I'm being transferred to another city and one of the houses on my short list for location just happens to have a little in-ground concrete pool in the back yard. Something like a Fastlane would have to be installed in it to make it a true swimming pool. This being the Great White North, it probably would be usable from late May to mid-September only, unless I put a building over it.
How much work and expense is involved in operating a backyard pool? Is it worth the trouble? I'm assuming it's usable as the MLS photos showed it full of water.
You don't need to heat your pool in the South at all.
So you were still swimming in an outside unheated pool a few weeks ago when it snowed in Charlotte?
Here in AZ, I use my backyard pool from mid-May through late Sep. If I push it, I've gone in as early as late March, and as late as early November.
I really don't understand where people are getting all these costs. If you keep the pool maintained on a regular basis, the actual routine maintenance costs are small. I buy chlorine (shock and tabs) at Costco, put in some algaecide every now and then, and really not much more. Sure I do have to drain it every 2 years or so, but the cost for that isn't that high either. We do brush, but in peak season maybe 2-3 times a week, and that is only for maybe 3-4 weeks. This pool has in-floor cleaning system (pop-up heads), which basically take care of itself. The pumps have gone, and those can run $600 or more to replace.
Personally I like having the backyard pool. It isn't big enough to do a real workout in, but it is nice for lounging, or for cool-down after a run. The waterfall makes it very inviting and relaxing in the backyard.
You don't need to heat your pool in the South at all.
So you were still swimming in an outside unheated pool a few weeks ago when it snowed in Charlotte?
Here in AZ, I use my backyard pool from mid-May through late Sep. If I push it, I've gone in as early as late March, and as late as early November.
I really don't understand where people are getting all these costs. If you keep the pool maintained on a regular basis, the actual routine maintenance costs are small. I buy chlorine (shock and tabs) at Costco, put in some algaecide every now and then, and really not much more. Sure I do have to drain it every 2 years or so, but the cost for that isn't that high either. We do brush, but in peak season maybe 2-3 times a week, and that is only for maybe 3-4 weeks. This pool has in-floor cleaning system (pop-up heads), which basically take care of itself. The pumps have gone, and those can run $600 or more to replace.
Personally I like having the backyard pool. It isn't big enough to do a real workout in, but it is nice for lounging, or for cool-down after a run. The waterfall makes it very inviting and relaxing in the backyard.
