Not intending to throw water on this subject, but I think the first thing I
would do is make absolutely certain that you want a pool in the first place.
I had one put in about 18 years ago when my kids were still living with us.
It was used quite a bit for the first 2 - 3 years and then the use started
tapering off. Nowadays, it only gets used about a half dozen times during
the hottest days in the summer.

You should also check with local and state agencies regarding laws about
pools. Any licensed pool contractor should also be able to help there.
When I had my pool installed, I did not have to fence in the pool, but I had
to make sure that every door that led into the back yard would either
automatically close and lock, or had an audible alarm on it. For example, I
had a wooden side gate to get from the front yard to the back yard. When
the inspector came, he opened the gate about 2 inches and let it go. If the
gate had not closed and locked, I would have failed the inspection and had
to have that corrected. He also checked to make sure that the three doors
that led from the house to the back yard were alarmed and the alarms were
working. I have not really kept up with the current laws regarding pools so
I could be wrong on this, but I seem to remember that pools must now be
enclosed by fencing with a lockable gate. This is in northern California so
again, make sure you check with state AND LOCAL agencies regarding pool
regulation.

There is also the ongoing expense and care of it. You should probably
figure on somewhere around $100 a month just to keep the filter running, and
the purchase of chemicals. If you have it heated, you can at least double
that. Even with solar heating because the cost of having a solar heater
installed would probably cost $3000-$4000 or more, and those systems need
maintenance too. When I was looking at solar heating for my pool (about 15
years ago), the cost was almost $4000. Depending on the size of your pool,
the filter will have to run for about 4-6 hours a day, every day. For me,
that equates to about $50-$75 on the electric bill every month, and a little
more during the summer season.

Depending on your local water, you must keep it supplied with chlorine,
algaecides, softeners, clarifiers, Ph increaser or Ph decreaser, and other
chemicals. Extremely hard water will need chemicals to keep the minerals in
suspension or else they will start to accumulate on tile, plaster, and the
internals of the plumbing and filter. Some people even recommend taking out
about 1/2 of the water every year at the beginning of the swimming season
and replacing it with fresh water which will definetly show up on your water
bill. I understand that in some areas it is illegal to dump pool water down
the drains because of all of the chemicals.

I don't know where your are located, but if you are in an area with extremes
of weather, winter can lead to cracked tiles, plaster, piping and filter
components and these would have to be repaired. You might have to leave
your filter running 24 hours a day if the temperatures never get above
freezing, or you might have to drain the pool in the winter and refill in
the spring. All expensive. Fortunately for me, I have only had a very few
days where I had to leave the filter running overnight. Our winter weather
is mild and there are only a couple of days a year that go below freezing.

Even with the best automatic systems, you will most likely still have to
spend a couple of hours a week keeping it up. It will probably need to
have the filter cleaned 2 - 3 times a year which is not a hard task, but
gets to be a PITA after a while. It will probably need to be manually swept
down after storms, or at least the leaves and debris cleaned out. Leaving
that in the water will cause other problems.

If you are thinking that whatever you spend for the pool you will be able to
regain upon resale may or may not be correct. You would have to have a
buyer that wanted the pool, and it seems to me that there are fewer and
fewer of those people. To many people a pool is a liability and they would
not be as willing to spend the extra money. This is just a personal
observation and I have no basis in fact to back that up. You should also
speak to local real estate agents about this.

I really enjoy my pool the few times that I use it now. But looking back 18
years later I would not do it again. I'm glad it is there, but it really
isn't worth all the time and expense now. I was in my late 30's when the
pool was put in and now that I am getting older (mid 50's), my priorities
have changed. So have my interests, and hobbies, and career, and just about
everything else except my hair style (and we won't talk about hair color or
amount). Your case may certainly be different, and you may not have the
same opinions that I do.

This brings me back to my initial statement. The single most important
thing you can do is be very patient, and think long and hard about how badly
you really want this pool. DO NOT make a hasty decision. I think you
should probably even wait for a year and see if you still want it badly
enough. Try to imagine what it will be like having it 10 years, or 15 years
down the road (assuming, of course, that you intend to stay in your present
house that long). Try imagining just you and your significant other down
the road. See if any of your friends and neighbors have a pool and get
their opinions. And remember, to have an inground pool removed would be
VERY expensive and would probably cost nearly as much as having it
installed. (Here is another thing I could be wrong about, but I have heard
that it is also illegal to fill your pool with dirt.)

If you decide that you do, indeed, want a pool then by all means go for it.
Many people do not share my opinions and enjoy their pools immensely.

This is just my $.02 and I'm sticking to it until I get a better offer.

Sorry for writing so much,

Wayne



"Benign Vanilla" wrote in message
...
We're thinking of having an in ground pool installed, but we know nothing
about them. Can anyone recommend a site or resource that can help a newbie
learn and do research?

BV.