To slide or not to slide?

[Snoobug]

Can it be removed? I wonder what it looks like if you do with concrete under it. I said something to the pb about it and the look he gave made it seem like it was pretty permanent. I really wish it was something that we could easily remove later when we're done with it. Honestly that's my hesitation...

 

[Nikilyn]

We are going through the building process right now. I want a slide for our kids (10, 8, & 5) but my wife says they should just be happy to get a pool So we are having them do the plumbing and stub it. Since we are doing paver decking, my PB says we should be able to just pull up the paver where the stub is to install it if we want to put it in in the future. He going to make a small mark so we know what one it is. I figure this way it would be easy to take it out later if my kids outgrow it and it not really getting used.

We did that when we built our last pool because it wasn’t in the budget. We had a concrete deck and they just plugged over it.

 

[Sparks22]

I can't say whether it is a good idea or not, but we ended up deciding to give it a go. We are going with the 15 foot dolphin slide with a stone enclosure surrounding it (see build thread in signature for renders). They weren't joking about the $20k figure up above!

 

[Winger 03]

We did the rough-in at build time and installed it prior to the 2nd year. What we did not do was select the slide we wanted in advance so they could rough-in efficiently. They roughed in for their standard slide. We wanted something different and ended up with a 2-foot piece of flex pipe under the slide. It is not awful, but not great either. If we had the forethought to pick the slide ahead of time we could have avoided this.

 

[Sollace]

We had a pool when our youngest was eight. We took out the diving board (accidents) and never considered a slide. I guess it was because in Texas the sun bakes everything. I saw too many kids complain about sliding on a playground and getting burned. Well, not burned but complaining about the hot metal or plastic. But you're not in TX so all this probably doesn't matter. Maybe water running down the slide makes the difference.

And another thing is .. . At least for me. . .. I'd want to be out there if the kids are in the pool with a slide. My boys played rough and I could see an accident waiting to happen. Without a diving board the kids didn't need a constant eagle eye. They found their own fun, launching themselves from the decking, running and jumping into the pool. They still had a blast. Cannon balls are very popular. They also liked to catch a pool toy as they're jumping, making it more of a challenge.

 

[gingrbredman]

We did the rough-in at build time and installed it prior to the 2nd year. What we did not do was select the slide we wanted in advance so they could rough-in efficiently. They roughed in for their standard slide. We wanted something different and ended up with a 2-foot piece of flex pipe under the slide. It is not awful, but not great either. If we had the forethought to pick the slide ahead of time we could have avoided this.

Our original plan was to just have the slide roughed in, and then take a season to see if we wanted to add it later. But as you point out, it is not necessarily so easy to just rough it in and have it come out perfect when you do decide later. For us, the rough in was part of the contract. But after talking with the PB during construction, you should know which slide, and exactly where because it is more complicated then just the water line. There has to be a concrete base there for the slide to mount to, and the water line buried in there. For us with a paver patio, it was more complicated than just pulling up a few pavers, so we just decided to do it now.

Can it be removed? With a paver patio it is actually easier than if we decided not to do it. The slide mounts into the concrete at a few points, drilled through the pavers and into the concrete. If we decided to move it, or remove it, we would need to replace the pavers that the holes are in, and then fasten them on top of the concrete base that is underneath. The other thing you could do is convert it into some kind of water feature. I saw another build here where a water line was stubbed out for a future water feature, not a slide, but the location was about where a slide could have gone. Could add some kind of feature in the future. That's where my thinking has been.

 

[TimZ]

I really wish it was something that we could easily remove later when we're done with it. Honestly that's my hesitation...

Have you considered something like the SlideAway? That's removable with no actual deck connection. Maybe a little shorter than other slide options, but probably good enough to entertain young kids. Disclaimer: we do not have a slide and I have no experience with them.