Anyone Have a Pool? | FerrariChat

Anyone Have a Pool?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by Dane, Sep 28, 2005.

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  1. Dane

    Dane Formula 3
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    Apr 25, 2002
    1,512
    My wife and I are looking at houses in Boise, Idaho. Among our favorites are two houses with swimming pools. We're both native Montanans and, thus, have absolutely zero experience with maintaining them.

    Can I have some feedback from those with pool experience? How big of a PITA are they to maintain? Any advice on chemical mixes? What method do you use to drain an in or out of ground pool and how often should it be done? What is a good self-cleaner?

    Anything I missed?



    DISCLAIMER: Please don't think I'm starting this thread in order to say, "Look at me, I'm a big shot who might buy a house with a swimming pool!!" Afterall, I'm a poor army pilot who's sole function in life is to break things.

    Thanks very much. D
     
  2. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    Jul 14, 2003
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    Only the two MOST important things:

    POOL

    MAN!
     
  3. UroTrash

    UroTrash Four Time F1 World Champ
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    Jan 20, 2004
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    Clifford Gunboat
    Oh!!

    You have a Ferrari AND a pool. look at you!


    J/K.

    Not necessarily that big a pain.

    Need not drain it at all, at least for years at a time.

    Baquacil is nice as it does not have chlorine smell nor the eye burn of chlorine, a bit more expensive.

    You can have a service for a while, watch carefully, get a book and you will find the chemistry is pretty simple.

    Good luck.
     
  4. redhead

    redhead F1 Rookie

    Dec 26, 2001
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    Dane,

    We have already had that thread. And no offense to the Great Dr.Stranglove......his pool kicks ass....

    p.s.- I have been called a pool boy before, but i have no idea how to maintain one. :)
     
  5. Dcup

    Dcup F1 Veteran

    Jan 3, 2005
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    Claude Balls
    i just piss in mine and that usually kills anything thats in it. the bacteria level gets a little high sometimes.
     
  6. ^@#&

    ^@#& F1 World Champ
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    Feb 27, 2005
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    and this is why nobody ever goes to john's house everyone
     
  7. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    So....you swim in Lamour's pissy pool. eh?
     
  8. ^@#&

    ^@#& F1 World Champ
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    Feb 27, 2005
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    hey, if you get off to that kinda stuff then go right ahead, but for all of those who live in reality, no that is disgusting
     
  9. Dane

    Dane Formula 3
    Owner

    Apr 25, 2002
    1,512
    Thanks for the link, Red. Cool photos but I couldn't find any info' about maintaining one. Did I miss it???


    ...while you're not even IN IT, you sick f---.

    BTW, gotten that kiss, yet?
     
  10. Dcup

    Dcup F1 Veteran

    Jan 3, 2005
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    yep i did !!!! felt like i was kissing my brother.
     
  11. Dane

    Dane Formula 3
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    Apr 25, 2002
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    Your brother must be buff!!
     
  12. Teenferrarifan

    Teenferrarifan F1 Rookie

    Feb 21, 2003
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    John and I actually share the pool :) It is just as much mine as his if not more mine no offense John ;)
    Erik
     
  13. ^@#&

    ^@#& F1 World Champ
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    #13 ^@#&, Sep 28, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  14. ferrarigtofan

    ferrarigtofan Formula Junior
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    Sep 26, 2005
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    Your season for use will be very short, even shorter if the pool is not heated. I do my own opening and closing to save money, if you pay someone count on $300 per. It does not sound like you are an avid swimmer, so how many times a year would you go in? Now divide that number by 5 and there is how many times you will go in two years from now. Running the filter non-stop costs $100 a month in electric, chemicals cost about $50 a month, if I use the heater add $500 a month. I suspect each hour of use costs me $1000, plus the three hours a week I dedicate to checking, fixing, vacuuming, etc. but it is only May 31 through Sept 1, so three months a year.
     
  15. bpu699

    bpu699 F1 World Champ
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    Dec 9, 2003
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    Here is how the typical pool situation works...

    1) You want a pool. It will be cool. You see youself bathing and tanning daily... The whole family will use it. Wow!
    2) You buy pool.
    3) Pool worth 20% of what you paid for it 2 days later.
    4) You put clean water in pool.
    5) You spend rest of the year trying to get water to look that same color and translucency again...
    6) You use pool twice. Labor day, and Memorial Day (unless you live in the sunbelt)....
    7) Pool turns green
    8) You Shock it (50$ a treatment)
    9) You Shock it again...
    10) OOpps...now its cold, put the cover on it...

    Now, you go to sell the house. Remember when you were buying the house and the realtor told you it was an "asset." Well, now it will be labeled a "liability."

    Tons of folks won't buy a house with a pool. If you live in the sunbelt of the country of california, things might be different...

    Ask me how I know :).
     
  16. M512

    M512 Formula Junior

    Sep 5, 2005
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    Really....? Please describe what it felt like when you were kissing your brother...
     
  17. redhead

    redhead F1 Rookie

    Dec 26, 2001
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    No. I just hi-jack threads randomly. And I liked DRs pool.


    I think Darf had the best idea.

    >>POOL MAN<<
     
  18. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    My friend works for and soon to be son-in-law of one of the best custom pool builders in the nation. As in custom, each one is entirely different. He has never done one pool like any of the rest. He also designs each pool, fountain, spa, etc by hand. But his pricing starts at the $100,000 range I believe.
     
  19. Dcup

    Dcup F1 Veteran

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    #19 Dcup, Sep 28, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    kinda like this--------- ahhhhh what a beautiful thing........
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  20. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    Self maintenance is easy once you've got it down. The only time it becomes a real hassle is if you've got a lot of trees around. In that case I'd get a guy.
     
  21. PWehmer

    PWehmer Formula 3

    Oct 15, 2002
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    A salt system is a great thing to have. Put some salt in the water and a voltage cell generates chlorine. Cuts chemical cost down to very little.

    Have to agree that useage drops off after a couple years.
     
  22. Sfumato

    Sfumato F1 World Champ

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    #22 Sfumato, Sep 28, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    What?
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  23. dday216

    dday216 Karting

    Sep 27, 2005
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    Davis Dayton
    dude my g-parents have a place in sun valley, best place in the us. pool or not get the place. it is easy to keep a pool clean. do it.
     
  24. Ryan S.

    Ryan S. Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Mar 20, 2004
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    damn i wish i had a pool, freakin a 100+ today. And a lot of people dont have power in my area due to the hurricane, so their hurtin just a little bit..
     
  25. ylshih

    ylshih Shogun Assassin
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    Mar 21, 2004
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    A pool is just one more thing to take care of. Maintenance isn't bad assuming the pools already have standard pump, filtration, sweep & skim systems. Learning isn't hard, so rather than get into the details, the real issue is time or cost versus utilization.

    You can do it yourself and figure 30-60 minutes a week (probably not much different than mowing/gardening if the same area were green) just checking, cleaning, covering, etc or call some local pool maintenance folks and get their quotes for contracted maintenance.

    Also consider that major pool components and the plaster/gunnite may be older and could require replacement. Depending on the size of the pool, this could be a few hundred $ or big $$$.

    The upside is that if you swim or if the pool also has a spa/jacuzzi, then it can be very healthy & relaxing. But the useful season is probably limited in Idaho. Kids love pools and will increase the use, but it's also a danger and you have an additional burden/responsibility to be constantly alert and keep the pool fenced off and locked when there's no one supervising.

    You mentioned that 2 houses had pools. As with all transactions, the buyer will try to position it as a liability and the seller as an asset. The actual consideration whether a pool is a asset or liability partly depends on the neighborhood. If a very large fraction of houses in the area have pools, then having one is probably an asset as it conforms to expectations. If it's a minority then it's more likely to be a liability as the house can be considered to be "overbuilt" for the area. It will also depend on the individuals own weighting based on preference & circumstances (e.g.families with babies will take many years before they'll be pool-safe, so it's a liability for them, regardless of the neighborhood).
     

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