Newbie thinking of buying home with a pool

Racehorse · Jul 14, 2016

Just wanted to introduce myself and say that I have been reading here for a while and this is one of the best forums (on any topic matter) I have experienced. The knowledge base is great, and the photos and stories of pool builds is just fascinating.

Anyway, I'm new to all this. I have always wanted a pool, but I am somewhat intimidated with caring for a pool, esp. as I am getting older. Some people I talk to say "it's not a big deal, not overwhelming, you can do this" while others say "I had a pool once and never again.........."

My main reason for having a pool is to increase and maintain my fitness level, which I think is more important than anything else in life, plus have a calm and refreshing little paradise to relax in.

So I will be reading and asking lots of questions. Thanks for this great forum.

cj3737 · Jul 14, 2016

IT is a bit of work if you let it get away from you.. I shocked my pool about a month ago and I haven't really touched it since.. other than a few adds here and there and some testing.. TFP works wonders once you understand what is what... ITs a ton cheaper than what pool stores lead you to believe... few gallons of bleach here and there, some acid to regulate PH, an expensive (but WELL worth it) test kit and the result is clean and clear water...Truly amazing

YippeeSkippy · Jul 14, 2016

Skippy and I got a pool for just those reasons, Racehorse. Skippy had had major surgery and I have some health issues we just felt a pool would help us enormously to both exercise and recuperate as well as just give us pleasure and relief in the hot Georgia summers. Our kids are out of the house so we also hoped it would encourage more visits.

We had a pool put in that required a minimum of attention (fiberglass, unlike gunite which while nice requires more physical attention at first) and we chose to go with a salt water generator for ease of sanitation. We did splurge a bit on an automatic cover because I didn't want to fear the grandbabies ever having an accident and to lessen the vacuuming needs. It has all worked out perfectly for us.

My only regret is that the pool isn't deeper (its only 6' deep) with a diving board, and that we didn't put in when the kids were younger. The testing takes minutes and not even every day. We can go on vacation and leave it covered and its fine. We've never once had algae. If you have extra money to spare buying a robot will do most of the physical labor for you even.

I encourage you to go for it.

Yippee :flower:

pooldv · Jul 14, 2016

Welcome to TFP!

We don't have many of the "never again ..." folks here. The ones who do hang out here get converted to the I love my pool crowd pretty quickly.

Geebot · Jul 14, 2016

Racehorse said:
Just wanted to introduce myself and say that I have been reading here for a while and this is one of the best forums (on any topic matter) I have experienced. The knowledge base is great, and the photos and stories of pool builds is just fascinating.

Anyway, I'm new to all this. I have always wanted a pool, but I am somewhat intimidated with caring for a pool, esp. as I am getting older. Some people I talk to say "it's not a big deal, not overwhelming, you can do this" while others say "I had a pool once and never again.........."

My main reason for having a pool is to increase and maintain my fitness level, which I think is more important than anything else in life, plus have a calm and refreshing little paradise to relax in.

So I will be reading and asking lots of questions. Thanks for this great forum.

I knew nothing three years ago before we bought our current home with a pool. As for the "getting older" part, the previous owner was in his 70's and still opened/closed the pool on his own each as well as manually vacuuming, maintaining chemicals, etc on a weekly basis. I'm somewhat younger than that but hire out the opening/closing and have purchased a robot for cleaning. Having said that, balancing chemicals is dead simple once you get in the groove. Other than that, all I do is backwash once a week, skim any leaves/junk off the surface every couple of days and toss the robot in as needed. Not sure about your situation but for us, the pool has provided the added benefit of getting our (adult) kids to come over on the weekend, as well as their friends.

kiv558 · Jul 14, 2016

I'm new here too, and just wanted to let you know that your feelings are valid. We bought a fixer upper house with a fixer upper pool, and it was completely overwhelming. The fence was under a tangle of overgrown mess (and totally unsafe), the "cover" was tied off of said fence with some big rocks holding it down (and a bunch had fallen into the pool), it's a really old gunite that probably has never been resurfaced. The plaster, what seems to be left of it, is stained (I joke that it looks like granite... heh heh).

That said, with the help of this forum, I've become empowered. Just this week the pool company that opened for me came out and messed everything up -- I was furious. But I have my kit and I have my TFP forum/Pool Math, and a day later it's back to normal. And the pool company was promptly let go.

I still have a lot to learn. I'm tackling equipment now that I feel like I have a good handle on the chemistry. And researching resurfacing so that we can tackle that next spring.

So don't let the enormity of learning how to take care of a pool scare you off. Yes, there's a learning curve -- but you've found the spot to help you learn it and after that you'll wonder what all the fuss is about.

Good luck and welcome!

chipchip · Jul 14, 2016

Don't worry, I felt the same way last year when we got an Intex pool. Years ago we had a pool and my husband took care of it and it was green way more than it was blue. (That was back before it was so easy to go online and figure things out.) So I followed the "teachings" here and honestly it's been a piece of cake for the past year. It's really no work at all, just test the water and add chlorine/bleach as needed. You'll love it!