Owning a Pool or using a Community Pool?

[jlhct]

Originally Posted by kdog

Every single one of those negatives can be completely cured by three little words: automatic pool cover. You can see examples of what I'm talking about here: Coverstar - Photo Gallery (http://www.coverstar.com/Gallery/gallery.aspx - broken link)

I do a little light cleaning on my pool maybe once a month, whether it needs it or not. There's nothing like pressing a button to open your pool cover, and seeing a sparkling clean pool every time.

Some positives to having your own pool.

* You get to use it whenever you want. Community pools have hours you can use them, not to mention regulations, etc. It cannot be compared to being able to simply walk out your back door and dive in. There's no way you're going to use a community pool as much as your own.

* Eye candy. We'll open our pool cover and just sit in the backyard and look at it. It's that pretty. We'll turn on the water features for some soothing water sounds as well.

* Privacy. Skinny dipping at night! Plus you never have to worry about who's peeing or pooping in your pool.

Honestly, we wouldn't want to live in AZ without a pool, now that we have one. Pool time is family bonding time, and the best part of our day.

I will say having the automatic pool cover makes such a huge difference that I might not be as gung-ho on having a pool if we didn't have that. Our neighbors don't have the cover, but they have a weekly pool service. That works too.

If you don't mind me asking, what is the ballpark price for one of those covers?.

I ran across this yesterday while researching pool covers. I have a pool about the same size so this question comes right on time

Thanks!

[kdog]

Originally Posted by IZZYJOE69

Kdog, I don't own a pool or a house yet actually...but I am considering looking for a house with a pool...the pool covers you mentioned sound interesting, but how much do they normally cost?

It added $8K to the price of our new pool. I'm guessing the retrofit ones for existing pools probably cost about the same as well. You didn't think they come cheap, did you?

BTW, with an automatic cover, you don't need any other safety features. No fence around the pool, no self closing gates, etc. So adjust the price of the cover in your mind by subtracting all the other safety features you won't have to pay for. Also, your pool will use much less chlorine with a cover as it won't dissipate in the atmosphere when it's closed. And the pool will lose much, much less water due to evaporation. You lose NO water when the cover is closed, which of course is most of the time.

[.45acp]

[quote=kdog;8497374]Every single one of those negatives can be completely cured by three little words: automatic pool cover. You can see examples of what I'm talking about here: Coverstar - Photo Gallery (http://www.coverstar.com/Gallery/gallery.aspx - broken link)

Dunno where you are... but here on the plateau there's this minor thing called 'WIND'. One of those fancy gadgets would last about 10 minutes in a good blow due to surface 'lift'. Plus... the sand and endless types of critters.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by .45acp

Dunno where you are... but here on the plateau there's this minor thing called 'WIND'. One of those fancy gadgets would last about 10 minutes in a good blow due to surface 'lift'. Plus... the sand and endless types of critters.

WRONG. You know not of which you speak.

I live in Kingman, like it says in the header of all my posts. Kingman is one of the windiest places in AZ, and I live in a wide-open area. When the cover is closed, the pool is completely sealed. The cover stays flat on the water, as if it were shrink-wrapped, regardless of how hard the wind blows. It does not lift even one iota. The cover is a rubberized fabric, which is quite bullet-proof. It's so strong you can walk across it. If it gets torn somehow, it can be repaired. The cover part is also replaceable when years of UV finally takes it's toll on it.

[.45acp]

You sound like a pool cover salesman. Eight G's is a goodly chunk of change... Hemite (volcanic) sand is the destructor of all mechanisms... and UV is the destructor of all things rubber and plastic. It gets around 124 deg at times here. Then... there's the monsoons. Color me a skeptic... but I've been a desert 'Zonie long enough to know the desert is KING!

[jlhct]

Originally Posted by kdog

It added $8K to the price of our new pool. I'm guessing the retrofit ones for existing pools probably cost about the same as well. You didn't think they come cheap, did you?

BTW, with an automatic cover, you don't need any other safety features. No fence around the pool, no self closing gates, etc. So adjust the price of the cover in your mind by subtracting all the other safety features you won't have to pay for. Also, your pool will use much less chlorine with a cover as it won't dissipate in the atmosphere when it's closed. And the pool will lose much, much less water due to evaporation. You lose NO water when the cover is closed, which of course is most of the time.

LOL I was hoping for about 10X the cost of a regular solar cover & reel which would be about 3-5K. I guess I was WAY off

I think I may go the cover & reel route. I think it would help. I'm getting the pool resurfaced next year but definitely can't work an extra 8K into that project!

thanks for the info!

[kdog]

Originally Posted by .45acp

You sound like a pool cover salesman. Eight G's is a goodly chunk of change... Hemite (volcanic) sand is the destructor of all mechanisms... and UV is the destructor of all things rubber and plastic. It gets around 124 deg at times here. Then... there's the monsoons. Color me a skeptic... but I've been a desert 'Zonie long enough to know the desert is KING!

Whatever. The purpose of my post is to educate fellow forum members how they can have a low maintenance, pristine, safe pool, even in the harsh desert. I am in no way affiliated with pool covers, pools, or anything of the like. I'm an engineer in the computer industry, and analytical by nature. Sorry to be harsh, but I am relating my actual experience after owning a pool with a cover like this for three years. You have zero knowledge of which you speak and evidently no interest in learning. My posts are not for you, as you've already made up your mind, but for others in the forum who are still on the fence of whether to get a pool.

The notion that you can't make a mechanism that works well in the desert is absurd. Just look at your automobile, ATV, or dune buggy. There's very little mechanisms in these covers -- just a sealed motor, gearbox, and a roller. The cover slides in a track. They are designed to work in harsh environments. Automatic pool covers have been around for a long time. The products out there are second or third generation products, and they've worked out the kinks quite well. Yes, they're expensive. But like many other things in life, you get what you pay for.

I know you're trying as hard as you can to convince people not to own a pool in Arizona. But knocking things of which you have no knowledge only makes you look silly.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by jlhct

LOL I was hoping for about 10X the cost of a regular solar cover & reel which would be about 3-5K. I guess I was WAY off

I think I may go the cover & reel route. I think it would help. I'm getting the pool resurfaced next year but definitely can't work an extra 8K into that project!

thanks for the info!

If you're willing to go $5K, you're not that far off. Get a quote on one. Prices may be way down now in this economy.

I don't think the reel cover will do the same thing because it's not sealed all the way around like the auto cover. I'd be worried that a lot of the dirt and leaves will be blown towards the edges of the cover and fall into the pool. Plus, it definitely won't perform as the safety mechanism.

[lizziegee]

Not going to comment on a pool cover or not since I have no experience with one.

I often say (and probably mean it) that I wouldn't own a home with a pool again. It's terrifically pretty (in-ground) but it's a lot of work and expense.

We're middle-aged and no matter how much we swear we're going to use it each year, it doesn't transpire. The grandkids aren't local so we're not using it that way.

We use a pool service and that takes care of a lot but there's still lots of effort.

Also, as an aside, we've lost two dogs to it. Both were very elderly and on medications but it was miserable both times. No healthy animals have ever even come close but it's something to consider.