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Author Topic: Yearly cost of maintaining a swimming pool Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-31-2004 05:24 PM                     I am looking to buy a house sometime in the next year and I am trying to decide about a pool. I would like to know how much it would cost to maintain a pool on a yearly basis. That includes everything like water bill increase, chemicals, pump maintenence, etc. I would also like to get opinions on in ground and above ground pools. Personally I think in ground pools are much nicer but I know they are a lot more expensive, but I mean in reference to maintenence cost and increase in property value. Thanks in advance if anyone can help.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 03-31-2004 05:53 PM                    A pool can be time consuming at times. A lot depends on the size of the pool when it comes to things like water bills and chemicals. THe weather is a big factor. Will the pool be open all year round or will it be closed for a while during the winter. Above ground pools are good if you only intend to have the pool for so many years. It is easier to eliminate the pool when you no longer want it. An inground pool would require you to fill in the area if the pool were eliminated. Depending on the ordinances of your city or state, above ground pools do not require a fence to be placed around the yard were as an inground pool does. Above ground pools are limited to how deep they can go were as inground can have a dive depth. Inground pools can be either concrete or vinyl. Both have there pros and cons. If chemical balance is not maintained the concrete can scale and break down or crack and the vinyl can get brittel causing leaks in both cases. It is easier to repair a vinyl liner than having to patch cracks in cement. As far as costs expect to pay anywhere from $1500 to $10,000 + and probably way more than that for inground pool and instilation and depending all on the size of it. An inground pool depending on the city you live in will probably require a permit to install it. Above ground may require one but in most cases does not require one.. You could see yourself paying anywhere from $200 to $500 or more per year for chemicals and maintenance depending on the size and how long the pool will be open and if you have a professional maintain it or you do it yourself. I am not sure about this one but I think in order to increase the property value the pool has to be permanent and I would say that inground is the only way to go on that issue.  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 03-31-2004 06:08 PM                     A typical in ground pool in our market is a $25 - 30,000 investment. Pool service twice a month and you doing the vacuuming and filter clean out should be $600 - 700 a year. If you going to heat the pool expect $500.00 on your electric yearly...there are gas systems also.  |  IP: Logged Mike Fitzgerald Expert Film Handler Posts: 224 From: Castle Hayne, NC, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-31-2004 06:49 PM                     I have a 24 foot round above ground pool that is 4 feet deep. I have switched to buying all of my chemicals from the grocery store and feel I have saved money. There is a web site www.poolsolutions.com that I have obtained the information from. The chemicals I use are bleach, baking soda and borax. One gallon of bleach the regular cheap not the ultra is equal in content to 2/3 lb of shock. Baking Soda is 100% Sodium Bicarbonate and a lot cheaper. I get the pound boxes at Sams. Borax I use 20 Mule team Bransd is a good subsitute for PH-UP. The web site gave me all the information I needed. I hope this helps  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 03-31-2004 07:08 PM                     The biggest cost is the time to keep it maintained. It can be a royal pain in the butt in real hot weather. Algae loves warm water. Or after a severe thunderstorm blows the pool full of leaves, trash and debris. You can spend hours cleaning out that sort of mess. If you don't keep the maintenance up to snuff, and the balance gets out of wack, you'll have hell to pay. Check your local property tax rules, around here, an in ground "significantly" increase's your yearly taxes. An above ground does not. And can cause a significant increase in your homeowers insurance. In most case's, a pool will not increase the value of your home, in fact it can hurt the sale of the home in some instances. My 2 cents, it's much cheaper and a heck of a lot less work in the long run to buy a yearly pass to the local Y, and use their pool.  |  IP: Logged Mike Fitzgerald Expert Film Handler Posts: 224 From: Castle Hayne, NC, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-31-2004 09:24 PM                     True the maintenance can be a problem but to me at least I like to be able to look out the back door and see what the kids are doing and if they want to invite their friends over it gives us a chance to meet the friends they are associating with. That said in all likeihood once the kids are gone the pool will be also and we will put a hottub on the deck in the back for us.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-31-2004 09:49 PM                        Make sure you have REAL good liability insurance if you're inviting the neighborhood kids over. Making their parents sign a "permission slip" or a "waiver" isn't enough. I have a friend in the pool biz in Florida and he told me he's seen some reeeeeally ugly lawsuits.  |  IP: Logged William Hooper Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1879 From: Mobile, AL USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-01-2004 12:46 AM                        I understand water polo, but how does swimming pool work? Don't the cues warp?  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-01-2004 01:09 AM                     In legal circles, a swimming pool is often referred to as an "attractive nuisance." Let's say that some pesky kids decide it would be tons o' fun to sneak into your swimming pool. They go to town in your backyard. They're uninvited and unsupervised...and all of this is going on without your knowledge. You may still be liable if something bad happens to them. Depending on how the laws are set up in your neck of the woods, it may be your responsibility to ensure that "innocent" kids can't "accidentally" stumble into your swimming pool.  |  IP: Logged Dick Vaughan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1032 From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK Registered: Jul 2000 posted 04-01-2004 01:14 AM                        And remember if you want to use it for water skiing practice you need the newly patented sloping water  |  IP: Logged Sandie Caffelle Film Handler Posts: 24 From: Herefordshire, UK Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-01-2004 04:54 AM                        Hello Dick I've heard about that new sloping water, but I believe you have to be really clear about whether you want it to slope to left or the right, otherwise you have really bad problems....... Sandie  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 04-01-2004 05:16 AM                        Two things: Creepy Crawler -- I rarely have to spend any time cleaning the pool since I leave the thing in constantly. People claim that it'll burn out your pump but in 10 years it hasn't and the pump pressure is within norm. Solar Coil -- keeps the pool at a nice 85 degrees and doesn't cost a cent in electricity or fuel. I usually spend about $300 on chemicals for 4 months for a pool with a surface area of 2300 square feet. Chemical cost, and algee battles, depend heavily on the amount of sun the pool will get.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-01-2004 08:28 AM                     quote: Solar Coil Ye-ouch! Are people still wearing these things?  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 04-01-2004 08:50 AM                        I've got a 4-foot deep 16 x 32 foot above-ground "Fanta-Sea" pool, built in 1987 and refurbished (new marine plywood "water walls" and liner) in 2000: http://www.leisureliving.com/Category_PAGES/NewPages/Fanta_Sea_Pools.html I really like the above ground pool, as it does not add to my tax assessment, and stays much cleaner than my neighbors' in-ground pools. (In-ground pools tend to have more dirt blown in, and worms/frogs/rodents drowning in them). The Fanta-Sea and Kayak styles are also self-fencing, with a lockable swing-up ladder. My Fanta-Sea has a "solar deck" to help heat the water, where the water is pumped through the hollow dark brown plastic decking to heat it --- on a sunny day, the temperature rise can be about 10 degrees F. Chemicals (3-inch chlorine tabs, sodium carbonate, algaecide, and chlorine "shock") run only about $300 per season. In the last two years, I've noticed that I need to use MUCH more sodium carbonate to keep the pH from getting too low, evidently due to acid rain from pollution by those upwind midwest power plants. It's costing me about $60 more per year.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 04-01-2004 09:56 AM                    John, you may need to add water stablizer to the pool. It is easy to do per the directions on the package. THis will help prevent the water from becoming unbalanced so fast. Sounds like your chlorine is being eaten up to fast causing your alkaline level to jump. This stablizer will help prevent that from happening.  |  IP: Logged

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