Pool Questions (Raleigh: HOA, insurance, houses)

[travelmate38]

1. Would like a standard in-ground pool. Nothing too cheap, but nothing outrageous either. Just a nice mid-sized pool. Any estimates, or ballpark figures for this?

2. I reside in a HOA controlled neighborhood. They are quite strict, but do allow pools, as long as they are in-ground and professionally done. Will the neighbors mind? My HOA has 112 houses and only one other home has a built in pool. Is this common for this area?

3. If you have an in-ground pool, what would you estimate your annual costs associated with keeping the pool?

Any other tips or pointers are appreciated.

[upchurch]

Originally Posted by travelmate38

1. Would like a standard in-ground pool. Nothing too cheap, but nothing outrageous either. Just a nice mid-sized pool. Any estimates, or ballpark figures for this?

2. I reside in a HOA controlled neighborhood. They are quite strict, but do allow pools, as long as they are in-ground and professionally done. Will the neighbors mind? My HOA has 112 houses and only one other home has a built in pool. Is this common for this area?

3. If you have an in-ground pool, what would you estimate your annual costs associated with keeping the pool?

Any other tips or pointers are appreciated.

1) $10,000 to $20,000 depending on size.

2) Depends on your neighbors, but as long as the HOA allows it, who cares what they think. Ask them over for a dip and there will be no problems.

3) $400 to $800.

[leighbhe]

some of the cost depends on your lot, is it level, will you need a retaining wall? Rising sun pools has done a couple of pools of friends of mine, they have been happy. Having an in ground pool with a liner is more cost effective than one without.

Both of my friends did the salt water pool, less maintenance, no chlorine. The water ends up like saline solution, nice on the hair and the skin.

It really depends on the size, shape, etc of the pool. also keep in mind that it is a wake county ordinance that your pool must be fenced. So, check that out as well.

Leigh

[playnice]

Play it safe and ballpark 30 large for the whole pool package.
I agree, if your HOA allows the pool, no need to worry what the neighbors think. Maybe everybody is waiting for everybody else to get the pool ball rolling!?!
With a chlorine generator and 24,000 gallons of water, the cost of operation all summer averages us around $350.
Lastly, I think the barrier restriction is a state thing so be prepared to add in the cost of a fence if you go the in-ground route.

[fanofyanks]

Its nice to see someone putting in a pool. I am from L.I. and Ive been searching this board and have read that many NC residents don't understand or wouldn't want a pool in their yard. On L.I. where I am from its very uncommon to find a house without a pool. Once you have paid for the pool to be installed the maintenance fee's aren't that bad. I would say here in ny it costs us about 400 dollars a year. We clean, cover and uncover our pool. Plus in NC you have nicer weather and can keep your pool open much longer than we can here. Good Luck and enjoy privacy in your own pool!

[ginacal]

Don't forget to call your insurance people. My previous home had an above ground pool (I bought it that way, or I should say I bought the house in spite of the pool) and I found some challenge getting coverage. I imagine an in-ground pool would be more difficult. But then, a fence will probably help with that. Either way, your rates will probably go up.

[MI-Roger]

Cost to purchase
We purchased a small 14x28 kidney shaped pool with steel walls, vinyl liner, and poured concrete decking in 1987, installed by the selling contractor. Cost was slightly over $10K. We completely refurbished this pool in 2004, new liner, decking, coping, and safety cover for $7K.

An identical new pool today would probably cost $20K or more.

Absence of residential pools
The Raleigh area has lots of shallow rock deposits. Unless your home has an excavated basement (indicating deep soil) you may need to blast rock out of the ground to install a pool, $$$.

Also plan on increasing the liability amount on your home owner's policy to at least $1M, with another $1M or more on an umbrella policy.

Cost of maintenance
I used to say it cost us $1 per day for chemicals and another $1 per day for electricity to run the filter. Both costs may have doubled by now. My prefered chemical was powdered Calcium HypoChlorite. The calcium buffered the affect of acid rain and pH would only need to be tested weekly, adjusted monthly, assuming normal precipitation amounts.

Contrary to popular beliefs, the new salt pools do rely upon chlorine for sanitation. The chlorine is bound with sodium in the hundreds of pounds of water softener salt pellets you must add annually. A very expensive (~$1,000) ionizer module uses electricity to strip the chlorine from the salt water (very similar salt level to that of residential softened water) so that the chlorine can kill bacteria to keep the water clear. I don't know how many seasons you can expect from an ionizer (also called salt modules), but replacement units appear prominently in pool supply catalogs.

I also don't know what happens to the residual sodium remaining in the pool water after the chlorine is freed from the salt. I learned the hard way that use of "Stabilized Chlorine" (Di-Chlor****, and Tri-Chlor***) products results in a build-up of Cyanuric Acid, used as the stabilizing agent, in the pool water. There was so much residual cyanuric acid in the pool water after only two seasons of use that the chlorine was completely ineffective - 5ppm of chlorine (too high to safely swim) and the water was still green with algae! The only way to rid the pool of the cyanuric acid was to completely drain and re-fill with 10,000 gallons of water. The pool chemical companies used to say that cyanuric acid amounts less than 200ppm were OK, after many customer experiences like mine they have dropped that recommendation to 50ppm. The only way to stay below 50ppm is to do annual drain and re-fills! Will the free sodium ions cause problems in the future too?

[bekindtoanimals]

Pay attention to the local market when you want to sell. I would bet that the majority of the buyers DO NOT want a pool in the back yard for safety and insurance reasons. Pay attention to the soil down here as well. Clay is not very good for pools and requires additional preperations at more $$. Also for $20K-$30K you might be better off doing another home renovation project unless you have the money and just want a pool. Good Luck with it.

[saturnfan]

I love my apt pool which is immaculately clean, regularly serviced, and inspected for safety and cleanliness by the Wake County Health Department.

Leave it to the pros.

[Dire Wolf]

Ditto for my neighborhood pool. Much nicer and larger than anything I could hope to afford on my own and so much cheaper. Plus it serves as the center of social activities in the neighborhood.