Snowbird pool - Maricopa (what we learned from building) (house, maintenance)

[tlvancouver]

So we put in a pool in the yard of our home in Maricopa - I'm not sure if what we learned applies to year round residents but here goes. YMMV but these are our recommendations:

• Heat your pool - winter in AZ feels warm, water won't be and if you're only there in the winter months don't bother with a pool if you don't heat it
• Put an attached spa in, and make it bigger than you think you need. We have a 10 x 10 one and it allows us to heat just the spa if we're there for a weekend and dip and soak in it - it's big enough for two loungers to float on if you don't want to heat the whole pool
• Build a small pool (ours is 20 x 24 - weird shape, see photo) - it heats up quicker, is cheaper to build and own and if this is a winter home for when you retire your days of slides and diving boards are over.
• Tanning ledges/wet decks are pretty nice to have - toddlers can play, you can put loungers in the pool, and on summer days your feet don't burn off
• Adding a gas firepit to your plans if you're putting a gas heater in the pool isn't a huge expense and the nights are chillier than you think they'll be so it's awesome to sit around a fire.

Just my 2 cents - anybody else have tips?

[LBTRS]

Sure, I also have a tip for snowbirds...skip the pool and put in a hot tub and gas fire place and enjoy your winters in Arizona. Swimming isn't appealing in the winter time, even with a heated pool and you'll soon grow tired of it. Way too expensive to heat and the year round maintenance has to be paid for when you're not in Arizona.

I visit the heated resort style pools at Pebble Creek (active adult community) with my in-laws and during the summer they are packed, during the winter not a sole around.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

Sure, I also have a tip for snowbirds...skip the pool and put in a hot tub and gas fire place and enjoy your winters in Arizona. Swimming isn't appealing in the winter time, even with a heated pool and you'll soon grow tired of it. Way too expensive to heat and the year round maintenance has to be paid for when you're not in Arizona.

I visit the heated resort style pools at Pebble Creek (active adult community) with my in-laws and during the summer they are packed, during the winter not a sole around.

Could not agree more. It can be cold and unpleasant getting out of the pool even in summer because of the low humidity. Winter is just punishment. I understand there is some novelty in jumping in a pool in January to snowbirds but, based on observations of my snowbird neighbors, it wears off after the first year. The hot tub continues to be a draw though.

[pbenjamin]

When we bought our house we were surprised to find that the pool had a heater. We've never turned it on. The pool season turns out to be pretty much Memorial Day to Labor Day like the rest of the country. If I was only here in the winter months I wouldn't want a pool.

[DetroitN8V]

If I were only here in the winter months, I too would forego the pool and would probably opt for an above ground spa over a built-in. We used our above ground spa much more than our current built-in one since the above ground spa was always ready to go. It takes about 30 minutes to heat up our current one and sometimes, you just want to go right in without planning ahead.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by tlvancouver

So we put in a pool in the yard of our home in Maricopa - I'm not sure if what we learned applies to year round residents but here goes. YMMV but these are our recommendations:

• Heat your pool - winter in AZ feels warm, water won't be and if you're only there in the winter months don't bother with a pool if you don't heat it
• Put an attached spa in, and make it bigger than you think you need. We have a 10 x 10 one and it allows us to heat just the spa if we're there for a weekend and dip and soak in it - it's big enough for two loungers to float on if you don't want to heat the whole pool
• Build a small pool (ours is 20 x 24 - weird shape, see photo) - it heats up quicker, is cheaper to build and own and if this is a winter home for when you retire your days of slides and diving boards are over.
• Tanning ledges/wet decks are pretty nice to have - toddlers can play, you can put loungers in the pool, and on summer days your feet don't burn off
• Adding a gas firepit to your plans if you're putting a gas heater in the pool isn't a huge expense and the nights are chillier than you think they'll be so it's awesome to sit around a fire.

Just my 2 cents - anybody else have tips?

Where is the photo?

[tlvancouver]

The hot tub is in the background and the firepit in the foreground

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by tlvancouver

The hot tub is in the background and the firepit in the foreground

Looks very nice!

[caryberry]

Unless your pool is solar heated - then heating an open air pool in the winter is a total waste of energy.

[tlvancouver]

If you read what I posted I agree - that's why I recommend an attached spa that you can heat and use as a spool.