Long Term Maintenance Costs?

[abrink]

Since I'm new to having a pool, and most of the immediate stuff under control, I'm starting to wonder about long term maintenance / upgrades that will need to be done. The pool was built in 2004, and from what I can tell, not much has been done to it, other than keeping the chemistry correct.

Thing's I'm wondering about:

1 - The pool is pebbletec, and from my research, this should last 20+ years before needing to be refinished. Question -- What is the "Refinishing" process? Acid Wash, replaster? How much does that cost, and how often does it need to be done?

2 - Pool / Spa heater (Older Sta-Rite) isn't working, because the control panel is hosed. Pool store advices against replacing / fixing the control board, and would rather see me get a new heater. We are planning on adding Solar with a gas heater to do the spa.

3 - Cartridge Filter -- Seems to be working fine, I cleaned the filter recently. I know filters can be replaced, how long is the overall Cartridge Filter housing good for?

4 - Pump seems to be functioning okay, not so worried about this.

Anything else I should be saving up for? Thanks all!

 

[RobbieH]

Are you sure the chemistry has been kept correct? Has it been in your control, or someone else's? Most pools out there are maintained based on recommendations obtained from the pool store. Most of that guidance is not based on what is good for the pool. My pool was replastered (obviously not as good a surface as PebbleTec) in 1997 and was in horrible shape when I moved in.

From what I understand, once the PebbleTec is shot, you replaster. I have a different surface which is capable of being polished when it gets rough. My resurface cost me over $10,000, but my pool is quite a bit larger than yours.

Solar and gas sounds like a good plan to me in regards to replacing your heater.

You had a lot of questions that ended with "how long will this last". Answer is, YMMV (your mileage may vary). So many factors go into this, it's hard to say. Perfect example, my filter housing will probably last longer than yours, because mine is indoors.