let's talk pools

[STROKD]

Been thinking heavily about this for past few weeks... wanted to move and buy a house with a pool, but anything I'd want up in the Plano area is north of 400 and I'm not in the clear on my finances to make that work well yet. I like to eat out and I'm not down with mac and cheese and ramen every night to be house poor.

So, that leaves option to build where I'm at and stay here a few more years. Good news is my house exploded in appreciation the past two years, so even if I bought a pool, and moved the day it was finished, I'd still leave the table with a few large stacks, so I'm not too concerned with the money side and depreciation etc. I am concerned with finding an awesome contractor that won't steal my monies or make broken promises. I'm looking for a fairly basic pool, deep enough for a slide and spring board and some waterfalls around the side with led lighting. Don't really have a budget, would like to stay under 30 to 35, but we can go up to about 60 is what the bank already advised... any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Cleaning, utiltiy costs, and upkeep ESPICIALLY!

[Baron Von Crowder]

Is going to cost you 1500 to 2k a year. Electricity, extra water, chemicals, a service if you don't want to do it yourself, cleaning tools, etc.

[Silverback]

Is going to cost you 1500 to 2k a year. Electricity, extra water, chemicals, a service if you don't want to do it yourself, cleaning tools, etc.

agreed. I pay about 1500 a year just for a weekly service, but it includes all chemicals. Add to that the water additions throughout the summer, and the electricity costs to run it year round, it's well into the $2k mark. And that's without any problems or repairs

[Craizie]

Pools are freaking expensive to get put in and it doesn't really increase the value of your home. Not any where near what it cost, anyways.

[slow99]

I take care of mine myself and estimate the cost at about $800 a year between electricity, chlorine, acid, and water. I spend 15-20 minutes a week on it, it's 20,000 gallons. Some random costs will pop up here and there.

[lincolnboy]

Just had mud removed and catridges cleaned. Cost 300 with two catridge replacement. Had to buy a new vacuum bag a week later. Pool puml is now making a loud sctraching sound ( hope its something stuck in there) pools are great keeps you from goin out to party save money that way in a way.

[lincolnboy]

All the water toys get $$$$$

[slow99]

I just completed my weekend maintenance - took 12 minutes. I spend another 5 on Wednesday.

Weekend:
replace chlorine tab in the floater
clean out the polaris bag
clean out the skimmers
add a capful of pool perfect + phos free to the skimmer
sweep the steps
test water ph and chlorine
add chlorine and acid as needed

mid week:
test ph and add acid as needed
clean out polaris bag if needed

Once every few weeks I take a water sample to Leslie's and let them run a full analysis for free.

My pool was a salt water pool when I moved in. The salt cell went out at the end of my first summer here and it was going to run $1200-$1400 to replace it. I decided to just not replace it and add/monitor the chlorine myself.

[STROKD]

Great input guys so far, the upkeep costs sound right on point with what my dad said his was when he was my age back in the late 80s living in Plano. Anyone have a place to start to find someone good to build my pool? I walked off my yard, it's 61 feet long amd 25 feet wide. I basically want the entire back yard a pool with a 2 to 3 foot walkway on one side amd a rock formation fountain on the other. Don't know how big that is gallon wise...

[lincolnboy]

No party deck. You will want a nice size deck. Just make sure you build away from the sun rise and fall. My deck faces sun down and hard to get shade.

[black2002ls]

I will get you a contact. I can't remember the name but they have done several in the neighborhood I build in. The owner of the company is on site through the whole process, which is a huge plus in my book.

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[black2002ls]

Pm sent

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[STROKD]

No party deck. You will want a nice size deck. Just make sure you build away from the sun rise and fall. My deck faces sun down and hard to get shade.

Well I can't move my house, but the afternoon sun is in my front yard directly, and the back yard is fully shaded by 6. We already have a huge covered patio with a cabana style fan and outdoor furniture... the previous owners spent a lot putting that in and its what helped sell us on the house. I want to just have the pool edge come up to about the edge of the deck which is concrete and stone about 15 feet off the back of my house.

[mustang_revival]

Buddy of mine was very happy with his builder, I'll get the contact this week.

[Roscoe]

Just to warn you, pools are a hell of a lot more expensive than you may think. $30k will get you an entry level hole in the ground.

If you're wanting something deep enough to be a diving pool with a waterfall and rock formations, you're going to spend at least $60k, and that's with zero upgrades such as decking, tile, texture (pebbletec), etc.

Get a few different companies to do renderings for you with estimates and don't be hasty. There is negotiation room in their proposals.

Top 3 I see are Riverbend, Hauk, and Gold Medal. Hauk built mine but I wouldn't have them do it again. I hear more positive things about Gold Medal than any of them.