To pool or not too pool

To pool or not too pool?

  • Total voters
    48
Thanks guys keep your thoughts coming, seems like the general consensus is don't do it. Which is the way I'm currently leaning towards.
 
Do you have kids? If we didn't have children I wouldn't really bother but now, well, I'd want them to have access to a pool, whether that means one at home, school, public.
 
Mortymoose said:
Just back from an hour of badminton, jumped into my 21000 lt portypool and feel like a star.......
on work days, I come home hop into the porty, wash off the entire day and it feels great...
I have even braai'd whilst sitting in my pool.....

So Ja! :cool:
Click to expand...
I have to Agree with you. Nothing better after a long day at work, relaxing for 10 minutes in the pool.

That said, I do have a small 3*3*1 Deep pool. Easy to maintain.
 
I tend avoid stuff that will complicate my life even further and a pool just seems like an additional headache but that said even having empty pool is a source of headaches
 
Biggest regret was putting in a pool, when i purchased 15 years ago. If i consider the amount of time i have used it, versus the amount of money i have spent on it, I simply cannot justify it at all.
Also in my case being in C.T. with the water costs and restrictions, its just not viable at all.
 
Ditto to what some other's have said above.

We bought a house with a pool around the time that my kids were going to high school and we've used it sufficiently to justify it. My next home once they've left would likely be one without a pool. So, depending on your stage life decide how much use you'd get from it. If your kids are still young, consider that it may be good in future.

Also, consider the houses around you and the people moving to the area. Are there a lot of young couples moving in that may be more interested in a house with a pool? Then you may rather want to keep it in order to make your house more marketable.
 
Massive waste of time and money. A pool is a lot of work, and unless you have kids, a total waste of energy. I'd definitely rather have no pool. Throw the cash saved into a big aircon for your main space in the house.
 
Anything more than 4x5 is a no no. Put a solar blanket on and it saves chemicals and water whilst warming the water.
 
To add to stage of life currently 31, no kids (yet - likely in next 2-3ish years)
 
My 2 cents - bought an old house with a old-a$$ large pool >100kl. It is a ballache when it comes to maintenance but we have kids and entertain quite a lot so it has more than paid for itself with all the fun and memories during the past decade or so.

Just to add, we converted to chlorinator a while back and it makes a world of difference! Eventually I will convert it into a smaller splash pool and add underground water tank but not until my kids are much older.
 
It depends on where you live and how much you or your kids will enjoy the pool. We live in Richards Bay, so for us a pool is a must. Bought a house with a 80k liter pool, which is a bit too big but at least we can enjoy it. As with everything it has maintenance involved. Was a marbelite pool, we had to fibreglass it a few years back because the surface got too rough, cost R30k through an independent local guy. Have had a few issues with piping due to the bad job that was initially done. Regular maintenance is really not much, shouldn't take more than 30 minutes a week or 2. Have run my pool for long periods with nothing more than a bottle of Blu52 a month (R180 or so) or a chlorine floater and some extra chlorine. During the drought the last few years I added a Jojo tank only for the pool and that is enough water to keep it topped up. I enjoy swimming and with a small kid that is starting to swim now it is worth it. Your pool may cost you R50k to R100k to fix up now, but that should last another 30 years then. You need to decide if it is worth it in your situation.
 
1) They are really expensive to run and maintain, especially for something you only use for a tiny fraction of the year.
2) They are dangerous for children.
3) They take up space in your garden that can be used for something much more productive ( like an observatory :p)

That being said, there is something to be said about a sitting outside in water in peace. So I would recommend getting a hot tub with water jets. You can use it in the summer and the winter. And the things are much easier to maintain as you can drain them without causing a national drought.
 
Go for it. I have just reduced the size of my pool from about 70K to 30K. Still plenty big enough to swim in and cool down in summer. Very basically the installers just dropped fiberglass shell into the existing hole and sured it up. Much easier to clean and maintain.
 
It really depends on your lifestyle, your wants, and the stage of your life.
We used to have a pool when the kids were small, we taught them to swim, and the pool was a great social asset for ourselves and for the kids.
Since then we have moved to a complex, and I am very grateful that I no longer have the trouble and expense of maintaining the pool.
 
I dont have a big pool but for me personally I like to rather get into the pool on a hot day than to sit under the aircon.

I dont find the cleaning of the pool to be much work, I basically check and maintain the correct chemical balance which is 1 cup of chlorine per week, if that much even. Theres a pool skimmer that collect the leaves and a pool cleaner for the floor, no other work required except for backwash and rinse once a month.

We also have a cover for safety and to help slow the water evaporation and chemical use in winter.
 
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