Cost to build a pool in North Texas?

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voidpointer said:
I'll admit I'm disappointed you can't even offer a little bit on the price point. I gave a pretty detailed dump of what the pool will have.
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Any of us can give you an opinion about what we think is a fair price. However, if we're not willing to actually do the job for the price we say, it doesn't mean much. At the end of the day, the only prices that matter are from people who are actually willing to do the job. If you get 5 proposals and that's all you will get, then those are your options. Once you get the proposals, you can accept one or try to negotiate. At some point, you're going to have to accept a builder's best and final offer or you walk away and do nothing.

That being said, I think that the price is high.

However, since I'm not willing or able to give you a better price to do the same job, my opinion isn't going to do you much good.

It's not like you can go to the builder and say "there's a random person on the internet who says that they think you should do the job for $70,000.00" and they're going to care.
 
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voidpointer said:
Would love advice of any kind. I think the only thing I can say I'm settled on is using chlorine. I don't want salt, just heard too many bad things about equipment wearing out.
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Just caught this in your post. We’ve had salt from the start (13 years) and haven’t experienced any issues with equipment wearing out. I’m on my 2nd pump and 3rd salt cell - that’s it from an equipment replacement perspective and probably better than average lifespan (much of which I attribute to great advice from this site.) The SWCG makes pool maintenance SO much easier, as it generates the chlorine for you. No hassles of regular chlorine additions and trips to the store to buy it. I wouldn’t go any other way. Added bonus is that water feels much better, too!
 
poolnoobgrandma said:
I've heard that Texas builders don't like salt for some reason. I think you'll find that the vast majority of experts on this site highly recommend saltwater chlorine generators. We love ours. It has made managing our pool super simple. It's your money your pool, but I recommend that you do a little more reading here before you fully decide not to go with a SWCG.
Good luck with your new pool!
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Thank you. Can you point me towards some good reading material to help me decide? I can google for some things but I don't know if it would be good reading material. Thank you.
 
VP,

The people that have problems with their saltwater pools are the same people that buy cars and never change the oil, or don't clean the lint out of their dryers, or don't change their AC filters.

Pools require that the pool owner routinely test their pool water, and keep the chemicals balanced.. While Saltwater pools are the easiest to maintain, you still have to understand how they work, and at least pretend to have some interest in maintaining your own pool.

Easy does not mean maintenance free.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thank you. The wild difference in opinion on Reddit was scaring me about salt. Folks say also that when you factor in the equipment replacements every few years, it ends up costing the same yearly as chlorine. Is this factual or misconception?
 
voidpointer said:
There's so many mixed opinions on it I'm not sure what to believe.
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I suspect you’re right about that. The good news is that you’ll find more than opinions on this site, as evidenced by the links posted above. You’ll find factual info, including info on how things work. Another consideration: even if you use liquid chlorine, you’ll still have salt in your water, as the chlorine contains salt. Either way, it’s not enough to cause the damage alluded to in the post you copied. With a SWCG, you’ll maintain salt levels around 3,000-3,500 ppm. Ocean water is around 35,000 ppm.
 
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voidpointer said:
Folks say also that when you factor in the equipment replacements every few years, it ends up costing the same yearly as chlorine. Is this factual or misconception?
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Think of a SWCG as pre-paying for your chlorine. When I need to adjust chlorine, I whip out my phone and change the output % on my SWCG. After 3-5 years (or hopefully longer) I will have to buy a new SWCG that will cost roughly what 3-5 of chlorine would have cost me.

I think of it as a wash financially, but exponentially easier maintenance wise.
 
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We happily went salt after reading on this forum, and yes I read that same reddit thread. That looks like a 60-65k pool/spa combo in Houston prices. I know dallas is like 15-20% higher cost to build. That looks like robbery for anything over 75k, especially with a concrete deck. My pool/spa was 75k and is double the gallon size. 16x40, 7x9 spa 8x9 tanning ledge with a huge wall. Bigger builders in Houston said I could expect to pay 90-100k with them so I guess it's all about shopping around and getting a good price+good builder.
 

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voidpointer said:
Thank you. The wild difference in opinion on Reddit was scaring me about salt. Folks say also that when you factor in the equipment replacements every few years, it ends up costing the same yearly as chlorine. Is this factual or misconception?
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Richard Falk (aka @chem geek) wrote this thread a few years ago. It basically shows that the economics of SWG's is effectively equivalent to buying all of your chlorinating compounds upfront. The numbers are a bit dated but I can only imagine that the analysis probably gets better, not worse, with up to date costs because the cost of SWG's have come down a lot.

Economics of Saltwater Chlorine Generators

The following table shows the economics of saltwater chlorine generators and why they save money IF one uses a larger (often oversized) unit and is in an area where electricity costs are not very high. Pool Size 18,000 Gallons Power Cost $0.10/kWh Name Model Output (lb/24hr) FC/hr...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

The true savings is sweat equity - you put a LOT less effort into pool care when something is automatically creating sanitizer in your pool water as opposed to you dumping it in every day...and yes, chlorine needs to be added daily to a pool no matter what the source of it is.

Also, stay away from ORP control over chlorination, it's not worth it and it adds more complexity to pool care, not less. I would say the same about pH control as well but pH control systems can be made to be trouble free if you stay away from the vaporware that passes for positive feedback control systems.
 
voidpointer said:
I'm not sure what this means. Is this something I need to look out for when I'm working with a builder for my new pool?
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You posted that response from Reddit where the user says they preferred chlorine dosing systems like the IntelliChem. They work by using an ORP probe to "measure" chlorine levels and then use those measurements to control dosing....sounds fancy and really cool, right? Why not let the computer do the work for you, right? The reality is a lot less idyllic.

Here's a rule of thumb - if a builder tries to sell you a piece of equipment that they swear works ALL THE TIME, that NEVER FAILS, and will be effortless on your part to operate and maintain....come here first before you say yes to it. There is so much pseudoscientific nonsense and snake-oil salesman in the pool equipment and chemicals industry that it's easy to get taken for a ride. Ask anyone here that was ever sold a Frog Chlorinator & Mineral Ion System to tell you their stories...
 
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I recently added a SWCG and I would never go back to lugging jugs of chlorine again. I am surprised with all of the benefits of a SWCG that it is still frowned upon.

Here are a few more positives about going the SWCG route.

1. Chlorine level is more consistent throughout the day. It is constantly adding chlorine based on the setting of the cell. Manual chlorination requires you to test the water, see where the FC level is and then add chlorine based on need. Immediately, the level goes down based on user load, sunlight and other factors. So, you have to check it again and adjust the FC level based on testing. Depending on where you live and how frequently you test. The level will be going down from the initial chlorine added to the next time you test and add more. I was checking FC every single day doing it manually and adding more . Now, I can go several days without testing as my pool is really stable. I actually enjoy the pool more since i spend less time monitoring it and actually using it.

With a SWCG, even if I don't test. The chlorine is still being added contentiously based on the setting and maintaining a more consistent chlorine level. IMHO a SWCG pool is more sanitary.

2. With a SWCG you are not at the mercy of any store keeping chlorine in stock. It is no fun driving all over town looking for chlorine when you absolutely need it. There was no chlorine in the stores earlier this year due to Covid. Plus the prices went up and continues to do so. Some folks have even noticed the percentage of chlorine has decreased. So you are paying more and getting less. Which means you have to buy more.

3. You run the risk of getting an algae bloom if you cannot find chlorine in the store during a hot stretch of weather. Your family will not be happy knowing they cannot swim at some point because you are going through a slam process for a week or two. There are many posts here about people scrambling earlier this year and having to come up with alternatives because stores were out.

4. You save a lot of money by not having to buy clothes because everything you own has bleach spots. Unless, you dedicate an outfit for chlorine duty. Trust me, no matter how well you try not getting bleach stains it will happen at some point.

5. You don't have to buy and store lot's of bottles of chlorine. Based on my chlorine usage. I was buying 30 bottles at time to minimize trips to the store and that is not factoring gas, additional milage, wear and tear on the car. We shop at wal-mart and having to store groceries and chlorine in the car at the same time is not something I like to do. Otherwise, it is a separate trip.

There are so many benefits to a SWCG and with most pools costing 75 -100K plus. A 1% additional cost to make my life easier and the pool more enjoyable would be a no-brainer for me. Heck, most would spend $500 or more on a robot just so they don't have to deal with a hose and manual vacuum. A SWCG makes maintaining a pool so much easier.
 
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voidpointer said:
With SWCG, does the pool need to be resurfaced more often?
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VP,

Why would you think that?????

Having a Saltwater pool will make zero difference in how often you have to resurface a pool.

I am not sure who you are getting your info from, but it is sure not anyone that has actually used and maintained a saltwater pool.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
VP,

No matter what kind of pool you have, it is still necessary to routinely test and ensure your water stays balanced.. If you don't do that, then the water can cause the plaster to fail earlier than normal. Again.. this will happen no matter how you chlorinate your pool, if you don't take care of your water.. So if your "story teller" is telling you that he knew of a friend, who's father, had a neighbor, who had a saltwater pool and it ate through the plaster in a couple of years.. It is like anything else.. you need the whole story before you can know why there was a failure..

If you don't want a saltwater pool don't get one.. But.. make the choice as an informed consumer and not because of what some bozo salesman is telling you..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Thanks. I think the fact that I'm here asking questions shows I want to be an informed consumer. I also do want a salt pool which is why I'm trying to verify the things I'm hearing (it's really thanks to everyone here helping me out).
 
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