sun vs. shade

[julieanneloth]

We are choosing a location between full sun/afternoon shade open area vs. wooded area, partial sun (1-3 hours tops) with river view.

This will be a retreat type setting with outdoor kitchen, waterfalls, slide. We live in a colder climate (Northern Va.) pool season from June to August, extended to May and September with heater.

Pros and Cons anyone?

Thanks

 

[NWMNMom]

Asthetics are a personal choice but for cleaning ease, the further away from wooded areas the better. Pollen, leaves, debris, etc. Yuck. Full sun will also equal less need for a heater.

 

[uwimage]

If we would have put a pool in and not bought a house with one already, we probably would have put the pool more in the sun for exactly what NWMNMom said! It sucks in the fall...we are lucky that all the outdoor entertainment space is mostly shaded except for a couple of lounge chairs for those who want to lay around in the sun.

Also, Welcome to TFP!! Feel free to look around and ask away, these guys have helped me a lot! There are also some great design ideas thanks to others posting their pools and maybe some things you guys haven't thought of?

Enjoy!

-Thomas

 

[gonefishin]

Of course only you can make this call. But If I could have put our pool in the sun...away from our trees and partial shade I would have!

dan

 

[SeanB]

Another vote for keeping the pool away from the trees.

Oh, and welcome to TFP!

 

[Buggsw]

Gosh yes, I too, say keep it away from trees and such.

 

[Kinguni]

Another vote for in the sun. My pool gets full sun until early evening and after some cloudy days with the pool temperature at 75 this morning was up to a swimable 79 by late afternoon, with the solar cover on and pump running. I have one tree almost next to the pool which I'll be removing in the fall since all it does is make a mess (ornamental apple - looks nice for a week in the spring).

 

[vapool]

I'm in northern VA too, and would definitely go for the full sun. Our neighbors lot is wooded, and their pool is freezing for all but the hottest days of the year....and even then it's only tolerable in mid-day when the sun is at its hightest. Plus, as others have said, they get tons of leaves, pollen, acorns, sap and everything else imaginable in their pool.

 

[colormesummer]

For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would put an outdoor pool in a shaded area unless there was absolutely no choice. Isn't a pool all about sun n fun? Not to mention trying to keep it heated without the sun's warmth!

 

[NOVA_Steve]

Another recommendation for in the sun. My neighbor's black walnut trees just to the west drive me nuts! Literally. And I thought maple trees where bad.

 

[uwimage]

For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would put an outdoor pool in a shaded area unless there was absolutely no choice. Isn't a pool all about sun n fun? Not to mention trying to keep it heated without the sun's warmth!

From a Texan's prospective I can say it is nice to have the shade, while it's 100+ outside with the shade we do get our pool is still in the 80's...perfectly comfortable.

That being said I'd rather buy a cooler for the pool in the sun than deal with all the organic stains from the trees, leaves, all the little bugs that seem to fall out of the trees into the pool.

 

[JohnT]

Sun. After the first year in the shade you'll be wanting to cut down the trees, especially in the fall or after a storm.

 

[flintstone]

...and the pool water just looks better when it's in full sun. Set up the umbrella in the baja shelf and enjoy the full sun from the shady part of the pool.

 

[giulietta1]

We are choosing a location between full sun/afternoon shade open area vs. wooded area, partial sun (1-3 hours tops) with river view.

Build an indoor pool. That could extend your swimming season to year-round!

I love my indoor pool, but I'm clearly an outlier. Next time I move (MANY years from now, I hope), I plan to build a house with a porch/sunroom to house an enclosed pool and spa. Our current setup consists of a separate enclosure from the house, sort of a "barn" where the pool is housed. Ironically, I wasn't shopping for a house with a pool, but the perfect (reasonably priced!) house just happened to have this indoor pool. . . now I wouldn't want to be w/o my own pool!

 

[brittmer]

Mine is in the full sun all day and I would not want it any other way. After all, you can create shade but not sun.

 

[Pool_Mike]

Fun in the sun! Keep the pool away from the shade/trees.

 

[cliff_s]

I have a pool that has sun most of the day and partial shade in the afternoon(planned that way). If you have
sun all day the pool will heat sooner in the spring. If you are like me, I don't like swimming in the summer sun so I wait
until afternoon when the pool is partially in the shade to swim. In another house my pool was in the sun all day
and we used a umbrella to shade part of the pool in the afternoon, the PB put the umbrella hole in the wrong place
and it work great for pool shade.

With a little planning you can have it both ways.

Cliff s

 

[Lumpy]

Sun. After the first year in the shade you'll be wanting to cut down the trees, especially in the fall or after a storm.

This thread helped in my decision to cut with precision. Off with their heads !