When we moved to Houston a few years ago, we put in a pool. I loved it. The wife loved it. The twins loved it. The dog loved it. Then we moved across town. The new house doesn't have a pool, but we've got a large side yard just waiting for someone to dig a hole and fill it full of water. We agonized over the decision to put in a pool. Then, after deciding that we wanted one, we agonized over finding a good pool builder. After we found a PB, we agonized over the price tag. Pool prices have definitely gone up over the last few years! But alas, here we are with contract signed and checkbook open.
With my last pool, I didn't know very much about pools, which means I ended up with options that I didn't want and overpaid for the things that I did want. Somehow we managed to keep the water crystal clear, even though my builder's pool school and the local pool store were doing their best to lead me astray. Now I'm a lot smarter about specifying what I want and how I want to operate it (Thanks TFP!!!).
So we're beginning our our journey. Right now, we've got the design picked out. Just today, the city issued the building permit. Now we're waiting on the HOA approvals so we can start digging. Unfortunately, my subdivision is brand new and we're the first house to put in a pool. The HOA isn't able to tell me their approval process, won't tell me how long it takes to make a decision (they have up to 60 days according to the deed restrictions, but allow themselves even more time for design iterations), and can't tell me the criteria upon which said decision gets made. While these problems pale in comparison to some of the stories I've been reading on this board, it is still quite frustrating.
Anyway, here's the artist conception of what my side yard should look like in a few months....
Wish us luck on our journey.
With my last pool, I didn't know very much about pools, which means I ended up with options that I didn't want and overpaid for the things that I did want. Somehow we managed to keep the water crystal clear, even though my builder's pool school and the local pool store were doing their best to lead me astray. Now I'm a lot smarter about specifying what I want and how I want to operate it (Thanks TFP!!!).
So we're beginning our our journey. Right now, we've got the design picked out. Just today, the city issued the building permit. Now we're waiting on the HOA approvals so we can start digging. Unfortunately, my subdivision is brand new and we're the first house to put in a pool. The HOA isn't able to tell me their approval process, won't tell me how long it takes to make a decision (they have up to 60 days according to the deed restrictions, but allow themselves even more time for design iterations), and can't tell me the criteria upon which said decision gets made. While these problems pale in comparison to some of the stories I've been reading on this board, it is still quite frustrating.
Anyway, here's the artist conception of what my side yard should look like in a few months....
Wish us luck on our journey.
