Do people have inground pools in Colorado? (Denver, Pueblo: real estate, appraiser)

[gimme it]

If so, how many months can you use it? Is it worth it or are the summers too short?

[jazzlover]

A few do. They generally are usuable about 3-4 months per year. Most real estate appraisers will tell you that an outdoor swimming pool, with relatively few exceptions, generally adds nothing to the value of a home.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Don't you have to drain it in the winter when the temperature is below freezing?

[2bindenver]

You can use a heated pool year round. But your energy bills are about three times "normal" for the area.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

Don't you have to drain it in the winter when the temperature is below freezing?

Most people do.

[formercalifornian]

Most people do.

I disagree. Most private pool owners do NOT drain them for the winter.

I worked my way through college as an employee of a pool company in Ohio that designed, built, and serviced private pools. Private pools are rarely drained, because once filled, the water pressure stabilizes the pool walls, preventing cracked plaster and floating liners from heaving soil or changing water table levels. Commercial pools are designed to withstand those forces, and thus can be drained safely. Besides, who wants that kind of water bill in the spring? Yikes!

To winterize an in-ground pool, drain the filter, heater, & pipes; seal the skimmer & returns; treat the water with winterizing chemicals; and cover the pool surface to keep the water clean & prevent evaporation. It's possible to DIY, but most pool companies offer a winterizing service if you prefer to hire out.

Google "winterizing in-ground pool" for lots of good websites that will walk you through the steps.

For the OP...I don't see many outdoor private pools around Colorado. As someone who grew up with one, I'd rather pay to join the rec center, where I can swim year-round indoors. In my experience, private pools are a lot of work, expensive to maintain, and a constant safety concern.

[McGowdog]

I know of one out in Pueblo West. It is enclosed by an aluminum ornamental type fence!

I don't know if it's empty now or not. I don't understand how this will work will all the wind, dust, tumble weeds, prairie rats, etc.

Some people must have more money than sense. I didn't win the Powerball today, so I just can't see how people could consider this kind of thing in this area. Nevertheless, I'll try to send them some holiday treats, get to know them better, and find out more.

[CapHillboy]

We used to have an outdoor in-ground pool when we lived in Boulder. We had it open usually mid-May to mid-Oct and heated it with solar panels.

The pool came with the house. For us, I can't really say it was worth it, but not because of the length of summer. The idea seemed really great, but we were just not pool people. There were often days in early Oct when we could have swum, but didn't (unless we had a pool party). Also, our homeowner's insurance was higher because we had no fence around the property and the pool was an "attractive nuisance" (can't remember the exact term used, but it meant that children might just show up at the pool when we weren't around. You can imagine how nervous that made the insurance company.)

As for draining: Because the water table was high where we lived (very odd for CO), we could NOT drain it fully, according to our pool maintenance guy. Instead, we just lowered the water level about one-third, treated it, and closed it up.

One other item: We were on well-water that had high alkalinity. I think that was it. Whatever it was, it couldn't be chemically removed or filtered out. Because we couldn't drain the pool and replace the water, we had to dilute the alkalinity level in the pool by partially draining it and then having good water hauled in and dumped into the pool. We did that a couple of times in the decade we lived in the house. I mention this only because there are parts of metro Denver that rely primarily on aquifers for their water. I don't know what the chemical composition of that water is, but you would probably want to check it out.

That was our experience, at least. If you're a pool person, it may be worth the trouble to have one here. I grew up in the Bay Area where pools were more common than I think they are here. I don't believe the actual swimming weeks are that much greater than here, though they opened their pools earlier than we did. Also, you'll probably have at least as many days you can swim as other parts of the country because it rarely rains in the summer for more than 20 mins or so. Once the rain stops, you can go right back into the pool. Actually, you can swim right through the rain. While the ambient temps cool a bit while it's raining, it's not usually significant.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by CapHillboy

.... our homeowner's insurance was higher because we had no fence around the property and the pool was an "attractive nuisance" (can't remember the exact term used, but it meant that children might just show up at the pool when we weren't around. You can imagine how nervous that made the insurance company.)....

The term is "Invitational Hazard" which means that people, especially kids, are drawn to it. A pool w/out a fence is a drowning/lawsuit waiting to happen.

[BarryK123]

In most places a fence with self-closing gates is required by zoning codes.

I'm in PA and nobody here drains a pool in winter. As formercalifornian said, the lines are blown out and plugged, water level lowered below skimmers and the pool is covered.