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Well, this really depends on where you live. I used to clean and repair pools while I was in high school and college. If you live in an area where the pool is only going to be open for only half of the year, then it's going to cost you money to open it and close it (around $500). Also, most people in New England (where I am) heat their pools because they'd be rather cold otherwise and people want to get the most out of them so they open them in April and close them in October.
Also, in NE, pools are subject to shifting grounds and therefore can crack. If you have a gunite pool with tiles, this will eventually cause the tiles to crack and fall off which is a costly repair. The seal around the deck gets dry from the sun and that is a $400 repair to replace it. Heaters eventually go out too and they are expensive. The pipes in the ground are also subject to cracking (they're PVC pipes) and depending where they are, and how hard it is to get to them, that can be extremely costly.
And then there's the maintainence. We charged people around $70 a week to come and clean the pool; this included the cost of chemicals. You need to buy not only chlorine, but chemicals for your filter and seasonal chemicals to prevent algae etc. Cleaning a pool is pretty easy though so you don't really need to pay someone to do it, especially if your kids are old enought to do it.
So, once you have the initial cost of putting in the pool. If you were to hire a cleaning service, that would be about $1000-1400 a year. Then $500 to open and close it. I'm not sure if the cost of a cover is included with installing the pool. If you live in an area where the pool equiptment is going to have to brave the elements, I'd build a cabana to house them in. That will make them last longer. You probably wont have to fix anything for the first 5 years or so, but after that, I'd expect to pay atleast $1000 a year for repairs (it's like an old Saab, always something...) Then you have the cost of gas to heat the pool (although there are other methods that work to varying degrees). Then you have the cost of electricity to power the pool equiptment and the cost of water to fill the pool from it's partially drained state when you open it in the spring.
Also, you have to put a fence around the pool for liability's sake.
Also, like other people have said, it will not add value to your house and will turn away some potential buyers. I would NEVER buy a house that already had a pool unless they had records or it was newer (sound familiar?)
That being said, if I were going to put in a pool, I'd get a vinyl pool (ugly, I know, but they are starting to look better). They are cheaper to put in and are not subject to tile repairs or cracking. The big thing here is replacing the liner, but that doesn't have to be done that often. Then I would get a DE filter (diotamacious earth, which is fossilized planton - neat!). They are far more efficient than sand (which are the worst) or cartriages (which you have to take apart to clean and therefore are there is a chance of exploding if you put the top on wrong). And like I said before, I'd enclose the equiptment so it will last longer.
Also, I'd install a Looploc cover because they fit tight across the top of your pool and therefore kids and animals can't fall into the pool when you have it closed for the winter. I can walk across one of these.
Like old saabs, the more you DIY, the cheaper it is. Hope this helps.
Jesse
posted by 12.11.1...
, Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:28:30
, Fri, 13 Jan 2006 17:05:26
, Fri, 13 Jan 2006 13:22:12
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