We're thinking of having a pool built. I'm interested in all opinions! Don't like yours? Love it? It breaks all the time? Definitely worth it for the kids? Etc.. thanks!

Everyone I know with a pool says it's easier to just move to a new house that already has one.

Auto fill a must. Didn't think about that when I put mine in.

We put one in back in 2020. Love it. Yes, maintenance and pool equipment repairs are part of it, but I'm so glad we did it.

Budget for chemicals, electric bill to bump a bit, and plus/minus a cleaning service if you hire vs DIY. We did ours w an attached spa and that's been awesome. It gets used as much as the pool.

To directly answer your question: Most pools are outdoors, but indoor pools exist.

We built ours 8-9 years ago and have not regretted it. Now that the kids are older, it doesn't get used near as much as it used to but that's ok. We did a built in spa and we use that more than the pool now. I definitely recommend that. The only thing I regret was that I only got one pool light installed. One light on each end would have looked much better.

I sometimes grumble that I spend more time cleaning the pool than anyone spends in it, but then when it is full of high school football players and everyone's having a great time - it is worth it.

I've had a few pools. Both gunnite (concrete) and now a fiberglass one. I like the fiberglass one better. It's easier to clean and feels better to skin. You are limited to the shape and can't get the free form design aspect. I believe the deck around the pool really makes the pool. A high quality deck makes the pool stand out. In that respect you can get the same deck for either type of pool.

A fiberglass pool for me was about 20% cheaper and we were swimming in two weeks after breaking ground. For cost comparison this 38' x 17' pool was $60k in 2021. We already had a hot tub on our back porch which is why we didn't get one for the pool. If we use the hot tub it is in the cooler months.

We had our pool built in 2015. We LOVE it. We take care of it ourselves and it's not a big deal. We take a water sample every few weeks and adjust chemicals as needed. It is a great reason for kids and grandkids to come visit.

Ps…. We had sundeck/coolcrete type installed originally. It looked terrible after a few years… no amount of scrubbing/chemicals would help. We recently had that removed and polyurea type installed (like they put on garage floors) So far we really like it.

Our pool was finished 19 years ago this May and we haven't regretted it a single day. Our kids were young and I didn't find spending weekends at the neighborhood pool very appealing. The kids are on their own now and we probably use it even more than before.

The importance of a good pool builder can't be overstated. Ours was amazing and made the entire process so easy on our part. Spillways, weepers, fountains and waterfalls add interest even when you aren't swimming so I think they are a really good addition. I also like having a hot tub (and heater) which increases the year round usability. More decking is also always the answer.

It does take some effort to keep up but it's not bad. Things will break and need to be fixed but it's not that frequent especially on a new pool.

Love our pool. Second house with one, and we built both. It's not that big a deal to build, and on the house we sold we made our money back entirely.

We're in there all the time with the kids. And people like coming to our place cause of the pool.

I'm partial to a saltwater pool as I find it super easy to take care of, but I don't want to turn this thread into that discussion.

I really recommend reading up on trouble free pool forums. Great resource, and folks will even help you review builder quotes.

I agree a good pool deck can make or break a pool.

Did my first pool three years ago. Went fiberglass due to it being a little cheaper and ease of install. Literally took about a month total to break ground, drop in pool, backfill, deck and electrical/plumbing.
Things I learned:
- expect things to go wrong. We had to reroute our sewer line.
- I wish I had a rectangle shaped pool instead of a free form. This is primarily due to ease of walking around and your pool cleaner will do a better job
- think about prevailing winds when installing skimmer. Get one on each end.
- fiberglass drop ins won't be perfect. My safety ledge on one corner is slightly angled. Not a deal breaker.
- as another said you are more limited on options with fiberglass but it's hard to beat a one month install.
- wish I had put in a spa
- budget for a true robot and not a robot that runs off your pump. I used one that hooked into my skimmer suction for 18 months and I can't believe it took me this long to buy an electric robot. Pool is cleaner and less headaches.
- no kids but the family comes over most weekends to enjoy it. Lots of young kids who love it and it gives the adults time to catch up. I end most of my days off in the pool especially after a nice day fishing.
- heater is next but just haven't justified the 8-10k yet. Maybe this fall.
Long story short, very much worth it. I'll do lots of things different with my next pool.

We went with a fiberglass pool with spa. No complaints at all with it. Easy to maintain and we went with a salt cell as well

We went with a pila style pool. 25' diameter and 5' deep. 2' in ground before we hit bedrock. I did the plumbing and electric. Saved a pile of money sowing that but was a pain in the butt. We enjoy it and use the heck out of it.

I've built and bought pools. I am significantly happier with my built pool.

Really think about how to pay for the pool and your budget. If you have $100k to spend, but the bids that meet your wants and needs average $120k, be careful cutting scope or features just to meet a budget. My friend did that and ended up cutting the hot tub and pool heater to afford the pool and regrets it big time.

Advice / features I love:
-hot tub needs to be much bigger than you think. The inner diameter of mine is 11 feet, and is a circle designed for 16 adults. Sounds excessive but normal sized hot tubs feel awkward once you have 4 adults total in it. Also - a rolled edge hot tub is much more comfortable than a conventional edge. Think of it like a kiddie pool - in the winter it's easy to just heat the big hot tub instead of heating the whole pool and saves me a ton of money every winter.
-don't go too deep on deep end, the more volume of water is a lifetime of more pool chemicals. We went just under 8' deep and it's plenty for jumping and diving off the water feature.
-sun shelf (6-8" water depth) is nice looking but not functional - we added a Baja shelf also - 24" deep in an area that is perfect for adults and kids to sit in.
-good led lights and more than you think, makes your pool look incredible at night
-fire feature incorporated
-in ground trampoline while you have the bobcat digging the pool
-several umbrella holes

Built one in 2024. Love it, I use it almost every night in the summer (workout on the back porch, then hop in to cool down). We almost always have neighbors over on weekends to swim, has been a great catalyst for building real community in our neighborhood.

Definitely get a spa, figure out if you like elevated versions, or flush (only a 2-3" lip above waterline).

Make sure you have a plan for shade to keep water temps manageable. We have a tree that cuts sunlight to pool by 3pm every day, keeps water feeling refreshing all summer long. If you don't have shade, get a chiller installed and be prepared for the extra electrical bill. Nothing worse than a 95 degree pool in July.

Trouble free pool is a great website for info pre and post pool purchase. Maintaining is easy if you stay on it

Thanks All for taking the time to respond. I was not expecting the vast majority to favor a spa as well. May have to rethink the configuration.

I'll be the contrarian and say I hate my pool and hate having a pool. I would have much rather have spent all the money on traveling or something else

We built a pool three years ago and loved it. Just moved and will be putting in another one soon.
We built a free form pool with slightly elevated hot tub. Some things I learned:

1 - if you have a sprinkler system, make sure you get that moved, capped, or whatever before you start the pool. A lot more pipes/wires go through your yard than you would think and most likely are in the way.

2 - skimmer on north and south side or whichever way the wind will be blowing. One will work but if you have a lot of trees around, I would recommend two. We had one. I did buy a solar powered skimmer robot and that thing was awesome so that could eliminate the need for two.

3 - Auto fill would be nice as I overflowed my pool more than I want to admit by forgetting to turn off the fill line. At least get a timer and install on the incoming line

4 - have some sort of waterfall, sprayer, or water feature that you can run at night to help cool off the water. In the mid to late summer, the water will get in the 90s and feels too warm. Being able to run water at night will help cool it down and will be more enjoyable.

5 - Pumps/Heater/Chemicals were all easy to maintain. I used to operate commercial swimming pools so I already knew most of this but it is not that hard. Leslies will over sell you on chemicals but if you don't know all the ins and outs it isn't a bad thing. They do know what they are doing but I am more of a keep it simple stupid mentallity so I don't add too many chemicals if I don't have to.

6 - Pebble Tech type surface is expensive but we loved the look and feel.

7 - When we built our first pool we were "given" a robotic vacuum with the pool that connected to our main pump. It worked OK at first but looking back, I would have rathered get the money back and go with a different type of vacuum that also scrubs teh walls and wasn't connect to my main pump strainer. This probably depends more on the company and what they supply.

8 - We had a shallow sun deck wtih 6" of water and that was great, if you do that, add an umbrella holder into your pool so that you can mount an umbrella there.

Again, we loved our pool and used it all the time. Just be safe around it and watch your kids friends and family at all times to avoid any incidents

Quite frankly, I expected a lot more of these responses.

Best part of having a pool is not having to wear a swimsuit…. But I also don't have neighbors

My first pool was high maintenance and I didn't like it. DE filter, salt water cell chlorinating, electrical valves, water heater, two pumps, and plaster bottom. It just seemed like something was always breaking or wearing out.

I told my wife when we moved I wouldn't have another pool. She wanted one. You know the saying. Happy wife, happy life. We have a fiberglass pool with one pump, manual valves, fiber filters, and tablets chlorinating system. Much easier now. I love it.

Having a hot wife also helps. I get to see her in a bikini a lot more often and she isn't as bashful since we aren't in public.

justnobody79 said:

---

I'll be the contrarian and say I hate my pool and hate having a pool. I would have much rather have spent all the money on traveling or something else

---

Same. We were looking at filling ours with dirt but decided to sell the house instead.

Had an old dog fall in the pool and drown. He was a heck of a swimmer and was comfortable with the pool. He had developed severe vertigo about a week before he fell in.

Even with the unfortunate accident, it felt like I was always replacing a pump or something. It is a major money pit. People on here like to complain about the cost of boats, but I spent much more on fixing the pool than I ever spent on my boats.

Don't do it if you have kids/ grandkids under about 5yo. Leading cause of accidental death for children 4 and younger. Majority of those kids had parents that rationalized why it wouldn't happen to them.

We're having one built now. Deck gets poured this week. Timing should be right for this summer. My kids are 10 and 12 so I didn't want to wait any longer. I'm excited to get to be outside and at home during the summer months without the misery.

Do your homework on surface - I didn't like the rough pebbly feeling of Pebble tec but wanted the pretty color options that come from it, and found Wet Edge. It's a lot like pebble tec but it is sanded down to be very smooth. Love it. Amazing color options too. Darker equals hotter water though so we went with a lighter blue.

https://remotestylist.com/wet-edge-vs-pebble-tec/

Where are you building? If in central Texas steer clear of Denali. We chose them due to them having the best reviews online but our build has been a disaster. We have always had a pool but this is the first one we built. Nice to get the exact design we wanted but like I said, the entire build process has been one headache after another. 6 months after breaking ground we still don't have a completed pool due to a phantom leak that they cannot pinpoint. Leadership has gone silent on replying to me, luckily we have a superintendent that still responds but I feel is in over his head.

Not trying to downplay the risk, we take it very seriously. But there are 400 deaths a year under 5 from drowning.

Put up a good pool fence, and be disciplined about who is watching the kids. Usually most drownings happen when adults are present because everyone thinks someone else is watching their kid. Verbal handoffs and no intoxicated parents go a long way to minimize that risk. But it's definitely something you have to pay attention too as the homeowner.

Thought a pool would attract grandkids more often - did not expect to have a DIL who is deathly afraid of the kids drowning so they stay away as much as possible.

79TAMU79 said:

---

Thought a pool would attract grandkids more often - did not expect to have a DIL who is deathly afraid of the kids drowning so they stay away as much as possible.

---

My sister's kids learned to swim in my pool. 3,5, and 7. At first the little ones were holding on to the edge and would get frantic when they fell off the float. Within two months even the three year old was swimming fearlessly. Always with us right nearby of course. I like to think we've made them safer around water since they spend so much time in the pool.

I hate a love/hate relationship with my pool.

It used to be 90% fun and 10% no-fun, now it's the opposite.

After we became empty nesters, we just don't have the 'pool traffic' that we used to have.

Now, I'm just the pool boy (and not in the good way).

It's 20 years old now, and I'm always replacing an old something or another.

Spring is the worst with all the pollen and oak tree squigglies.

If I did it all over again, I'd probably just build a bigger deck with a bigger firepit.

Yeah, if we looked at every fatality statistic, we would all just sit inside all day and never venture out or drive. Except there is probably a fatality statistic for sitting inside all day and not moving.

For those of y'all that have built these nice pools recently, I am curious how you handled this financially. I know this is a personal question, so sorry in advance. Are most of y'all paying cash for these $80K - $100K pools? Or is it common to finance them in some way? Do pool companies offer financing, or is a personal loan needed? My wife and I have great paying jobs, and feel like we are more well-off than most of our friends who build pools, we just don't understand how people are affording them.

There are financing companies that kind of specialize in loans like that. Right now you're looking at $500-$600 a month depending on the pool of course. Im a builder here in B/CS. I would say about a third to half the pools we build are financed in some way.

We use our hot tub way more than our pool. Don't skimp on the hot tub. My daughter is off to college, and my youngest is driving and always gone. I'm the only one that really uses the pool anymore, but our spa is popular anytime we have friends over, any time of year.

Maybe Next Year said:

---

We're thinking of having a pool built. I'm interested in all opinions! Don't like yours? Love it? It breaks all the time? Definitely worth it for the kids? Etc.. thanks!

---

I'd be happy to answer any questions regarding construction. Feel free to call us at 979-690-3343 and just mention the TexAgs thread.