Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Thinking of putting in a swimming pool

If my kids were young and still at home, I would’ve fixed mine as opposed to taking it out. My kids swam like fish when they were little. But they’re grown and my grandkids live on the other side of the country so no incentive there...

I hear ya... The place I grew up on had a small river (or creek, depending) through it and we'd go swimming in it in July.....and ONLY in July, because that water was rarely over 40F.... We'd last about 30 minutes then come out 'cause our lips were blue... Damn, that thing was cold..

I have a small one, about 15,000 gallons. Thinking I opened it about 15 or 16 different years, & I just don't understand all the horror stories I hear. Or, someone would always say, I bet that's a lot of trouble, or expensive.

We started with a treatment called Baquacil, which I think might be regarded as peroxide treatment. I ask around about the salt, & many would tell me they were doing just fine with chlorine & chemicals from Walmart. That saved money & doubt that we spent more than a few hundred bucks for 5 months worth of enjoyment. I usually never thought it to be a lot of work & I'm lazy. Or, I enjoyed it so much I didn't mind the work.

2 different years out of the 16 it did kick my ass. We had lots of rain & I just couldn't stay ahead of the water treatment. Admittedly, those 2 years were pricey.

As to the OP with the bad back. You will not like the dip net on the pole, or the job of vacuuming. That's probably a no no for a bad back. Help with that will be required.

A good therapist.

Not sure where you live but a YMCA comes to mind and membership is relatively cheap.

But again, if it’s a pool that you and the family wants, do it.

Don’t do it.

You’ll thank me later.

When I was younger and had 3 children we put in a 20 X 40 with stairs and a diving board. The kids and most of their friends learned to swim in our backyard. It was kind of a chore to maintain but since there was so much use, it was worth it. Fast forward and the kids are all gone to college and starting their own lives and we seldom used the pool and still had to maintain it. We sold that house and I can say having a pool definitely made the home less marketable. Not everyone wants a house with a pool I guess. My pool now is about 120 miles long and called Lake Champlain. Not much upkeep other than putting the dock and boat lift in and burning some occasional driftwood that washes in.

I think I’d sell and buy a house with a pool before I had one put in.

That said, I wish I had one. And the weather to make it enjoyable.

Those that don't have the fortitude to maintain a pool or the resources to hire the maintenance done are much better off not owning one. Once you let them get out of control by doing nothing for a extended period of time they can become a nightmare.

I own 3 rental homes with pools, and over the 15-20 years I've owned them I've put a few bucks into them. I tell the tenants up front, don't call me about the pool maintenance. I don't swim in it. I draw the parallel to the question: Do you pay the water bill?

My answers:

1. "I won't be taking showers at your house, so why would I pay the water bill?".
2. "I won't be swimming in the pool. Why would I be paying for pool maintenance?".

I looked hard to find a house in my neighborhood without a pool. Didn't want one, although I can understand families with children wanting them.

A pool in FL will run you at least $30K.. IF you can find a pool guy to do it for that.

Not seeing what others have mentioned about a pool substantially increasing the value of the home. $10-15K max. However, I believe the recommendations for doing a saltwater pool are good, if you decide to put one in. Chlorinated pools break down your body's beneficial bacteria.

Ours was fiberglass and saltwater. Had a large concrete apron around it with integral fountain and a heavy cover for winter time. It was great for the kids, grandkids, etc and I’d do it again for those reasons.

I was very fortunate when selling the home as the lady fell in love with the pool and the setup. In my specific case it did add value.

This may be a little inappropriate but..F it

Jim Conrad,
I'm making this photo post in attempt to inspire you to build a back yard pond. From what I've seen of your place on Google earth it appears you might be able to squeeze one in somewhere.

We only have 2 1/2 acres and were able to build this one. It was inspired by the need for fill to build a sound proofing berm, there was road noise coming from the east that had to be dampened. Well, that's how it started anyway.

Once the pond idea was born, we had to be able to fill it so a well was drilled and 400 gallons a minute of mineral laden artisan water came boiling out of the ground... no pump required....




As the berm took shape multiple flat tent sites were added for when that "over flow" type of company would stop by.



A small creek on the right hand side of this image acted as the drain, water could flow out into the bay from there.

Hauled in the white washed sand and added a few coconut palms to kinda create a beach scene of sorts





Can't have a swimming hole without a rope swing but didn't have a suitable tree so poles were planted.

The deck/observation platform came about a year or so after the pond was born.



The water seemed to support all the fish we would throw in there, plenty of Red's and Snook that stayed down in about 20ft of water under the platform, There may or may not have been a small Manatee in there for a while as well, I probably don't have a picture of that.



Thought that was the Manatee but it's not....

I use to run with a lot of high class red necks just like you Jim, they all loved the place, it was always party central. Build a pond and you could have the whole CampFire crowd coming and going all summer long....







Now back to talking about how horrible pools are....

Jeff,

That's a really cool build.

Do you get a lot of use out of that swamp buggy? I'm still not exactly sure what most guys do with them.

I don’t know man, but that sure does look like one of those “Hold My beer” moments just before the SHTF...

we use'd to use them as "jump shoot buggies"

ride through laid out fields and shoot deer/hogs as they got up out of briar beds.

If I only had a nickle for every such moment...

Oh yeah..lots...