Polycarbonate Pool Enclosure or Indoor Pool

[TiffanyWA]

My husband and I are trying to decide between building an outdoor pool and then getting a large polycarbonate pool enclosure or just building an indoor pool. I haven't been able to find many personal reviews from people who have done either one of these. I have seen a few people on here with indoor pools but it looks like most of those were inherited when they bought the house. Anyone build one themselves? What about the pool enclosures? I'd love to hear from people who have experience from either one of these. I live in Spokane, WA so we want to get a longer life out of our pool than just the short Summer months.

 

[swimcmp]

We have been involved with several indoor builds. The most important thing to do is maintain dehumidification. One way to assist this is an auto cover. You need to maintain pool and room temperature within two degrees of each other. We have one customer who did a rolling polycarbonate enclosure and kept his pool running year around.

 

[TiffanyWA]

We have been involved with several indoor builds. The most important thing to do is maintain dehumidification. One way to assist this is an auto cover. You need to maintain pool and room temperature within two degrees of each other. We have one customer who did a rolling polycarbonate enclosure and kept his pool running year around.

Any idea on the cost comparison between going straight for indoor or doing a large enclosure? I've read a lot about dehumidification when it comes to an indoor pool. With an indoor pool we can build a lot of it into the structure (in addition to an auto cover). Would just an auto cover on an enclosure do the trick to bring down the humidity?

 

[swimcmp]

The auto cover will help but you still need dehumidifier. It is very important since humidity could cause premature rot, mold issues.

 

[PaulM]

Hi Tiffany, I have an indoor pool I had built 22 years ago. I love it and would not ever have a pool that was not indoors. It is a big hit at parties. Cleaning is almost non existent, chemical use is minimal. You can swim anytime of year but you have to heat it of course and that can be expensive in the winter. It has sliding glass doors around all sides and a polycarbonate roof. Roof panels need to be replaced after 22 years and sliding glass doors have fog in them so they will be replaced soon. Make sure you get a warranty with the sliding glass door. My enclosure company put in cheap windows and the seals failed after 15 years.

My enclosure has an opening roof which is really great. It stays around 80 odd degrees in the summer which I find cold so I tend to heat it even then. There is a company that sells a product that takes the waste heat from your air conditioner and puts in in your pool with no additional pump required. I plan to have that done soon.

I keep two sliding glass doors on opposite sides of the enclosure open a few inches year round to control humidity. I don't leave anything organic in the pool house or things will indeed mold and rot. My enclosure is all aluminum and glass so the structure can't mold. Occasionally it will get a couple of areas with some mold on the outside edge of the floor. I spray that with mold killer.

 

[bmoreswim]

Great setup Paul! BTW - You don't post often (2 posts in 13 years - but when you do, wow!) I love the consideration of no organic materials in that space. I suspect that today that's a $25-50K proposition for your enclosure. It's a beautiful and functional space. I love the opening roof and 50% opening walls. I too have read about the Heat Recovery Pool Heater | Compare To Solar Pool Heater | HotSpot Energy LLC concept.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I too have read about the Heat Recovery Pool Heater | Compare To Solar Pool Heater | HotSpot Energy LLC concept.

This would be sooooooo cool if my AC unit and pool equipment weren't so darn far away from each other. <sad face Maddie>