re: looking at getting a pool at the house

My dad said you are not a man until you have had the following at some point in your life:

1. Children

2. A Boat

3. An ex wife

4. A swimming pool

We have a pool and love it. If you are concerned with upfront cost consider getting pool with a liner. I wouldn't sacrifice size for nicer finish. Also assuming you live in the south ensure your pool is deeper than 6 feet. This will help keep water temperature down during the heat of the summer.

A salt water generator is much easier to maintain than regular chlorine tablets or bleach. An added bonus to salt water generator is that it destroys the chloramines which is what burns your eyes. With small kids you will have plenty of amines in your pool.

Ok, here is the deal with pools. Prime age for kids is 6 to 15. At 16 they start driving, hanging out with friends...etc. Unless your house is the house they all go to, the pool will cease being used on a consistent basis.

When it stops being used, it's just a money pit. Pools actually slightly lower home values right now, and getting rid on an in ground is EXPENSIVE. Just to fill one in with top soil runs around 10k when having a landscape company come in. To break it up and pull it out properly is 5k to 10k more. It's insane.

Getting rid of an above ground is super simple, pay professionals $100 and it's gone. Then throw out some grass seed, and your yard is back. Or sell it on Craigslist for a few $100 bucks and someone else takes it down and you make money on the back end.

The initial investment is FAR cheaper. For a decent 24' foot pool, you'll spend around 4k on the pool, and installations averages around $850 for an above ground.

If you want deeper than 52 inches, get a Doughboy, they are an above ground with a bit of a deep end, but still no where as much as an inground to fill in because only a small section is dug down.

Overall, you'll save yourself in the neighborhood of 50k, and have a lot less to deal with.

Liner changes are also a lot cheaper than fixing the wall on an inground.

I just purchased a 12' x 28' fiberglass pool for under $35,000. 3.5' on the shallow end and 5' on the deep end. Electricity increase is almost invisible. Salt water setup was included as was a robotic pool cleaner. So far, it has taken care of itself.

A family member got a pool when the kids were at a good age. But when they tried to sell it later, a pool did, as VaBamaMan said,devalue their home & made it very hard to sell. Too, their home owners insurance went up a lot, as the liability for a pool owner is high.

The best decision we ever made was convincing my inlaws to put in a pool 2 years ago. The best part is my kids and nieces go swimming over there, MIL watches them, they have all the expense and upkeep, and we use it like it's ours for party's whatever. That said we are very close to her parents, and they live less than 5 mins away.

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Ok, here is the deal with pools.

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No, here's the deal with pools. If the OP is actually in Dallas, the HOA of his neighborhood isn't going to let him put in some cheap arse above ground pool.

If you decide to get a pool, get one that is aesthetically pleasing and is a water feature when not in use. Something that is attractive and not a square piece of fiberglass in the ground.

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When it stops being used, it's just a money pit.

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So is your yard. How much time/money do you spend to cut and maintain it?

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Pools actually slightly lower home values right now,

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Yeah, if you're putting in above ground pools. If you're in a decent middle-class or higher end neighborhood this is not the case. Or at least not in Dallas. It really doesn't have any affect.

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Liner changes are also a lot cheaper than fixing the wall on an inground.

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Actually it isn't b/c the builder should be giving you a lifetime warranty on the gunite shell and a limited on plaster. You should know this if you built pools for 10 years unless you worked for a shoddy company.

There's no such thing as a non chlorine pool. Salt water pools use salt to produce chlorine. I believe you used to clean pools but that's the extent of your pool knowledge. To the OP, get a pool. I put one in about 5 years ago. Great decision. Upkeep is minimal. I don't notice anything different on my electric bill. Cost was about $45K including landscaping, drainage improvements, extra concrete, etc. We use in constantly.

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There's no such thing as a non chlorine pool. Salt water pools use salt to produce chlorine. I believe you used to clean pools but that's the extent of your pool knowledge. To the OP, get a pool. I put one in about 5 years ago. Great decision. Upkeep is minimal. I don't notice anything different on my electric bill. Cost was about $45K including landscaping, drainage improvements, extra concrete, etc. We use in constantly.

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OP, don't listen to this guy. In 5 more years, he'll be here bitching about his pool.