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

You still didn't answer my question. Did you ever build a stone fireplace by yourself? The answer is probably no.
Did you ever wire, by yourself, a house? You probably didn't.

If you are such a real estate genius, why do you sound like such a dumb ass?

Anybody that good at patting himself on the back must have a double-jointed elbow. He's a legend in his own mind!

Best investment I ever made. Turned my backyard into a resort. I swam everyday and wife most days. I maintained the pool myself.

Had the pool for 18 years. Party at my house every Sunday during the summer. Kids stayed home more because of the pool. Kids became life guards because of pool while in HS and college.

Sold the house after living there 29 years. House sold in 7 days after a bidding war. House sold for 50k more that other comparable house in the area.

Jim can't do a pond like that cause coconut palms don't grow in Montana...

Jim can plant Apples and Pears and pretend they are coconuts...

I’d get a standard pool, Rectangle. Boring but practical.
Make it a sports pool. That’s 3’ deep on ends , 5’ deep in center. This way you can set up a net in the middle and play volleyball all summer long. You can only dive so much. Plus it’s safer for the kids and more fun for everyone!
Do a nice tan deck with couple umbrella holes and stairs going in the whole width of the pool. On the other end do a hot tub

I always heard the best 2 days of owning a pool were the day you get one and the day you fill it in.

Thanks Jeff!


I will have to say....Florida looks like a paradise.

I have a pond next to the house. I goes dry every year....when it has water in it anyway.......



If I could just get some water in it........but artesian water is 1200 feet down.

We had a pool in NH, figure the cost of the pool, then double it between having to build/install a patio around it and a fence. We build a cement patio with a good size on one side so there was room for chairs and still be able to walk.

Maintenance is actually EASY. Took me 10 minutes a day when I got home from work, changed into shorts, went out and vacuumed and skimmed, and done. Saturday morning with my coffee, I went out, filled up the chlorinator, dumped in weekly chemicals and vacuumed. Maybe 20 minutes/week.

In NH we had it open and ready for Memorial Day weekend and closed early October. No cover, but we had a solar cover for early/late season.

Only other work was periodic replacement of gaskets, maybe every few years.

Opening is EASY, closing a bit harder as you have to blow the lines, which takes a compressor. cost us $300 for the compressor, closing costs about that.

Opening it took about 30 minutes, closing maybe 45.

Get a safety cover, not those stupid water back things. One you can walk across when it's on.

Opening is a big chemistry game. Water will be messed up when you open it, find a good pool store you trust, they all do free water testing, they then spit out a shopping list and instructions on how to apply which chemicals in what order. Usually took me 2 visits to get it right.

Wife was in it every day, kids and friends routinely all summer. AFter they were married, sons and daughter-in-laws over lots. I used it, but mostly for a jump in to cool off while mowing the lawn or splitting wood. Wife pretty much lived out there all summer.

When we sold the house, it can be a turn off for some and drop the value of the house TO THEM. To others, it's an ok thing, and to some it's a good thing.

My elderly neighbors have a pool and gave my daughters an open invitation to use it 15 years ago when we moved in. It has kept us in our current house and has saved me tens of thousands of dollars as a result. I help with the maintenance, alot really and anyone who thinks its a pain or too much work is, to me, just plain lazy. It's not hard at all, but requires a smidge of time every day, some more than others, and requires you to be home more than some people like to be. If you're a traveler and like to leave home often for days at a time, well then it might not be for you.

Sure was true for me...

don't believe family members (especially kids) that say they will help maintain it. they won't. it will be dads job. i got talked into an above ground pool. first year was awesome, 2nd year was great, 3rd year was ok, after that, it became something to walk around. i finally took a sawzall to it after nobody but me used it for 2 years and all i did was dump money in it. covers, chemicals, solar covers, filters, all add up.

now that said, if i lived down south, i'd have one but only if i could afford a pool service. but here in SW PA, it just ain't worth it.

House across the crik has a 54'X20' saltwater pool. House has had 3 owners in the last 5 years. First one built the house and said that putting the pool in was the worst mistake he'd ever made. The next owner lived there and had to put almost a $100,000 into the pool as the first owner hadn't done the necessary maintenance and he had to basically tear it all out and put in a new one. He sold the house and took a huge hit on what he had in the house and pool. New owners have been there about 45 days...really curious how long they will make it.

JeffA, Funny. I've got that same exact smoker in your first 2 pics. A neighbor on the next block had wheeled it out for bulk trash on a Friday night and saw it when I was coming home from picking up meds for the last time I had the flu. Was sick as a dog, but walked my sick ass down there and pushed it back to my place.

Good score, they work great!