Would like to have LV pool owner's opinions (Las Vegas, Henderson: broker, new house)
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If you're retired, you might want to consider going the owner/builder route. You cut out the middle man, and save some money. But more importantly to me, you then have a bit more control over the process. It's not a small project. If you search on "pool" in this forum, you can find some folks who have done this, and are very friendly, and willing to share their experience with you.
I've had a pool in my current home for the past 22 years or so...it was great when the kids were home, and it's great now that the grandkids are old enough to use it, but we don't "swim" that much, so it doesn't get used a lot. We'd probably use it more if we had a spa. So our next one will have that.
Maintenance has been fairly easy, but every couple years, something breaks, and it costs $500-1000 to fix it. I've had it replastered once (also desert, hard water like LV) I put a variable speed pump in a couple years ago, and it does help with the electric use.
It's purely a personal choice. It's true you won't get 100% ROI, but if you've always wanted to have a pool, and feel you will use it, who cares...it's only money!
We 've just moved to Henderson, NV for our retirement.
Got the new home and asking a builder to quote for a backyard in ground concrete swimming pool (14x28) and 3-5ft deep - w/ spa. Ours is only slightly smaller with spa and it was in the low $30s
Here are my questions ( to help me making a decision):
1/ How is your backyard pool ? pros and cons ?they balance out for us
2/ How do you feel about your maintenance cost ?about what I expected, a pool service will add extras. just be aware of what they will and will not do
3/ is it helping your living styles ?Yes
4/ is it help you to beat the heat in summer time ?Yes
5/ 50K total cost to build one as described above is reasonable ?a little high
6/ which swimming pool builder in LV that you are recommended ? try to find a private contractor, not a large multi-state corporation
Thank you very much for your time and considering on this matter.
very appreciated.
Best regards,
Tim
I live in Henderson and I have a pool with a spa.
I love it. I would not have moved here to a house without one.
It does take maintenance, but its not bad if you buy chemicals at NPS or Costco.
since you're retiring, it will give you something to do - clean...
I use the pool in the summer and the spa in the winter. you can turn the valves so that just the spa water goes through the pump, filter, and heater. The 800 gallon spa can be 98 degrees in about 20 minutes when its 40-50 degrees outside. That way you don't have to heat the 9000 gallons of pool water too.
The heater is natural gas and costs me about $5/hour to run. I based this out by taking 2 photos of my gas meter with my cell phone an hour apart while the pool water was being heated and then figuring out the cubic feet and multiplying it according to my gas bill rates. So you don't want to heat the pool with a heater. I use a solar blanket (like bubble wrap that floats on the water). This helps against evaporation too.
some homes have black panels on the roof that the pool water runs thru to heat it. I don't know how well Solar pool heaters work, i see a lot of broken ones falling off roofs so they must not be that durable.
You really want to keep the water at about 82 degrees when its 110 degrees outside or it will feel really cold. Anyplace else in the country 82 would be bath water.
My pool is kidney shaped and removing and replacing the solar blanket is a real pain. I recommend getting a square or rectangular pool shape so that can use a windup pool cover at one end. since your spending a lot of money, get an electric one installed with the pool.
I assume that since its new, you will be getting a variable speed pool pump. don't settle for anything less - it saves me about $50/mo in electricity. Also get LED lights. A pool light bulb is 300 watts otherwise - that's more watts than my pool motor. plus LED can do cool color changes.
i don't know what a pool should cost, but definitely get 3 estimates. Pool vary a lot on the type of materials, if you have automation on the valve controls, type of cool deck, fences required by code and by conscience, etc. Let each company know that you are getting 2 other estimates so they give you a good price to begin with. then compare the companies bids and start your negotiations. if you don't get at least $5000 off the price doing this, you are doing it wrong. I think there is also a pool building "season" so if you don't mind waiting until winter or whenever they are not busy you should get a better price too.
also, get some sort of patio cover or shed to keep pool toys, deck chair cushions, etc. inside. the sun is so strong here that the UV light destroys stuff in a year or two if its left out.
I also recommend installing a misting system, makes a big difference as long as a strong wind doesn't blow it away.
1. While I initially liked having a pool, I think the novelty has worn off. It does make the backyard look nice, but I believe I have spent more time maintaining it than our family has actually used it this summer.
2. I have not had good luck with pool maintenance companies. In fact, the last pool maintenance company put too much salt in the pool so we had to drain it earlier this year and refill it. I take care of the pool myself. I do not spend too much on supplies, but I am growing tired of the time required to maintain the pool. However, I believe if you want your pool maintained properly you should take care of it yourself.
3. I believe we could probably live without a pool at this point.
4. It has been nice having a pool the last few days, but I do not think it is essential to have a pool.
5. and 6. We are not the original owners of our home so I will have to defer to others on construction costs and which builders are reputable.
Thank ND_Irish for taking your time to answer all my 6 questions , base on your Acknowledgement.
They are very helpful in term of how to deal or face with it at the down side.
We bought our house a year ago and specifically looked for one with a pool, because I didn't want to build from scratch. The honeymoon hasn't worn off yet, we'll see how I feel in a few years, but for now having it greatly increases our time spent outdoors during "living on the face of the sun" season. Our kids are grown and gone, but we're both still working full time at pretty intense jobs, so I have a pool guy, which reduces the amount of weekly maintenance chores for me. Notice I said reduces and not eliminates. There is a certain time commitment involved, even if you have a maintenance company. If I was retired, I would probably handle all of the maintenance myself. Similar to a boat or RV, there is also an ongoing cost involved - things break and need to be fixed. This year, my pool has reached that juncture when the kool-decking starts to crack and spall. This fall will probably bring a project to have it chipped up and redone which will be a few thousand dollars+. All of this is the cost of doing business with a pool. If you use it frequently, enjoy swimming, want to spend time time cooling off outdoors in the summer, and can handle the ongoing repair and maintenance costs, then owning a pool may be for you. I know several people who have decided otherwise...
Thank Zumaboy for your sharing your experience on these issues.
We finished ours about 7 weeks ago so we're still in the honeymoon phase so keep that in mind on what I'm about to write; we love ours, definitely extends our outdoor lifestyle. Have had many guests, nephews, nieces, cousins visit this summer and it's nice having the option to have a pool day vs. playing tour guide on the strip or Hoover Dam (honestly, how many times can one take that dam tour?) We'll definitely get a lot of use out of it.
It's not that difficult and you can save quite a bit of money AND get in upgraded pool. If you're interested in learning about it feel free to send me a PM.
I do all my pool maintenance and use a method that does not require that I run to the pool store every week and buy chemicals. I've bought pool conditioner (CYA) and Acid from the pool store, that's it. Very easy to maintain.
Lastly, don't install the pool thinking you're going to increase your house value or make it easier to sell. Install it because you and your family will enjoy it.
Going out to take a dip in about 30 minutes, beating this heat for sure!
I very much like your ideas , qingguy.
Would like to explore more on this option , may be not because of $ but because of controlling the process.
I've ignored the high electric bills (I figure my pump costs $100-$150 a month to run).
Funnily enough the amount of time I spend there it probably set me back about $400 a swim, but while you're relaxing in the pool, floating with a cocktail, it's priceless....
Do what I did - go buy a variable speed pool pump from NPS. They will install it and the instant rebate will bring it below $900. If you don't have the money, then buy it on a new credit card that has with introductory 0% interest rate for a year and pay it off with the $50-100/month you'll save on your electric bill in that same time period. that way the pump costs you nothing. every month you wait is another $50 to NV energy. Its also much quieter since you will run it at a lower speed, that way you can take a nap in the pool float.
Also, you can sell your old pump and motor on Craigslist for $100 to some house flipper that bought a foreclosed house with broken or missing pool equipment. They don't want to invest $900 in a VS pool pump since it lowers their profit on the sale. be sure to put in the ad that you installed a variable speed model and that the used model you are selling works fine. that way they know its not stolen or broken.
If you're retired, you might want to consider going the owner/builder route. You cut out the middle man, and save some money. But more importantly to me, you then have a bit more control over the process. It's not a small project. If you search on "pool" in this forum, you can find some folks who have done this, and are very friendly, and willing to share their experience with you.
I've had a pool in my current home for the past 22 years or so...it was great when the kids were home, and it's great now that the grandkids are old enough to use it, but we don't "swim" that much, so it doesn't get used a lot. We'd probably use it more if we had a spa. So our next one will have that.
Maintenance has been fairly easy, but every couple years, something breaks, and it costs $500-1000 to fix it. I've had it replastered once (also desert, hard water like LV) I put a variable speed pump in a couple years ago, and it does help with the electric use.
It's purely a personal choice. It's true you won't get 100% ROI, but if you've always wanted to have a pool, and feel you will use it, who cares...it's only money!
I also like your inputs , bleachhead.
yes , controlling over the process is the main thing , however, owner/builder route is very new to me , I should have learned more from internet and talk with the peoples who have done this way.
I have now been a pool owner for something over 40 years. I would not live without one in Las Vegas...though I could live with a community pool that was easily available.
I would also suggest the best single feature of a pool is the spa...which unfortunately i Lack. The area where I live did not have gas when my home was built and it is still impractical to install...so this house has only a pool. If you build one - a nice spa with a big heater. Nothing is as nice in January as sliding into 108 degree water.
I have also gone gimpy in my later years which makes the pool more difficult to exit. I have provided new railings which make it possible though still a nuisance.
I work a quite different cost/effort trade then normal. My pool has a cover that can actually be walked on. It is nylon but quite strong. I can walk on it (Not in my present gimp stage but earlier) and it holds my 260 lbs. My prior dog treated it almost as a trampoline bouncing across it.
It vastly simplifies the maintenance of a pool. I mostly ignore the whole thing. When I go for a swim I will empty the catch box on the pool sweep and throw in a gallon of chlorine every other week. That is pretty much it. Chemical usage and pool maintenance is pretty close to zip. And if you keep a proper pH there is nothing else. And I run the pump 1.5 hours a day. Note that if we have a party or some huge set of people in the pool we would have to do more for a couple of days. But generally it is just the two of us.
The bad news is you don't actually save any money. Every 4 or 5 years you replace the cover. And that is $3,000. You get $300 back from SNWA but that does not change the economics.
It also requires the pool be rectangular mostly...which says no neat looking pools.
I think though my set up would be perfect for a retiree with the addition of a spa in one corner. It could be done and we might well do it...but we have to figure out how to get gas first.
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