Any tips on picking a builder, selecting finishes or equipment, salt or chlorine, design (deep end, beach entry, swim up table/bar, etc.), things I need to make sure my contract or warranty have, features I can't live without? My backyard isn't huge (about 32'x50') so I'm a bit limited on size. Our sewer pipe runs through our yard but I assume that can be rerouted and we will have to remove a giant old magnolia tree.

I'm in SW Houston with a 6 year old and 4 year old who know how to swim and my wife grew up with a pool so she's a huge proponent. We're at the very initial stages and have done little research but are leaning toward a rectangular pool with shallow ends and a deeper center (good for pool volleyball), with stamped concrete decking, the dark blue water color, and a waterfall off a shelf/wall with some landscaping behind it. Similar to the below but sub in a stone facade for the lion spitters:

Lot of pool haters around so be ready for that.

We had one put in about 4-5 years ago and loved it. I've since moved to Colorado and live at 7000 so we really can't have one here and besides good Mexican food and Aggie Football in person is at the top of the list for things I miss.

We did more of a sports pool so no really deep end. Had it finished with pebble sheen. Some may say don't get a hot tub and/or heater but I thought it was worth it. With just a little heating it extended the season a month on each side of it. Also, swimming on Christmas day is always fun.

Make sure your contractor is reputable and keep a close eye on stuff day to day. The process can go really fast if the weather holds and the contractor has his sub's planned out well. We looked at pools they built and called references. I was also a reference for him after.

Pool builders are probably going to get busy really soon so if you don't want to wait in a queue get going and don't forget to factor in time for the HOA approval.

I would look into an auto-filler. I didn't have one and it was a pain to do that. Mostly the turning it off part. I would forget and leave it on. You will lose a surprising amount of water to evaporation.

Agree on pool filler. Also, recommend waterfalls. Great way to cool the water down in the summer (run them at night to expose the water to the cooler air). With a "game" style pool (no deep end) your water will get pretty hot unless the pool is huge. Ours gets well into the 90's at the peak of summer.

Our heater is broken and we haven't wanted to spend the money to replace it but I sure wish we would. We'd already be swimming with as warm as it has been lately (we're in Houston area).

You'll have to make the salt vs. traditional chlorine decision. That's a hot debate. We have traditional chlorine. It's really hard on our skin. But, I hear it's better for the hard scape and equipment. (We didn't put this pool in, bought a house that already had one).

Overall, I'd say go big or go home. Don't scrimp on features.

I wouldn't do planter areas near the pool. When the spring rains come you'll end up with tons of mulch in it.

Decide if you want to clean the pool yourself or hire a service. We started by doing it ourselves but I was pregnant then had a newborn and the hubs was traveling a lot. It turned into a cesspool quickly. Best decision was just getting a service.

I would move and buy a house that already has a pool, as you will not recoup the costs to put it in. Let someone else pay for it. Just sold my house with $55k pool and it made $0 difference on asking price. Deterred more buyers than the ones that eventually bought it.

I think it depends. Conventional wisdom is you don't get your money back on a pool but we added an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, tv and stuff and it was a big factor in our house selling quickly. We also got all our money out of it which was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't looking for that as I put value on our use of stuff but it was nice none the less. JBL is right though it may turn off some buyers and you should go in assuming you will only get some of your investment out when you sell.

One thing I forgot to mention is we had a removable fence put in. Our kids were similar age as yours and it was like a grand. Totally worth it. If you have parties or get togethers you just pull it out and you would never know it existed.

Lastly, if you pull the trigger I recommend adding a million dollar umbrella policy to your homeowners insurance. Its super cheap and has lots of benefits but will cover you if something really terrible happens like a neighborhood kid sneaks in and drowns in your pool.

About 36x16. Apart from little beach entry, ranges from 3.5 to 4.5 ft.
+1 on Pebbletec.

Great advice everyone. Truly appreciate it.

Potcake, that's exactly what we are looking for.

As far as moving to a house with a pool, we won't be going anywhere for a long while. We did a full renovation (down to the studs) of our house 3 years ago and have it exactly the way we want it. I don't expect our list price to go up by the amount the pool costs and that is fine with me. I know we will get our money's worth out of it just from entertaining and making memories with the kids.

Check out the website troublefreepool.com It is a great resource and you can find just about any answer on it. We put a pool in about 6 months ago so the process is still pretty fresh in my mind.

A couple of things that I learned/recommend: the darker the pebble finish the more likely that you will get mottled areas in it.

A heater/hot tub is great otherwise you have 1/4 to 1/3 of the year that you can't really enjoy the pool.

We have a salt system and it is pretty easy to manage when the pool water is >60 degrees. If it is below that it will not generate chlorine and you have to manage it as a standard pool (but when the water is cooler it is much easier to manage).

A salt system does fine with equipment as long as you keep the pH in check. As far as stone/decking it will also do fine as long as you seal periodically.

If you do stamped concrete which is what we did it still is slick no matter how textured it is.

Even if the kids are great swimmers a removable fence is a great idea as what can happen without one is enough to give me nightmares.

Make sure they keep drainage in mind for your house and back yard.

There are a lot of extra cost. We liked our builder because he was very upfront with those cost. Most builders do not include those which he did.

I could go on & on. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Potcake said:

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what kind of gray rock is that?

Tejas black

Go for it. We got our two years ago and our boys are 8 and 5 now and enjoy it.

But Clark, I don't know how to swim.

From my experience and having a pool in just about every home over a long career and many moves:

Those "heaters" will make your energy bill zoom into the stratosphere!! Swimming until Thanksgiving sounds great until the bill for those cool months more than doubles for heating the pool. Yeah, sure - gotta do it - but beware of the associated cost. The further north one lives, the shorter the swim season and the less practical a pool becomes.

One solution to the heater issue is to have a "hot tub" associated with or connected to the main pool body with the heater and return just in the hot tub area which will reduce the volume of water heated and thus reduce the amount of energy required to keep an area warm for a longer period of time. Overflow/water fall into main pool of course. Just pipe it so that you can isolate the hot tub seasonally as necessary.

I also found that a pool service company appears expensive - until you start buying all the chemicals and tools you believe to be necessary and spend an inordinate amount of time "getting the pool ready" before you jump in. With a pool service, the pool is ready without the time lost messing with it.

Put a fence, post a sign, etc., even if your city ordinances don't require it. A child (or neighbors pet) wandering into your yard and falling into your pool with or without supervision can become a liability and legal and insurance nightmare!! Some cities require a fenced yard and in addition another fence just around the pool itself (this happened to us in Austin)... Double protection. Pools are magnets for kids - just beware!! Check your homeowners insurance policy to make sure you are covered!! Gates with "adult latches" or even locks will give you some peace of mind in this regard.

Pools under or even near trees and shrubs and flower beds - even grass too close without adequate walking areas around the pool, etc., are just an invitation for leaves and clutter and even insects to be a mess in the pool. The more "open" the space the better. If near the house - connect patios, etc.. with pool deck and avoid strips of vegetation requiring maintenance and pool clutter.

The point above about "contingencies" - i.e., other piped utilities, soil to rock blasting, access to site, fence removal and repair, drainage issues, liner pool or gunnite, location of pumps/filters (and exposure to open air without protection), deck treatment, slides/goals/nets/waterfalls, site and landscaping development, etc., are all incidental "additive cost items".

Lights in pools are beautiful when installed correctly, but the slightest damage or poor installation can become a serious problem. Be sure to have on proper installation, ground fault breakers and adequate power, etc. which, if distance is an issue, can become a high dollar item, but necessary for pool to function. If you are doing a cabana, outdoor kitchen, etc., in conjunction with pool - all will likely need significant (and costly) upgrades to your panel box requirements.

If it is a choice of oversizing pump(s) to accommodate the anticipated outlets and Polaris, hot tub, waterfall, etc., vs not enough pressure from undersized pumps - go bigger...

Try to avoid observation from various neighbors, etc., (which may conflict with keep vegetation at a distance,, but may influence your fencing issue) -- if you have trophy daughters and wife, they will be routinely observed without some barrier to avoid peeping.

A new pool is something to be proud of but broadcasting to a wide audience sometimes is asking for more visitors than you may be willing to accommodate.

A Polaris - or equivalent - though relatively expensive initial cost - is indispensable for helping keep the pool clean and free of most small debris.

As noted above, do not expect to get a return on your investment when you sell - and also as noted - a pool may be a hindrance to sale of your home - or not.

Salt - or not - is a flip a coin subject with proponents and opponents pro and con. If chlorine burns your eyes, skin, clothing, etc., salt is a good alternative. Either requires more time and effort and maintenance than people who have never had a pool will soon learn.

lots of great info there. in regards to a hot tub, most that i've seen nowadays can heat the hot tub only. It'll redirect all circulation to just the hot tub so there's no spillover into the main pool.
I have never heated the pool, but constantly heat the hot tub during the 'colder' months.

OP - I just had my pool built. I agree with other poster about troublefreepool.com. There is a lot of good information on that site. Here are my thoughts to help out a fellow Aggie. You could always e-mail me if you have questions - username@gmail.com.

• Salt or Chlorine is a tough debate and you can read about it on the site. Mine is chlorine and it's easy to take care of. I would ask pool builder to give you a bigger pad (for your tank) and a stub out to tie your chlorine injection into the return line after pump, filter and heater. I have a Stenner pump/tank combo and it's tied into my automation.
• Bid out to 4 or 5 builders. Pick a shape you like and make sure you are bidding based on same perimeter. My bids varied by 15K for roughly the same pool. I used Mystic Blue Pools (Katy Area) and had a fantastic experience. You can use me (Tam) as a reference. He built my neighbor's pool als and neither of us had any issues. He only builds one or 2 at a time, so he is on top of his subs.
• Get the right equipment to do what you want - Jandy, Pentair or Hayward. A variable speed pump is good for the pool circulation/spa. Get a separate pump to control water features. Large filter is better (have to clean less). LED lights are nice if you want different color and get enough to light up pool/spa. Big heater for pool / spa. Get a pool robot (Maytronics) and not a suction or pressure side vacuum (in floor systems are not worth it).
• Layout of the pool - get at least 2 skimmers and enough returns to circulate the water properly (this depends on shape). Add seating in the pool, especially deep. Add water features you like. Add umbrella sleeves for volleyball nets.
• Automation - do you want to automate or manually control? Do you want a remote or smartphone app? I control everything with my phone - IAqualink.
• Get as much decking as you can afford. The more the better so you can have seating or areas to congregate outside the pool.
• Get natural gas lines / extra outlets put in during the build. Cheaper now than later. Also, if you have automation, think about lighting. I have 2 spotlights added and then outlets tied into my automation.
• The pool finish I like is Pebblesheen, but others are nice too. It depends on your budget.
• I stuck with standard water tile, but there are lots of options.
• Here is a video that Platinum put together for my pool, but they were highest bid. I have the same shape, but blue water tiles and no landscaping right now. Pool Video
• The less trees in the yard the better. Things find a way into your pool to clean.

Contact Brad at Pullium Pools

What's the board's opinion on the UV and Ozone systems for outdoor residential pools? The troublefreepool forum seems to think they are a complete waste but it looks like pool maintenance companies charge less (b/c less chemicals) if you have them. I definitely like the idea of the water being easier on the kids' skin and eyes but are these systems just snake oil?

For anyone interested, we chose Waterside Poolscapes. We were most impressed with their preparedness, reviews, referrals, bid, and demeanor during the first meeting. We're getting something more contemporary like the below with all travertine, bubblers, and LEDs.

A lot of good comments, but most importantly, select a reputable builder. They can guide you on the details and options. Also, agree with adding a spa. Although pool heaters can be a pain, it is sure nice to be able to use the pool year round. It has been a few years, but we once heated the pool for the entire week of Christmas (air temperature was considerably warmer than usual) and the cost was only about $300, or so. Heating the spa only is hardly a blip on the gas bill.

I know a guy who was gonna have a pool put in like the onl below, but his Christmas bonus didn't come through like he thought it would, so he had to nix it.