re: Pool people - Is it worth it to install one??

I dump a bag of salt in once every two weeks and empty the strainers. Done... Change the filters once a year and add some extra chemicals in the spring. Salt water.. Barely need to do anything...leave it running all year. Mr creepy cleans it once every two weeks. Like 4 hours a year total time on maintenance.

Two biggest myths: (1) pools are hard to take care of and (2) do not add value. We had one installed and my wife and I take care of it - she handles the chemicals, I handle the dirt and debris cleaning. Maybe an hour a week total? I am sure there will be time when we will spend more, but after a few years we have not yet. The robot does a good job cleaning the pool. I usually grab the vacuum and dive down once a week for 20 minutes to get any leftovers from the robot.

As to the other myth, I will never buy a house without a pool again, but I live in Texas so summers outside are unbearable without one and I get a good 7 months use out of it. If I lived in a cooler climate where I only used it a month out of the year, I would not do it - not enough value. Although it will not add value in everyone's mind, it adds value in my mind and will add value in other's.

Above ground pool FTW

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Is the initial cost worth it? Pretty sure we will be in the house for awhile, but the time houses are on the market in our area are very short (cinco ranch).

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This is our 4th home and our 4th pool - salt water system - solar heater - not that expensive to maintain - great to keep grandkids busy when they visit.

do this many people actually have an above ground pools? I hope it is a joke?

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We would install anywhere from 300-700 a year.

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front yard or back?

edit - that number is mind blowing for me

I put a 12' above ground pool that was about 3 feet deep in my backyard when my kid was one and she looooved it. We talking less than $500 for a ton of fun, learning to swim and 2 years later I just hauled it to the road and let the grass grow back. I think you should try keeping one of these small pools before you go big and realize you just took on a second job that you hate.

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$60-70K for something upscale

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just for the pool, you won't touch a outdoor kitchen for that