Pools

[MTR]

Hi All
Thinking of getting a pool this year, backyard not huge but could go smallish pool.

We are in Perth, summers can be pretty damn hot and just nice to have this as another option besides aircon. Also think it would be an attractive feature, not too concerned whether it adds value or not.

Would like to get some feedback from those who have pools, are they high maintenance, this is my major concern?? Concrete vs Fibro.?

Also would prefer heated pool so we can use it all year.

Thanks
MTR

 

[sanj]

My folks are currently in a house with a salt water pool and there's a lot less maintenance than you'd think. For around $80 a month you can get someone to come in to maintain it, adjust the levels etc.

I don't know enough about it but it would be worth looking into ozone systems as well, I believe you still have to add chlorine but it's just a small amount.

I wouldn't go with a standard chlorine one but that's just personal preference.

 

[Hoffy]

We put in a concrete saltwater pool approx 5 yrs ago. Apart from putting the cleaner in and emptying the skimmer box every few days, I have done zero maintenance. Pool bloke comes in once a month for $50 plus salt/chemicals.

Great lifestyle addition. No regrets.

 

[skater]

We have a chlorine pool. It took a little while to get in the swing, but now, hubby just throws a bit of chlorine in every day & cleans it when necessary. Not a lot of work at all, really & not too much cost either, which surprised me, because I thought it would cost a lot for all the chemicals.

Would I spend the money to put a pool in if I didn't have one? NO! But that's because it doesn't really get used much. If it got used more, then hands down, it would be a resounding YES!

 

[Strannik]

they are all chlorine. the only two approved sanitisers are chlorine and baquacil.

the difference between salt water pool and "chlorine" pool is that the chlorine is made on the spot via electrolysis of salt water.

 

[vbplease]

Would like to get some feedback from those who have pools, are they high maintenance, this is my major concern?? Concrete vs Fibro.?

I'd definitely choose concrete shell or concrete/masonry construction over fibreglass. Very special attention is required in the installation of fibreglass pools (drainage/backfill) which i see so many builders get wrong.. Concrete is a lot more robust.

Make sure you don't build under a tree unless you want a full time job clearing leaves.

 

[Propertunity]

.... not too concerned whether it adds value or not

A $30-40K spend will probably add about 1/2 that (if you're lucky) to end val and wipe out about 65% of potential buyers if you ever want to sell (30% of the market are PIs that do not want a pool and at least 1/2, maybe more, of the 70% remaining OO's don't want one either).

But if ts for a PPOR, then go for it.

Would like to get some feedback from those who have pools, are they high maintenance, this is my major concern??

WE put in a fiberglass pool over 1 year ago. In the last 12 months it has cost us 5 x bags of salt at $7 per bag = $35 and some stabilizers, buffers and acid that have probably totaled $80 all up. The big expense is the electricity bill from running the pumps - one for the filter and one for the solar heating on the roof. Probably only an extra $1,200 pa though. I'd still do it for a PPOR if I had my time over again.

Concrete vs Fibro.?

I hope you mean concrete Vs Fiberglass
Concrete allows you to choose any shape you like, but takes longer to build. We went for fiberglass because it was quicker to install and our soils are fairly reactive and a concrete one may have cracked.

Also would prefer heated pool so we can use it all year.

I thought that too BUT if it is solar heated (as opposed to gas) then in Winter on a grey cloudy day, it does not work. Also in Winter or the colder months, even if the pool water is warm, none of mine, including me, want to slip on the swimmers and get out in the cold air. Its warmer in than out, but you have to get out sometime.

 

[BayView]

We have a salt water chlorinated pool and spa. The spa is a separate body of water which flows into the pool, so this tends to always be turned on (for heating) even if the pool is being used. The kids (and adults) rotate from the spa to the pool as they get too hot/cold.

The spa has a bubble blanket which if left on when heating the spa will normally take about 15 mins to heat up to around 36 degrees. Ours is set to 38, and the pool is set to 29, but they can go higher.

They are both solar heated and can be heated by gas as well. We only heat the spa with gas though. If we have guests over with kids we will sometimes give the pool a gas blast because the kids tend to want to go in if the weather is half decent where adults won't usually get in. I'll put the gas n in the pool in the morning, and by lunchtime it will be a nice temp in the mid to high 20's (it will already have a bit of heat in it due to the solar, of course).

There is also an automated salt and chemical computer arrangement, so adjusts the manufacture of chlorine level automatically. Called a "Salitgem" and a "Chemigem".

You still need to do the monthly (or weekly if you wish) water sample tests and add things like buffer, replace the hydrochloric acid container when it empties, etc. I take my samples to the local pool bloke, who tells me what it needs and I buy it from him. Never costs more than about $60 for the chemicals/salt etc, maybe every 3 months.

During our holiday rental period, the pool guys come around each week to do a service as part of the rental policy agreement, but for our own use we tend to be a lot more slack with it.

Ours both have in-floor cleaning too, but we are lucky to not have too many big trees near our boundaries, so the cleaning mode only gets a run twice a week for an hour each time, and the skimmer basket only needs cleaning out ever other month.

The filter system is 4 filters inside a large canister, and I have cleaned them out twice in the 4 years we have lived here.

So, not a lot of maintenance.

In hindsight, we wish we had rigged up rainwater bladders or tanks to fill the pool, which are rigged to an automatic filling level system - saves filling the pool from the garden hose every week. There is quite a lot of evaporation and spillage due to use.

If budget permits; do all of the above.

Friends of ours did their pool using a pre-made fibreglass shell, and it looks a millions dollars, but was very cheap overall to do.

 

[lizzie]

Other options might simply be a spa - cold in summer, hot in winter - or a private outside bath (I would certainly go with one of these if I could)

 

[topcropper]

If you have young kids, get one straight away. You will get great use out of it in the next decade or so. The older the kids, the less they will use it.

I'd just go a solar blanket. Works as good as solar heating at a fraction of the cost and stops nearly all evaporation. As for winter use, just don't use it. A solar blanket or solar heating wont work at all in winter and you'd need to be James Packer or Dazz to afford to heat it with gas or electricity. Just think of it as something you use 6 months of the year.

We have a fibreglass one. Couldn't go cement due to deep, reactive black soil. Not much maintainence or cost.


See ya's.

 

[serendip]

If you have young kids, get one straight away. You will get great use out of it in the next decade or so. The older the kids, the less they will use it.

I have never been interested in having a pool. Now I have a 4yo it seems like a really good idea!! It'll probably be another couple of years before we move but I think then I'll look for something with a pool, rather have a 6yo with a pool than a 4yo too. As has been said, it doesn't really seem to add cost so I would rather buy with one than buy then add one. Land size to have a garden & a pool is the challenge around here, of course it's available at a price.

 

[gottabespotless]

I would never be without a pool. We use ours all the time. It's a massive part of our lifestyle.

I couldn't wait to sell the only PPOR we've ever owned that didn't have a pool. When we bought it, we thought we'd be able to put one in... but no. The 'For Sale' sign couldn't have gone up quicker!

 

[MTR]

Other options might simply be a spa - cold in summer, hot in winter - or a private outside bath (I would certainly go with one of these if I could)

We did have a massive spa and was OK for a while, but not what we want now.

 

[MTR]

I would never be without a pool. We use ours all the time. It's a massive part of our lifestyle.

I couldn't wait to sell the only PPOR we've ever owned that didn't have a pool. When we bought it, we thought we'd be able to put one in... but no. The 'For Sale' sign couldn't have gone up quicker!

Swimming pool, BBQ, friends, pizza oven, wine and more wine.. ... sounds good, that's why we need the pool, that is the missing component

 

[MTR]

We have a salt water chlorinated pool and spa. The spa is a separate body of water which flows into the pool, so this tends to always be turned on (for heating) even if the pool is being used. The kids (and adults) rotate from the spa to the pool as they get too hot/cold.

The spa has a bubble blanket which if left on when heating the spa will normally take about 15 mins to heat up to around 36 degrees. Ours is set to 38, and the pool is set to 29, but they can go higher.

They are both solar heated and can be heated by gas as well. We only heat the spa with gas though. If we have guests over with kids we will sometimes give the pool a gas blast because the kids tend to want to go in if the weather is half decent where adults won't usually get in. I'll put the gas n in the pool in the morning, and by lunchtime it will be a nice temp in the mid to high 20's (it will already have a bit of heat in it due to the solar, of course).

There is also an automated salt and chemical computer arrangement, so adjusts the manufacture of chlorine level automatically. Called a "Salitgem" and a "Chemigem".

You still need to do the monthly (or weekly if you wish) water sample tests and add things like buffer, replace the hydrochloric acid container when it empties, etc. I take my samples to the local pool bloke, who tells me what it needs and I buy it from him. Never costs more than about $60 for the chemicals/salt etc, maybe every 3 months.

During our holiday rental period, the pool guys come around each week to do a service as part of the rental policy agreement, but for our own use we tend to be a lot more slack with it.

Ours both have in-floor cleaning too, but we are lucky to not have too many big trees near our boundaries, so the cleaning mode only gets a run twice a week for an hour each time, and the skimmer basket only needs cleaning out ever other month.

The filter system is 4 filters inside a large canister, and I have cleaned them out twice in the 4 years we have lived here.

So, not a lot of maintenance.

In hindsight, we wish we had rigged up rainwater bladders or tanks to fill the pool, which are rigged to an automatic filling level system - saves filling the pool from the garden hose every week. There is quite a lot of evaporation and spillage due to use.

If budget permits; do all of the above.

Friends of ours did their pool using a pre-made fibreglass shell, and it looks a millions dollars, but was very cheap overall to do.

Sounds perfect, you have larger block. But this is the sort of set up that I would like

 

[Aaron Sice]

my pool is a salt/chlorinator, about 35,000L, pretty shallow (1.0 - 1.4m).

shallower pools require more topping up - that's my only headache.

i do all the chem work myself - pretty well balanced. salt makes it easier - straight chlorine i wouldn't bother. kids don't need goggles in my pool, though. i have my water tested professionally about once a fortnight in summer and once a month in winter - only because i have a phosphate issue with the cottonwood dropping flower heads into the pool.

i keep all my stuff dry - dry acid, dry chlorine etc - can't run the risk of a spill or prying little fingers.

get a reconditioned second hand f'glass pool - heaps cheaper and often better than an original coz you can get all the cooler, older shapes we remember as kids.

 

[westminster]

Your yard isn't huge so you will probably need to consider which one can go closest to the boundary which is probably concrete. Maybe a plunge pool

You could also raise it up to reduce digging and retaining

 

[MTR]

WM, Nice, but tiny, hopefully we can build larger pool than this, but at the end of th day we know really need a plunge pool, 600 sqm block. Need to work out exactly how much space we have.

 

[Kinnon Bell]

I have a 4mx4m pool or aka oversized bath tub... I have never looked after another pool but mine seems quite volatile which I think may be due to the size. Too much rain or sun seems to throw out the chemical balance quite a bit.

Up here I wouldn't not have a pool though.

 

[MTR]

I have a 4mx4m pool or aka oversized bath tub... I have never looked after another pool but mine seems quite volatile which I think may be due to the size. Too much rain or sun seems to throw out the chemical balance quite a bit.

Up here I wouldn't not have a pool though.

Cairns? Just got back from Pt Douglas, Absolutely need a pool, so humid.