Inground pool? ya or na

[JB @ C and L Machine]

I was tossing the idea of an inground pool... whats your take on it? What is better a concrete or fiberglass?

 

[nps]

I vote Na. Been there, done that. "It's for the kids. " Yeah, they like it for about 1-2 years, then see ya! You're left doing all the maintenance. I'll never own one again.



It was concrete in Maryland. Fiberglass didn't work too good there - they'd pop up out of the ground.

 

[HOBrian]

I had a pool at the parents house and hated the thing (inground 20x40 10ft deep) Nothing but time wasted working on the pool. The chemicals, the cleanings, the leaf removal,AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I hate it :{



Sorry, I feel better now

Just think, You will be the one doing everything to that pool, everything :-{}

 

[TORQUE THIS]

Only have experience with concrete... and what the others have said...

A LOT OF WORK!

 

[JPope]

Concur with what the other guys are saying, Nay!!!!!



You might want to check and see how it could affect your homeowners insurance, what you have to do to comply with local codes, you know fences, gates, pool covers, etc. . Also it could be a negative on home resale, and others may not be interested in pools and upkeep issues, and have heard of issues with others sneaking in while you are away for vacation, etc.



Lots of potential upkeep issues, and maybe for only a limited number of years use, especially if the novelty wears off soon.



Did I mention upkeep issues, trees, leaves :{

 

[E7mack96]

We have a 20x40 inground. It came with the house we bought. I spent nearly 3K last year just getting it up and running. On a plus side, this year has been trouble free. I opened it at end of march, and we have been swimming alot already. If you get the water "right", they are close to maint free through the summer.



The best 1 k you can spend is on an Aqua bot. They are friggin awesome, and I don't have to vacuum the pool.



Pools are like boats.

 

[CumminsBu]

Pools are like boats.

Money holes!!!

 

[klenger]

I let the HOA pay for it.

 

[MLimpert]

My folks had a pool at their house until this spring. It truely was a bottomless pit for time and money. A few triaxle loads of dirt fixed that problem They were spending like 6-10 hours a week cleaning and maintaining it, and plenty of cash on chemicals and such.



After seeing what a joy my parents had with their pool, I will never have a house with one.

 

[JB @ C and L Machine]

alot of na's

 

[nps]

alot of na's

Made up your mind yet?

 

[rrausch]

I'd say it also depends on where you are located. A pool in the hot SouthWestern U. S. makes a heck of a lot more sense than one in Rochester N. Y! And if your family REALLY loves water, you might consider it... but personally I always go down to the creek!

 

[MCummings]

Having just picked up a boat, and having an Uncle who had a pool. I would say they are very similar!





Merrick

 

[WCPoe]

Fiberglass in ground pool

JB - We have a small to mid sized in ground f/glass pool which was installed in 1988. I must admit it requires some effort but with the automatic pool cleaners it is not bad at all. Other than some valves and misc items our f/glass pool has been way less costly overall than my friends with vinyl liners and gunite. Ours is about 15x30, 3 to 7 feet deep and holds only about 13,500 gallons and is not near any trees which makes it less likely to accumulate debris. My next door neighbor has one of the newer acrylic pools which should perform even better cosmetically. My light blue f/glass has faded and shows some cosmetic blemishes now but still has it's integrity. It's your call - I probably wouldn't do it again but then again I'm nearly 20 years older now. I sure wouldn't spend the money if I was going to move since it's had to get your money back from a pool. But on the flip side my wife loves it.

 

[CDonaldson]

I had an inground pool for many years when I lived in CA, LOTS of work and $$'s. I enjoyed it to the max so I feel as though I got my money's worth. That's the real issue as a pool can be looked at like any other hobby, and we all know that hobbies can be expensive. Was transfered to the east (PA) where pool season is short so I decided not to do the pool thing again, instead I got a Spa. Now you might think that a Spa is not so refreshing 'cause it's hot water, but let me tell you they are GREAT. First thing every morning I hit the Spa, coffee pot timed out so it was ready for wakeup. Get's the body up to speed. Same thing in reverse, every night just before bed - I never slept so good. Hot water almost seems to be more refreshing as when you get out you feel like the outside temps are a lot cooler than before you got in. So now, I'm on the retirement end of things, live again in a hot climate - pool NO, Spa YES. The one thing that no one has mentioned is the water bill. Evaporation is your worst enemy. If your area has water issues, your pool can cost you big bucks as water rates do not reward high water use. Sorry to be long winded and go to another possibility for some fun and relaxation. To your second question - If I was committed to putting in another in-ground pool, I think I would go with the fiberglass. I had a couple problems with small cracks in my cement pool the second year and had to drain it, etc. Since your location is America's landfill, and if you really are on fill, settling can be big trouble with cement. I had a friend go through a ton of troubles with settling issues. The costs are pretty similar to build either one of them. Another option that you have is to get an above ground pool. They are very reasonable in cost, you would get to see if the pool thing is what you want to do, and they have a good resale value. If you did not like the pool and all the work, etc you could just sell it. If you did like the pool and still wanted an underground one, you could sell the above ground and put one in. Kind of a win-win situation.



CD

 

[rrausch]

I was just going to chime in on the above-ground pool idea. Friend of mine had one and we enjoyed the heck out of it. When he sold his house, he sold the pool first and seeded the ground--after awhile it looked just like the rest of the yard.

 

[The patriot]

Yea! You live in NJ?

Let me know when it's done. :-laf

 

[JB @ C and L Machine]

Yea! You live in NJ?

Let me know when it's done. :-laf

Great state eh?



The above ground isnt really an option... to be short. . My wife has a form of MD and the ladder just wouldn't be a good for her. JB

 

[JPope]

"... the ladder just wouldn't be a good for her. JB"



Consider a deck and ramp. Set the deck height just above the pool rim and maybe the same as getting into an inground?



When the kids were little we built a deck with a ramp (with locking gate on outside). We first built a ramp extension into the pool, cause they liked riding their plastic wheeled tricycle into the water.

They could navigate the ramp easier and safer than a ladder, and used a vertical board fence closely spaced, along with the locking gate to help keep them out when they were not supervised

 

[Hummin Cummins]

We put an above ground 24' pool in 3 years ago. Like it was said before, once you get the water right, they are easy to maintain. The wife does all the cleaning and skimming. All I do is check PH and Chlorine residual once a week and drop in a Chlorine puck or two in the skimmer. We have the cartridge filter setup rather than an earth filter. No backwashing required, just pull out the cartridge (looks like a BHAF) and hose it off. The kids and wife use it constantly. Heck, they have been in it already this year. We didnt go inground because of living by a stream, the water table can get high. Its nice to come home after a 3-11 shift, flop on the raft and have a few beers.



Edit: IMO, I would stay away from the "baquacil" or "pristine blue" products and go with chlorine. The acidic rain water neutralizes those type of chemicals and you will go broke trying to maintian the proper chemical levels. The first year we were using 1 qt of chemical per week at 35 bucks a quart. Since we switched to chlorine pucks, I'm on the same bucket we bought 2 years ago for 50 bucks at Sam's club.