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Very much agree with getting on TroubleFreePool.com from design to swimming.
Very much disagree with the suggestion to hire anyone to take care of your chemistry/upkeep. It is very simple and cost effective to do on your own. Any of the regular members will be glad to answer any questions you can't find in the "Just Getting Started" section and "Pool School" over there.
SWG is the way to go. I have a non-SWG pool and I am installing a SWG next spring. (Tired of hauling jugs!).
Everything in kayanne post #23 I agree with except the deep end advice There is nothing like finishing cutting the grass in the summer and stripping completely naked and jumping in the deep end and sinking WAY down in the water. It is magical.
We are pool people in SoCal, and love it. We inherited our pool, and have had it rebuilt once and here's what I would reco:
1) go slightly smaller than you might initially think, unless you're lap swimmers.
2) no deep end.
3) we did a pebble-tec finish which comes in many colors
4) do a thought-out install of LED lighting
5) don't cheap out on circulation/filtration
6) saltwater
OP lives in Texas. Having a deep end can help keep the pool cool in the summer. Without one, pool would easily see high 90s temps in the summer. Here in SC, our pool is only 5.5 ft deep and we're looking into adding a chiller because it got high 90s this summer which was not pleasant. Friend of mine has a smaller pool but has a legitimate deep end and was able to keep hers about 5 degrees cooler in the summer.
Wow, what do you do that takes 30 minutes every day? Never once did I spend 30 minutes in a day.
And I'm curious about the Dolphin robotic bottom skimmer. Do you particularly recommend it over Polaris, or is Dolphin just what you have and are familiar with? We loved our Polaris.
Pool doesn't need to be shaded by a building. If Kathryn is interested, I'll send her a picture of my "floating pool shade, constructed of PVC pipe and marine grade vinyl. Essential for me after I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma last year.
Our pool never got uncomfortably hot. The hottest our water ever got was 88 (which I enjoyed actually), but when the weather is that hot, the water is evaporating quickly. Adding additional water cooled our pool back down a bit. Never a problem.
I agree that, to me, pool lights are more trouble than they're worth. When I used the pool at night, the stars and our landscape lighting was all I wanted. Never turned on the pool lights.
Good info to both of you!
I am interested in your floating pool shade so yes, send or post a picture!
We're leaning toward 6 feet at one end. No diving board of course and no slide - just a waterfall feature at the deep end.
Not sure yet about the lights. We love the lights in our hot tub.
We're water babies - we really do use our hot tub and I think we'll really use a regular pool. I go to water aerobics about 4 times a week as it is. Love the beach. Love pools. Love swimming. Love floating! LOL so I'm sure we'll use it a lot.
I don't know about the lanai thing. To be honest, I don't prefer the look (no offense to anyone I hope) but I also don't like the idea of lots of leaves.
The only thing I'll add now that I have a new pool - First, absolutely get a saltwater pool and second, the Polaris automatic robotic pool floor cleaner is a godsend for maintenance. So many people say pools are sooo much maintenance and frankly, I disagree. I have found ours no more maintenance than a decently landscaped yard and/or other house systems. Maybe we're just lucky but I don't think so. We did have to replace our pump recently and my husband was able to do it easily. It's actually a pretty simple system so if you or your husband are mechanically inclined, it's easy to maintain.
Yes, my husband is very mechanically inclined and I just don't think it will be a big maintenance drama issue. We both have the time, energy, and financial means to keep it well maintained. We love being in the yard, piddling around on the patio and outdoor living area, fiddling with the hot tub when it's cooler weather - just not a big deal to us.
I am interested in your floating pool shade so yes, send or post a picture!
We're leaning toward 6 feet at one end. No diving board of course and no slide - just a waterfall feature at the deep end.
Not sure yet about the lights. We love the lights in our hot tub.
We're water babies - we really do use our hot tub and I think we'll really use a regular pool. I go to water aerobics about 4 times a week as it is. Love the beach. Love pools. Love swimming. Love floating! LOL so I'm sure we'll use it a lot.
I don't know about the lanai thing. To be honest, I don't prefer the look (no offense to anyone I hope) but I also don't like the idea of lots of leaves.
Hmmm....more research required.
We don't have one and our property is surrounded by trees - just not the pool area but plenty of foliage to get in it if the wind blows. Between the Polaris for the bottom and our filtration system, we really don't have an issue at all. It takes all of 3 minutes to empty the skimmer and put it back (that 3 minutes includes walking to the edge of the woods to empty it). Only on very windy and/or stormy days do I have an issue. My husband cleans out the secondary filter about once a week. Easy stuff.
I'll add that we didn't have a lanai (what some are calling a bird cagey thing) and never needed one. Our pool filtration system kept the pool extremely clean. It was rare that I had to use the hand skimmer.
Once a week I would sweep the "tanning shelf" (a shallow area for sitting or lying, that the Polaris floor cleaner couldn't get to) as well as the steps. Easy peasy. Once a week, amyabe every other week, hub would empty the two skimmer baskets and the Polaris debris bag. Again, easy peasy.
Our water always looked and felt heavenly, no lanai or long maintenance sessions needed. The automation built into pools now is truly quite effective.
Definitely want a good pool filtration and cleaning system in place. It's a MUST for me.
We'd be cutting down the river birch tree that drops a lot of leaves all year, in order to put in the pool. But we will have two mid sized oak trees probably 10 to 15 feet from the pool's edge, so I know we'll get some leaves. I'm not opposed to even daily "skimming" - I'm always out in the back yard piddling around on something anyway, and that's just not a big deal to me. But I don't want any leaves to do any damage to any systems if we go out of town for a few days which we do pretty often.
Yes, my husband is very mechanically inclined and I just don't think it will be a big maintenance drama issue. We both have the time, energy, and financial means to keep it well maintained. We love being in the yard, piddling around on the patio and outdoor living area, fiddling with the hot tub when it's cooler weather - just not a big deal to us.
Well my two cents - go for it and you're going to love it! I love, love, love having a pool. We spend so much time outdoors already and our backyard is quite the oasis now. We added a fire pit, cornhole court, his smoker grill, comfy furniture and there's nothing like taking a dip in the pool when it's in the 90s out. I even love swimming at night when it's so quiet and still out. Really, I love having ours.
Very much agree with getting on TroubleFreePool.com from design to swimming.
Very much disagree with the suggestion to hire anyone to take care of your chemistry/upkeep. It is very simple and cost effective to do on your own. Any of the regular members will be glad to answer any questions you can't find in the "Just Getting Started" section and "Pool School" over there.
SWG is the way to go. I have a non-SWG pool and I am installing a SWG next spring. (Tired of hauling jugs!).
Everything in kayanne post #23 I agree with except the deep end advice There is nothing like finishing cutting the grass in the summer and stripping completely naked and jumping in the deep end and sinking WAY down in the water. It is magical.
LOL I like the sound of that!
The whole dogs and saltwater thing does concern me though. We have big, water loving dogs (including a lab) and I fully expect them to be water babies.
The whole dogs and saltwater thing does concern me though. We have big, water loving dogs (including a lab) and I fully expect them to be water babies.
You've seen my two idiots - they love our pool. We have regular steps and it did take them a bit to learn how to get in and out but they learned. If they have one of those beach type entry pools, I'd likely never get them out.
Well my two cents - go for it and you're going to love it! I love, love, love having a pool. We spend so much time outdoors already and our backyard is quite the oasis now. We added a fire pit, cornhole court, his smoker grill, comfy furniture and there's nothing like taking a dip in the pool when it's in the 90s out. I even love swimming at night when it's so quiet and still out. Really, I love having ours.
Oh my, it sounds great!
We added an outdoor living area last year with a big, built in fire pit (which we use the HECK out of all fall and winter and even into the spring!), a pergola with a big hot tub which we also use, and plenty of comfy furniture, dining, an outdoor TV, a grilling area. We didn't go with an outdoor kitchen because we just thought it was redundant with the kitchen right off the patio anyway. But I know we'll love the addition of a pool!
GREAT advice so far, everyone - thank you!
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There is nothing like finishing cutting the grass in the summer and stripping completely naked 
and jumping in the deep end and sinking WAY down in the water. It is magical.
