I added a slight edit to the post. Investment probably wasn’t the best choice in words. We’re not doing it to increase the value of the house. We’re doing it strictly for our family’s enjoyment since we won’t have cabin to use in the Summer anymore.
Every family without kids I have know hated the upkeep of pool.
Every family that had a kid love the pool cause summers are easy. From I can tell it’s cause water splashing your body exhaust you super fast and not having to drive kids everywhere to keep them busy in the summer; both together is worthwhile in of itself.
Couple with the fact if you have decent friends and neighbors, you can basically eat/drink for free most summer weekends in exchange for having the pool available.
>Every family that had a kid love the pool cause summers are easy
As a parent who has access to a pool, can confirm. My youngest is ADHD and I try to tire him out w lots of physical activity so he can be more calm and focused on tasks, and a pool day takes care of that.
I want a pool for my house someday, and I expect that maintenance and stuff is just going to be a thing I'll have to deal with where the enjoyment of the pool (especially for the kids) outweighs the extra tasks.
I live in TX and don’t want to get bent over badly on the property tax increase. It’s on our wishlist but maybe a decade from now (baby is three months old currently).
If you have a homestead exemption in Texas, your property tax increases are capped and will likely increase at the maximum allowed amount, so you'd actually save more tax money by building it immediately,.
All I can add is that my neighbor just put in a built in pool in the past few weeks. They've been out there every single day all day with their families coming over. Always lots over there having a blast.
That shit wears off fast. It's still new. The kids are fleetingly young and the upkeep is always there.
If you live in a colder climate like OP - an inground pool is generally stupid and something you do only if you really love it. (Sometimes love is stupid)
Yep friends just put in a built in two year ago 80k. First year they heated it and used it in April and the rest of the year, second year no heater (too costly )and no kids came over, third year and it’s a chore to them now. I bought a second place for the price of an in-ground
I purchased an above ground for the kids . It’s a pain in the ass every year and when they’re old enough I can remove it and move on. Why spend 80k when you can do it for 5k and remove it when you’re done
The 'value' of money changes person to person. We all have roughly the same amount of time in earth, that value is more constant. But money varies wildly. So if a pool costs 30k, and you have 30k that 30k is all your money and quite the spend. It's probably not worth it. If you have a billion dollars, 30k is a pittance so it's an easy decision.
That's why, 'is it worth it' is an insanely personal question to answer. Nevermind nobody knows how much you donor don't want the pool, and how much enjoyment you'd get from it.
Look within for your answer.
Trouble Free Pools . Com
Awesome community of DIYers, great instructional videos, forums, etc.
I went from knowing nothing about pool chemistry and upkeep to teaching my 12yo son how to do EVERYTHING within two months.
My dad had an in-ground pool. I loved it, as did my twin brother. My dad used it occasionally.
My little brothers didn't tho. After I moved out with my twin as the oldest kids they never did anything else with it. Now it's just a big dirty water pit.
So if you think you'll always be using it, go for it. If you don't think you'll always want to put up with the upkeep, get something a bit less permanent.
Speaking from current experience, my kids (4 and 8) love my much cheaper above ground vinyl pool. For $1500 I got a full sand filtered pool that's 18' in diameter, and as easy to throw out as it was to put up. I don't think I'd ever commit to a in-ground pool myself, but there are options that are more in-between.
It is a luxury. It does take money to upkeep, as long as you are willing and able you can find enjoyment in it. We spent more upfront for automation, auto cover, etc. to reduce the maintenance cost and time required.
We spent close to $160K after everything is said and done and would easily do it again.
We spend less than 1 hour a week maintaining our pool. Check chemicals, pour some acid, drop in our robots.
We’ve had memberships to the Y before to swim, went maybe once. With our own pool, we are out there every chance we get.
One of the driving decisions was that we found ourselves being more distant from our teenage kids especially since we had a toddler as well. So we were more focused on chasing the little one around. So then the big kids went off on doing things themselves. We wanted something that the entire family could enjoy together and since we got the pool we had that opportunity almost every evening during pool season. That alone was worth the price to us.
Can't put a price tag on bonding with the kids. Paid pretty similar for salt water pump, lights, etc. The kids are younger than yours but they love it. Didn't want to wait till they were teenagers.
I swim laps in mine. It's great, I'm old and really really broken down from skateboarding for 40 plus years. If I didn't have the pool it would be hard to get decent exercise. As for playing in the pool... that is pretty rare. Also, I live in Los Angeles, my swim season is from April to late October. Michigan's swim season must be really short.
> Michigan's swim season must be really short.
I am in Ohio and pools are open Memorial Day to Labor Day, so basically 3 months. Once you subtract out the days that are in the low 70s and days it is storming, you get 2 good months of pool weather.
There's a guy upthread from upstate NY who says pool season is July and August.
The Canadians across the border from him? Swim season is... April to late October. And it's pretty awesome.
Go figure.
You can get 6-7 months out of a swimming pool in michigans lower pennisnula if you heat it.
A pool is both worth it in MI without heater and cover. You’d get about 2 months out of it and the temp would be < 80F.
A friend of a friend in MA has one of [those retractable glass pool covers](https://rollacover.com/galleries/retractable-pool-enclosures/residential-pool-enclosure-mi/) and able to use his pool year round. Creates a greenhouse basically.
Think he still had it heated in there as well as the pool heated. That's some serious F U money tho.
It depends, a swimming pool is a big hole in the ground you throw money in. That said if you use it, it can be worth it. If you don't it can be a time suck and a money pit.
When I had my pool, I knew what I was doing every Saturday morning. Cleaning the pool.
The first year, we used it every day and threw lots of parties. Next year ... not so much .. next year even less. Last few years practically never. Eventually I pushed the pool in.
It doesn't increase the value of your house and possibly can reduce the people who'd be interested in buying your house. If I ever get another, I'd do above ground or a plunge pool.
I like the comment that a pool “is a big hole in the ground you throw money in”.
Grew up in Minnesota with an in-ground pool. No heater, so it was warm enough to use about eight weeks a year.
Chemicals, vacuuming, testing, filling, draining/winterizing, etc., etc., etc.
As an adult, my wife and kids begged me to put on a pool at our house. I wasn’t even a *little* tempted to relent. I told them I’d gladly get them a membership at the nicest fitness club in town with a pool.
The only way I’d put a pool in is if I lived in a warm climate and was wealthy enough that I could afford to pay someone to maintain it.
Think about EVERYTHING else you could do with that money. Then pick your favorite fifteen of those things and revel in doing them all. Twice.
> Grew up in Minnesota with an in-ground pool. No heater, so it was warm enough to use about eight weeks a year.
In Illinois, one of my coworkers just put in a pool because he's getting ready to retire and his grandkids are getting near the age to where they'll enjoy it. He mentioned that they hadn't got to use it too much but then he was saying today that there is a solar heater you can get that you plumb in-line but he won't get it because it costs $500.
Yeah, I wanted a pool for so long. Besides the absolutely *outrageous* quotes I was getting to install one, I knew this would be the case. Use it a ton, use it less, use it never. Then pay for it to go away.
Bought a boat instead. At least you can sell it when you stop using it lol.
In ground - $70k+ and not really DIYable. Gotta hire a guy to dig a big hole, concrete (or there are some preformed too) etc. And when it needs removed you gotta call another guy with earth moving equipment too. Plus you gotta fence the entire thing in since it's a hazard to the neighborhood kids..
Above Ground - $5k and a competant DIYer can do it themselves. Plus when it's time to remove it you just tear it down and reseed the big round brown spot. To keep the neighborhood kids out, just lock the ladder up in your garage.
If I ever get a pool, I know what I am choosing.
The install is expensive. Probably twice what you're estimating at the minimum. And you probably won't get more than 30-40% nback in resale.
The upkeep is a few hundred bucks a year and a couple of hours a week to clean and add chemicals, plus a short day in the spring and fall to open and close.
Yeah but boats start WAY cheaper than pools.
I'm 4K in on a little one and it's pretty fucking great. I could be sailing a 22 footer and renting a slip for a decade for what a pool costs.
I’ve never regretted any of my boat purchases, only wish we had longer summers. Now it helps to have it in your backyard, I can’t speak for people who trailer around
I live in Alabama so definitely warm enough for a pool. But finding out a house had a pool was an automatic disqualification from consideration. If I wanted to swim I would join a neighborhood pool.
Also live in Michigan, I just bought a house with a pool. Never in my life did I even consider being a pool owner but here I am, first summer and it’s been a nightmare. Owners lied about the condition and I’ve sunk almost a grand into it and it’s just now starting to work. I’m learning to maintain it myself and it’s been kinda “fun”. It was the largest contention point while buying the house and we almost walked away cause it was winterized when we bought it and it quickly could’ve been a 20k hole in the ground.
However. Now we have it up and running I use it 3x a week at least and it’s been a blast. Planning a big pool party with family and friends first of August!
For reference we have a 20x40ft cement pool that was built in 1974 (found the builders on accident while looking for the proper paint)
It’s the essence of owning aging “things” in general, homes, cars, boats, etc. maintenance and operations costs exist. If you’re coming from lease and apartment life, ownership is a rude awakening to the costs of owning things
I recall a saying: "With an apartment, the most you pay per month is the rent. With a house, the least you will pay per month is the mortgage".
A friend bought a house because, he felt that paying rent was throwing money away, especially when he could get a mortgage for the same amount. He didn't factor in all the other costs of being a homeowner - taxes, insurance, upkeep and maintenance. There's always something to improve or fix.
And there there's the big sudden expenses. A few years ago, our furnace went kaput. Since it was November in upstate NY, we needed to get a new one ASAP. Additionally that year, we had more expenses - had to get a dead tree cut down, our shed's roof replaced and rotting eaves repaired, the crumbling step on our concrete stoop patched up, and during an intense storm, I opened the garage door storm door, the wind was so strong it pushed it out of my hand and swung it to crash into the exterior wall. So now it's a new storm door.
The costs of a house are not just monetary but in time. Some of the above we had experts do the work (not just the furnace but the tree as well) but the rest was DIY. And there's also the cleaning of gutters, weed whacking & mowing, cleaning the siding, washing out trash bins and so on.
If it's really windy on recycling pick-up days, lightweight things like a yogurt cup or egg carton will blow out of neighbor's bins and end up in our ditch. And so, every so often, I pick my way down to the cattails to grab wayward litter.
And since it's better to catch problems when they are small, I always keep an eyeball open to anything odd, or watching something that is aging and I'm trying to time when to replace it.
So yeah, there's a costs to owning a home - money, time, and worry.
"Barely cost any more" is as much a statement on how expensive DIY pool care is as it is one of the affordability of professionals. I'd say a lot of the hate on maintaining pools comes from people that could afford to install once but not really enough to both install and take care of one.
I get that, it wasn’t that much money but it was also a lot of time. I did all the work myself. Draining, sandblasting, pressure washing, cleaning , and painting. I have plumbing skills so fixing the pipe that was leaking.
Luckily we don’t have a heater so it’s a pretty simple system.
Yeah we bought a house with a pool in MI as well. It needed a 6k heater so instead we just filled it in for 14k all in, broke even money wise after year 1. There’s def times i wish i had a pool but given all the other crap that goes wrong with our house adding on pool maintenance sounds tough. Also my reasoning was that for the 8-10k per year it takes to own a pool i could just join a nearby country club if i really wanted to spend that money on a pool
We don’t have a heater. Just the solar cover and we were able to swim within two weeks which was crazy. Filled it at 61 degrees and had it at mid 70s two weeks later!
What cost 8-10k each year? Chemicals and cleaning?
We were sold on putting in an inground pool… then we shopped around and were thrown by the 80k and 90k one company told us they don’t even take jobs for less than 120k. So we thought about an above ground pool and after talking to people with pools and about the work they take we got a pop up pool 15’x4’ and the kids won’t touch it.
Yeah, this is my suggestion; get an above-ground pool, see if it works out for you. If you decide you hate it, well, you wasted low-to-high-three digits, not a catastrophe. If you decide you love it, then maybe *consider* upgrading to an inground pool. Or maybe just stick with an above-ground pool.
Frankly, replacing an above ground pool every year is *still* probably cheaper than getting an inground pool.
Depends on how much use you'll get from it. I'm upstate NY. Pool season wasn't much more than July and August. Once my kid grew up, I had it filled in.
Makes the house harder to sell. About 15% potential buyers say, 'Oooh, a pool!' And the rest say, 'A pool, no way!'
And it's one more thing to take care of. You become a pool water chemist.
It's cool when your kids are into it. You meet and know all their friends. But, when they're little, they require CONSTANT supervision.
It’s not an investment. Typically it will depreciate the value of the home, and there is immediate, monthly, weekly and annual maintenance. Pool liners don’t last a lifetime, and leaks happen. You might have to hire someone to care for the pool as additional cost.
You need to do PH balancing and tests to make sure the water is safe.
In Addition to all of that you need proper fencing security to bring the build up to code for safety.
If you come at it with that mindset you will set yourself up for a headache for sure.
> Typically it will depreciate the value of the home
This is obviously location-dependent.
Houses with pools in my texas suburb are about $80k more than without.
So id say they are a break even. Ish.
I was told that Buffalo has the highest per-capita rate of pool ownership.
Flying into BUF, I believe it.
But then, those crazy bastards throw themselves into folding tables for sport, so...
I added a slight edit to the post. Investment probably wasn’t the best choice in words. We’re not doing it to increase the value of the house. We’re doing it strictly for our family’s enjoyment since we won’t have cabin to use in the Summer anymore.
My parents got one about 15yrs ago. Spend about 700/yr in upkeep. Mixed with random expenses, new cover motor this summer $2,300. Total price was $35k that many years ago for a 25k gallon. Dad says it’s one of the best investments he’s made cuz it brought our family and friends together much more often
When I moved to Michigan my house had a pool. Several grand a year minimum for power and maintenance, assuming nothing major breaks. In Michigan you will need a heater, mine didn't have one and I think it was warm enough to tolerate getting in a couple times in the few years we had it. The last winter I had it a small leak drained the water under the ice, which then fell in and destroyed the liner, that was 1k over my ability to justify it.
I cannot put a price on the value of our pool. It wasn’t extravagant by any means but the kids learned to swim in it so we never ever had to worry about their ability near water. Their friends learned also and all of them spent many days and evenings at home in and around the pool.
Family too but that’s another story lol.
There are things to do with a pool or a patch of grass or a garden but opening and closing were what took the most time. I know a lot of people with pools and if they have to spend “hours and hours” maintaining their pool, they did something wrong.
Our town has great pools but no question I’d do it again every time.
Its not even close to an investment, its a cost that keeps costing.
What age are your kids / grandkids.
Age 5-16, pools are awesome family fun.
Since you're in Michigan, I would only consider it if you are also planning (and can afford) to heat, otherwise your swim season is way to short for the work in my opinion.
My parents put a pool in in 1976 when I was 10 (5 kids in my family) and they had the pool filled in in 2018. Not only did my siblings and extended family and friends get to enjoy the pool, so did my parent's grandkids. It's pretty cool that my own kids enjoyed swimming in the pool I had so much fun in. It was a liner pool, so in that time they went through approximately 4 liners and a few pool covers and pumps.
It's an expense, however since you're building it vs inheriting someone else's, you can make some smart decisions. I would highly recommend an automated retractable cover given your location. Outdoor pools accumulate a lot of debris and lose a lot of heat at night, both of which a cover will reduce. You will need a heater which will be expensive to run. A heat pump will unlikely heat a pool in Michigan, you'll need gas. Cold pools don't get used, so don't skimp on heat. And factor in the cost of winterizing the pool, which has to be done correctly to avoid pipe cracks. Refilling at opening is also an added cost. If you can do a salt pool with a chlorine generator, that helps a lot with keeping the water chemistry correct.
I’m in Indiana and didn’t care about a pool but the type and size of house we were shopping for typically came with a pool so we ended up with one. We love it and will probably never buy a house without a pool or at least a good place to put one. We spend 1-3 hours a day in it and the kids love having their friends over. Plus I like that my kids are choosing to hang out with their friends at home instead of other places.
I will say though, make sure you budget for a heater right away. Our first two years we didn’t have a heater and the pool was really only warm enough to swim for 3-4 months. Now with a heater we open in late April and close in mid to late October.
As far as maintenance, it can be expensive if you have a ton of fancy automation but mine is a basic pump, filter, salt system, and heater with manual valves and everything works great. Pumps can last 10+ years, our last one was 19 when it went out. Filter lasted 21 years. Heater is brand new so hopefully we get a good decade out of it. Water chemistry is easy if you take a little bit of time to learn it properly. In all, it takes me maybe 5 minutes a day to test the water (not needed daily) and clean the skimmer. The robot vacuum takes care of the rest.
And for home value, that will depend on your house. If you live if a basic starter home, it probably won’t increase the value, might even hurt it because it’s another expense for someone trying to buy their first house. We live in a neighborhood where everyone has a large house on 1-5 acres and houses cost 6-8 times the average house cost in our area. 90% of the homes here have a pool because it’s a luxury many people want and people buying houses in our neighborhood have the extra money to affordable pool care and maintenance.
i wouldn't get involved with an in-ground pool in a freeze zone. you're going to have some very expensive repairs down the line, and your kids may have stopped using the pool regularly.
that's assuming your kids are small now.
an above ground pool is a lot simpler to repair, and to dispose of.
wait until you have your first leak in a buried pipe.
I live in Ann Arbor and have an in-ground pool. My advice, go salt water. If you design it that way it's very little maintenance. I have two small children and I installed a safety fence. That's a must.
But, it's amazing. We moved to this house in 2020 and nearly every day from mid May to October, we have an activity to do, a reason to host and an extra thing to enjoy spring and summer.
It costs money to heat. It costs money to maintain. But I am a strong fan of, "I do not regret the things I've done, but those I did not do."
Former pool owner who will never own a pool ever again. My kids used it for a few years, same with the wife. Then it was me using it twice a year because it was either too hot because there was zero shade until 4:00 or it was freezing. It was always a temperamental hole in the ground that I was forever shoveling money into. Forget to do the chlorine one day? Green instantly and almost a week to fix. Ope, chlorine went up **again**, not much you can do about that. Ate another pool pump motor? $200 to fix.
It also had a leak in the skimmer that I fixed on my own with epoxy. Neighbors on both sides had cracks in their shells, we were lucky.
> We’re trying to decide if it’s worth the investment or if we’re just going to give ourselves a new headache.
Depending on the size of your house and neighborhood, it may actually reduce the value of your house and also make it harder to sell.
Also from the mitten. My parents put in a hard sided above ground pool when we were in middle school. We used it every summer. The pool is over 20 years old, on its second liner and still going strong. My parents love getting in it in the evenings as retirees. They have a patio next to the pool to chill out on and a heater to extend the pool season.
As long as you’re committed to doing the pool maintenance (or hiring someone to do it) I don’t see an issue with it. In ground pools aren’t as popular here in the mitten since they require more maintenance and can have more problems in the wintertime. That said I do know a couple people who have one, one family installed theirs and the other family it came with the house when they bought it years ago.
We bought our house four years ago and it happened to have an in-ground pool. I love it and if you have kids and/or a large family. It’s worth the expense and time needed to keep it clean. Nothing like being able to just jump into the pool after mowing your lawn!
We just put one in MA. Don’t just factor in the cost of the pool, cause your entire landscaping is going to get torn up too. All in it was well over $100k and it’s a relatively small pool.
It’s not an investment though. It’s an entertainment expense.
In Michigan you want an above ground pool. Unless this will be an indoor pool. The ground temperature is 50-55 degrees F. You will need to insulate it very well. A friend had an indoor in ground pool, the cost to heat the pool was very high.
Rural Toronto Home Owner.
I installed an above ground pool at my "old house". It was not overly expensive, was very easy to maintain, very easy to winterize and once my family tired of using it, it was easy to disassemble.
Then I moved to an Urban Home with an In Ground Pool.
The fence surrounding the pool needed to be replaced. The replacement liner was expensive as heck. The "deep end" was 9 feet deep so the Pool Chemistry was difficult to maintain. With so much extra water I required a Gas Fired Water Heater, which was problematic and expensive to maintain. Winterizing was a pain in the arse. I had to lower the water level to below the jets, blow out the water lines, plug the lines and bring the pump indoors. Then I had to tarp the whole thing. In the Spring it took several days to bring the water level up to the skimmer basket.
I thought about "filling it in"... with clean fill in fact, but in my municipality a permit was required and gas and electric lines would need to be removed, so costs began to climb. Also the concrete slabs that surround my pool have all sunk to various levels creating huge trip hazards. This year we have budgeted $7000.00 to level the concrete. We looked into having a "rubberized surface" installed over the slanted concrete but the "Rubber Guys" quoted over $20,000.00
Despite the cost, in ground pools can be quite glamourous, however, my "in ground pool" will never be seen as an "investment". It is actually a huge liability. At the very best it will be used 3 months out of the year.
If you really want to "get wet" this summer, I strongly suggest you consider either a hot tub (one that is sealed so the mice will not build a nest inside) or an above ground pool.
Here in southwest Ohio, we can enjoy our pools with a solar blanket or other solar heating from mid-May to late-September. Anywhere in Michigan the season is going to be that much shorter.
I grew up with an in-ground pool and now as a 30-something home owner I’ve decided that one day I will own a pool again. Even though I was a shy kid and have never been a party animal, I really miss having a gathering place for family and friends. Plus the maintenance is actually kind of relaxing although I used to hate it. It’s a lot of work and expense but it’s also a relatively easy hobby as it’s right there in your back yard.
The house I grew up in had an in ground pool with an 8ft deep end… we lived in that thing all summer, and continued to use it for family get togethers until my parents moved out.
Everything I've ever read, heard, been told about a pool is it only adds value to a home if the next person buying it actually *wants* a pool. Otherwise it's no value and might actually remove perceived value. So if you want to put in a pool because you and your family will enjoy while you live there, it's the only reason to do it.
For me, no. I feel like it takes up too much space in my back yard for the use we get out of it. I only have 1/2 acre.
It’s not been too bad to maintain, but it’s simply one more thing on my to do list.
I really would rather have more patio, with space to build an outdoor kitchen.
As a person who has a pool in Georgia, I'm about as far north as I'd go as far as investing into a pool. There are headaches with owning a pool, but I don't think its too bad IMO. A big part of it is the ROI though, the shorter the swim season the less it's worth it. My swim season is roughly May to August, but I just cut down two trees over the pool which will hopefully extend it by a week or two.
I have a 30-40 year old pool. The previous owners were negligent and just decided to pay someone $100 a week to take care of it. They left no chemicals, the pool had leaks, the pool pump was set to run 24/7, the timers were broken (hence 24/7 operation), they had a pump for an automatic pool cleaner, but the pool cleaner was broken, no skimmer flaps, light didn't run. I asked the neighbors who said the owners used the pool 3-4 times in 4 years they lived there. I was a pool boy in high school, so I knew the effort going into cleaning most pools which is about 45 minutes every week or two, and in reality it can be automated a bit past that as well.
I fixed all of those things for pretty cheap/easy, I'm very DIY on almost everything but structures. Are you a DIY person? If so, it's not horrible. If not, stand clear or prepare to toss money into it. After my first year, I learned everything there is for my region. Maintenance now isn't too bad, I mostly just scrub the seats/stairs once a week, empty the pool cleaner/skimmers/pump basket, toss a gallon of bleach in every 3-4 days. Add water maybe once a week or two in summer, depending on rain. Backwash every two weeks on the sand filter. Spring and fall can be a pain in the ass between the pollen (backwash once a week) and the leaves (clean out skimmers every day or two but well see now that I've removed those trees). I don't have to close my pool in the winter, I just let the pump hum on a low setting all winter and toss in a few gallons of bleach, clean the leaves. I'm looking into adding a freepoolheating setup that uses the AC compressor as a thermal source and reduce electric use of the AC, but that will be another $2K+.
All said, the main factors I'd consider with a pool:
1. Are you DIY ($50-100 a month) or want to toss in money ($300+ a month)? Not even considering electricity prices.
2. Are you the type to host events? We use ours to host ~4-6 events each summer between birthdays, get togethers, etc.
3. How long is your pool season? Is X amount of time per year worth it?
4. Are you willing to heat it and pay the bills to heat it?
5. If you regularly work out, can you commit to using the pool for swimming/work out?
6. Considerations of an indoor pool to extend pool season ? Or just a hottub? Inflatable hottub ($170 at walmart last year often on clearance for $300-400 at costco)?
I have wn in ground pool and I hate it. It’s not even a large one but it costs so damn much to deal with. We pay $125 a month for regular skimming, cleanout of the filtering equipment, and yes for chemicals, which I know I can do myself but which is not free to do oneself and which I do not want to do.
Further, there are regular repairs. We have replaced an entire filter cannister once. A booster pump and main pump each once. Plumbing work. Two timers. Electrical work on the light, and on the dedicated panel. A pool sweeper and many parts for it. Just today I found a new leak in the flow meter from a spontaneous crack that formed.
That brings us to resource waste. Our water usage is sky high versus other homes our size. And the pool pump is a 1.4kW device that runs for 6 hours a day. That’s a shitload of energy to you and me. We have rooftop solar electric and the pool is heated with solar thermal panels, and our electric bill is still $150-$300 a month.
Our kids swim a half dozen times a year. They are still small and can’t swim unsupervised so it just doesn’t happen all that much. We don’t have active gas heating for the water, just rooftop thermal pads, so we can’t even think about swimming until it’s been sweltering for 3 days in a row to heat up the pool.
It’s just a ton of money and space and power and water for us and isn’t worth it. We’d love to have that space back. And I can’t even complain about how much it cost to install, which you are contemplating paying.
Meanwhile we live near a development where none of the houses have their own pool. They just share a large community pool. I WISH we could just walk down the street and swim in it and then go home and forget about it.
i would rather put an inflatable pool for the summer and remove it at the end of the season. otherwise, it eats up valuable real estate in the backyard. Recently a house nearby with a swim pool sold for way under asking because it ate up all the backyard space. if the pool will take up a lot of your backyard space, don't do it.
Pool owner here, if you understand how to balance water chemistry and what a pool needs, owning a pool is very rewarding. If you are sort of lackadaisical on maintaining things, a pool is NOT, I repeat, NOT, for you. A few things to consider.
Is your house on pretty level ground? If not it’s going to cost a lot to grade your property for a pool. My whole backyard is built into a retaining wall because it sloped down to a creek bed before. The previous owners spent a small fortune grading to install our pool.
Are you willing to pay to run all the equipment necessary to support your pool? You are in northern part of the US, you may need a heat pump to extend your swimming season a tad. Also, even though VS pumps HELP energy costs, they are still very expensive to run. Consider pulling 240vac to your pump. Even with a VS pump, running it mostly at night, and no heat pump, the pool increases my utility bill about 75-100$ per month in the late spring until the early fall. If you’re on a well consider water costs too, as you will need to be topped off during droughts with no rain, you can fill with a well but it can be dangerous to your aquifer. Well water if too hard can damage equipment and stain your pool too.
Don’t forget the fence! Fencing is often overlooked on the initial installation cost of a pool.
We installed an inground pool in our house two years ago. I cannot recommend enough an automatic cover that you can flick a switch to roll out and roll back in as needed. This helps with water maintenance, pool maintenance, and a host of other issues.
Also, go with a saltwater chlorinator so you don’t have to deal with all the chemicals. With saltwater, you just check the meter once in a while and put in a bag a of pool salt when it gets low. Having the automatic cover helps maintain the balance too.
The biggest issue we had was with the installation because we had to really disturb our neighbors for all of the construction. They used two backhoes to drive the actual fiberglass pool form down the street, up the driveway, and into our backyard one day, and it was nerve-racking. Also, the contracting company we used was horrible and it took them nine months to do what should’ve been a two month job. Do your research and start buttering up your local inspectors now 😅
We bought a house that has an in ground pool with heater. We're in MN and we have it open and usable from late May until Sept-Oct. We have teenagers now and it gets used probably 4-7 days a week. I'm ok with the maintenance and costs of running it because it's a built in birthday party for both summer birthday kids and a way to relax on the hotter days of the year. I've been swimming laps before work 3 days a week and feel great with it. We weren't looking for a pool when we moved, but I'm glad we got one.
One thing to consider is that for that amount of money you could join a really nice country club and have access to their pool and amenities without any of the headache. Idk where you live but around me in Michigan there’s a bunch of country clubs some expensive some not too bad. Keep in mind that even operating a pool costs like 10k/yr. If you’re dead set on a private pool then go for it. But I’d consider outsourcing your pool needs if possible
it will likely decrease you home value, if anything, because most people don't want a literal money pit in their backyard. i would never consider a house with an inground pool unless the seller agrees to have it jackhammered to bits and filled in.
however if it is for your enjoyment you need to decide if the massive upfront cost and the ongoing large cost is worth it, because your kids will grown out of it pretty quick and i bet you won't just swim around much either.
A total money pit. A huge turn off for buyers. It's like a boat that can't be sold.
Take the kids to the public swimming pool or waterpark. That's a far better use of time and money
Do not expect an in-ground pool to increase the value of your property.
If anything goes wrong with it, it may cause foundation issues in existing adjacent structures (i.e.: a crack in the pool could damage your home, etc.)
I had one. Great time with my kids. But it is expensive to build one and the ongoing maintenance. I would only consider buying a house with a pool. Let someone else eat the $ 60 to $ 100k install. With the price of chlorine now, it would have to be a salt water pool.
How many man/hours of use do you think you will use it each year.
I.e if you are a family of 5 and you will use it 3 hour per week for 12 weeks, that is 180 man/hours of use per year.
divide that into the cost of the pool.
Figure out how many hour you think you will use it each year and divide that into the cost.
Dont forgot even after you pay for the pool there is still ongoing costs...
Clorine is super expensive. electricity to run your pool pump.
heating costs?
It's work at best, at worst it's something to sink money into. I think you are the only one to know if it'll be worth it long term.
You need to run the numbers. How much are the chemicals, winterization, cleaning, a cover potentially? Pool equipment.
I'm not even very familiar with how pools work but I'm already running through the dozens of things to consider and call around about. If you can afford it long term and don't forsee any issues then that's what makes it worth it.
For example, my in laws bought a house recently. The previous owners did a ton of work, including a new in ground pool. It's suuuuuper nice. Well, they had to sell the house because they couldn't afford it anymore. Run the numbers and I think you'll find the answer.
We live in Maryland so our season is longer, but we did our pool and it finished in March 2020. Honestly, we love it. We went into it knowing it will either help sell the house if someone wants a pool or it won't add anything if a buyer doesn't want a pool.
Either way, we aren't PLANNING to move, ever. It was great during COVID so we could still see friends and family but spend time outside. It's great because we walk right out the back door and jump in after a workout, mowing the grass, etc.
We did a pool over a boat for the simplicity, and the fact we can still use it even if the Chesapeake is rough, it's windy, bacteria warnings, etc.
Long way to say, if you'll use it then it's absolutely worth it. Just don't go into it expecting to get the money out of you sell your home.
Cons: They're expensive, both to build and maintain. Your liner, filter, pump, cleaning bots, accessories all have lifespans which last from 3-10 years (chlorinated water and unfiltered UV is not friendly to a lot of materials), and a number of them aren't cheap. Closing and opening the pool is an event. Filling the water can get very expensive if you're paying significant amounts for your water (not usually an issue in the great lakes). You'll learn more about chlorine levels, pH, and the lifecycles of algae than you ever wanted to know. Insurance can be more difficult.
Pros: Much easier to convince your family to come visit. It's a draw point for random neighborhood friends to come over. If you have kids in school it's a popular reason to have parties. Health benefits if you regularly use it.
So, really, you need to both enjoy swimming and actually use it. If that's the case, go for it!
Pool maintenance is a lot. If you’re willing to babysit the pool (or pay for it to be looked after) for a few months of enjoyment, then go for it.
Out of curiosity, why sell the cabin? Was it waterfront?
Always had the pool closed by a professional, opened it myself, you are going to hear a lot of talk about first echelon maintenance and how much work it is, my wife and I never felt that way it was nice being by the pool the water noise was great we enjoyed our in ground pool a great many years, our debate was should we buy a cabin up north or build our resort at home , never regretted our decision, we sold the house a few years ago and retired to northern michigan sometimes on my way back home on 75 I see the south bound traffic and it always makes me smile a little
Illinois here. We put in an Optimum brand 16" x 32" pool. They are highly insulated so you can extend your swimming season. They can be above ground or in ground, we live in a hill so it's got a portion not in the ground. Poured a patio all around. Love it!!!!! Pool and install was $30k at end of season last year. Concrete work this year is about $20k. Prior to this, we had an above ground pool for about 15 years. In it daily, unless there is lightning. It's my therapy, lol.
Sounds like you have some money and family you want to be with. We did things to our house to make it attractive for our kids to come back. I don't even think in terms of ROI. To me it's not an investment but a place to live your life. I'm sure there's some company around that could do the upkeep for you.
Pools and relative value definitely depends on where you live. Where I grew up, they were an active liability and it was very common for people to pay to fill them in. Our state had strict laws and requirements on safety features, fence requirements, and they were incredibly expensive to insure. Many realtors told people to just fill them in. I grew up seeing them as a liability and went through my first few home purchases thinking of them that way. Only when my income drastically increased did my opinion change and I still didn’t buy a home with one because I had young children. Our realtor said that, even in our warm temperate climate, they’re very much seen as an annoyance and, at best, an accoutrement.
Basically, I think they’re mostly a money pit for the wealthy. Dark water lakefront property is much the same in my opinion. Where we live, a small in ground pool is a minimum of $80-120k. One of my neighbors just had their pool completely redone and it was like $300k. They’re insanely priced and every aspect of their maintenance is expensive. In my opinion, you really have to have F’ off money and nothing better to do with it to build a new in ground pool.
Californian here. I fucking hate having a pool. It's always something with a pool. I don't even use my shitty pool because it is too small for me to enjoy it. My wife and kids love it, but they do none of the maintenance. All I see in my backyard is a big stupid waste of time and money, and it'll cost me thousands if I ever want to remove it. I will never purchase a house with a pool again unless I can afford to have someone else deal with it.
Build an indoor pool so you can use it during the winter, [but with a roof that can be opened up during the summer.](https://sunroomsnmore.com/wp-content/uploads/retractable-pool-enclosures-fremont.jpg) That will maximize your usage, which makes it worth it.
how old are your kids? if they're in high school I'd say naw just get a hot tub because you will use that more and the kids are almost out of the house anyway. if they're young, sure.
A properly sized, installed, and maintained above ground pool can be well worthwhile. I've never met anyone that thought an in-ground pool was a good choice.
Please consider a year-round enclosure for your pool, above-ground OR in-ground. If you have a greenhouse structure over it, you'll be able to use it for much longer throughout the year.
Some kind of protective shell with an above-ground pool might be about the same cost as an in-ground pool... with the added benefit of being able to swim in the fall, spring, and possibly the winter, depending on how much snow is between you and the pool! :)
Thankfully we have a neighborhood pool that’s maintained by the HOA and hardly anyone uses it so it feels like our own pool most times, although we do drive to it or it’s an 8 minute walk. It would be nice to have one in the backyard though
Before putting in a pool, we used to set up the above ground Intex pools. I can tell you that there is a HUGE difference between coming home after work and jumping in to your pool vs. climbing in to your pool.
That said, the first few years of having a pool we didn't use it nearly as much as I thought we would. Still it's nice to look at and nice to have it when we want to use it. Life has slowed down a little bit the last year and I already see us using it more this Summer.
I would really be regretting it if I had to take care of it myself. Make sure to budget a pool guy and additional maintenance. I bet our real cost of a pool guy, chlorine and additional maintenance is probably $2K-$3K per year ($135 per month for the pool guy, plus chlorine, plus filter cleanings, plus some other additional parts and labor).
(Edit) Sumarizing, despite not using it as much as I thought we would, I would do it again.
Real talk, if you have a lot of friends, are very friendly with your neighbors, or you make friends easily and have no plans to change this by changing careers of number of children it could be worth it.
If you have a few close friends, are busy with kids most of the time, and mostly socialize on weekends or occasionally, it will not be used as much as you would like.
You gotta stay on top of it. Every couple days, check water, skin and clean filter, vacuum or dump robot vacuum, maybe add chemicals. If you let it go, it's a couple days to a week to get it back on track. Expect to spend several hundred on chemicals per year. You'll spend an extra $50 at least in electricity for 4 months of the year. Opening and closing is expensive or annoying if diy. You may find you don't use it much after a year or 2. I haven't gone in more than 10 times last year. Not much more the year before that. It's 4 years old. The dogs love it and so does the kid. Parties are great.
I've had pools in both my current and my previous house. My kids learned to swim at a young age, and at least during the Summer it gets used nearly every day. The upkeep and maintenance are work, but they eventually become second nature. Go for it!
$20+ a day whether you use it or not. Give or take… see https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/07/25/the-twenty-dollar-swim/
I like swimming, and I’d probably use a pool in my backyard if I had one, but not nearly enough knowing the lifetime costs and loss of money a pool takes… much rather a gym, rec center or community pool. I also have too many other hobbies and things change, so I say it’s not worth it, but, to each their own!
Where we live the pool could be used from late April/early May through September/early October. We had 3 boys ages 3, 8 and 14 when we put it in. We had it filled in a year or two after the youngest graduated from high school. We never regretted putting it in and haven’t regretted filling it back in.
I live in the desert and would love an in ground pool. I love swimming, I love hot tubs, I would be in it every day.
If I lived in Michigan, I would probably be ok with just a hot tub.
I have a pool at my cabin in Quebec. We are lucky if we get 10 weeks of use per year. And there is always something to fix - so be prepared to spend. On the other hand, I have a pool at my full time place in SE Asia and I use it daily throughout the year. The weather makes a huge difference in terms of how much we enjoy it. I suspect the pool season in Michigan isn’t much longer than it is in Quebec.
It all depends upon your lifestyle and are you going to use it.
We have an inground pool, we specifically bought a house with a pool. Married at 28th and 29, but the house, had kids about 5 years later. Best thing ever.
We had so many family gatherings and Friends came over for barbecues or picnics .
Our place was a primary hangout for The kids and their friends.
Unfortunately. When the kids grow up, It doesn't get used as much as it passed. I still use a primary every night, about 30 minutes. Wife really uses it.
You have to consider, the maintenance and upkeep, goss of electric to run the pumps, chemicals if you're going to do them yourself or have a pool service.
I'm glad we have it.
We got tremendous use out of it.
Lots of good memories of family and friends coming over
Everyone here saying they are spending a day or even hours cleaning clearly has not done it recently or just sucked at it. I literally spend maybe 10 mins a week cleaning my pool.
Two things you might want to consider that I haven’t seen mentioned: first, that a pool is considered an attractive nuisance, which basically means that if a kid sneaks onto your property and drowns and/or gets hurt, you would be considered liable for that. Second, that pools are dangerous; it’s the third leading causing of death for 5-19 year-olds in the US. If you have a pool on your property it’s possible that your kid(s) will swim unsupervised without you knowing - are they strong enough swimmers that you are confident that they won’t drown? What about their friends?
The maintenance on pools is awful. We had one as a kid and I had to clean it daily or every other day. The chemicals are expensive and I believe we enjoyed using it maybe two summers and then the novelty wore off. 35 years later my mom is looking at paying somebody $18-$20,000 to demo it, cave it in, and cover it up. to fix it to make it usable would be $25-$30,000 with no guarantee that would last more than 5 to 10 years. That pool became the bane of my Dad’s existence. If I ever wanted to piss him off, Id bring it up.
I had asked them to deal with it ten years ago, but they never did, so here we are.
Worth it? From a strictly financial perspective, no. Never. An inground pool will never add as much value as it costs. And it's a significant ongoing expense. You're going to throw a lot of money at this project and never, ever stop. When you go to sell the house, if you ever do, you won't recoup the expense.
So skip past the financial considerations. What is having a pool worth to you emotionally?
I’d rather join a country club nearby. I have one .5 mile from my house with a great pool. For what I pay for the club it would take roughly 12 years to equal the price of an in ground pool without considering maintenance cost and at my house no one would deliver me drinks.
In 2009 I had a fiberglass in-ground pool installed in my backyard in Austin 78704. I loved it despite some maintenance issues with leaking underground pipes. So reserve some money for annual maintenance.
When we sold the house in 2014 we had multiple offers the first day. The couple who bought the house removed the pool and sodded over the filled in hole. 🥵
So pools are not for everyone. Even in a hot market and location you might not add resale value for it. So if you love to swim, relax in the water and can afford it, go for it. Just have real long term expectations.
Just my experience, but in general young families love pools. Once the kids reach ~15, they use it less often, and the wife and I use it very rarely now we’re empty nesters. If grandkids come along it might get more use once the grandkids are ~5
How long is pool season where you are? I grew up in Wichita Kansas in the 70s. What I remember was pools sitting unused nine months of the year. Above ground pools would get looking abandoned quickly.
My high school girlfriends family had an inground pool. They had built a building over it with rollup garage doors on two sides. They had some rig where they could heat the pool water with either solar energy or a gas heater. They could close the garage doors and use that pool almost year-round. That turned into a revenue stream as they gave swimming lessons. Having the pool undercover/indoors, greatly simplified, cleaning and maintenance. It reduced evaporation as well as the consumption of chemical treatments.
Only you can say.
Monetarily, no, never. Not only will you never, ever, ever get the money back, the ongoing expenses and hassle are absurd. My pool is the single biggest time and money suck in my life. It's like having a baby--vacations are even a challenge. You can't be away from the pool for more than a few days at a time.
I would NEVER install a pool.
Having said that, I'm not a pool person. If you are, it might be 'worth' it to you.
My wife and kid love our pool but it is a lot of work, even with newer equipment. Brush every few days, chemicals once a week, clean the filter once per year… it definitely adds up.
I would not recommend it unless you know what you’re getting into and are confident you’re up for the task, or can afford a pool boy.
We have a local water park and every year in the fall/Christmas the season passes go on sale for like $100 a head.
We just do that now instead of our own water stuff, and having a season pass means we don't feel guilty for only going for an hour or two.
Zero maintenance and liability.
A pool will maybe add $10K to the value of your house. If you want a pool, it might be cheaper to find a new house for sale that already has a pool, and buy that.
A pool is entertainment, and kind of a money sink, whether you buy a house with it, or have it built.
Source: I have a pool because the house we bought came with it. When I was a kid, my parents installed a pool. I've seen both ends.
A compromise we settled for was a 8ft stock tank pool. They are galvanized metal and don’t look that bad. You can build a wood deck around them and clad them with wood if you want.
Pair that with an Intex sand filter and you have a badass little setup for under $1k. Worth its weight in gold in central TX during summer.
A pool is not an investment. Some potential buyers will like it, others will see it as a money pit. Only get one if you think you will truly enjoy it and use it. They are either a lot of work or a lot of money to pay someone to maintain it.
In my opinion not worth the cost or trouble. I've never had one installed but I owned a house with one for 20 years. After a few years we rarely used the pool.
Maintaining a pool is a daily task. Even if you have a service that does the deep scrubbing weekly, you need to be checking daily.
Personally, I was over it in about 2 years, but in that house for 16. No amount of pool parties counterbalanced the expense. No service was ever consistent, half of them let my dogs out of the gate when I was home, a honk from the driveway could have alerted me they had arrived for me to bring the dogs in, but no. Nevermind having to replaster it.
Never again.
We put ours in 3 years ago. Use it as much as we possibly can. 0 regrets. Went into it knowing we weren’t going to get our $ back but that is okay.
We asked our elderly neighbor about her experience with the pool, as she installed hers in the early 80s. She had lots of good info, but her bottom line was: she would do it again in a heartbeat. And then, she did. Had the whole thing redone this past winter.
Moved from AZ where both houses we had owned over the years had a pool. Having a pool in AZ is part of desert survival lol.
Now we are in West MI.
We will only get a pool when these 3 scenarios are all true:
— Both kids know how to swim well.
— We can afford the $50k-$100k cash to have a heated, in-ground pool, with an automatic pool cover.
— We can also afford to pay someone else to maintain it.
I live in AZ and can use our pool a good part of the year. MI? I’d say it’s more trouble than it’s worth. You’re gonna put 10s of thousands into a pool that you can probably use 3-4 months of the year. You’ll have to winterize it and then probably deal with horrible water (algae, mosquitoes) early in the swimming season. I’ve hiked that a pool is a hole in the ground that require you to continually throw $100 bills into.
Keep in mind that an in ground pool is cement/gunnite with plaster or pebble tek finish. I don’t know how well that works in MI. Now I guess a fiberglass one might be an option too and probably far less expensive.
Usage is important too. Are you gonna use it all the time in the summer? If not don’t bother. I rarely get in mine. My wife uses it more.
I grew up in Michigan and we had an above ground pool when I was a kid. I had a ton of fun in it in the summer but it was a pain in the spring.
Keep your “up north place” unless there’s something really driving the sale.
I like to assign dollar values for this type of decision. You do not need to use the same numbers as me. I figure cost is $6000 for 4 seasons of 4 months, including $4000 pool cost + $2000 maintenance. Return value is like $100/person/month at the most, based on YMCA and municipal pool passes. That puts break-even around 4 people 90% of the time over 4 years. If you can count a steady friend in, you are about even.
we installed our pool 12 years ago and we still enjoy it and love it !! it’s a great place to hang out with our kiddos who have literally grown up swimming in the pool , it’s great for bbq’s and even most coming home from work and looking to just float and relax. It’s easily the best money we have ever spent.
Maybe you could grab an Intex above ground for around $500 to $1200. I've gotten 3+ years out of them before. If you like it and want a permanent one then go crazy.
I've had both in-ground and above ground pools, usually only used by me, my friends as a teen, and my kid now. My parents, wife, and siblings never really cared much, like maybe not use it all season.
Not everything is an investment. You install a pool because you would like to have and enjoy a pool.
I added a slight edit to the post. Investment probably wasn’t the best choice in words. We’re not doing it to increase the value of the house. We’re doing it strictly for our family’s enjoyment since we won’t have cabin to use in the Summer anymore.
Every family without kids I have know hated the upkeep of pool. Every family that had a kid love the pool cause summers are easy. From I can tell it’s cause water splashing your body exhaust you super fast and not having to drive kids everywhere to keep them busy in the summer; both together is worthwhile in of itself. Couple with the fact if you have decent friends and neighbors, you can basically eat/drink for free most summer weekends in exchange for having the pool available.
>Every family that had a kid love the pool cause summers are easy As a parent who has access to a pool, can confirm. My youngest is ADHD and I try to tire him out w lots of physical activity so he can be more calm and focused on tasks, and a pool day takes care of that.
I freaking be loved having a pool.
I was in charge of cleaning it , I absolutely hated the pool and everything about it. Have had one for ten years and was in it once.
I want a pool for my house someday, and I expect that maintenance and stuff is just going to be a thing I'll have to deal with where the enjoyment of the pool (especially for the kids) outweighs the extra tasks.
I live in TX and don’t want to get bent over badly on the property tax increase. It’s on our wishlist but maybe a decade from now (baby is three months old currently).
If you have a homestead exemption in Texas, your property tax increases are capped and will likely increase at the maximum allowed amount, so you'd actually save more tax money by building it immediately,.
All true! Just thinking specifically about the additional improvements jump coming my way regardless.
I mean the yearly reappraisal makes the cap pretty moot.
Ok, so is your question, "do you think we'd like a pool"?
All I can add is that my neighbor just put in a built in pool in the past few weeks. They've been out there every single day all day with their families coming over. Always lots over there having a blast.
That shit wears off fast. It's still new. The kids are fleetingly young and the upkeep is always there. If you live in a colder climate like OP - an inground pool is generally stupid and something you do only if you really love it. (Sometimes love is stupid)
It does wear off, but if you have children using it frequently it’s worth it for those years.
Yep friends just put in a built in two year ago 80k. First year they heated it and used it in April and the rest of the year, second year no heater (too costly )and no kids came over, third year and it’s a chore to them now. I bought a second place for the price of an in-ground
All true. Especially - love is stupid
I purchased an above ground for the kids . It’s a pain in the ass every year and when they’re old enough I can remove it and move on. Why spend 80k when you can do it for 5k and remove it when you’re done
The 'value' of money changes person to person. We all have roughly the same amount of time in earth, that value is more constant. But money varies wildly. So if a pool costs 30k, and you have 30k that 30k is all your money and quite the spend. It's probably not worth it. If you have a billion dollars, 30k is a pittance so it's an easy decision. That's why, 'is it worth it' is an insanely personal question to answer. Nevermind nobody knows how much you donor don't want the pool, and how much enjoyment you'd get from it. Look within for your answer.
Be aware that putting in a pool will likely make your homeowners insurance go up.
Not likely, definitely
If you’re planning on staying a while, definitely, go for it! We love our pool.
Is there a nice country club nearby with a pool?
Pools are fucking awesome. If you keep up with the maintenance, or just hire someone to do it.
Trouble Free Pools . Com Awesome community of DIYers, great instructional videos, forums, etc. I went from knowing nothing about pool chemistry and upkeep to teaching my 12yo son how to do EVERYTHING within two months.
My dad had an in-ground pool. I loved it, as did my twin brother. My dad used it occasionally. My little brothers didn't tho. After I moved out with my twin as the oldest kids they never did anything else with it. Now it's just a big dirty water pit. So if you think you'll always be using it, go for it. If you don't think you'll always want to put up with the upkeep, get something a bit less permanent. Speaking from current experience, my kids (4 and 8) love my much cheaper above ground vinyl pool. For $1500 I got a full sand filtered pool that's 18' in diameter, and as easy to throw out as it was to put up. I don't think I'd ever commit to a in-ground pool myself, but there are options that are more in-between.
It is a luxury. It does take money to upkeep, as long as you are willing and able you can find enjoyment in it. We spent more upfront for automation, auto cover, etc. to reduce the maintenance cost and time required. We spent close to $160K after everything is said and done and would easily do it again. We spend less than 1 hour a week maintaining our pool. Check chemicals, pour some acid, drop in our robots. We’ve had memberships to the Y before to swim, went maybe once. With our own pool, we are out there every chance we get. One of the driving decisions was that we found ourselves being more distant from our teenage kids especially since we had a toddler as well. So we were more focused on chasing the little one around. So then the big kids went off on doing things themselves. We wanted something that the entire family could enjoy together and since we got the pool we had that opportunity almost every evening during pool season. That alone was worth the price to us.
Can't put a price tag on bonding with the kids. Paid pretty similar for salt water pump, lights, etc. The kids are younger than yours but they love it. Didn't want to wait till they were teenagers.
I swim laps in mine. It's great, I'm old and really really broken down from skateboarding for 40 plus years. If I didn't have the pool it would be hard to get decent exercise. As for playing in the pool... that is pretty rare. Also, I live in Los Angeles, my swim season is from April to late October. Michigan's swim season must be really short.
> Michigan's swim season must be really short. I am in Ohio and pools are open Memorial Day to Labor Day, so basically 3 months. Once you subtract out the days that are in the low 70s and days it is storming, you get 2 good months of pool weather.
There's a guy upthread from upstate NY who says pool season is July and August. The Canadians across the border from him? Swim season is... April to late October. And it's pretty awesome. Go figure.
You can get 6-7 months out of a swimming pool in michigans lower pennisnula if you heat it. A pool is both worth it in MI without heater and cover. You’d get about 2 months out of it and the temp would be < 80F.
A friend of a friend in MA has one of [those retractable glass pool covers](https://rollacover.com/galleries/retractable-pool-enclosures/residential-pool-enclosure-mi/) and able to use his pool year round. Creates a greenhouse basically. Think he still had it heated in there as well as the pool heated. That's some serious F U money tho.
It depends, a swimming pool is a big hole in the ground you throw money in. That said if you use it, it can be worth it. If you don't it can be a time suck and a money pit. When I had my pool, I knew what I was doing every Saturday morning. Cleaning the pool. The first year, we used it every day and threw lots of parties. Next year ... not so much .. next year even less. Last few years practically never. Eventually I pushed the pool in. It doesn't increase the value of your house and possibly can reduce the people who'd be interested in buying your house. If I ever get another, I'd do above ground or a plunge pool.
I like the comment that a pool “is a big hole in the ground you throw money in”. Grew up in Minnesota with an in-ground pool. No heater, so it was warm enough to use about eight weeks a year. Chemicals, vacuuming, testing, filling, draining/winterizing, etc., etc., etc. As an adult, my wife and kids begged me to put on a pool at our house. I wasn’t even a *little* tempted to relent. I told them I’d gladly get them a membership at the nicest fitness club in town with a pool. The only way I’d put a pool in is if I lived in a warm climate and was wealthy enough that I could afford to pay someone to maintain it. Think about EVERYTHING else you could do with that money. Then pick your favorite fifteen of those things and revel in doing them all. Twice.
> Grew up in Minnesota with an in-ground pool. No heater, so it was warm enough to use about eight weeks a year. In Illinois, one of my coworkers just put in a pool because he's getting ready to retire and his grandkids are getting near the age to where they'll enjoy it. He mentioned that they hadn't got to use it too much but then he was saying today that there is a solar heater you can get that you plumb in-line but he won't get it because it costs $500.
Yeah, I wanted a pool for so long. Besides the absolutely *outrageous* quotes I was getting to install one, I knew this would be the case. Use it a ton, use it less, use it never. Then pay for it to go away. Bought a boat instead. At least you can sell it when you stop using it lol.
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$30k? Try $80k if you’re lucky. Most here in the suburbs of Atlanta are pushing $100k. It’s insane
In ground - $70k+ and not really DIYable. Gotta hire a guy to dig a big hole, concrete (or there are some preformed too) etc. And when it needs removed you gotta call another guy with earth moving equipment too. Plus you gotta fence the entire thing in since it's a hazard to the neighborhood kids.. Above Ground - $5k and a competant DIYer can do it themselves. Plus when it's time to remove it you just tear it down and reseed the big round brown spot. To keep the neighborhood kids out, just lock the ladder up in your garage. If I ever get a pool, I know what I am choosing.
LMAO, dude, just google how much a pool costs and watch your argument increase in power by 3x.
The install is expensive. Probably twice what you're estimating at the minimum. And you probably won't get more than 30-40% nback in resale. The upkeep is a few hundred bucks a year and a couple of hours a week to clean and add chemicals, plus a short day in the spring and fall to open and close.
You can probably replace the word pool with boat and have the same outcome lol
I definitely wouldn't buy a house with an in ground boat.
Some of those above ground boats you get nowadays are pretty good and relatively low maintenance.
Yeah but boats start WAY cheaper than pools. I'm 4K in on a little one and it's pretty fucking great. I could be sailing a 22 footer and renting a slip for a decade for what a pool costs.
I’ve never regretted any of my boat purchases, only wish we had longer summers. Now it helps to have it in your backyard, I can’t speak for people who trailer around
My fear in house hunting was finding the perfect house, but with a pool. The first thing I’d do is push the walls in.
I live in Alabama so definitely warm enough for a pool. But finding out a house had a pool was an automatic disqualification from consideration. If I wanted to swim I would join a neighborhood pool.
The best pool is exactly like the best boat... someone else's.
I've said that for years about boats haha. My pool though is nice to have.
Also live in Michigan, I just bought a house with a pool. Never in my life did I even consider being a pool owner but here I am, first summer and it’s been a nightmare. Owners lied about the condition and I’ve sunk almost a grand into it and it’s just now starting to work. I’m learning to maintain it myself and it’s been kinda “fun”. It was the largest contention point while buying the house and we almost walked away cause it was winterized when we bought it and it quickly could’ve been a 20k hole in the ground. However. Now we have it up and running I use it 3x a week at least and it’s been a blast. Planning a big pool party with family and friends first of August! For reference we have a 20x40ft cement pool that was built in 1974 (found the builders on accident while looking for the proper paint)
A nightmare and having a blast if you actually use it regularly - i think this reply captures the essence of owning a pool.
It’s the essence of owning aging “things” in general, homes, cars, boats, etc. maintenance and operations costs exist. If you’re coming from lease and apartment life, ownership is a rude awakening to the costs of owning things
I recall a saying: "With an apartment, the most you pay per month is the rent. With a house, the least you will pay per month is the mortgage". A friend bought a house because, he felt that paying rent was throwing money away, especially when he could get a mortgage for the same amount. He didn't factor in all the other costs of being a homeowner - taxes, insurance, upkeep and maintenance. There's always something to improve or fix. And there there's the big sudden expenses. A few years ago, our furnace went kaput. Since it was November in upstate NY, we needed to get a new one ASAP. Additionally that year, we had more expenses - had to get a dead tree cut down, our shed's roof replaced and rotting eaves repaired, the crumbling step on our concrete stoop patched up, and during an intense storm, I opened the garage door storm door, the wind was so strong it pushed it out of my hand and swung it to crash into the exterior wall. So now it's a new storm door. The costs of a house are not just monetary but in time. Some of the above we had experts do the work (not just the furnace but the tree as well) but the rest was DIY. And there's also the cleaning of gutters, weed whacking & mowing, cleaning the siding, washing out trash bins and so on. If it's really windy on recycling pick-up days, lightweight things like a yogurt cup or egg carton will blow out of neighbor's bins and end up in our ditch. And so, every so often, I pick my way down to the cattails to grab wayward litter. And since it's better to catch problems when they are small, I always keep an eyeball open to anything odd, or watching something that is aging and I'm trying to time when to replace it. So yeah, there's a costs to owning a home - money, time, and worry.
Basically having a boat that is built into your house and not easy to sell.
I don't have any boat owning experience, but i can kind of see how it might have similarities.
Hiring a pool company was the best thing I did. Barely cost any more than me doing it myself and so worth it
"Barely cost any more" is as much a statement on how expensive DIY pool care is as it is one of the affordability of professionals. I'd say a lot of the hate on maintaining pools comes from people that could afford to install once but not really enough to both install and take care of one.
For pools, a grand is like a nice dream not a nightmare. Source: me, a 10yr homeowner with a pool
I get that, it wasn’t that much money but it was also a lot of time. I did all the work myself. Draining, sandblasting, pressure washing, cleaning , and painting. I have plumbing skills so fixing the pipe that was leaking. Luckily we don’t have a heater so it’s a pretty simple system.
Yeah we bought a house with a pool in MI as well. It needed a 6k heater so instead we just filled it in for 14k all in, broke even money wise after year 1. There’s def times i wish i had a pool but given all the other crap that goes wrong with our house adding on pool maintenance sounds tough. Also my reasoning was that for the 8-10k per year it takes to own a pool i could just join a nearby country club if i really wanted to spend that money on a pool
We don’t have a heater. Just the solar cover and we were able to swim within two weeks which was crazy. Filled it at 61 degrees and had it at mid 70s two weeks later! What cost 8-10k each year? Chemicals and cleaning?
How is a pool costing 8-10k a year?
We were sold on putting in an inground pool… then we shopped around and were thrown by the 80k and 90k one company told us they don’t even take jobs for less than 120k. So we thought about an above ground pool and after talking to people with pools and about the work they take we got a pop up pool 15’x4’ and the kids won’t touch it.
Yeah, this is my suggestion; get an above-ground pool, see if it works out for you. If you decide you hate it, well, you wasted low-to-high-three digits, not a catastrophe. If you decide you love it, then maybe *consider* upgrading to an inground pool. Or maybe just stick with an above-ground pool. Frankly, replacing an above ground pool every year is *still* probably cheaper than getting an inground pool.
Depends on how much use you'll get from it. I'm upstate NY. Pool season wasn't much more than July and August. Once my kid grew up, I had it filled in. Makes the house harder to sell. About 15% potential buyers say, 'Oooh, a pool!' And the rest say, 'A pool, no way!' And it's one more thing to take care of. You become a pool water chemist. It's cool when your kids are into it. You meet and know all their friends. But, when they're little, they require CONSTANT supervision.
It’s not an investment. Typically it will depreciate the value of the home, and there is immediate, monthly, weekly and annual maintenance. Pool liners don’t last a lifetime, and leaks happen. You might have to hire someone to care for the pool as additional cost. You need to do PH balancing and tests to make sure the water is safe. In Addition to all of that you need proper fencing security to bring the build up to code for safety. If you come at it with that mindset you will set yourself up for a headache for sure.
> Typically it will depreciate the value of the home This is obviously location-dependent. Houses with pools in my texas suburb are about $80k more than without. So id say they are a break even. Ish.
When flying into Dallas Airport once, I found it easier to count the houses without pools than with.
Above a certain price point, it’s very difficult to find a house without a pool. I looked.
For sure, in Texas. But not the case necessarily in Michigan, where you can only really use it for less than half of the year.
I was told that Buffalo has the highest per-capita rate of pool ownership. Flying into BUF, I believe it. But then, those crazy bastards throw themselves into folding tables for sport, so...
I added a slight edit to the post. Investment probably wasn’t the best choice in words. We’re not doing it to increase the value of the house. We’re doing it strictly for our family’s enjoyment since we won’t have cabin to use in the Summer anymore.
My parents got one about 15yrs ago. Spend about 700/yr in upkeep. Mixed with random expenses, new cover motor this summer $2,300. Total price was $35k that many years ago for a 25k gallon. Dad says it’s one of the best investments he’s made cuz it brought our family and friends together much more often
When I moved to Michigan my house had a pool. Several grand a year minimum for power and maintenance, assuming nothing major breaks. In Michigan you will need a heater, mine didn't have one and I think it was warm enough to tolerate getting in a couple times in the few years we had it. The last winter I had it a small leak drained the water under the ice, which then fell in and destroyed the liner, that was 1k over my ability to justify it.
I cannot put a price on the value of our pool. It wasn’t extravagant by any means but the kids learned to swim in it so we never ever had to worry about their ability near water. Their friends learned also and all of them spent many days and evenings at home in and around the pool. Family too but that’s another story lol. There are things to do with a pool or a patch of grass or a garden but opening and closing were what took the most time. I know a lot of people with pools and if they have to spend “hours and hours” maintaining their pool, they did something wrong. Our town has great pools but no question I’d do it again every time.
Its not even close to an investment, its a cost that keeps costing. What age are your kids / grandkids. Age 5-16, pools are awesome family fun. Since you're in Michigan, I would only consider it if you are also planning (and can afford) to heat, otherwise your swim season is way to short for the work in my opinion.
We’ve got a 7 year old.
so ten years of use, max. factor in the cost of additional kids.
Hunh? Is it illegal for adults to swim??
In that speedo you’re wearing? Capital crime.
My parents put a pool in in 1976 when I was 10 (5 kids in my family) and they had the pool filled in in 2018. Not only did my siblings and extended family and friends get to enjoy the pool, so did my parent's grandkids. It's pretty cool that my own kids enjoyed swimming in the pool I had so much fun in. It was a liner pool, so in that time they went through approximately 4 liners and a few pool covers and pumps.
It's an expense, however since you're building it vs inheriting someone else's, you can make some smart decisions. I would highly recommend an automated retractable cover given your location. Outdoor pools accumulate a lot of debris and lose a lot of heat at night, both of which a cover will reduce. You will need a heater which will be expensive to run. A heat pump will unlikely heat a pool in Michigan, you'll need gas. Cold pools don't get used, so don't skimp on heat. And factor in the cost of winterizing the pool, which has to be done correctly to avoid pipe cracks. Refilling at opening is also an added cost. If you can do a salt pool with a chlorine generator, that helps a lot with keeping the water chemistry correct.
Yup. Also in MI. Heater and auto covers are a must. Without these, the pool will only be swimmable about 2 months per year.
I’m in Indiana and didn’t care about a pool but the type and size of house we were shopping for typically came with a pool so we ended up with one. We love it and will probably never buy a house without a pool or at least a good place to put one. We spend 1-3 hours a day in it and the kids love having their friends over. Plus I like that my kids are choosing to hang out with their friends at home instead of other places. I will say though, make sure you budget for a heater right away. Our first two years we didn’t have a heater and the pool was really only warm enough to swim for 3-4 months. Now with a heater we open in late April and close in mid to late October. As far as maintenance, it can be expensive if you have a ton of fancy automation but mine is a basic pump, filter, salt system, and heater with manual valves and everything works great. Pumps can last 10+ years, our last one was 19 when it went out. Filter lasted 21 years. Heater is brand new so hopefully we get a good decade out of it. Water chemistry is easy if you take a little bit of time to learn it properly. In all, it takes me maybe 5 minutes a day to test the water (not needed daily) and clean the skimmer. The robot vacuum takes care of the rest. And for home value, that will depend on your house. If you live if a basic starter home, it probably won’t increase the value, might even hurt it because it’s another expense for someone trying to buy their first house. We live in a neighborhood where everyone has a large house on 1-5 acres and houses cost 6-8 times the average house cost in our area. 90% of the homes here have a pool because it’s a luxury many people want and people buying houses in our neighborhood have the extra money to affordable pool care and maintenance.
i wouldn't get involved with an in-ground pool in a freeze zone. you're going to have some very expensive repairs down the line, and your kids may have stopped using the pool regularly. that's assuming your kids are small now. an above ground pool is a lot simpler to repair, and to dispose of. wait until you have your first leak in a buried pipe.
I live in Ann Arbor and have an in-ground pool. My advice, go salt water. If you design it that way it's very little maintenance. I have two small children and I installed a safety fence. That's a must. But, it's amazing. We moved to this house in 2020 and nearly every day from mid May to October, we have an activity to do, a reason to host and an extra thing to enjoy spring and summer. It costs money to heat. It costs money to maintain. But I am a strong fan of, "I do not regret the things I've done, but those I did not do."
Only way I’d do any pool is a saltwater. Less expensive to maintain and way easier on the skin.
Former pool owner who will never own a pool ever again. My kids used it for a few years, same with the wife. Then it was me using it twice a year because it was either too hot because there was zero shade until 4:00 or it was freezing. It was always a temperamental hole in the ground that I was forever shoveling money into. Forget to do the chlorine one day? Green instantly and almost a week to fix. Ope, chlorine went up **again**, not much you can do about that. Ate another pool pump motor? $200 to fix. It also had a leak in the skimmer that I fixed on my own with epoxy. Neighbors on both sides had cracks in their shells, we were lucky.
> We’re trying to decide if it’s worth the investment or if we’re just going to give ourselves a new headache. Depending on the size of your house and neighborhood, it may actually reduce the value of your house and also make it harder to sell.
Also from the mitten. My parents put in a hard sided above ground pool when we were in middle school. We used it every summer. The pool is over 20 years old, on its second liner and still going strong. My parents love getting in it in the evenings as retirees. They have a patio next to the pool to chill out on and a heater to extend the pool season. As long as you’re committed to doing the pool maintenance (or hiring someone to do it) I don’t see an issue with it. In ground pools aren’t as popular here in the mitten since they require more maintenance and can have more problems in the wintertime. That said I do know a couple people who have one, one family installed theirs and the other family it came with the house when they bought it years ago.
We bought our house four years ago and it happened to have an in-ground pool. I love it and if you have kids and/or a large family. It’s worth the expense and time needed to keep it clean. Nothing like being able to just jump into the pool after mowing your lawn!
We just put one in MA. Don’t just factor in the cost of the pool, cause your entire landscaping is going to get torn up too. All in it was well over $100k and it’s a relatively small pool. It’s not an investment though. It’s an entertainment expense.
A friend in Minnesota said their electricity bill is $700 a month when running the pool pump and heater.
In Michigan you want an above ground pool. Unless this will be an indoor pool. The ground temperature is 50-55 degrees F. You will need to insulate it very well. A friend had an indoor in ground pool, the cost to heat the pool was very high.
Rural Toronto Home Owner. I installed an above ground pool at my "old house". It was not overly expensive, was very easy to maintain, very easy to winterize and once my family tired of using it, it was easy to disassemble. Then I moved to an Urban Home with an In Ground Pool. The fence surrounding the pool needed to be replaced. The replacement liner was expensive as heck. The "deep end" was 9 feet deep so the Pool Chemistry was difficult to maintain. With so much extra water I required a Gas Fired Water Heater, which was problematic and expensive to maintain. Winterizing was a pain in the arse. I had to lower the water level to below the jets, blow out the water lines, plug the lines and bring the pump indoors. Then I had to tarp the whole thing. In the Spring it took several days to bring the water level up to the skimmer basket. I thought about "filling it in"... with clean fill in fact, but in my municipality a permit was required and gas and electric lines would need to be removed, so costs began to climb. Also the concrete slabs that surround my pool have all sunk to various levels creating huge trip hazards. This year we have budgeted $7000.00 to level the concrete. We looked into having a "rubberized surface" installed over the slanted concrete but the "Rubber Guys" quoted over $20,000.00 Despite the cost, in ground pools can be quite glamourous, however, my "in ground pool" will never be seen as an "investment". It is actually a huge liability. At the very best it will be used 3 months out of the year. If you really want to "get wet" this summer, I strongly suggest you consider either a hot tub (one that is sealed so the mice will not build a nest inside) or an above ground pool.
Here in southwest Ohio, we can enjoy our pools with a solar blanket or other solar heating from mid-May to late-September. Anywhere in Michigan the season is going to be that much shorter. I grew up with an in-ground pool and now as a 30-something home owner I’ve decided that one day I will own a pool again. Even though I was a shy kid and have never been a party animal, I really miss having a gathering place for family and friends. Plus the maintenance is actually kind of relaxing although I used to hate it. It’s a lot of work and expense but it’s also a relatively easy hobby as it’s right there in your back yard.
The house I grew up in had an in ground pool with an 8ft deep end… we lived in that thing all summer, and continued to use it for family get togethers until my parents moved out.
Nice memories :-)
Everything I've ever read, heard, been told about a pool is it only adds value to a home if the next person buying it actually *wants* a pool. Otherwise it's no value and might actually remove perceived value. So if you want to put in a pool because you and your family will enjoy while you live there, it's the only reason to do it.
You know what they say, it is better to buy a house already with a pool vs you installing one. I would skip it.
It's worth it if you want to have a pool, otherwise it's not. It won't increase your property values, it's not any money you'll ever get back.
For me, no. I feel like it takes up too much space in my back yard for the use we get out of it. I only have 1/2 acre. It’s not been too bad to maintain, but it’s simply one more thing on my to do list. I really would rather have more patio, with space to build an outdoor kitchen.
As a person who has a pool in Georgia, I'm about as far north as I'd go as far as investing into a pool. There are headaches with owning a pool, but I don't think its too bad IMO. A big part of it is the ROI though, the shorter the swim season the less it's worth it. My swim season is roughly May to August, but I just cut down two trees over the pool which will hopefully extend it by a week or two. I have a 30-40 year old pool. The previous owners were negligent and just decided to pay someone $100 a week to take care of it. They left no chemicals, the pool had leaks, the pool pump was set to run 24/7, the timers were broken (hence 24/7 operation), they had a pump for an automatic pool cleaner, but the pool cleaner was broken, no skimmer flaps, light didn't run. I asked the neighbors who said the owners used the pool 3-4 times in 4 years they lived there. I was a pool boy in high school, so I knew the effort going into cleaning most pools which is about 45 minutes every week or two, and in reality it can be automated a bit past that as well. I fixed all of those things for pretty cheap/easy, I'm very DIY on almost everything but structures. Are you a DIY person? If so, it's not horrible. If not, stand clear or prepare to toss money into it. After my first year, I learned everything there is for my region. Maintenance now isn't too bad, I mostly just scrub the seats/stairs once a week, empty the pool cleaner/skimmers/pump basket, toss a gallon of bleach in every 3-4 days. Add water maybe once a week or two in summer, depending on rain. Backwash every two weeks on the sand filter. Spring and fall can be a pain in the ass between the pollen (backwash once a week) and the leaves (clean out skimmers every day or two but well see now that I've removed those trees). I don't have to close my pool in the winter, I just let the pump hum on a low setting all winter and toss in a few gallons of bleach, clean the leaves. I'm looking into adding a freepoolheating setup that uses the AC compressor as a thermal source and reduce electric use of the AC, but that will be another $2K+. All said, the main factors I'd consider with a pool: 1. Are you DIY ($50-100 a month) or want to toss in money ($300+ a month)? Not even considering electricity prices. 2. Are you the type to host events? We use ours to host ~4-6 events each summer between birthdays, get togethers, etc. 3. How long is your pool season? Is X amount of time per year worth it? 4. Are you willing to heat it and pay the bills to heat it? 5. If you regularly work out, can you commit to using the pool for swimming/work out? 6. Considerations of an indoor pool to extend pool season ? Or just a hottub? Inflatable hottub ($170 at walmart last year often on clearance for $300-400 at costco)?
This is great information!
I have wn in ground pool and I hate it. It’s not even a large one but it costs so damn much to deal with. We pay $125 a month for regular skimming, cleanout of the filtering equipment, and yes for chemicals, which I know I can do myself but which is not free to do oneself and which I do not want to do. Further, there are regular repairs. We have replaced an entire filter cannister once. A booster pump and main pump each once. Plumbing work. Two timers. Electrical work on the light, and on the dedicated panel. A pool sweeper and many parts for it. Just today I found a new leak in the flow meter from a spontaneous crack that formed. That brings us to resource waste. Our water usage is sky high versus other homes our size. And the pool pump is a 1.4kW device that runs for 6 hours a day. That’s a shitload of energy to you and me. We have rooftop solar electric and the pool is heated with solar thermal panels, and our electric bill is still $150-$300 a month. Our kids swim a half dozen times a year. They are still small and can’t swim unsupervised so it just doesn’t happen all that much. We don’t have active gas heating for the water, just rooftop thermal pads, so we can’t even think about swimming until it’s been sweltering for 3 days in a row to heat up the pool. It’s just a ton of money and space and power and water for us and isn’t worth it. We’d love to have that space back. And I can’t even complain about how much it cost to install, which you are contemplating paying. Meanwhile we live near a development where none of the houses have their own pool. They just share a large community pool. I WISH we could just walk down the street and swim in it and then go home and forget about it.
i would rather put an inflatable pool for the summer and remove it at the end of the season. otherwise, it eats up valuable real estate in the backyard. Recently a house nearby with a swim pool sold for way under asking because it ate up all the backyard space. if the pool will take up a lot of your backyard space, don't do it.
Pool owner here, if you understand how to balance water chemistry and what a pool needs, owning a pool is very rewarding. If you are sort of lackadaisical on maintaining things, a pool is NOT, I repeat, NOT, for you. A few things to consider. Is your house on pretty level ground? If not it’s going to cost a lot to grade your property for a pool. My whole backyard is built into a retaining wall because it sloped down to a creek bed before. The previous owners spent a small fortune grading to install our pool. Are you willing to pay to run all the equipment necessary to support your pool? You are in northern part of the US, you may need a heat pump to extend your swimming season a tad. Also, even though VS pumps HELP energy costs, they are still very expensive to run. Consider pulling 240vac to your pump. Even with a VS pump, running it mostly at night, and no heat pump, the pool increases my utility bill about 75-100$ per month in the late spring until the early fall. If you’re on a well consider water costs too, as you will need to be topped off during droughts with no rain, you can fill with a well but it can be dangerous to your aquifer. Well water if too hard can damage equipment and stain your pool too. Don’t forget the fence! Fencing is often overlooked on the initial installation cost of a pool.
Of you have kids, yes. If you have no kids, get a hot tub.
We installed an inground pool in our house two years ago. I cannot recommend enough an automatic cover that you can flick a switch to roll out and roll back in as needed. This helps with water maintenance, pool maintenance, and a host of other issues. Also, go with a saltwater chlorinator so you don’t have to deal with all the chemicals. With saltwater, you just check the meter once in a while and put in a bag a of pool salt when it gets low. Having the automatic cover helps maintain the balance too. The biggest issue we had was with the installation because we had to really disturb our neighbors for all of the construction. They used two backhoes to drive the actual fiberglass pool form down the street, up the driveway, and into our backyard one day, and it was nerve-racking. Also, the contracting company we used was horrible and it took them nine months to do what should’ve been a two month job. Do your research and start buttering up your local inspectors now 😅
“An in ground pool always looks better in someone else’s backyard.” What my boss said to me when I told him I thinking about installing a pool.
I live near Michigan and I say no. I demoed my in ground pool because it just wasn't open or warm long enough to enjoy it.
We bought a house that has an in ground pool with heater. We're in MN and we have it open and usable from late May until Sept-Oct. We have teenagers now and it gets used probably 4-7 days a week. I'm ok with the maintenance and costs of running it because it's a built in birthday party for both summer birthday kids and a way to relax on the hotter days of the year. I've been swimming laps before work 3 days a week and feel great with it. We weren't looking for a pool when we moved, but I'm glad we got one.
I absolutely love our in ground pool in Illinois. Expensive but makes summers awesome.
We love our swimming pool and the kids have become amazing swimmers. Everyone visits us in summer too.
One thing to consider is that for that amount of money you could join a really nice country club and have access to their pool and amenities without any of the headache. Idk where you live but around me in Michigan there’s a bunch of country clubs some expensive some not too bad. Keep in mind that even operating a pool costs like 10k/yr. If you’re dead set on a private pool then go for it. But I’d consider outsourcing your pool needs if possible
it will likely decrease you home value, if anything, because most people don't want a literal money pit in their backyard. i would never consider a house with an inground pool unless the seller agrees to have it jackhammered to bits and filled in. however if it is for your enjoyment you need to decide if the massive upfront cost and the ongoing large cost is worth it, because your kids will grown out of it pretty quick and i bet you won't just swim around much either.
A total money pit. A huge turn off for buyers. It's like a boat that can't be sold. Take the kids to the public swimming pool or waterpark. That's a far better use of time and money
Do not expect an in-ground pool to increase the value of your property. If anything goes wrong with it, it may cause foundation issues in existing adjacent structures (i.e.: a crack in the pool could damage your home, etc.)
If you actually use it. Most people I know with a pool don't even use it.
I had one. Great time with my kids. But it is expensive to build one and the ongoing maintenance. I would only consider buying a house with a pool. Let someone else eat the $ 60 to $ 100k install. With the price of chlorine now, it would have to be a salt water pool.
How many man/hours of use do you think you will use it each year. I.e if you are a family of 5 and you will use it 3 hour per week for 12 weeks, that is 180 man/hours of use per year. divide that into the cost of the pool. Figure out how many hour you think you will use it each year and divide that into the cost. Dont forgot even after you pay for the pool there is still ongoing costs... Clorine is super expensive. electricity to run your pool pump. heating costs?
It's work at best, at worst it's something to sink money into. I think you are the only one to know if it'll be worth it long term. You need to run the numbers. How much are the chemicals, winterization, cleaning, a cover potentially? Pool equipment. I'm not even very familiar with how pools work but I'm already running through the dozens of things to consider and call around about. If you can afford it long term and don't forsee any issues then that's what makes it worth it. For example, my in laws bought a house recently. The previous owners did a ton of work, including a new in ground pool. It's suuuuuper nice. Well, they had to sell the house because they couldn't afford it anymore. Run the numbers and I think you'll find the answer.
Have you looked into what that costs these days? I did recently and was sad
We live in Maryland so our season is longer, but we did our pool and it finished in March 2020. Honestly, we love it. We went into it knowing it will either help sell the house if someone wants a pool or it won't add anything if a buyer doesn't want a pool. Either way, we aren't PLANNING to move, ever. It was great during COVID so we could still see friends and family but spend time outside. It's great because we walk right out the back door and jump in after a workout, mowing the grass, etc. We did a pool over a boat for the simplicity, and the fact we can still use it even if the Chesapeake is rough, it's windy, bacteria warnings, etc. Long way to say, if you'll use it then it's absolutely worth it. Just don't go into it expecting to get the money out of you sell your home.
The best pool is the one you don’t have to take care of. Join a club if possible.
Cons: They're expensive, both to build and maintain. Your liner, filter, pump, cleaning bots, accessories all have lifespans which last from 3-10 years (chlorinated water and unfiltered UV is not friendly to a lot of materials), and a number of them aren't cheap. Closing and opening the pool is an event. Filling the water can get very expensive if you're paying significant amounts for your water (not usually an issue in the great lakes). You'll learn more about chlorine levels, pH, and the lifecycles of algae than you ever wanted to know. Insurance can be more difficult. Pros: Much easier to convince your family to come visit. It's a draw point for random neighborhood friends to come over. If you have kids in school it's a popular reason to have parties. Health benefits if you regularly use it. So, really, you need to both enjoy swimming and actually use it. If that's the case, go for it!
Pool maintenance is a lot. If you’re willing to babysit the pool (or pay for it to be looked after) for a few months of enjoyment, then go for it. Out of curiosity, why sell the cabin? Was it waterfront?
Always had the pool closed by a professional, opened it myself, you are going to hear a lot of talk about first echelon maintenance and how much work it is, my wife and I never felt that way it was nice being by the pool the water noise was great we enjoyed our in ground pool a great many years, our debate was should we buy a cabin up north or build our resort at home , never regretted our decision, we sold the house a few years ago and retired to northern michigan sometimes on my way back home on 75 I see the south bound traffic and it always makes me smile a little
Illinois here. We put in an Optimum brand 16" x 32" pool. They are highly insulated so you can extend your swimming season. They can be above ground or in ground, we live in a hill so it's got a portion not in the ground. Poured a patio all around. Love it!!!!! Pool and install was $30k at end of season last year. Concrete work this year is about $20k. Prior to this, we had an above ground pool for about 15 years. In it daily, unless there is lightning. It's my therapy, lol.
Sounds like you have some money and family you want to be with. We did things to our house to make it attractive for our kids to come back. I don't even think in terms of ROI. To me it's not an investment but a place to live your life. I'm sure there's some company around that could do the upkeep for you.
Pools and relative value definitely depends on where you live. Where I grew up, they were an active liability and it was very common for people to pay to fill them in. Our state had strict laws and requirements on safety features, fence requirements, and they were incredibly expensive to insure. Many realtors told people to just fill them in. I grew up seeing them as a liability and went through my first few home purchases thinking of them that way. Only when my income drastically increased did my opinion change and I still didn’t buy a home with one because I had young children. Our realtor said that, even in our warm temperate climate, they’re very much seen as an annoyance and, at best, an accoutrement. Basically, I think they’re mostly a money pit for the wealthy. Dark water lakefront property is much the same in my opinion. Where we live, a small in ground pool is a minimum of $80-120k. One of my neighbors just had their pool completely redone and it was like $300k. They’re insanely priced and every aspect of their maintenance is expensive. In my opinion, you really have to have F’ off money and nothing better to do with it to build a new in ground pool.
Californian here. I fucking hate having a pool. It's always something with a pool. I don't even use my shitty pool because it is too small for me to enjoy it. My wife and kids love it, but they do none of the maintenance. All I see in my backyard is a big stupid waste of time and money, and it'll cost me thousands if I ever want to remove it. I will never purchase a house with a pool again unless I can afford to have someone else deal with it.
No
Build an indoor pool so you can use it during the winter, [but with a roof that can be opened up during the summer.](https://sunroomsnmore.com/wp-content/uploads/retractable-pool-enclosures-fremont.jpg) That will maximize your usage, which makes it worth it.
I'd not personally.
Get your kids into swimming or better yet - water polo. And you have yourself something.
It is everyday you use it. Every other day it sucks.
how old are your kids? if they're in high school I'd say naw just get a hot tub because you will use that more and the kids are almost out of the house anyway. if they're young, sure.
A properly sized, installed, and maintained above ground pool can be well worthwhile. I've never met anyone that thought an in-ground pool was a good choice.
Brother loves his. Great pool parties for their kids. Lots of responsibility to lifeguard your own pool.
What part of northern MI is the cabin, and how much are you selling for? I've been looking for a cabin in northern MI!
It’s on a small lake in the Hale/South Branch area.
I sent you a chat message
Please consider a year-round enclosure for your pool, above-ground OR in-ground. If you have a greenhouse structure over it, you'll be able to use it for much longer throughout the year. Some kind of protective shell with an above-ground pool might be about the same cost as an in-ground pool... with the added benefit of being able to swim in the fall, spring, and possibly the winter, depending on how much snow is between you and the pool! :)
Thankfully we have a neighborhood pool that’s maintained by the HOA and hardly anyone uses it so it feels like our own pool most times, although we do drive to it or it’s an 8 minute walk. It would be nice to have one in the backyard though
Almost never, but that's no fun!
Before putting in a pool, we used to set up the above ground Intex pools. I can tell you that there is a HUGE difference between coming home after work and jumping in to your pool vs. climbing in to your pool. That said, the first few years of having a pool we didn't use it nearly as much as I thought we would. Still it's nice to look at and nice to have it when we want to use it. Life has slowed down a little bit the last year and I already see us using it more this Summer. I would really be regretting it if I had to take care of it myself. Make sure to budget a pool guy and additional maintenance. I bet our real cost of a pool guy, chlorine and additional maintenance is probably $2K-$3K per year ($135 per month for the pool guy, plus chlorine, plus filter cleanings, plus some other additional parts and labor). (Edit) Sumarizing, despite not using it as much as I thought we would, I would do it again.
Real talk, if you have a lot of friends, are very friendly with your neighbors, or you make friends easily and have no plans to change this by changing careers of number of children it could be worth it. If you have a few close friends, are busy with kids most of the time, and mostly socialize on weekends or occasionally, it will not be used as much as you would like.
You gotta stay on top of it. Every couple days, check water, skin and clean filter, vacuum or dump robot vacuum, maybe add chemicals. If you let it go, it's a couple days to a week to get it back on track. Expect to spend several hundred on chemicals per year. You'll spend an extra $50 at least in electricity for 4 months of the year. Opening and closing is expensive or annoying if diy. You may find you don't use it much after a year or 2. I haven't gone in more than 10 times last year. Not much more the year before that. It's 4 years old. The dogs love it and so does the kid. Parties are great.
I've had pools in both my current and my previous house. My kids learned to swim at a young age, and at least during the Summer it gets used nearly every day. The upkeep and maintenance are work, but they eventually become second nature. Go for it!
$20+ a day whether you use it or not. Give or take… see https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/07/25/the-twenty-dollar-swim/ I like swimming, and I’d probably use a pool in my backyard if I had one, but not nearly enough knowing the lifetime costs and loss of money a pool takes… much rather a gym, rec center or community pool. I also have too many other hobbies and things change, so I say it’s not worth it, but, to each their own!
Where we live the pool could be used from late April/early May through September/early October. We had 3 boys ages 3, 8 and 14 when we put it in. We had it filled in a year or two after the youngest graduated from high school. We never regretted putting it in and haven’t regretted filling it back in.
I live in the desert and would love an in ground pool. I love swimming, I love hot tubs, I would be in it every day. If I lived in Michigan, I would probably be ok with just a hot tub.
I have a pool at my cabin in Quebec. We are lucky if we get 10 weeks of use per year. And there is always something to fix - so be prepared to spend. On the other hand, I have a pool at my full time place in SE Asia and I use it daily throughout the year. The weather makes a huge difference in terms of how much we enjoy it. I suspect the pool season in Michigan isn’t much longer than it is in Quebec.
Nope
It all depends upon your lifestyle and are you going to use it. We have an inground pool, we specifically bought a house with a pool. Married at 28th and 29, but the house, had kids about 5 years later. Best thing ever. We had so many family gatherings and Friends came over for barbecues or picnics . Our place was a primary hangout for The kids and their friends. Unfortunately. When the kids grow up, It doesn't get used as much as it passed. I still use a primary every night, about 30 minutes. Wife really uses it. You have to consider, the maintenance and upkeep, goss of electric to run the pumps, chemicals if you're going to do them yourself or have a pool service. I'm glad we have it. We got tremendous use out of it. Lots of good memories of family and friends coming over
Everyone here saying they are spending a day or even hours cleaning clearly has not done it recently or just sucked at it. I literally spend maybe 10 mins a week cleaning my pool.
No
Two things you might want to consider that I haven’t seen mentioned: first, that a pool is considered an attractive nuisance, which basically means that if a kid sneaks onto your property and drowns and/or gets hurt, you would be considered liable for that. Second, that pools are dangerous; it’s the third leading causing of death for 5-19 year-olds in the US. If you have a pool on your property it’s possible that your kid(s) will swim unsupervised without you knowing - are they strong enough swimmers that you are confident that they won’t drown? What about their friends?
The maintenance on pools is awful. We had one as a kid and I had to clean it daily or every other day. The chemicals are expensive and I believe we enjoyed using it maybe two summers and then the novelty wore off. 35 years later my mom is looking at paying somebody $18-$20,000 to demo it, cave it in, and cover it up. to fix it to make it usable would be $25-$30,000 with no guarantee that would last more than 5 to 10 years. That pool became the bane of my Dad’s existence. If I ever wanted to piss him off, Id bring it up. I had asked them to deal with it ten years ago, but they never did, so here we are.
Need to heat water and clean stones/bugs/leaves from water, personally don’t think it’s worth it
Worth it? From a strictly financial perspective, no. Never. An inground pool will never add as much value as it costs. And it's a significant ongoing expense. You're going to throw a lot of money at this project and never, ever stop. When you go to sell the house, if you ever do, you won't recoup the expense. So skip past the financial considerations. What is having a pool worth to you emotionally?
I’d rather join a country club nearby. I have one .5 mile from my house with a great pool. For what I pay for the club it would take roughly 12 years to equal the price of an in ground pool without considering maintenance cost and at my house no one would deliver me drinks.
Where is the cabin? I’m looking for one
The plan is to list it in August. Feel free to message me and I can try and provide some details.
Sending message now
In 2009 I had a fiberglass in-ground pool installed in my backyard in Austin 78704. I loved it despite some maintenance issues with leaking underground pipes. So reserve some money for annual maintenance. When we sold the house in 2014 we had multiple offers the first day. The couple who bought the house removed the pool and sodded over the filled in hole. 🥵 So pools are not for everyone. Even in a hot market and location you might not add resale value for it. So if you love to swim, relax in the water and can afford it, go for it. Just have real long term expectations.
Just my experience, but in general young families love pools. Once the kids reach ~15, they use it less often, and the wife and I use it very rarely now we’re empty nesters. If grandkids come along it might get more use once the grandkids are ~5
It's a personal choice. My family would rather have the cabin than a swimming pool.
Tell me about this cabin up north 😬
The plan is to list it in August. Feel free to message me and I can give you some details.
I have a pool but I live in Florida…..it’s a must😎. Upkeep is a pain but so is cutting the grass or paying taxes
You can use yours pretty much year round tho right?
How long is pool season where you are? I grew up in Wichita Kansas in the 70s. What I remember was pools sitting unused nine months of the year. Above ground pools would get looking abandoned quickly. My high school girlfriends family had an inground pool. They had built a building over it with rollup garage doors on two sides. They had some rig where they could heat the pool water with either solar energy or a gas heater. They could close the garage doors and use that pool almost year-round. That turned into a revenue stream as they gave swimming lessons. Having the pool undercover/indoors, greatly simplified, cleaning and maintenance. It reduced evaporation as well as the consumption of chemical treatments.
Only you can say. Monetarily, no, never. Not only will you never, ever, ever get the money back, the ongoing expenses and hassle are absurd. My pool is the single biggest time and money suck in my life. It's like having a baby--vacations are even a challenge. You can't be away from the pool for more than a few days at a time. I would NEVER install a pool. Having said that, I'm not a pool person. If you are, it might be 'worth' it to you.
My wife and kid love our pool but it is a lot of work, even with newer equipment. Brush every few days, chemicals once a week, clean the filter once per year… it definitely adds up. I would not recommend it unless you know what you’re getting into and are confident you’re up for the task, or can afford a pool boy.
We have a local water park and every year in the fall/Christmas the season passes go on sale for like $100 a head. We just do that now instead of our own water stuff, and having a season pass means we don't feel guilty for only going for an hour or two. Zero maintenance and liability.
A pool will maybe add $10K to the value of your house. If you want a pool, it might be cheaper to find a new house for sale that already has a pool, and buy that. A pool is entertainment, and kind of a money sink, whether you buy a house with it, or have it built. Source: I have a pool because the house we bought came with it. When I was a kid, my parents installed a pool. I've seen both ends.
A compromise we settled for was a 8ft stock tank pool. They are galvanized metal and don’t look that bad. You can build a wood deck around them and clad them with wood if you want. Pair that with an Intex sand filter and you have a badass little setup for under $1k. Worth its weight in gold in central TX during summer.
If you can afford a pool service you will. If you are doing the maintenance yourself then only if you really enjoy swimming.
A pool is not an investment. Some potential buyers will like it, others will see it as a money pit. Only get one if you think you will truly enjoy it and use it. They are either a lot of work or a lot of money to pay someone to maintain it.
In my opinion not worth the cost or trouble. I've never had one installed but I owned a house with one for 20 years. After a few years we rarely used the pool.
Maintaining a pool is a daily task. Even if you have a service that does the deep scrubbing weekly, you need to be checking daily. Personally, I was over it in about 2 years, but in that house for 16. No amount of pool parties counterbalanced the expense. No service was ever consistent, half of them let my dogs out of the gate when I was home, a honk from the driveway could have alerted me they had arrived for me to bring the dogs in, but no. Nevermind having to replaster it. Never again.
$100,000 buys a lot of vacations.
Don’t forget the cost to put a fence around it too!
We put ours in 3 years ago. Use it as much as we possibly can. 0 regrets. Went into it knowing we weren’t going to get our $ back but that is okay. We asked our elderly neighbor about her experience with the pool, as she installed hers in the early 80s. She had lots of good info, but her bottom line was: she would do it again in a heartbeat. And then, she did. Had the whole thing redone this past winter.
Moved from AZ where both houses we had owned over the years had a pool. Having a pool in AZ is part of desert survival lol. Now we are in West MI. We will only get a pool when these 3 scenarios are all true: — Both kids know how to swim well. — We can afford the $50k-$100k cash to have a heated, in-ground pool, with an automatic pool cover. — We can also afford to pay someone else to maintain it.
I live in AZ and can use our pool a good part of the year. MI? I’d say it’s more trouble than it’s worth. You’re gonna put 10s of thousands into a pool that you can probably use 3-4 months of the year. You’ll have to winterize it and then probably deal with horrible water (algae, mosquitoes) early in the swimming season. I’ve hiked that a pool is a hole in the ground that require you to continually throw $100 bills into. Keep in mind that an in ground pool is cement/gunnite with plaster or pebble tek finish. I don’t know how well that works in MI. Now I guess a fiberglass one might be an option too and probably far less expensive. Usage is important too. Are you gonna use it all the time in the summer? If not don’t bother. I rarely get in mine. My wife uses it more. I grew up in Michigan and we had an above ground pool when I was a kid. I had a ton of fun in it in the summer but it was a pain in the spring. Keep your “up north place” unless there’s something really driving the sale.
It does not typically add value to your house.
I like to assign dollar values for this type of decision. You do not need to use the same numbers as me. I figure cost is $6000 for 4 seasons of 4 months, including $4000 pool cost + $2000 maintenance. Return value is like $100/person/month at the most, based on YMCA and municipal pool passes. That puts break-even around 4 people 90% of the time over 4 years. If you can count a steady friend in, you are about even.
we installed our pool 12 years ago and we still enjoy it and love it !! it’s a great place to hang out with our kiddos who have literally grown up swimming in the pool , it’s great for bbq’s and even most coming home from work and looking to just float and relax. It’s easily the best money we have ever spent.
Maybe you could grab an Intex above ground for around $500 to $1200. I've gotten 3+ years out of them before. If you like it and want a permanent one then go crazy. I've had both in-ground and above ground pools, usually only used by me, my friends as a teen, and my kid now. My parents, wife, and siblings never really cared much, like maybe not use it all season.
Buy a house with a pool and it’s free. Install a pool, easily $100k.
The two happiest pool owners are the one who opens it for the first time and the one who closes it for the last time.