Will pool ownership float my boat or sink my ship?

[Carzmom]

I bought a house in the Palm Springs area with a pool. I paid years of maintenance, but NEVER went into the pool. It was too big, too deep, and too dirty. I had twice-weekly pool service but the trees in the adjoining property would drop leaves, flowers, and pollen even as the pool man was cleaning it. I kept it up because I didn’t know what to do with the pool, however, during Covid I drained the pool and it has since turned into a biology experiment with life ready to crawl out of the murky shallows. For three years I have been looked out onto my own primordial ecosystem waffling between filling it in (No! You can’t have a home in the desert without a pool, and it costs almost as much to fill it in) to renovating it (why put money into someone I didn’t use because it was too big, and too deep [the trees from the joining property is gone now]), to rebuilding it (what do you mean $250K for a new pool?).

Dear husband is no help. He was a proponent of filling in the pool (he doesn’t swim, he isn’t handy, and he agrees it is too big and too deep [dirty doesn’t bother him as much as it bothers me]). After three years we HAVE to decide what to do. I am leaning more towards a pool of some sort. I was excited to learn about fiberglass (lower maintenance, don’t have to resurface, fast installation), but no one here in the desert has one and pool service people don’t know how to maintain one. DH is still no help. After three years of listening to me waffling he just says do whatever you want.

I want a pool. I just don’t know what kind and I don’t know if will I regret getting one.

I am here to learn and become an informed pool owner. I would like a rectangular pool that is approximately 12X28 and 3-5 deep. My current concrete swamp is a Grecian shaped 16.5X36 and 9 feet deep (are there any home builders on this site? Could this be a basement for a guest house?). Beyond that, I am overwhelmed with finish, coping, cover, equipment, algae, raised edge, Cabo shelf, and tile.

I just got here so there are a lot of posts and threads I will need to catch up on. Thank you in advance to all you experts willing to share your insights. Hoping my decision for a pool won’t sink me!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! I have no idea about the IW local area and contractors that are availble, but I can assure you we have tons of TFP members out west with FG pools. They are fairly quick to install, but not exactly maintenance free. FG, just like vinyl and plaster, pools still requires accurate water at-home (not pool store) testing (with a proper test kit), cleaning, vacuuming, etc. If the water is properly maintained, that's half of your battle right there. At least with FG and vinyl there are no initial start-up processes to follow.

Be sure to visit our Pool Care Basics for lots of great info. Post back as much as needed and enjoy the forum.

 

[Bperry]

I bought a house in the Palm Springs area with a pool. I paid years of maintenance, but NEVER went into the pool. It was too big, too deep, and too dirty. I had twice-weekly pool service but the trees in the adjoining property would drop leaves, flowers, and pollen even as the pool man was cleaning it. I kept it up because I didn’t know what to do with the pool, however, during Covid I drained the pool and it has since turned into a biology experiment with life ready to crawl out of the murky shallows. For three years I have been looked out onto my own primordial ecosystem waffling between filling it in (No! You can’t have a home in the desert without a pool, and it costs almost as much to fill it in) to renovating it (why put money into someone I didn’t use because it was too big, and too deep [the trees from the joining property is gone now]), to rebuilding it (what do you mean $250K for a new pool?).

Dear husband is no help. He was a proponent of filling in the pool (he doesn’t swim, he isn’t handy, and he agrees it is too big and too deep [dirty doesn’t bother him as much as it bothers me]). After three years we HAVE to decide what to do. I am leaning more towards a pool of some sort. I was excited to learn about fiberglass (lower maintenance, don’t have to resurface, fast installation), but no one here in the desert has one and pool service people don’t know how to maintain one. DH is still no help. After three years of listening to me waffling he just says do whatever you want.

I want a pool. I just don’t know what kind and I don’t know if will I regret getting one.

I am here to learn and become an informed pool owner. I would like a rectangular pool that is approximately 12X28 and 3-5 deep. My current concrete swamp is a Grecian shaped 16.5X36 and 9 feet deep (are there any home builders on this site? Could this be a basement for a guest house?). Beyond that, I am overwhelmed with finish, coping, cover, equipment, algae, raised edge, Cabo shelf, and tile.

I just got here so there are a lot of posts and threads I will need to catch up on. Thank you in advance to all you experts willing to share your insights. Hoping my decision for a pool won’t sink me!

The maintenance of vinyl, fiberglass, and plaster pools are all the same. There are some minor differences in startup like mentioned above, but there is a very real difference in doing your own water testing vs having a pool service/pool store doing it. The former tends to be much easier with less problems. Weekly services don’t use very accurate test equipment and don’t come often enough to prevent problems.

For future reference, leaving a pool empty is probably the fastest way to destroy it, depending on if it’s plaster, vinyl, etc. So don’t leave it empty for long, either fill it in or fill it up.

 

[Carzmom]

Welcome to TFP! I have no idea about the IW local area and contractors that are availble, but I can assure you we have tons of TFP members out west with FG pools. They are fairly quick to install, but not exactly maintenance free. FG, just like vinyl and plaster, pools still requires accurate water at-home (not pool store) testing (with a proper test kit), cleaning, vacuuming, etc. If the water is properly maintained, that's half of your battle right there. At least with FG and vinyl there are no initial start-up processes to follow.

Be sure to visit our Pool Care Basics for lots of great info. Post back as much as needed and enjoy the forum.

So many great forums and so little time! Thank you for pointing out the BASICS forum. I was only able to find two FB installers but with the limited number of FG installations, I am dubious of their install experience (but that can be said about any installation quality I guess). I am such a newbie, I didn’t even know there was a “start up process”! Ignorance can be bliss.

 

[KJB1]

You don't need to use a pool to enjoy it. Just think of it as landscaping. I hardly ever swim but it looks nice sitting around in the backyard. Vacuum/skimming robots would be a big help with trees around.

 

[Carzmom]

The maintenance of vinyl, fiberglass, and plaster pools are all the same. There are some minor differences in startup like mentioned above, but there is a very real difference in doing your own water testing vs having a pool service/pool store doing it. The former tends to be much easier with less problems. Weekly services don’t use very accurate test equipment and don’t come often enough to prevent problems.

For future reference, leaving a pool empty is probably the fastest way to destroy it, depending on if it’s plaster, vinyl, etc. So don’t leave it empty for long, either fill it in or fill it up.

YES! I am in panic mode since the pool has been empty for three years now. I am a fish caught in pool lights struggling to decide what to do. I am leaning towards a pool, but the more I learn the more overwhelming it becomes. I trusted the pool guy for years, now who knows if he was doing it right. I don’t even trust myself testing the water…back to the chemical form.

 

[Carzmom]

You don't need to use a pool to enjoy it. Just think of it as landscaping. I hardly ever swim but it looks nice sitting around in the backyard. Vacuum/skimming robots would be a big help with trees around.

Yes, that is along the lines of my thought too. If I filled it in, there would just be a big block of concrete. I am in the desert so it is concrete or artificial grass. It looked so flat and boring without a pool. It is just hard visualizing my swamp becoming a landscaping feature in its future, but getting there.

 

[Bperry]

YES! I am in panic mode since the pool has been empty for three years now. I am a fish caught in pool lights struggling to decide what to do. I am leaning towards a pool, but the more I learn the more overwhelming it becomes. I trusted the pool guy for years, now who knows if he was doing it right. I don’t even trust myself testing the water…back to the chemical form.

There’s a few folks on here that rehab-d a pool all by themselves which sound similar to yours. If the plumbing is still working and nothing has damaged it to cause a leak then it may just be lots of cleaning and chlorine.

Try renting a sump pump from a hardware store (or buy one in expensively) and pump the swamp out and see what’s there. Maybe it’ll push you one way or the other.