite. Number one problem that people have with salt water is they don’t maintain the PH and they don’t clean the cell when it’s needed. If you do both of those your g2g.
Variable speed pump. I prefer the Pentair.
Go with a DE filter if you have a place you can backwash to. Don’t let the builder try to tell you cartridge is better just so they don’t have to trench a waste line. They simply cannot match the performance of a DE filter.
Heat pumps are great but they lack performance in low temps and high altitudes.
Jandy isolation valves. Don’t let them give you anything else. Everything else jandy sucks. Ask me how I know?
A good auto cleaner is well worth it. The MX8 was the best deal a few years ago. They wear out, just plan on replacing it every 3-4 years.
Number one reason I made money is because customers would not take the time to do the maintenance.
Yes, I’d still own a pool after fixing thousands. Planning my next one now.
-Dan
You pee in boats too?
Have one now…pretty, and the kids like it, but won’t ever have one if we build again.
Fun for maybe a couple dozen days a year; complete pain in the ass money pit the rest of the year. Hot tub and water feature for sure…but not an an entire pool. Still, it’s nice to look at around sunset with an adult beverage or three.
Fun for maybe a couple dozen days a year; complete pain in the ass money pit the rest of the year. Hot tub and water feature for sure…but not an an entire pool. Still, it’s nice to look at around sunset with an adult beverage or three.
Just sold my house with a pool. Well, we close next week. We are buying some acreage and I’ve already proclaimed that there will be no damn pool. EVER! Jump in the damn lake if you want to swim!
Get a tracked rolling cover. Raccoons love to take a dip in open pools then destroy the liner when they claw their way back out looking for the steps or ladder. Ask your insurance how they feel about it replacing the liner.
So, youre wrong that a salt water pool doesn't have chlorine. It's what it makes.
Salt pools you can just run lower chlorine levels and slightly higher CYA so better comfort.
I just built a pool. Included this, trapped a shit load of debris at startup. Very fine dirt I wasn't expecting.
200370 - MultiCyclone 16 Centrifugal Pre-Filter - 2 Inch - Waterco
The Waterco MultiCyclone 16 Centrifugal Pre-Filter, with 2 inch connections, is an innovative device that pre-filters up to 80 percent of the filter's incoming dirt load and that eases the work load of the swimming pool filter. As the MultiCyclone intercepts more and more dirt, the flow rate...
www.poolweb.com No brag just fact, but the pools I build actually increase the value of the property when people put their house on the market and have caused bidding wars.
Talking to new owners, virtually every one said the pool was a major factor in buying the property.
Talking to new owners, virtually every one said the pool was a major factor in buying the property.
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The wife absolutely HAS to have a pool, despite my objections.
I can't believe how much prices have increased in the last five years. I'm getting quotes for $80k-$90k for a basic 16x32 fiberglass pool.
Anyone else seeing this?
I can't believe how much prices have increased in the last five years. I'm getting quotes for $80k-$90k for a basic 16x32 fiberglass pool.
Anyone else seeing this?
What does that price include? Our quote was $45k for a 16x32 inground. But that doesn’t include the heater, salt system, steps, and all the concrete patio. I’m estimating we will be at 70-80k for the completed project.
Our was 17x35, plus 8' spa, heater, raised rear beam with 3 waterfalls, larger steel rebar, thicker gunite and pebblesheen finish, two 3'-4' block retaining walls back of the pool for sloping yard. $115K. N. Texas.
Way more than I was wanting spend, but my fault for waiting too long.
Pools are like cars.. no limit to how much you could spend.
Way more than I was wanting spend, but my fault for waiting too long.
Pools are like cars.. no limit to how much you could spend.
Just buy one of these. Try it out. See how you like it. A hell of a lot cheaper.
Couple pools in my neighborhood the owners who don’t have retractable pool covers wish they did.
Have had a pool for several years now. Was initially against it but wife insisted. Glad she did. Countless hours of quality family time. We still enjoy it even though the kids are grown. Grandkids are having a great time in it now. Completely worth it for us.
You are correct that jandy is junk except for the isolation valves
Also, I have a pentair quad DE filter that uses cartridges but can still backwash if you want it to
I like it much better than grids
What he said. I had a nice one with all the bells and whistles. They are fun in the early season and great place to entertain friends but,... Plan to spend every Saturday morning cleaning the pool, every morning of the summer checking the chemicals and systems. Spend $2-4 hundred per month on electricity and chemical expenses. I will Never have another one. No way.
Wait until you get the change order at the end and they charge you another 45K for the water ......... Check your quote to see if they included the water .....
Recently retired and moved to middle GA. Wife wants a pool. She is not going to swim laps, etc. Suspect she will just lounge around pool or float in it. Any advice on "small" pool options for just a couple? Thanks
Do a splash pad / ‘beach’ and water feature
stock tank pool. google it: its actually pretty cool.
She will not go for anything that makes such sense. I am trying to keep it to a smaller inground pool. I am thinking larger "plunge" pool.
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