calm_like_a_bomb said:
Maybe you're looking at this the wrong way. You should paint your house to match the pool. Then tell the HOA to stuff it since they match.
CLB
Ha ha, I like this one!
You never mention what color the house and pool are.
Painting pool walls?
- Thread starter MNPoolDreamer
- Start date
Ha ha, I like this one!
You never mention what color the house and pool are.
BoDarville said:
Have to throw in my two cents here since I have recently spent the last three years dealing with attorneys and have spent numerous hours in court (long story I won't bore you with). Please don't get me wrong, I am not sue happy... but having stood on both sides in front of a judge has taught me that it does REALLY take a long time and a LOT of money when one goes to court. Getting the advice of an attorney does not automatically put you in front of a judge. In fact every attorney I have met, knows if a case finically with stand the test of time court is the last resort. BUT I agree with BoDarville and several others in this thread... it sounds like your HOA is bullying you and they are probably used to getting their way by threatening to take you to court.
This is what I would do if I were in your shoes.
First before doing anything to my pool .... I would get a copy of the by-laws which is your legal right to obtain a copy. Then I would take plenty of photos of your pool/house, all public views, the neighbor's trampoline/deck/boat, etc. .... all infractions you see from the HOA's by-laws. Then I would gather it all together and talk with an attorney who specializes in defending homeowners living in communities with HOA. He/she will be the first one to tell you if you have a case or not (your first attorney consultation should be gratis... or I wouldn't meet with them). If you do have a case, it is amazing what a letter from your lawyer can do when you are dealing with a bully! Plus, if you can find out if there are other neighbors who have had similar issues with your HOA committee ... let your attorney know because that will only help you to get the HOA to back down.... I am sure the HOA doesn't want to have to settle a class action suit. If you don't have a case, the attorney may have some suggestions how to deal with the HOA on your own.
This route will take time and effort on your part and won't be as quick as painting your pool .... but in the long run you may be in for more stress and anguish with a pool your not happy with year after year if you don't get legal advice first. Plus, once a bully gets their way, they usually don't stop and they find something else to pick on.
Wishing you the best of luck and look forward to reading a happy ending for you in the future.
Maria (Jim's wife)
Thank you everyone for the support and advice! I love the bamboo cladding, that is a great idea.
We contacted a lawyer and she helped us draft a letter saying they need to accept the pool as it is (based on the color) and outline how much we have spent on landscape plans and actual plantings. We pointed out in the letter that if we change our house color then this would be a non-issue, we also pointed out that an intex type pool (blue) doesn't match the house but is not subject to plantings, screenings or matching one's home.
The lawyer didn't really feel like they have a case so I think that's why she helped us by giving advice rather than taking on the case. She thought they were overstepping the rules since there are none regarding pools other than approval is required and that's what we got.
They dropped the color arguement but now sent us a letter saying we have to "screen" the pool year-round with landscaping. It is frustrating that I can't put in the plants we chose with our landscaper, but I'm ok with putting in some more arborvitae if it means we can keep the pool. Since it is end of season we can get a pretty good discount. We just don't want to tear out all the lanscape on the other side but they are asking us to do it. I am going to write a letter back that says we will add 3 plants and that is it. They can stuff it after this.
The part that sucks is that we'd like to put in an ingronud (the city rules changed so we can now..Good grief!) so we'll have to tear out all this landscaping anyway. Or if we want to put a deck in, we'd have to tear it out. Makes this project expensive when we've already spent 1000 in landscaping plants and now we have another 2500 to put in.
But if we strike it rich enough to get an in-ground, I may try to convince hubby to move to a different area.
I'm going to look into the bamboo anyway cause that looks super cool. Just not sure how it would hold up to a Minnesota winter.
We contacted a lawyer and she helped us draft a letter saying they need to accept the pool as it is (based on the color) and outline how much we have spent on landscape plans and actual plantings. We pointed out in the letter that if we change our house color then this would be a non-issue, we also pointed out that an intex type pool (blue) doesn't match the house but is not subject to plantings, screenings or matching one's home.
The lawyer didn't really feel like they have a case so I think that's why she helped us by giving advice rather than taking on the case. She thought they were overstepping the rules since there are none regarding pools other than approval is required and that's what we got.
They dropped the color arguement but now sent us a letter saying we have to "screen" the pool year-round with landscaping. It is frustrating that I can't put in the plants we chose with our landscaper, but I'm ok with putting in some more arborvitae if it means we can keep the pool. Since it is end of season we can get a pretty good discount. We just don't want to tear out all the lanscape on the other side but they are asking us to do it. I am going to write a letter back that says we will add 3 plants and that is it. They can stuff it after this.
The part that sucks is that we'd like to put in an ingronud (the city rules changed so we can now..Good grief!) so we'll have to tear out all this landscaping anyway. Or if we want to put a deck in, we'd have to tear it out. Makes this project expensive when we've already spent 1000 in landscaping plants and now we have another 2500 to put in.
But if we strike it rich enough to get an in-ground, I may try to convince hubby to move to a different area.
I'm going to look into the bamboo anyway cause that looks super cool. Just not sure how it would hold up to a Minnesota winter.
I just noticed this thread, didn't realize it involved HOA. We're having the same issues with an above ground pool. We don't really have a HOA, just the developer at this point. We have no options other than removal or complete burial. Above ground pools are specifically prohibited in our covenants but in all the excitement of getting a pool, we didn't think to check. I wish we were given the option of covering the pool...I wouldn't want to paint it but I like some of the ideas you were given...I like the bamboo too. Good luck!
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,766
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
If you bought a house in a HOA community, you agreed to the CC&Rs. My bet is the rules state that you need to submit and get aproval BEFORE installing a pool. If you did that before you put in the pool you should have an aproval letter, they can't change the rule now. If you didn't submit for the pool, as required then its not much different than building a house without putting in for a building permit. You are now learning that when it comes to dealing with citys or HOAs you can get into a lot of trouble if you think " I'd rather ask forgiveness than ask permission".
I'm wondering how this situation turned out. MN Pool Dreamer, would you please post an update? I agree that you should not back down to the HOA board and paint your pool. Would you be able to represent yourself in court? It seems like a simple case where you might be able to do some research on what's required to file the case on your own. If this is possible, it would save a lot of money too.
We have an old steel wall pool. The wall is an ugly faded redwood color. We painted the metal framework and top rails. I looked into painting the walls but it would be very difficult to do. You would definitely have to sand and prime before painting. If you paint it, be sure to check with a good paint store like Benjamin Moor or Sherwin Williams for advice on the type of paint to use. It is very important to use a water base paint that is made for exterior metal. Hint: The big box stores are not the place to buy this. For our pool framework, we used Vista Protec Alkyd Enamel. Another good choice is All Surface Enamel from Sherwin Williams. Paint would never stick to a slick coated wall.
I wouldn't consider re-painting a beautiful new pool. The bamboo cladding looks nice. We thought of using stacked rock to clad the outside of our pool but it would have cost more than $1000. I liked the suggestions to use evergreen trees or plants along your fence line. That would keep the prying eyes of the HOA board out of your yard and prevent them from spying any more "violations." Does your pool have some nice designs on the wall? If so, I think it would be hilarious if you could paint your house with the exact same designs. It would look ridiculous and the HOA would probably hate it but they couldn't complain because it would match!
Our first house was in an HOA development. We had problems with them but our board wasn't as unreasonable as yours. All the homes in our complex were painted with tan stucco and brown to very dark brown trim. (Can you say 1970's?) We wanted a cleaner, updated look. We sprayed the stucco off white and painted the trim a light tan. The board send us a violation letter. Many neighbors stopped by to say that they really liked our paint and wanted to change their colors too. We wrote a letter to the board stating that we believed it would improve the property values to have a newer color scheme. The board met and decided to allow us to keep the colors. From then on, homeowners were permitted to submit their color choices and any earth tone color would likely be approved.
I'm sorry for your trouble and hope you were able to resolve it without painting your new pool.
We have an old steel wall pool. The wall is an ugly faded redwood color. We painted the metal framework and top rails. I looked into painting the walls but it would be very difficult to do. You would definitely have to sand and prime before painting. If you paint it, be sure to check with a good paint store like Benjamin Moor or Sherwin Williams for advice on the type of paint to use. It is very important to use a water base paint that is made for exterior metal. Hint: The big box stores are not the place to buy this. For our pool framework, we used Vista Protec Alkyd Enamel. Another good choice is All Surface Enamel from Sherwin Williams. Paint would never stick to a slick coated wall.
I wouldn't consider re-painting a beautiful new pool. The bamboo cladding looks nice. We thought of using stacked rock to clad the outside of our pool but it would have cost more than $1000. I liked the suggestions to use evergreen trees or plants along your fence line. That would keep the prying eyes of the HOA board out of your yard and prevent them from spying any more "violations." Does your pool have some nice designs on the wall? If so, I think it would be hilarious if you could paint your house with the exact same designs. It would look ridiculous and the HOA would probably hate it but they couldn't complain because it would match!
Our first house was in an HOA development. We had problems with them but our board wasn't as unreasonable as yours. All the homes in our complex were painted with tan stucco and brown to very dark brown trim. (Can you say 1970's?) We wanted a cleaner, updated look. We sprayed the stucco off white and painted the trim a light tan. The board send us a violation letter. Many neighbors stopped by to say that they really liked our paint and wanted to change their colors too. We wrote a letter to the board stating that we believed it would improve the property values to have a newer color scheme. The board met and decided to allow us to keep the colors. From then on, homeowners were permitted to submit their color choices and any earth tone color would likely be approved.
I'm sorry for your trouble and hope you were able to resolve it without painting your new pool.