if that works for you it's cool. If I had to do it again, I would build a larger and deeper pool every time. Size does matter.

This is cool man. If I did not have a 6 year old I would be all over something like this.

We will have propane as well so heater is a no go. How well does the solar cover work once you get into the colder months?

It works pretty well, but it depends on direct sun. Once the temp drops lower overnight, it isn't much good. We had to replace our heater a few years ago, and I was looking into solar options, but they were not practical for us. I was going to go with a smaller heater, but someone told me to get the largest I could. Glad I did as when it's needed, it can raise the temp in a very short time, so we don't use it very often at all.

My wife created this sign for our gate.

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I just uploaded video of the crane lifting my pool in.

Great sign but she missed a great opportunity there. It needs one more attachment under the "members only" portion that says "frolicking around encouraged".

My last name is Holliday so I get the Holliday Inn jokes all the time (which get's old some) so hopefully the above isn't offensive to you, but I just couldn't resist as it's just to perfect for that instance.

found another pic. Also had the pergola installed, outdoor kitchen and cabana shower and toilet. I actually had a sewage line excavated and attached to my house. This means when we have visitors for the pool, no one needs to come inside the house for any reason.

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All of these pool choices, yet none of you have the ability to travel with them.... You are all fools....

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I'm actually curious what kind of neglect leads to the problems you are talking about?

All depends on the surface. Water neglect is worse in areas of freeze thaw (like here in Denver) Have you ever tried to water vacuum a pool and have the vacuum on the surface create a cloud even though it has suction. That cloud is the surface starting to disintegrate.

Plaster pools will get rough to the foot, and material will start leaching off pool surface. If you ever clean out the pool filter and water runoff looks more thick in color like skim milk than water. That means you paint and plaster are slowly disintegrating. Or cracks after a freeze thaw where proper winterizing hasn’t occurred.

Vinyl liners get sun spots over time which causes a slow stretch thus thinning the vinyl eventually causing it to leak. This is accelerated with bad water chemistry.

Fiberglass here tends to be covered with epoxy paint. if water gets between paint and fiberglass it will pop and make a bubble. It if chemistry is bad it will cause a fissure that will turn into a bubble. Once epoxy is thin it also leaches into the water. Creating a cloudy pool. Eventually when they are bad enough even the fiberglass gets leaks.

That’s when I come in and prep for new epoxy and grind out, seal cracks, etc. plaster is dustier. Fiberglass when grinding it you get these little slivers of it in your forearms and any exposed skin. Takes about three days to stop itching.

This is where I am this week. 40 year old fiberglass pool on top of a apartment building. Metal, then fiberglass, then white epoxy paint then two different colors of blue. Which tells me this isn’t first time this ones been redone. Darkest blue is what I took off entire pool. Entire surface needs to be scratched for new epoxy primer to adhere to it. Tile first though.

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I have had two pools over the last 15 years. I installed a salt cell in the 1st and the one I have now has one installed now that I don't use. no salt in the pool and turned off. A salt cell breaks the salt down into chlorine it turn back into salt and the process starts over sounds great. Here is the bad, The salt cell is quite expensive, It only works above about 70 degree, It still is just chlorine, If you run it year around it won't last very long, Mine lasted 1.5 years. The salt will get on your out door furniture and is very corrosive. Number one reason I use chlorine is hundred dollars a year in chlorine done. bottom line is it is still just chlorine.

I agree. On a year round pool with proper chlorine chemistry is the best solution and bang for your buck. However a salt system done right on a seasonal pool with an automatic cover tends to macro out to similar cost over life of pool and it is more set it and forget it than chlorine. (Also depends on size of pool and other factors of course) At least in Denver with it’s shorter season. That is my only market experience.

May need to get your number man! Every once in awhile the old girl throws me a curve ball. Like last year when the wife accidentally dropped a large handful of weeds she pulled into the skimmer when the basket was out! Holy Crap! My suction line stopped up and I had to call a guy over that had some kind of Leaf Blower looking contraption. It gave the pool the Hiemlik Maneuver and it came right out. It seems like every few years I get some kind of weird instance that leaves me scratching my head.

Any updates on your swim spa? How are you enjoying it? We just ordered a 17' Hydropool swim spa as well. Both my kids are older and we wanted something that we could use all year up here in Canada. This is the before and the planned after. Because of COVID, the demand is really high right now so we have to wait until March 2021 for delivery.

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Still in my pool oct 5. Opened in April.

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We just got one like L36 installed and are loving it. My daughter is already doing some swimming. So far loving the fiberglass with salt and UV filter. So easy to maintain.

Here’s a photo of mine. Sorry about the photo, it’s from my bedroom window and the screen is in the way.
It’s gunite.
Natural gas heater. Highly recommend it when you install.
Automatic pool cover. Highly recommend when you install. This keeps all the leaves and crap out of your pool at night when you’re in bed. Especially if you have a big storm. This is a must!
The pool decking are individual tiles that my wife and I found at a resort in Miami. The tiles stay about 8-12 degrees cooler on your feet. Some of them have seashells built into the tiles. Pretty cool and definitely recommend. Can’t remember the name of the company but they delivered on a trailer from Florida.
The different colored lights in the pool(install on both ends of the pool) are great at night.
I had some small pieces of different colored glass 2x2 inches installed in different sections of the pool level with the gunite in the pool floor as reference points and they’re gorgeous. Very very expensive. From a company in California. Not necessary but neat.
Installed giant umbrellas in on each end of the the pool deck that open up and provide plenty of shade but the close up with cover for the winter.

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we are thinking about the auto cover, because we get really high winds coming off the lake. What do they run? we have read around $4k

10k. Worth every penny.
Get the rectangular pool for the automatic cover so it doesn’t run on the decking. This is critical.
We have trees around the pool and it would be an absolute nightmare cleaning that crap all the time.
Also opening and closing is very simple. Besides clearing out the lines, you drain the pool a few inches and push a button to close it up. Priceless.

My automatic cover extends my season by months. We’re already swimming. All of the heat is captured like a giant water mattress. And all the spring mess doesn’t end up in the pool.

great info, thanks

Congrats. This is my 5th season with my fiberglass pool, couldn't be happier. So little maintenance.

Can you please show pics as the install goes. I take it thats blue plastic that pulls off after the install? Is there concrete under the pool or just stone?

Sweet man! Kids look HAPPY! What size overall is the pool? Looks like the size we want to get.

How's the pool itself working for you?

nice looking pool. This was our first season with a fiberlass pool and we did a salt water system. I have been blown away at how little maintenance we have done. I run the robot cleaner every Saturday morning and that is it. Water/chemicals have been perfect all year.

I'm finishing my 5th season and that has been my experience the entire time. Couldn't be happier.

Ah, without a heater that will greatly affect your swim days for certain. Well, I'm glad you saw some use this season.

what heater did you guys go with?

I have an all Hayward system, and use a Hayward Natural Gas 250k BTU heater. It's plenty for my 40 foot pool with hot tub.

You will love the River Pools fiber glass pool. I got mine installed last year - so far so good!

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Yep, R28. I went back and forth a bit but due to the size of my backyard I wanted a bit more swim space. The ledge is nice though.

Are you required to fence in your pool in your area?