What do you think about plunge/endless swim pool?

Mrs Bird

Mrs Bird

We are currently in the process of designing our new PPOR and Mr Bird has this 'brilliant idea' of putting in a small type of pool. The architect needs to submit the design of the pool with the landscape plans. Although I love the idea of a pool, all I can see is the danger it poses as we have a little new born baby as well as two older children.

What I would like to know is your experiences with pools, swim spas etc in your PPOR. Is it worth it? Do your kids use it? I would like to hear all opinions about pools good or bad. I can be swayed either way. BTW, we live in Melb so I suppose it is not the same weather in QLD for a pool.

Thanks Mrs Bird:)
 
I can see the dangers too... I went a bit over the top 5 years ago & put up a 1.5m pool fence because of the kids (required height is 1.2m).

My recommendation is (if you get the pool) put in a glass pool fence... they cost a fair bit more but are worth it

On the other hand you live in Melbourne, so probably don't need a pool anyway!:D:D
Steve
 
Our next door neighbour built a pool before Christmas. Other than constantly having to top it up (by bucket - I guess having a hose next to the pool with an overflowing bucket is still by bucket?), they have used it all of about 4 times over the summer (3 kids). Not to mention the constant cleaning etc etc.

Maybe a water feature instead?

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
We put one in eight years ago and with three boys and in Queensland it gets a lot of use. We put a shade structure over it which meant we had to heat it as well, but it has been great for the kids.

Youngest was only two when it went in, so I was a bit paranoid about safety as well. Mind you, with a pool, they learn to swim really fast.

Wylie
 
Our next PPOR will have a pool.

We had one in an apartment complex once and our kids were in it every day. So was I.

I know the arguments for and against and we have weighed them and made our decision.
 
had one for my first 21 years, havent for my last 9.
i know my dad used to go spare looking after the thing, but with 3 kids in stinking hot perth, he wouldve gone even more spare without it.

im in process of designing new ppor now, new plans have my lap-pool as 15m long, 2 lanes wide, it reaching under the master bedroom, water features falling gently into it, and all sorts of other mind blowing innovations. i think it costs about as much as the rest of the house, but am scared to ask :eek:
wouldnt consider ever not having one anymore....perth's becoming like brisbane and for the sake of sanity, relaxation, backyard enjoyment...well worth any pain and anguish.
 
We put in an inground pool 14 months ago. About 12 metres long. Best thing ever. I have 3 kids, all girls, 7, 5, and 3.

Filled it with bore water. Took a while to get right, with acid, chlorine, whatever, as bore water is full of all sorts of minerals. Once the water was right though, it's been a breeze. We have a cover, a solar blanket, so we only uncover when we are using it. So almost nil evaporation. Now rain is enough to keep it full. The blanket keeps the water warm. If it gets too warm, just uncover for one night. I hate cold water.

When we bought the pool, we were told the blanket/cover would work just as good as solar heating for a fraction of the price. It may be correct. Since water is getting scarse, covers should be compulsory.

We have two big umbrella sorts of things to give shade to part of the pool. When not using they are folded up.

We have found that since having a pool, that we use the airconditioner heaps less. So that is an energy saving. Once you have been for a swim, you seem to be cool for a while after no matter how hot it gets.

If you have kids, and can afford it, you should have a pool.

See ya's.
 
Water is fun..

Yes, safety issues and training and education a priority...learning and developing swimming technique....at the end of it... it is so much fun for the whole family :)

I sort of branch out, here, a little but we have two massive house dams (turned into one) and it has been a wonderful source of entertainment and education for us all...we go yabbying in it, (taught kids to yabby and fish)...we have all kinds of bird life habitat there, ducks and storks and parrots and quail and rabbits and sheep and alpacas and dogs.

We put small boats and pontoons on there, old truck and tractor tyres to float around on and play with.

We have had picnics down there, little bonfires and camp outs...water in this form and presentation has been a big part of our lives and has helped us educate children (and some adults ;) ) in respect for water and how we depend on and live with it.

Having said that, it has always, always been at the forefront of our minds the risk and danger it can potentially represent...we manage those risks very carefully, but water is so much fun, whether it be the sea or a lake or a dam! or pool....I'm just not fond of the snakes that hang around it....and swim in it.
 
One of the first things we did when moving into our latest PPOR was get quotes for pools. Having had one in our previous QLD place, and seeing the high usage it got with two young children as well as ourselves and visitors, there was simply no thinking about it.

We put in a concrete (pebblecreted) pool almost 8 yrs ago now in our Sydney home and had it solar heated 2 yrs ago. Worth every cent and really adds to your lifestyle, especially when you have people over with other children. We've had kids pool parties, NYE bashes, summer BBQ's and lazy afternoons floating around on lilos or simply hanging around the pool (for me just being close to water is enough to keep me cool- no need to get the hair wet too often!!). It really is an investment in lifestyle, and if you plan it correctly and landscape well, it can actually add value, depending on the demographics of the area you currently live in, naturally.

As for fencing; if you can afford it, go for glass along the side facing the house. It really makes a difference, as we discovered when we replaced one side a couple of years ago now. The glass opens up the space and makes visibility higher as well. Not too bad to keep clean and really modernizes the whole look of the pool area.

My children are now 13, 11 and 8 and we are looking to possibly upgrade our PPOR by the end of the year. Will we be looking for a place with a pool (or room for)? It will be an absolute necessity!
 
No I don't think we will ever get a pool again. Aventhough it was a salt water self clean pool, we still had to add buckets of chlorine in it to keep the nice colour once a fortnight. If we even delayed a little,w ater starts to turn green. Then we had to sweep leaves etc every other day and clean the filter very often.

I got a massive fright first time opened the filter to find spiders, toads and a dead mouse in there. If I wasn't married, I'd never buy a pool!! but even hubby got sick of clenaing the disgutsing filter.

It didn't add any value to the house, we had over capitalised and put in too much effort...first thing the new owners did was drain the pool.

the funny thing is that the pool's maximum height in the deep end is 1.5m because hubby can't swim. for swimmers, who would want such a shallow pool?

it was so much hassle putting in a pool and this was whilst building a house. I can't imagine the hassle of putting a pool in after it's been built. It was also a fibreglass pool so should be easier than concrete. They're very nice, with built in seatings etc and jet spa pumps and you can get different coloured finishes.
To be make it look less tacky and more trendy, we paved 400 X 400 sandstone pavers around the pool so after that you couldn't really tell it was a fibreglass that much. For a 7.5m X 4m pool, fencing inc glass fencing where the patio is all up cost us about $14k. We incorporated into our landscape budget of $25k for a 770metre block. It's a very cheap pool!!

The first thing the new owners did was drain the pool out!! they liked the house but didn't want a pool.

For the 6 mths we owned it, we never swimmed in it. Never buying a pool again nor a house wil a pool already but we may change our minds in the future. Kids get bored so easily.
 
We had our first pool about 2 years ago. It was fanastic for the kids (and their friends). We were in country NSW and it was VERY HOT, so for me I was much more comfortable in the air conditioned house!! Have to say though - nothing beats those late night swims:D :D

We have recently relocated to the glorious sunshine coast, and the house we are renting does have a pool, the house has NO airconditioning - and we have all been in the pool quite a bit - but the beach a bit more! Not finding it as hot up here either!

I have been told, that the younger your kids the more they use the pool, as when they get older they want to be at other peoples places. I don't know how true this is as my kids are only 8 and 9.


Good luck
 
One way of knowing where your kids are, is to have them invite their friends over to your house to play in the pool.
 
I had one growing up and some of my best memories are with my brothers, sisters mucking around in the backyard pool whilst dad cooked on the bbq. We used to squeel with delight when mum & dad got into their swimmers and joined us in pool games - we thought it was the best thing and I think its good for kids to see their parents having fun!

I'd definetly get one Mrs Bird. Sure you'll spend time cleaning out the pool filter and chlorinating it etc but just think of the family time you'll get together and having your kids friends coming round and the bbq's you'll have together, it'll definetly be worth it I think.

Kate
 
topcropper said:
When we bought the pool, we were told the blanket/cover would work just as good as solar heating for a fraction of the price. It may be correct. Since water is getting scarse, covers should be compulsory.
.
Click to expand...

I can vouch for this - we bought our current PPOR in Dec 05 and it has a pool with solar heating. The solar heating does keep the pool warm however we also bought a solar cover in Nov 06 as we tired of topping up the pool from evaporation (I actually thought the pool was leaking at one point due to the large amounts of water that were evaporating.)

An added bonus from the pool cover is that our chemical costs this summer have been close to zero as the water seems to always be close to perfectly balanced.

Anyway since the pool cover went on I have only had to top up the pool 4 or 5 times compared to almost daily last summer. I have also switched the solar heater pump off as the cover heats the pool beautifully. We can swim in our pool comfortably when the air temperature is 25 degrees.

I was a bit apprehensive about the amount of work involved with a pool before we moved in. However we have a kreepy krawly, pool cover and salt chlorinator - I spend less than 15 minutes a week maintaining the pool.

One last thing, my 4yo is now a strong swimmer - he is the only one without floaties when his (4yo) mates come over to swim.

SO I guess a fairly strong yes vote for pools!

Regards
A

PS: You will become amazingly popular* amongst family friends.

*On hot days
 
Never had a pool and spa until 7 years ago. It gets heaps of use from sons and their friends. Basically it altered our lifestyle quite significantly and we entertain quite a bit around/ in it. Re cleaning, well it is all automatic, solar heated etc but still requires scooping and other stuff. However, hubbie says his duties around the pool are therapeutic. After a few days of particularly hot weather in Perth and lots of pool use, he plunges in with the spray and wipe to clean hair gel and wax off the tiles!!! Their hair products leave a tide line sometimes. Thats sons for you :)
 
aef said:
we bought our current PPOR in Dec 05 and it has a pool with solar heating. The solar heating does keep the pool warm however we also bought a solar cover in Nov 06 as we tired of topping up the pool from evaporation (I actually thought the pool was leaking at one point due to the large amounts of water that were evaporating.)

An added bonus from the pool cover is that our chemical costs this summer have been close to zero as the water seems to always be close to perfectly balanced.

Anyway since the pool cover went on I have only had to top up the pool 4 or 5 times compared to almost daily last summer.

*On hot days
Click to expand...

Yep. I only have trouble with the water when I have to top it up, which is almost never with the cover. The bore water we put in puts everything out of whack, and the water turns green just days later. Rain water, no problems. I would imagine city water is very 'hard', and so would disrupt everything. You can't get a lather up with it like rain water.

See ya's.
 
Thank you to every body so far for your views on pools. It is so interesting reading the pros and cons and I must admit the idea of having a small pool, beautifully landscaped is very tempting.

The maintance does concern me and the thought of finding spiders and dead mice in the filter makes me want to faint...Mr Bird will definately have to be the maintance guy. My only concern is it will become a white elephant like many pools in Melbourne. I also find the idea of having Sunday barbies with friends and relos, kids playing in the pool very apealing and I could get use to that type of lifestyle.

This pool will be a complete indulgence and I feel we are prehaps getting too carried away with the whole idea. The block cost us a fortune, the house...cant even imagine how much it will cost to build and now an architect designed pool integrated around the house, when does it stop. I need to be sure we are making the right decision and financially worth it.

Please keep the suggestions /views coming, it is much appreciated:)

Mrs Bird
 
Pools are great, if you can use them.

Living in Melbourne, if I was a swimmer, I would enclose the pool and use heat exchange heating to maximise the usage.

With kids in the family, they LOVE pools, you don't have to worry about lack of exercise for teens if you have a pool.

If you do enclose it, consider using a non chlorine or salt pool, I have one using PoolFresh chemicals, which is a peroxide type chemical.

You could Google Poolfresh and /or Aquamatics.

If you don't wish to enclose it, I would be a bit hesitant to have a pool in Melbourne because you will swim a lot for a few months and then nothing for 9 months.

If you have Gum trees nearby they will drive you CRAZY, gum trees drop leaves all year round, in their millions :( Don't have a pool if you have gum trees as the leaves blow back and forth until they end up in the pool.

Perhaps you could ask those who live in Melbourne how much use they get in comfortable conditions.
 
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