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re: Very close to signing a contract on a new pool. What are the must/not haves to consider
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:27 am to sidewalkside
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:27 am to sidewalkside
Make sure to opt for the "cool crete" coating for the deck. Keeps your concrete relatively cool no matter how hot it is outside.
1
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:28 am to sidewalkside
Someone to take care of it for you. Always hated keeping up with the one we had.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:29 am to Rize
quote:
Stay away from the led bubblers. They are expensive and always break.
Fact.
Get a raised spa with overflow...
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:30 am to diat150
quote:
tanning ledge is useless. I would much rather have a deep end. It never gets used
I don't tan but my wife and friends do. Tanning ledges are great. Stay cool in the water but still get your sun. We have a deep in to and plenty of shallow. Personally, I'd take the tanning ledge over a deep end if I had to choose. The tanning ledge is good for kids to play in before they get big enough for the rest of the pool.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:31 am to SquatchDawg
quote:
It goes in and on….
We like in but in will work in a pinch.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:35 am to MyRockstarComplex
quote:
Please look up the Instagram series “frick this house” before going all in.
Guy is hilarious.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:38 am to sidewalkside
Create an account at Troublefreepool.com and start exploring their forums. They will keep you going in the right direction. Download their pool math app for $7/yr and order a Taylor K-2006C testing kit to test your own water. This will save you tons of time and money by keeping you out of the pool store. I never owned a pool prior to building ours in 2022. Our builder has a service/maintenance dept but I felt that I needed to learn myself how to treat the water and if it was too difficult, then I'd hire them. But there's been no need. Too easy with our salt water system.
Find a robot cleaner. I've been happy with our Dolphin DX-4 for floor cleaning and a Betta Bot for skimming the top.
If possible, put your pool lights on the side of the pool where you will spend a majority of your evenings when outside of the pool. Also, the life cycle on the new lights are terrible and they're expensive. Use them wisely.
Find a robot cleaner. I've been happy with our Dolphin DX-4 for floor cleaning and a Betta Bot for skimming the top.
If possible, put your pool lights on the side of the pool where you will spend a majority of your evenings when outside of the pool. Also, the life cycle on the new lights are terrible and they're expensive. Use them wisely.
This post was edited on 6/23/25 at 9:39 am
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:38 am to sidewalkside
Salt water. Best decision I made in pool maintenance and expenses was switching to salt water.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:41 am to WonPercent
I personally prefer travertine, it stays cool as well.
The cool Crete doesn't last as long as the tile, but both surfaces suffer with a salt pool.
OP, it isnt hard to do your own water maintenance. About 20 minutes a week in the summer, and get a pool vacuum.
Polaris is pretty good still.
The cool Crete doesn't last as long as the tile, but both surfaces suffer with a salt pool.
OP, it isnt hard to do your own water maintenance. About 20 minutes a week in the summer, and get a pool vacuum.
Polaris is pretty good still.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:45 am to Chicken
quote:
even if you don't use the pool that much, it'll probably look great in your backyard though… Think of it as a landscape feature.
It totally transformed our backyard. The house had a little cruddy back patio slab and a big leaning elm tree. The shade made grass impossible and it stayed kind of wet. Ripped all of that out for the pool then landscaped. The transformation was miraculous.
That said, I dropped good money on 18 pallets of zoysia and I like to garden. So I did all the landscaping (including sod) myself. You could improve a backyard without a pool but holy shite it is unreal how different it made our house.
Most of my landscaping is asian garden evergreens so it looks almost exactly the same all year round. Just love being out there now.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 9:58 am to RaginCajunz
quote:
Most of my landscaping is asian garden evergreens so it looks almost exactly the same all year round. Just love being out there now.
Do you have any pics you would share?
We're putting in a smaller in ground pool/hot tub with salt water. We've positioned it near a slight incline so it will have a waterfall, too. and I'm trying to figure out what kind of plants to put around it. Evergreens sound like a good idea.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:01 am to sidewalkside
in Lafayette area.
we do not have a chiller and have been fine. i might have used it a few times if we had it.
i have a gas heater. its useful at times to get a bite out of the pool.
add a spa. easier to heat the smaller spa area in the winter than the entire pool. kids like it.
ours is salt water. would go salt again, but know anything that can rust in the yard surrounding will, anything.
we have travertine. it s nice looking, but for the money just do basic non-slip pool decking.
also, whatever decking you have, add more if you have the yard space.
we do not have a chiller and have been fine. i might have used it a few times if we had it.
i have a gas heater. its useful at times to get a bite out of the pool.
add a spa. easier to heat the smaller spa area in the winter than the entire pool. kids like it.
ours is salt water. would go salt again, but know anything that can rust in the yard surrounding will, anything.
we have travertine. it s nice looking, but for the money just do basic non-slip pool decking.
also, whatever decking you have, add more if you have the yard space.
This post was edited on 6/23/25 at 10:03 am
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:06 am to sidewalkside
Pools aren't worth the cost nor monthly expense for upkeep. Just book a AirBNB with a pool once a month and you'd come out WAY ahead.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:07 am to mthorn2
quote:
Pools aren't worth the cost nor monthly expense for upkeep. Just book a AirBNB with a pool once a month and you'd come out WAY ahead.
who wants to go to an airbnb instead of step out of their backdoor. and who the frick are you to determine what someome wants to spend their money on?
people say some stupid shite
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:07 am to sidewalkside
heater/chiller is a must. Also, be prepared for getting the run around with the contractor. Ask for references and go look at their pools. Our concrete sucks because we didn't get a reputable concrete crew and just let them do it. Ours is gunite and the pool is great, the surrounding concrete is horrible.
We have deck jets that we run at night to help cool it down, I don't have a chiller but, I have a heater for our spa. I didn't think about cooling the pool.....
We have a layout deck with bubblers, they didn't install the hole for the umbrella so, it gets really hot sitting in the chairs.
Your swim outs do not have to be in the deep end corners. We have a swim out on one side corner, the other is in the middle far side. It gives us another seat for visiting and if you dive out you have a swim out in the middle also. we also have another in the overflow area of our spa so we can sit in the water.
I had them add more concrete around the pool instead of the 4' they quoted. I have 10' on the opposite longside so we can get out the cornhole boards and not be in the way. On one end we have a bigger area for layout chairs and still have plenty of room to walk
We have deck jets that we run at night to help cool it down, I don't have a chiller but, I have a heater for our spa. I didn't think about cooling the pool.....
We have a layout deck with bubblers, they didn't install the hole for the umbrella so, it gets really hot sitting in the chairs.
Your swim outs do not have to be in the deep end corners. We have a swim out on one side corner, the other is in the middle far side. It gives us another seat for visiting and if you dive out you have a swim out in the middle also. we also have another in the overflow area of our spa so we can sit in the water.
I had them add more concrete around the pool instead of the 4' they quoted. I have 10' on the opposite longside so we can get out the cornhole boards and not be in the way. On one end we have a bigger area for layout chairs and still have plenty of room to walk
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:08 am to Rize
quote:
Stay away from the led bubblers. They are expensive and always break.
I enjoy my hot tub and a chiller is a must for me in Texas/LA area. Also some sort of deck jet or waterfall feature.
If you are building, go with a heat pump over a chiller. If i ever have to replace my heater im putting in a heat pump. Those heat the pool and cool the pool without the evaporation. My homemade chiller is great but i do notice the loss of water when i run it.
but yes, it is a must anywhere it is hot.
Another semi must is a autofiller (not 100% needed in south LA with all the rain) but; with all that rain, an over flow drain is a must. My pool, over flows after long rains because the overflow was never plumbed.
This post was edited on 6/23/25 at 11:42 am
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:09 am to Rex Feral
This post was edited on 6/23/25 at 10:11 am
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:09 am to Chicken
with Spa
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:11 am to diat150
quote:
who wants to go to an airbnb instead of step out of their backdoor. and who the frick are you to determine what someome wants to spend their money on? people say some stupid shite
Preach.
Posted on 6/23/25 at 10:13 am to sidewalkside
Handrails.
You’ll appreciate this when you’re six beers deep and trying to enter/exit your pool or spa.
You’ll appreciate this when you’re six beers deep and trying to enter/exit your pool or spa.
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