https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 21 Apr 2026 20:18:00 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2834827 Wed, 18 Jul 2018 20:20:10 +0000 808love 2834827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Hypatia: DH just surprised DD with it all set up yesterday. She and I were returning from a trip and her reaction was awesome!! It now costs 2 1/2 times as much on Amazon now. So glad we got it upon your recommendation. We also got the cheap solar cover, have lots of fencing (mainly to keep our dog in) around our home and DD knows how to swim and get herself in/out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2832347 Thu, 05 Jul 2018 10:57:10 +0000 Truth Bombs 2832347@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have talked about putting in a pool as well and we were close to pulling the trigger... but our 2 year old son is a damn ninja with no regard for personal safety and I just know it would make me anxious all the time. So we will revisit the idea in another 5 years or so if we're still in this house. But when we were researching, the things I definitely wanted were salt water, and zero entry. If you do move forward, the first thing I would do is really intense swim lessons for both of your kids, ISR if they are young and more traditional swim lessons if they are older. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2832340 Thu, 05 Jul 2018 10:24:00 +0000 mdf106 2832340@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaBear87: The pebbly bits are coming off. We also have a lot of leaks that keep re-occuring after patching. ETA a google search says it should last 20 year, compared to 5-10 for plaster. Our pool is 25 years old (original to the house). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2832338 Thu, 05 Jul 2018 10:09:11 +0000 MamaBear87 2832338@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mdf106: just curious what you're having to resurface if you have pebble tech? It should never have to be redone if it was fine correctly </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2832337 Thu, 05 Jul 2018 10:02:53 +0000 mdf106 2832337@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PinkElephant: I am not sure about what surface I would prefer, I just know that the pebbletech that we have tears up the bottoms of my feet. The area around the pool is also pebble-y, which probably makes it worse. Maintaining the pool is very expensive. In four years we have had to replace some electronics that froze (at least the pipes didn't freeze) and fix a pool leak. We will need to resurface soon. The pool leak also caused very high water bills. I am in Texas so we don't (and can't) close the pool in the winter, it would literally implode. But it does freeze regularly here, hence the frozen electronics. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2832314 Thu, 05 Jul 2018 06:58:19 +0000 looch 2832314@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PinkElephant: The vac that we have is a bottom and wall cleaner. The brand is Dolphin. </p> <p>I skim the surface with an old school skimmer on a pole. We have a skimmer basket, but I find the pole style to be very effective and it takes me a few minutes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2832211 Tue, 03 Jul 2018 20:58:38 +0000 PinkElephant 2832211@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks so much for all the info and weighing in! You all have been super helpful and given me a lot of things to think about.</p> <p>@Hypatia: @808love: Funny you mention that - we're considering getting a pop up pool, but want to have our yard fenced in first. I'm pretty sure that both our insurance and our state/town laws require it (although we know from our neighbors and stains on the patio that the previous owners of our house had a similar type of pool set up with no fence). We currently have a giant kiddie pool, which we fill and leave up over the weekend, but drain during the week.</p> <p>@looch: As gross as scooping them out must be, drowning chipmunks would be a bonus feature in our yard - DH will be thrilled :silly: They are destroying our garden &amp; landscape and technically they're protected by local law, so I'm not supposed to trap them. I will definitely need that vaccuum - does it primarily do the surface, or does it do the floor/sides of the pool? Thanks for bringing up the heater - we're in the greater NYC area, so will also need a heater, and I hadn't thought yet about the different types there are. I'm 50/50 on the socialization factor - I like seeing friends at our club, but I dislike having to put up with really rambunctious kids, having to think about what I wear, and other kids who poop in the pool (seriously it happens a LOT).</p> <p>@DesertDreams88: hehe yeah, I guess you wouldn't really want a hot tub in AZ - DH is really into steaming/hot tubs for muscle relaxation after workouts. In my dream world I'd love a super-fancy finish to the pool (like full tile), but realistically we'll need to go with something more low-key. I don't think I know what an auto-leveler does? Good to know that I might need more than one vacuum for the pool - part of my concern about this is that I'm lazy about outdoor cleaning and would haaaate putting a lot of time into manually cleaning. Our home alarm system can chime and tell me which door opens when it opens; I'd turn that feature back on if we had a pool, and would definitely install some extra high latches on the back doors. Also, good suggestions on the depth/cost/insurance. DH would really like a deep end (probably more like 6 ft than 8, but still deeper than your standard 3-5 ft. pool). I definitely WILL NOT allow a slide or diving board.</p> <p>@Sams Mom: The auto-covers are supposed to be crazy strong! I'm also after it for the convenience factor of being able to quickly cover/uncover the pool - I have hated dragging big heavy covers when we've stayed at places with pools.</p> <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Oh, the compare and contrast between the two is especially helpful! You've got a good point about the "extras" being fussy and one more thing to maintain. I've got three little kids, I don't need to give myself MORE work! :) My sister lives in Florida and I LOVE the concept of Florida rooms around pools. The screen would keep crud out of my pool, and in my fantasy world where money is no object, I'd also be able to install glass over the screens for longer pool use (HA - not realistic, I know - but the screen thing would be nice!) I am intrigued by the conversation pit idea - that might be a nice substitute for the bar stools, which I really don't want due to the safety issues another poster mentioned.</p> <p>@MamaBear87: Thanks for the heated deck coil solution - we live outside NYC so extending the season our pool is usable would be great! I love the look of the overflow fall from hot tub to pool, but that's not possible if we want to keep the hot tub open after we close the pool for the winter. I don't know anything about the type of fence you mentioned, but it sounds cool - I'll check into that and compare it with the auto-cover. Being able to let my kids play in the yard alone is a must - I won't put in a pool if we can't find a way to make that absolutely safe. It's good to know you DIDN'T like your hot tub. DH is very sold on the idea of a winter hot tub, I don't think he's thought out how hard it might be to use.</p> <p>@mdf106: I appreciate the reminders that the cost doesn't stop after you pay off the pool installation. I think we really need to look at the costs of heating/maintaining...a pool isn't going to "save" our family any money, since our pool is part of a "club" that I also use as a gym and indoor play option for the kids, so I wouldn't cancel membership. Question about disliking the pebble tech - what would you use instead?</p> <p>@Jennibenni: Great sun-shelf tips! Thanks! I would love to use the sun shelf as a shallow play space for toddlers, since it's not really feasible to do a zero barrier entry pool in the amount of space we have. It's nice to know you haven't really loved the landscape features, because those sure are a way to spend a LOT of extra money really fast!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831899 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 16:15:17 +0000 Jennibenni 2831899@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>-Is your pool chlorine/chemically cleaned, or salt water?<br /> Salt water. Our pool company actually mentioned that they only do salt water for new builds, I’m not sure the reasoning though.<br /> -Do you have an auto-cover? If not, do you find covering/uncovering the pool difficult by yourself?<br /> No cover, we are in Florida<br /> -Do you have a hot tub? Is it incorporated into your pool design, or entirely separate? Can it be used year round?<br /> No hot tub. I don’t miss it but it’s hot here. I would definitely want one if I was in a place with all of the seasons.<br /> -Do you have special features like a waterfall/water wall, sun shelf, stools for a swim up bar, etc.?<br /> We have a large sun shelf which gets lots of use! It’s big enough to hold two chaise lounges if we wanted to put them in the water, and it has two bubblers which keep the water moving and sound nice. We can change the speed of the bubblers to be anywhere from a gentle ripple to more of a fountain. We leave them off a lot but I like them and am glad we have them. Also, MOST IMPORTANT, an umbrella hole in the shelf. We’ve got a 10 ft umbrella there which makes plenty of shade for kids to play or lounging out of the sun. We also have a bench on each side of our deep end which is nice. Good place to climb out or sit with a drink.<br /> -Any feature/component you didn't opt for, but wish you had?<br /> Our pool is the pebble tech and I think it’s kind of rough. I wish it was all tile. That’s probably really expensive though.<br /> -Any feature/component you have, but either feel is not really needed, or actually dislike/wish you didn't have?<br /> No but in other pools I’ve seen I’ve not cared for elaborate waterfalls or planter areas.<br /> - Do you have any sort of vacuum tool that makes keeping the pool clean (from falling leaves, not chemical levels) easier?<br /> Yes we have a vacuum thing on a hose that is integrated with the pool and runs around sucking up things on the bottom. It has a little bag we empty when it’s full.<br /> - and last but certainly not least - what do you do (either actual features...<br /> We have a safety fence around the pool itself. We have two kids and for the time being at least we are not comfortable having both kids out there without both parents so we do man to man coverage/supervision. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831889 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 15:54:04 +0000 DesertDreams88 2831889@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Definitely limit plant usage around the pool. Leaves and flowers falling or blowing into the pool constantly is annoying.</p> <p>Depth is something to consider, as well. If you have a deep section for diving, it's fun, but a couple of things to keep in mind- I've heard it can drive up home insurance due to risk, it increases the cost of chemicals because you're treating 2x the number of gallons, and if/when you have to drain &amp; refill the pool, it will cost double and use more water.</p> <p>Ask your home insurance company for the pool coverage policies and read up on your local and state safety codes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831846 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 13:30:06 +0000 mdf106 2831846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>-Is your pool chlorine/chemically cleaned, or salt water? chlorine. I personally dislike salt water, it hurts my eyes worse than chlorine.<br /> -Do you have an auto-cover? If not, do you find covering/uncovering the pool difficult by yourself? No cover, we live in Texas.<br /> -Do you have a hot tub? Is it incorporated into your pool design, or entirely separate? Can it be used year round? It is partially separate, with a small waterfall for overflow into the pool, and can be used year round. It is great for before/after the swim season. We usually use it as a warm pool for cooler weather, or for warming up between trips in the real pool. We use it a lot in May and October, and sometimes in winter with out of town visitors. It heats up quickly, unlike the whole pool which takes forever, does not heat up very high, and is expensive to heat.<br /> -Do you have special features like a waterfall/water wall, sun shelf, stools for a swim up bar, etc.? We have some benches, they are great for the kids to be able to stand.<br /> -Any feature/component you didn't opt for, but wish you had? It would be nice if our pool was bigger and rectangular for more usable space, and maybe had a deep end.<br /> -Any feature/component you have, but either feel is not really needed, or actually dislike/wish you didn't have? We have pebble tech and I don't like it, it hurts my feet. We need to replace ours soon, after about 25 years. We can heat up the whole pool, but rarely do, because it is so expensive.<br /> - Do you have any sort of vacuum tool that makes keeping the pool clean (from falling leaves, not chemical levels) easier? We have a vibrating cleaner(creepy crawler), it was not expensive to replace<br /> - and last but certainly not least - what do you do (either actual features on the pool, or family rules) to make the pool safer for your children? We installed a deadbolt on the top of our door. The pool takes up pretty much the whole yard, so we can't really fence around it. We also never use floaties, because they can build undue confidence (my oldest will use a pool noodle). We work with them on safety skills (pushing off of the bottom/bobbing, swimming, holding on to the ledge of the pool and circling to the stairs, climbing out).<br /> We bought our house with the pool, so did not pick out the features. Pools are very expensive to maintain, and we still often go to the community pool, because it is so nice. It is convenient not having to go anywhere, but so expensive. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831840 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 12:55:12 +0000 MamaG 2831840@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>-Is your pool chlorine/chemically cleaned, or salt water?<br /> Chlorinated, my DH manages it.</p> <p>-Do you have an auto-cover? If not, do you find covering/uncovering the pool difficult by yourself?<br /> We don't have any sort of cover on our pool. We live in Texas, and while we don't use it year-round, we don't technically close our pool.<br /> -Do you have a hot tub? Is it incorporated into your pool design, or entirely separate? Can it be used year round?<br /> We did and it was completely independent of our pool. We removed it last year after the pipes froze several years ago. Honestly, it took too long to heat up to be useful. We don't miss it at all.</p> <p>-Do you have special features like a waterfall/water wall, sun shelf, stools for a swim up bar, etc.?<br /> The only special feature we have is depth and a diving board.</p> <p>-Any feature/component you didn't opt for, but wish you had?<br /> I wish we had a ledge or shallower portion for our kids.</p> <p>-Any feature/component you have, but either feel is not really needed, or actually dislike/wish you didn't have?<br /> We redid our surface a couple of years ago and put in pebble tech. We love it! But, we picked one of the darkest colors. It's very lagoon like, and heats up and stays bath warm all summer. Not necessarily a great feature when it's 104 out and you want a refreshing swim. I think it's also increased our evaporation rate.<br /> - Do you have any sort of vacuum tool that makes keeping the pool clean (from falling leaves, not chemical levels) easier?<br /> Yes, we have several, we rotate them at different times of the year. Ours is suction side and not on a dedicated pump, so it goes whenever out pump runs.<br /> - and last but certainly not least - what do you do (either actual features on the pool, or family rules) to make the pool safer for your children?<br /> We have an alarm on our door. We also are diligent about water safety and supervision. We have a yard fence, but not one specifically around our pool.</p> <p>Our pool was in place when we bought the home, so any design choices really were not our own. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831774 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 08:39:02 +0000 MamaBear87 2831774@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>-Is your pool chlorine/chemically cleaned, or salt water? We have chlorine. I really love salt and ours can do both, but especially in Phoenix because it's so hot salt is WAY more expensive. You have to run the filter more hours per day. I'm fine with the chlorine because it's way less than a public pool because you don't have nearly as many bodies in it<br /> -Do you have an auto-cover? If not, do you find covering/uncovering the pool difficult by yourself? We live in Phoenix and don't cover our pool. We do plan to use an existing solar water panel to heat it this winter to extend our season. If you're building you might want to look into solar coils in your deck to help heat your pool so you can use it longer<br /> -Do you have a hot tub? Is it incorporated into your pool design, or entirely separate? Can it be used year round? We don't but my in laws do in ca and I love theirs. It's seperate but has a small fall into the pool to deal with overflow<br /> -Do you have special features like a waterfall/water wall, sun shelf, stools for a swim up bar, etc.? We have a Baja step which is glorious with small kids. Our 2.5 year old can walk around on it, she does swim lessons and understands she can't do that off the step so it works perfect for us. We also have an aerator which helps cool the pool in the summer which I like. Our waterfall is pretty but we rarely turn it on, it's noisy and I wouldn't waste money on one if we were building<br /> -Any feature/component you didn't opt for, but wish you had? We have friends with a Baja step at both sides which I think would be great but hubby doesn't like because then you really can't swim in it<br /> -Any feature/component you have, but either feel is not really needed, or actually dislike/wish you didn't have? The waterfall as mentioned above<br /> - Do you have any sort of vacuum tool that makes keeping the pool clean (from falling leaves, not chemical levels) easier? We have an in ground filter which if done correctly is great but ours isn't engineered well. If we had more stuff that fell in our pool I'd buy a vacuum<br /> - and last but certainly not least - what do you do (either actual features on the pool, or family rules) to make the pool safer for your children? We have a fence with auto closing fence. It's a real fence we will leave forever. Not a fan of the small mesh ones that people always take down because they're ugly. I love that kids can play in the rest of our backyard and I don't have to worry</p> <p>Oh and absolutely use pebble tech. I don't think they do plaster that often anymore but pebble tech is a one time expense, plaster has to be replaced at most every 20 years </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831766 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 08:10:50 +0000 looch 2831766@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a pool, it was there when we purchased our house. I didn't want it at first because I really wanted to go to a pool club for the socialization, but it's turned out to be really great.</p> <p>We have a robotic vac, the brand is Dolphin and you basically just drop it in and it zooms around the pool. Expensive but worth it. The worst part about the pool maintenance for me is the animals that drown in it. I think I have scooped out at least 10 chipmunks so far this year and the pool has been open a month.</p> <p>We don't have an automatic cover, we have a solar cover on a rolling apparatus for the summer season. In the winter we have a cover that you stretch all across the pool and it can support the weight of several people.</p> <p>We have a heater, which is great, since we live in the NE and the season is short and it takes a long time for the sun to heat 20,000 gallons of water. We have a propane tank on the property, which I dislike. If we were to do this over, I would like a solar panel system to heat the pool water. </p> <p>The pool is chemically treated, but my husband aerates it, so we end up using very little chlorine past the initial shocking at the opening of the season. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831755 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 05:39:20 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2831755@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had a pool in our last house. Which we did not install ourselves. My mom has a pool she built.</p> <p>-Is your pool chlorine/chemically cleaned, or salt water? SALT</p> <p>-Do you have an auto-cover? If not, do you find covering/uncovering the pool difficult by yourself? NO auto cover, we didn’t cover it. The prior owners left their manual auto cover. We tried it once, but it left a water edge. My mom has a netted cage around her pool and patio, which is very typical in Florida.</p> <p>-Do you have a hot tub? Is it incorporated into your pool design, or entirely separate? Can it be used year round? NO</p> <p>-Do you have special features like a waterfall/water wall, sun shelf, stools for a swim up bar, etc.? Mine- no. My mom has a conversation pit in her pool. Great for the non swimmers it provides a booth like place to sit and put a drink. Her pool also has two creatures that shoot out water, a waterfall, and a plant ledge built in. The plant ledge looks awful- she doesn’t have a green thumb. Her pool is also a 3-5-4 depth; I think the sales person pitched it as an activity pool.</p> <p>-Any feature/component you didn't opt for, but wish you had? NO, for my old pool it was a rectangle, bigger than a “plunge,” and unfussy. For us it was perfect.</p> <p>-Any feature/component you have, but either feel is not really needed, or actually dislike/wish you didn't have? The plant ledge.</p> <p>- Do you have any sort of vacuum tool that makes keeping the pool clean (from falling leaves, not chemical levels) easier? YES, which is why when the cover proved to be too small we didn’t replace it.</p> <p>- and last but certainly not least - what do you do (either actual features on the pool, or family rules) to make the pool safer for your children? If we had stayed in the house, we likely would have drilled a gate around the pool or fortified the sliding glass doors out to the pool more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831749 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 01:42:34 +0000 808love 2831749@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Hypatia: I am so on the same page as you today. I just ordered that Amazon pool. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831746 Sun, 01 Jul 2018 23:51:37 +0000 Hypatia 2831746@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can buy an above ground pool from Amazon for $100 (the brand is intex and it gets great reviews). It is absolutely not the beautiful pool you're planning for, but the cost is so low that I think that it'd be a great way to do a sort of trial to see how much you actually use it, deal with the upkeep, etc. It has a secure cover that I think would make it pretty safe to have without a fence (of course you'd want to look more into that, but I think it's like a hot tub cover that's too heavy for kids to move, that snaps down as well). I personally wouldn't want to make the big investment into a pool without doing something like that first. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831741 Sun, 01 Jul 2018 22:17:28 +0000 DesertDreams88 2831741@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>-Is your pool chlorine/chemically cleaned, or salt water?<br /> Chlorine / chemicals</p> <p>-Do you have an auto-cover? If not, do you find covering/uncovering the pool difficult by yourself?<br /> Here in AZ, we don't have to cover the pool ever. However, We use a solar cover for May &amp; September to keep the pool warm enough for swimming. It cost about $100 on Amazon and we cut it to fit. </p> <p>-Do you have a hot tub? Is it incorporated into your pool design, or entirely separate? Can it be used year round?<br /> No. It AZ it is not that desirable ;)</p> <p>-Do you have special features like a waterfall/water wall, sun shelf, stools for a swim up bar, etc.?<br /> I would LOVE a sun shelf. I think waterfalls look nice but don't add much value, not sure how much they cost. Stools for a swim up bar seem unnecessary and possibly dangerous if you have kids. I'm scared they'd forget and jump / swim into them....</p> <p>-Any feature/component you didn't opt for, but wish you had?<br /> PebbleTech or quartz finish, anything but plaster.... we have plaster right now and it needs to be redone. I'd also like an auto-leveler for the pool.</p> <p>-Any feature/component you have, but either feel is not really needed, or actually dislike/wish you didn't have?<br /> We have pop-up filters and they don't work very well, but it might just be an outdated system. We're converting to a robotic vacuum system in the fall. </p> <p>- Do you have any sort of vacuum tool that makes keeping the pool clean (from falling leaves, not chemical levels) easier?<br /> Yes, we have a vacuum that we have to manually operate, and there is a skimmer that runs. It would be nice to have 2 skimmers, 1 isn't enough. </p> <p>- and last but certainly not least - what do you do (either actual features on the pool, or family rules) to make the pool safer for your children?</p> <p>- We have a self-closing / self-latching sliding patio door with a child-safe latch 5 feet high. There are companies around here that install them because that is an option for being up to code (we don't have a fence). The door can't be left open or left unlocked. </p> <p>- We put on floaties inside the house, before going outside, and talk constantly about how we can't swim without them yet. If he tries to take them off outside, we try to stop him, and if he is insistent, then we go inside. I HATE hanging around on the patio without floaties. Again, we have no fence, though. </p> <p>- We are planning on buying a pool net in the fall when we re-do our pool. Our friends have one and it is very secure. </p> <p>- Our friends have a door alarm on their back door that goes off if the door is opened. They turn it off when the kids / family is going in and out, though. </p> <p>- We go in the pool at least every other day for the entire swim season. LO is very proficient at swimming with floaties at least, and in my group of friends, you can 100% tell which kids have pools and which don't. The kids who have pools, learn to swim much faster, which is better for safety in the long run. One of my friends has a 2.5 year old that can even swim short distances with his face in the water, with no floaties. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831740 Sun, 01 Jul 2018 22:13:35 +0000 Sams Mom 2831740@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So we do not have a pool, but this is off of experience with friends and family members.</p> <p>Saltwater is so much nicer to swim in, and from our friend that has had both, she prefers the maintenance on the saltwater.</p> <p>The same friend has an auto cover on hers. The one she has you can actually walk across. I've never walked on it because I was afraid of messing it up, but she's walked on it, her kids have camped on it, my toddler son has walked out on it with her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pool-owners-considering-taking-the-plunge#post-2831735 Sun, 01 Jul 2018 21:38:18 +0000 PinkElephant 2831735@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know many people who own a pool IRL, so thought I'd ask here to get some feedback! Thank you so much to anyone willing to answer!</p> <p>DH is intent on putting in a pool in our backyard in the next few years; we got a few estimates this fall but decided to wait because of all the extra costs involved to do things the way we want to (he'd like to revamp our outdoor entertainment space and add an outdoor kitchen, and feels it is more cost effective to do everything at once - including the fence we'll need because of the pool). But after a few (very busy) weekend trips to the pool at the fitness center/club we belong to, he's hoping to do this ASAP. But obviously it is a HUGE decision, and no small expense, and I since neither of us grew up with pools, I feel like I don't want our only advice to come from the people who are trying to sell us the pool!</p> <p>The things I'm wondering are...</p> <p>-Is your pool chlorine/chemically cleaned, or salt water?<br /> -Do you have an auto-cover? If not, do you find covering/uncovering the pool difficult by yourself?<br /> -Do you have a hot tub? Is it incorporated into your pool design, or entirely separate? Can it be used year round?<br /> -Do you have special features like a waterfall/water wall, sun shelf, stools for a swim up bar, etc.?<br /> -Any feature/component you didn't opt for, but wish you had?<br /> -Any feature/component you have, but either feel is not really needed, or actually dislike/wish you didn't have?<br /> - Do you have any sort of vacuum tool that makes keeping the pool clean (from falling leaves, not chemical levels) easier?<br /> - and last but certainly not least - what do you do (either actual features on the pool, or family rules) to make the pool safer for your children?</p> <p>Features we most likely will spring for are an auto cover, a separate hot tub that can be used in the winter (but looks like it is part of the pool), and some sort of sun-shelf. DH would really like a few stools so we can use the edge as a swim up bar, and a waterfall/water feature of some sort. I'm anti-stools, and indifferent on the water feature since we have to have a rectangular pool (can't go "natural shape") with the auto-cover. </p>