OT: Above Ground Pools

[Improviser]

Here's my inground pool 30 years later. It was killing the house's value when trying to sell it.

A version in miniature, of what happened to the resorts of the Catskills.

Some people don't want to buy a house with a pool because of the maintenance and the compulsion to stay at home just to use it.

Maybe there is gold underneath it?

 

[Vancat]

Always had one growing up. We (kids) were in it all the time. And yes, it was in East Hartford. I remember my parents complaining about the upkeep, but I guess it was worth getting the kids out of their hair. I don’t recall an adult watching us swim & nobody drowned, except a cat over the winter. Later on we moved to a house with that redwood kind...it was a nice pool. Eventually my father took it down because he was afraid of it coming down on it’s own. Or maybe he was just tired of the upkeep.

 

[CL82]

Alas, the wife has nixed the pool. So the thread is moot.

“Why don’t we move to Appalachia why we’re at it too?”

 

[HuskyHawk]

“Why don’t we move to Appalachia why we’re at it too?”

I don't get the Appalachia and Arkansas references, I know the rep of above ground pools is trashy, but I'm sure there are many thousands of them across Connecticut. Ran across an article from last summer that they were impossible to get in Westchester County, and people there were paying double. Not quite Appalachia.

 

[Vancat]

Get a trampoline instead. LOL

 

[HuskyHawk]

Get a trampoline instead. LOL

we just gave away our trampoline.

 

[UConnKev]

Neighbor just got a quote for an in-ground pool. 100k for a basic, rectangular pool.

 

[CL82]

I’ve always seen the utility of an inground pool being that it makes it more likely that your home will be the destination house when you have kids at home. In the end we found that keeping a tub of premade toll house cookie dough in the refrigerator worked pretty well and it was a lot less hassle.

 

[BlueandOG]

I have a pool. The kids enjoy it for about 60 days a year. The other days it sucks. Frankly, it sucks on those 60 days too, but at least someone enjoys it.

 

[Lefty2one]

Getting a pool is like a low-scale version of buying a boat: you're the only one who can determine if it's worth it, but at least you'll use it more often than you'd use a boat.

We have an above-ground pool, it was there when we bought the house. I have a love/hate relationship with it and (likely) won't replace it once it's finally time to be put out to pasture, but man it is heavenly on those sweltering summer days. Just floating in the pool relaxing, watching the kids playing and having a blast. The back and forth of hanging out on your deck, grilling, getting hot, going in the pool for an hour...rinse/repeat. There are worse ways to spend hot summer days.

There is something to be said for walking off your own deck into your own pool whenever you feel like it. You don't have to drive to the beach or the pool club or go over to a neighbor's house. It feels great hopping in for 20 minutes on a weekday evening. I may like that even more than the long weekend days in there. A stressful day at work or mowing the lawn at 7 PM on a weeknight...a dip in the pool afterward feels fantastic. It's therapeutic.

Post-installation the cost isn't crazy: a couple of hundred per summer in chemicals (don't fall victim to the overpriced "better" stuff) and the uptick in your electric bill, but it wasn't as steep as I thought it'd be since you only have to run the filter eight hours per day. Still, if you did the math on cost-per-hour of use/entertainment it's probably not great. I opened my pool yesterday (I never do it as early as Memorial Day) and will close it the Tuesday after Labor Day and I'd guess I'm in there for 40 hours each summer.

 

[huskeynut]

When we lived in Danbury and the boys were young, we had an above ground pool. 48" high, 24 foot circular. Maintenance was not that bad. The prep for winter was a pain. Drain the pool down, blow up the pillows and tie them off. Pull on the cover and tie it off.

The winter maintenance. As snow and rain develop over winter, you have to pump off the cover because of the weight. One night in late January we heard a loud bang. Had no idea what is was and could really see anything at night. Next morning, the wife looked out in the back yard and found the source of the "bang." The weight on the cover had collapsed the pool. Waited until spring to see the damage. Total loss.

One month later a new pool was up. 24 foot circular diameter and 52" high.

Bottom line - it was worth it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I’ve always seen the utility of an inground pool being that it makes it more likely that your home the destination house when you have kids at home. In the end we found that keeping a tube of premade toll house cookie dough in the refrigerator worked pretty well and it was a lot less hassle.

My neighbors across the street mentioned that as a reason when they put theirs in. It's spectacular, including a 25' water slide. Nice pool house with a TV, refrigerator, bar, sink etc. It was "open" all summer, we could just stop by any time. It was certainly a destination house.

Then they moved. Now I have a view of it (well the fence and a bit of the slide) from my home office location.

 

[CL82]

My neighbors across the street mentioned that as a reason when they put theirs in. It's spectacular, including a 25' water slide. Nice pool house with a TV, refrigerator, bar, sink etc. It was "open" all summer, we could just stop by any time. It was certainly a destination house.

Then they moved. Now I have a view of it (well the fence and a bit of the slide) from my home office location.

Sorry for your loss. Hope this takes the sting out of it.

 

[Lefty2one]

My neighbors across the street mentioned that as a reason when they put theirs in. It's spectacular, including a 25' water slide. Nice pool house with a TV, refrigerator, bar, sink etc. It was "open" all summer, we could just stop by any time. It was certainly a destination house.

Then they moved. Now I have a view of it (well the fence and a bit of the slide) from my home office location.

One of my buddies who does very well did the same thing. Bought a near 7-figure house in upstate NY and then spent $150k putting in a ridiculous in-ground saltwater pool with a huge patio, pool house, poolside bar, etc. They live five hours away from the rest of our friend circle and pretty much did it all of this to lure people to visit them in the summer. It is a nice long weekend every summer though, and we probably wouldn't go if they didn't have the pool lol, so it was a smart move on his part.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Sorry for your loss. Hope this takes the sting out of it.

View attachment 67877

Has to be in tube form. Come on man.

I looked at the temperature map today and forget the pool, I just need to move to the Cape ASAP.

 

[CL82]

Has to be in tube form. Come on man.

I looked at the temperature map today and forget the pool, I just need to move to the Cape ASAP.

You seemed a bit down. I didn't feel like a tube was going to get it done.

 

[HuskyHawk]

One of my buddies who does very well did the same thing. Bought a near 7-figure house in upstate NY and then spent $150k putting in a ridiculous in-ground saltwater pool with a huge patio, pool house, poolside bar, etc. They live five hours away from the rest of our friend circle and pretty much did it all of this to lure people to visit them in the summer. It is a nice long weekend every summer though, and we probably wouldn't go if they didn't have the pool lol, so it was a smart move on his part.

Sounds similar. Last time it sold I should have just moved across the street.

 

[cohenzone]

I thought about that but our slope is from the woods down to the house (not sure it shows in the picture). So the lower exposed pool side would face our deck and patio. There is no getting around the ugly. If it was the other way, sloping away from the house I’d probably have done it already.

Sell the house.

 

[husky429]

Pick up truck and a tarp. Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be

 

[HooperScooper]

If you want a pool, get a pool.

But, by god, don’t ask this group of chuckleheads for their opinion.

You should let temery know that. He asks us chuckleheads for our opinions on everything from toilet paper to cars.

 

[UCDaveD]

My neighbors directly behind my house just put in a nice inground pool and been having all kinds of parties. I should probably start talking to them aside from the courtesy waves and how’s it goings. Maybe we can take the fence down and make mega-yard.

 

[Lefty2one]

Sounds similar. Last time it sold I should have just moved across the street.

View attachment 67880

Oh yes, very similar! Crazy stonework and all.

 

[Dove]

Many years ago, I considered having a nice below ground pool put in. But I live on ledge and discussions with a neighbor who had it done suggested that the cost could spiral out of control. So we redid the kitchen.

This current heatwave has me considering an above ground pool. We have a neighbor with one, and have enjoyed floating in it while listening to music and drinking beers. As I look at these I’m torn between (a) nah, these are hideous and destroy your yard (b) maybe the inflatable kind, I can put in the shed during fall to spring but the Max walls are 48” and (c) putting up a framed one, which will be there all year.

Does anybody have experience with these that can either confirm my three views or provide more detail? I like to be outside as much as possible in the summer. I don’t like these temps over 90 with high humidity. As far as eyesores go, just this spring we removed our old swing set and trampoline, both donated to those who can use them. So the yard has room and is fenced so we comply with town code.

View attachment 67868

The fence is one thing but the gate/doors have to open outward from yard and have locks. Also, an alarm may need to be installed at a doorway from the house, I think.

 

[Conndog]

My wife and I are going to look into pool costs for us in southern NH. I know the season is short and it will cost, but there are some things that can be done to extend the swimming season a little. And even if not using the pool to swim, it still would add to property attractiveness, especially with a nice deck around it. We have sloping backyard where pool would go, and I think a semi-buried above ground pool makes most sense.

 

[JCSuperstar]

A version in miniature, of what happened to the resorts of the Catskills.

Some people don't want to buy a house with a pool because of the maintenance and the compulsion to stay at home just to use it.

Maybe there is gold underneath it?

Coincidentally enough, this article with comparison pictures of Pocono and Catskill resorts in their prime vs. now appeared in my feed today.