Indoor or outdoor pool??

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H

HemiMoparGuy

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Feb 21, 2014
6
Charlevoix, and Flint, Michigan
Hello All,

Back again with more questions. Seems like something that would have been discussed on here, but I didn't see much of anything from searching, so I guess I'll ask. I got some wonderful info on another thread about my concerns, although similar, not really related to that so I am starting a new thread.

As a reminder, I am looking at putting a pool in up at my cabin up north, that will be visited most, but not ALL weekends of the northern pool season. I don't want to get up there Friday night and have a nasty pool that needs to be shocked, and can't use it the entire weekend when we are up there. I want to be able to basically jump right in.

So what are the pros and cons of indoor vs outdoor pool, and which one would be better for my situation?? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in Advance,

Eric
 
I can't address the topics related to your climate, but can say a bit about having an indoor pool. While there are many similarities between operating an indoor and an outdoor pool you will also find differences, one of the big one is humidity control and the effects of humidity on everything around the pool (anything metal will corrode, this includes common style light switches, towel bars, etc) ,there are 2 options in most climates to deal with humidity expensive dehumidifiers or exhaust fans. In my climate even during the somewhat chilly spring and fall season (I can still swim with lows in the 40's maybe even upper 30's with only solar heat) I just use high volume exhaust fans, sure the humidity can be staggering with the fans off during the day, but they can flush 100% of the air out of the building in under 10 minutes, which usually makes it tolerable inside within 3-5 minutes while still retaining heat in the walls, floor, etc. From a pool chemical point of view, you tend to have much more of a closed system, with no splash out or rain dilution, chlorine consumption will also be much lower. I replaced the 30+ year old roof over my pool a couple of years ago and when I did I calculated that based on current market price for bleach I saved close to the cost of the roof replacement over the life of the building. This was comparing chlorine use to members here with similar sized pools that have full sunlight. However neither one is something you can ignore for a week or two and still expect clear water on your return, and I suspect an indoor pool and an outdoor pool with a hard auto cover on it would be about the same. To reasonably expect clean swim ready water after a week or two away you really need some sort of cover over the pool and an automatic chlorination system, either an SWG or liquid chlorine dosing pumps. You may also need an expensive ORP sensor based automation system, however these systems are generally felt to not be very reliable yet, and have many limitations. I know even with my pool being indoors and having a chlorine metering pump dispenser, I would still not be comfortable with going 2 weeks between testing and adjusting the metering pump during swim season, because as the water warms the demand for chlorine goes up, and as it falls it goes down. So while I may get away with not touching the chlorine metering pump for months during the main part of the swim season, I find I am constantly turning it up every few days during the spring as the water warms up, etc.

Ike
 
Thank you for the good info. If I make it an indoor pool, it will be more like an indoor/outdoor pool so to speak. I would only build a pole barn style building around an above ground pool. So there won't be any air tight seals anywhere, not even really a floor. Probably some big sliding doors on every wall, so when in use I can open right up to have a breeze, I was just thinking an indoor pool to protect some from the elements and control evaporation and such.
 
Mine is a little fancier than that, but does have lots of sliding glass doors around it. (Metal roofed building with blown in foam insulation and 8 ft concrete block walls on 3 sides, the other end with the bathroom, kitchen, equipment room, outdoor kitchen, etc. is wood framed construction. Here are some photos from the big roof replacement project a couple of years ago. http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/41980-My-not-indoor-pool-at-the-moment

Ike
 
Isaac-1 said:
Mine is a little fancier than that, but does have lots of sliding glass doors around it. (Metal roofed building with blown in foam insulation and 8 ft concrete block walls on 3 sides, the other end with the bathroom, kitchen, equipment room, outdoor kitchen, etc. is wood framed construction. Here are some photos from the big roof replacement project a couple of years ago. http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/41980-My-not-indoor-pool-at-the-moment

Ike
Click to expand...

I definitely wouldn't mind a setup like that for a pool at a permenant home, but a pool for just the weekends, that would be a bit overkill...heck, a pool up at the cabin in the first place is prolly overkill, especially for a cabin on a golf course that has a private community beach on Lake Michigan, plus several beautiful inland lakes around...but I just don't want to go the mile and quarter to the lake, and my gf can be a bit particular about clean water and such...plus I want something that is ours that we can run out for a midnight swim.
 
swimcmp said:
You most likely will need a heater since you won't be getting sun to heat it.
Click to expand...

I thought about that a little. I was thinking of those translucent panels on the roof and sides, not sure if they'll be strong enough for snow load on roof in winter. Also thinking about running black pipe up on the roof from the return line of filter to absorb sunlight...maybe just on the inside along the top chord of the trusses to be protected and still absorb a lot of heat. Also open to more ideas. Doesn't make a ton of sense to try saving money on chemicals by creating shelter, just to spend it on a heating bill. But I also thought about an open loop radient heat floor in the cabin, so I could have the pool hooked in through the boiler, to add some heat at least when we are there.

I dunno, that's why I am here, to gather ideas and have a basic plan for when this projecf starts to happen. Thanks for the replies
 
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