Do you have a pool?

[teef]

27 minutes ago, Sweats said:

 

 

 

 

........can i be your pool boy?

yes.

[Augie]

3 hours ago, Augie said:

 

We have a pool. A pond and a pool. The pond would be good for you……

 

 

 

So………..this reminds me. I used to review real estate appraisals from all over the country. My largest client was a bank in Mississippi and Alabama. (Let me just say, we need to do a better job in education!) I will swear on a stack of bibles that I saw appraisers attribute less value to an in ground pool than to a similar size dirt pond. Pictures of the pond were included. The dirt ponds had no special attributes. Just dirt, and dirty water. 

 

Sorry, flashback over. 

 

 

.

Edited August 14 by Augie

[Mike in Horseheads]

12 hours ago, teef said:

love the pool.  we bought a house with an in ground, but would have built one anyway.  it's a great tool when the kids are young.  if i feel they've been sitting around too much, we go right into the pool. if their friends come over, if we bbq, etc...there's always people in the pool.  we've had parties where we hire a local lifeguard just to watch because there's tons of kids in there.  we live in rochester, and it's open from the middle of may to the middle of september.  we never use it until june, and there's almost always a few days after it's closed that it get warm enough weather to wish we had kept it open a bit longer.

 

i'm sure as you're finding out, there's a lot to consider.  above ground vs in ground.  for in ground, do you go with a liner, fiberglass or gunite.  Size, shape, accessories.  some newer builds are great with a swim up bar, stools, etc.  they just get really expensive.  

 

we have the classic chlorine filter that i feed with 3" disks.  i'd probably go with saltwater as it seems easier, and less expensive.  chlorine tabs are amazingly expensive now.  get the heater too.  we're very lucky where i live because electric is cheap, so we have an electric heater that runs all the time.  gas can get pricy when you run it like that.

 

another point to consider is who is going to take car of the pool.  the woman we bought our house from said she never really enjoyed the pool until someone took care of it for her.  I do it myself for the week to week stuff.  monitor the water and drop the vacuum in to do its thing.  we do have someone open and close it.  a lot of people are willing to open it, but not close it on their own.

You must not have RGE/NYSEG if electric is cheap

[Just Jack]

10 hours ago, Sweats said:

I've got a kiddy pool for my dogs

 

My parent's dog (black Lab) had her own kiddie pool.  You'd ask her if she wanted to go swimming and she would run to the barn, grab the edge of the pool with her teeth and drag it out to the yard near the hose.  

 

[Draconator]

My sister-in-law installed a cocktail pool in her backyard, specifically for her dogs. She had it designed where the pool bottom in the shallow end is shallow enough for the dogs to lie down in the water easily. It's about half the size of a regular-sized pool. 

https://leisurepoolsusa.com/fiberglass-pools/what-is-a-cocktail-pool/

[Mike in Horseheads]

4 minutes ago, Draconator said:

My sister-in-law installed a cocktail pool in her backyard, specifically for her dogs. She had it designed where the pool bottom in the shallow end is shallow enough for the dogs to lie down in the water easily. It's about half the size of a regular-sized pool. 

https://leisurepoolsusa.com/fiberglass-pools/what-is-a-cocktail-pool/

Interesting but don't get why they are same cost as a full size pool to install

[Sweats]

14 hours ago, teef said:

yes.

 

 

 

 

Full disclosure........i've got a beer gut and i'm not visually appealing to look at, however, i can rock a Speedo like you wouldn't believe.

[teef]

10 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

You must not have RGE/NYSEG if electric is cheap

you are correct.  we're on fairport electric.  from what i understand some of the suburbs years ago had the option to buy in from a different energy source.  a few did, and as a result, the electric is very inexpensive.  a lot of the homes in our area are all electric as a result.  we had to put a propane tank in just to have gas fireplaces and a range.  

4 minutes ago, Sweats said:

 

 

 

 

Full disclosure........i've got a beer gut and i'm not visually appealing to look at, however, i can rock a Speedo like you wouldn't believe.

i'm far more interested in your mind and personality over anything else.  if we can make this work, i'd like to wear matching speedos.  possibly one with a pattern.

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, teef said:

i'm far more interested in your mind and personality over anything else.  if we can make this work, i'd like to wear matching speedos.  possibly one with a pattern.

Horizontal stripes make you look larger. Just something to think about.🤣

[Rockpile233]

Second year with an in ground. I never wanted a pool, but my wife grew up with one and really pushed it when we were looking to move.

 

Last two years were a trial by fire learning the filter system (DE filter), salt system, and other general pool owner lessons. Have had some issues come up that expedited the learning process…BUT I have to say I’ve fallen in love with it for so many reasons.

 

The most important is that it’s an immediate tire out activity for my son who is now a wild animal. Nice to see that he’ll grow up a more confident swimmer than I ever have been. (Did have to do a safety fence but I chose a quality temporary safety fence that we can remove easily one day when he’s older) 

 

I did not think I’d ever get to this point but here we are!

 

 

[Fleezoid]

9 minutes ago, Rockpile233 said:

Second year with an in ground. I never wanted a pool, but my wife grew up with one and really pushed it when we were looking to move.

 

Last two years were a trial by fire learning the filter system (DE filter), salt system, and other general pool owner lessons. Have had some issues come up that expedited the learning process…BUT I have to say I’ve fallen in love with it for so many reasons.

 

The most important is that it’s an immediate tire out activity for my son who is now a wild animal. Nice to see that he’ll grow up a more confident swimmer than I ever have been. (Did have to do a safety fence but I chose a quality temporary safety fence that we can remove easily one day when he’s older) 

 

I did not think I’d ever get to this point but here we are!

 

 

 

I've always wanted a pool. I live in Florida and always dreamed of floating around on a Sunday afternoon watching football. Several years ago I made that happen. Pool, Hot tub and heater of course. I too have a DE filter, with chlorine system, which is fine. I had no idea what I was doing when I first got the house, so I hired a pool guy. I quickly learned most of them do a crappy job. So I learned how to do that stuff myself. It's not that tough and I know it's done right. But man, have I gotten spoiled. I'll actually turn on the heater for 30 minutes or so just to crank up the temp by about 2 degrees. 

[teef]

once the pool is in, you need to start finding fun, drunken activities.  i bought this at the beginning of this summer and we haven't looked back...

[Rockpile233]

14 minutes ago, Fleezoid said:

 

I've always wanted a pool. I live in Florida and always dreamed of floating around on a Sunday afternoon watching football. Several years ago I made that happen. Pool, Hot tub and heater of course. I too have a DE filter, with chlorine system, which is fine. I had no idea what I was doing when I first got the house, so I hired a pool guy. I quickly learned most of them do a crappy job. So I learned how to do that stuff myself. It's not that tough and I know it's done right. But man, have I gotten spoiled. I'll actually turn on the heater for 30 minutes or so just to crank up the temp by about 2 degrees. 

Temperature is a point of contention between my wife and I. I’m a baby and prefer to have the heater on all the time and the water around 87. She is disgusted by this and likes 78. I’m winning her over though.

[teef]

4 minutes ago, Rockpile233 said:

Temperature is a point of contention between my wife and I. I’m a baby and prefer to have the heater on all the time and the water around 87. She is disgusted by this and likes 78. I’m winning her over though.

our heater is always set to 88...always.  my wife hates it, but she can go ***** herself.

[Fleezoid]

3 minutes ago, Rockpile233 said:

Temperature is a point of contention between my wife and I. I’m a baby and prefer to have the heater on all the time and the water around 87. She is disgusted by this and likes 78. I’m winning her over though.

 

Funny you say that, but that's exactly my target temp. It usually gets to between 87-88. Perfect. I'm usually in the pool for an hour or more, so warmer is better. When I first got the house 82-84 was ok. Then 86. Now I'm where I'm at. 

[Augie]

4 hours ago, Fleezoid said:

 

Funny you say that, but that's exactly my target temp. It usually gets to between 87-88. Perfect. I'm usually in the pool for an hour or more, so warmer is better. When I first got the house 82-84 was ok. Then 86. Now I'm where I'm at. 

 

I also grew to like warmer temps over time. BUT, there IS such a thing as too warm. It can be so warm it’s just not refreshing. Living in Hilton Head I remember a Savannah radio station having some contest, and the Grand Prize was 1,000 lbs of ice for your community pool. It was wildly popular! 

 

The club where we lived in Sarasota had a geothermal pump for the community pool. It would warm the pool in the winter, but just as important it would cool the pool in the summer. Those were great times. 

[DrDawkinstein]

So funny that all us dudes are aligned on the temps. I like it warm 88-90. My wife wants it "crisp and refreshing".

 

Although, I agree with @Augie, it can definitely get too hot. I had to throw 4 bags of ice in the pool for our July 4th party because the temp was 96 (and we dont even have a heater!)

[Augie]

32 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

So funny that all us dudes are aligned on the temps. I like it warm 88-90. My wife wants it "crisp and refreshing".

 

Although, I agree with @Augie, it can definitely get too hot. I had to throw 4 bags of ice in the pool for our July 4th party because the temp was 96 (and we dont even have a heater!)

 

IDK about you, but we haven’t had a good rain in a while to cool that off. It rained every day we were in the mountains, and the highs were in the low to mid 70’s. It was glorious! 

[DrDawkinstein]

9 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

IDK about you, but we haven’t had a good rain in a while to cool that off. It rained every day we were in the mountains, and the highs were in the low to mid 70’s. It was glorious! 

 

Late June/Early July was nuts! Even adding fresh water didnt help because the "cold" hose water was 80+ out of the tap.

 

It's settling down now with the cooler nights and shorter days. Maintaining right in the mid 80s.

[Augie]

Just now, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Late June/Early July was nuts! Even adding fresh water didnt help because the "cold" hose water was 80+ out of the tap.

 

It's settling down now with the cooler nights and shorter days. Maintaining right in the mid 80s.

 

That’s perfect for me! Our first house in Sarasota, and first ever with a pool, we had a GIANT spa that would hold at least 8 adults, or a kindergarten class. The pool was small, but the spa was huge. Being a pool novice, I assumed the damn thing was heated. We spent a fortune on a pool renovation and the heat was added. Live and learn. Assume with caution. 

 

We actually found it very difficult to get a qualified person to do the renovation. One wall wasn’t plum and there was a ton of custom tile, and the one guy we found got out of renovations after us. It’s easier to build from scratch than fix what someone else screwed up.