Help - getting nervous about building a pool! Maintenance and animals

[camedia]

Hi, all - first post and definitely getting nervous about taking this on.

Welcome your guidance - promised the kids a pool w a new house and do have to deliver on that!

Here’s what’s making me the most nervous:

1)Maintenance - having never had a pool, I’ve honestly no good idea how much work it will be. I’ll be getting a salt water pool and a service at least the first couple years. The maintenance I’m worried about is more the daily stuff as I travel a lot and so it may not get done. Some friends have suggested an automatic pool cover but aesthetically I really prefer a free form pool. I don’t want rails on the decking so would have to get a rectangular one if I went that route. We do have a wooded lot but PB said he would double the skimmers (4 in a 900sq ft pool) and that would help a lot. How much daily maintenance should I expect without an automatic pool cover? Is it over 15 mins if I want to swim?

2)Animals - my wife keeps hearing scary stories about people having snakes, squirrels, worms...etc in their pool. Honestly snakes freak me out and that doesn’t sound good at all. How often does this happen?Are they generally dead or alive? Does an automatic pool cover totally prevent this?

3)Also have questions on pool design but honestly these two above are the biggest concerns - may save my design queries for another post

Welcome any guidance and ideas to mitigate these concerns?

Thanks much,
Arnie

 

[Perpetual summer]

I have a 10,000 gal free form fiberglass pool with a SWG. Filter is over sized, SWG is rated for a 40,000 gal pool. This was my first full year and was very surprised with how easy and such little work it involved. I adhere to TFP protocol. SWG takes care of the chlorine demand, I brush and vacumn manually, it takes about 30 min Once a week. I tested chemicals at first every other day, then twice a week under normal circumstances. More if heavy bather loads or extremely hot weather. I have the pool company close for winter and that’s the only time the cartridge filters get cleaned. Of course a bigger or different kind of pool could require more work.
I do get worms, voles, frogs, mice, beetles, spiders, and no snakes yet. I keep a solar cover on most nights and most critters are dead when I get up to check on pool. If a pool is what you want, the hassle is minor and not worth the worry.
And again no two pools are alike so this is my experience, your will vary. Good luck.

 

[Kristjan]

Hi Camedia!
I'm a brand new member but I'm not a noob entirely. I am here looking for ways to maintain my pools using less or no pool store chemicals being that shipping these items in make it really expensive.
To address your critter issue maybe Skimmer Angel could work for you. I'm not affiliated with them in any way and I have never used the product but it addresses a need.
I think you can absolutely do the pool maintenance yourself (especially with this site) but ask yourself what your time is worth and get a quote and cut the numbers. I personally hate being held at someones mercy because of lack of knowledge and or ignorance.
As far as pool design I don't like shared spa pool systems with an overflow waterfall. I prefer discrete setups but this can be costly. Make sure your pool has nice smooth transitions no angles or hard lines.

Aloha
Kai

 

[ctrav]

Hi there Camedia...you made a promise to the kids and have to delivers have no fear. I am a pool newbie and this is our first pool ever. We built one for our grandkids. We have had the pool since July 1 of this year and enjoyed 3 good months of pool time with the girls and our lab Charlee.

The pool building process is an experience for sure and we worried about everything. The good folks on this site held our hands and walked us through our challenges. In the end most of it was unnecessary worrying and all came out well. Just make sure you have a plan, interview your builder and trust your gut.

Now for the two lingering questions maintenance and animals:
Maintenance - this is so much easier than you think and especially with salt water. Like I said I have never owned a pool before and my water looks terrific if I must say so myself. Yes you do have to invest time (especially in the beginning) so read as much as you can on this site and ask questions. The actual time to maintain the pool depends on you and how much you try to learn up front. I would say it took about 30-45 min a day at first and here we are 4 months later and I spend 15-30 min a week! No way would I pay someone to do this...one its not hard and second I know what goes in my pool and third I have the folks here on TFP to back me up if something ever goes wrong. Trust me you and your family can do it!

Animals - well that depends on where you live I suppose. We are just north of Fort Worth Texas in a new area so there are critters. For us it's the field mice and I would usually find at least one in my pool or skimmer every couple of days. So I just kept the FC up and checked skimmers daily since I knew this was an issue. As new homes are being built this issue has quickly changed for the better plus my two cats help out a lot Good news is we have not had a single snake this whole time. So yes you will get critters and such but not a big deal at all...

Hope this all works out for you and the family. Having a pool is awesome and our girls love it. REMEMBER YOU CAN DO THE UPKEEP!! Save your money and keep the pool store chems out of your pool...

 

[kimkats]

There is also the frog log to help with the critters.

As far as taking care of the pool...............Never fear, TFP is here! We have links, videos, and real live people to help with just about anything. From helping you pick your PB (Pool Builder) to picking out your equipment, to picking out your pretties for your pool.

If you want to really get started you can share a pic of where the pool will be going. Tell us how you think you will be using the pool.

Kim

 

[Swampwoman]

Welcome, camedia!
I live on a 2.5 acre wooded lot and my pool is kinda in a "bowl" at the bottom of the forest Maintenance is easy in summer via TFP, but depending on leaf traffic and how early or late in season you like to swim, can vary widely. Still totally worth it, but steps you take now will give you many returns!

If I were building new, I would ABSOLUTELY install an automatic cover for the following reasons:

1. Leaves, maple keys, poplar catkins and pine needles. I would absolutely love a life where 5 min in the morning with a cordless blower in spring or fall would clear the cover

2. Critters - a frog log will diminish the carnage but an auto cover will STOP the chipmunk, vole, mole swims that may inevitably lead to death by misadventure. And Newts. No snakes yet. I've also had hawks drop carnage.

3. Heat retention - Before I installed a winter dome to operate yearround, I liked to stay open til the end of Oct and open in April. A good heater and a strategy to retain tat heat is critical. Since 70% of heat is lost from evaporation, an autocover is literally worth its weight in gold in terms of natural gas savings.

I get by with a solar cover on a good reel (rockys reel) but with a Grecian shaped pool, its a total pita.

Lastly, GO Rectangular - not free form or Grecian, so that if you DON'T do the autocover now, you can do it later when you see what the debris/critter load is like. Seriously - I'd give just about anything to retrofit mine but I can't without re-digging the pool due to tight footprint and the shape of my terrace border.

I love having a pool, and I also love caring for my pool. But if there was a single thing I could do differently, it would be the autocover and shape.

PS I should note that like you, I love open water. In fact, I didn't even use a solar cover until last year.

BUT...most of the debris, and animals, get in when you're NOT sitting there looking at the water An autocover gives you the option to have it closed any time you're NOT looking at it, and will dramatically reduce early morning skimmer "surprises."

 

[Nectarologist]

If I may add, consider buying a robot as your way to vacuum. You won't need the pool service weekly and it will pay for itself before one season is over. Buy it online. I have 2 large oaks and another tree that I don't know what it is. I have two skimmers and for 2 weeks in the spring and then in mid sept till I close I get a lot of debris. Skimmer handle if fine. I empty in the am and then when I get home from work. Otherwise it's just daily as I check the chemicals (or every other day if I'm being lazy). I use the robot once per week and never think about it.

As an FYI, you can likely negotiate some pool service when you buy the pool. Assuming the builder services pools. When you get everything done details-wise ask them to include service for 4 weeks. They may only do two but it will give you a buffer before you're on your own. I can't imagine that they'd make 2 weeks of included pool service a deal breaker. I personally would just want to do it myself.