Must have's
large filter (30"+ sand, 400sq+ cart, or 48sq+ DE)
pool sweep (I like the 280 Polaris)
chlorinator
some sort of shade maker nearby the pool (pergola, sailshade, cabana, etc...)

See ya,
Kelly

This is great, please, more, more more!

BUMP!

Couldn't do without our spa. We wondered if we should get one, but we always seem to end up in it after a swim. In the winter, we can go in after a quick warm up. Our spa's seats were built so that we have a place where we can be up to our shoulders in water and another where we can sit up and out a little. We also have sloped back seats. It's the greatest!

Our love our heat pump. We live in Florida, but I must have a warm pool. Though I will say, we just got back from a week on Sanibel Island and I actually experienced a pool that was so hot it was not fun at all. The Gulf was also above 90. Too much for even me! Our pool, under the cage, was perfect when we got home (we had rain here...none on Sanibel).

We LOVE the Jandy controls in the house and by the spa. Never realized that the convenience of these would be one of my favorite things.

We wish we had thought more about the deck and it's overall look with the pool. I spent FOREVER looking for the right tile and brick. Truthfully, you really need to look at your deck as the frame for your pool and the coping as the mat. Your water color...not the finish is what you need to match to the deck. I looked at the finish itself... and ended up with a water that is on the greenish side. Our pool is still nice, but the look is not quite what I imagined. Trust what you see here, and take note of what you like. Go see lots of models. Then decide. We probably should have raised the back wall to add interest too. It adds so much to pools.

We also wish that we had calf jets in the spa. Asked about them and they said that they didn't do that. Should have pushed the issue.

Big one! Make sure that your lights do not face the house! I asked about this one and they said that it wouldn't be a problem. It is! Have enough lights and face them away!

We probably could have done without the sunshelf. What's funny is that they made it too small in the first gunite pour, and we made them fix it. The swim space would have been used more. What I do think is that it will be great for grandchildren some day in the FAR future.

Good luck!
Kristen

I've had a pool for 14 years. We are now beginning a long overdue renovation. My pool is a fairly straight forward pool, but I've also spent a fair bit of time in a friend's pool that has every feature and gadget. After 14 years, I know what we actually want and need, and what we don't.

Must haves:
The longer the pool the better. I use the pool for two reasons. One is to cool off and the other is to swim laps. My kids have pool parties and the more swimming area, the better.

Deep! My teenage boys and their friends love to dive and fling themselves into the pool.

Diving board. Our pool is the favorite amongst the teenagers because we have the only diving board. (Almost took this out when they were young but am very happy I didn't.

SWG - took me 14 years to get this. Had an ozone and Nature 2 which was always a struggle to keep the pool clear and balanced.

A large lanai with retractable awnings - a great place to hang out and watch the kids in the pool. We eat breakfast and dinner outside everyday overlooking the pool and love the option of shade with the awnings. We've even had a memorable Thanksgiving dinner in a torential downpour under the protection of the awnings.

Solar panels. Only use them in the winter, but it allows us to use the pool year round.

What can I do without?
Fancy colored lights. Had them and now removing them because I thought they looked like a tacky hotel pool (this is just my opinion and I know I'm in the minority here!)

Slide. Much rather have a diving board. Lots of great exercise for young active boys with a diving board. They outgrew the slide and we had it removed. It also blocked our view which was part of the decision.

Spa. Too hot here.

Sun bench. I've never had one, but as kids grow, they want swimming space.

What would I like to have?
A completely tiled pool. Ours is under renovation, but I'm certain I'll love it.

Sandstone pool deck. Can't afford it right now. Phase II.

My old pool man who sadly passed away 6 months ago. He took care of our pool for 14 years and had taken care of it for the previous owners.

Sc14- Yes, I agree about the retractable awning. Ours is on order and hopefully we'll be getting it any day.

Carribian:
I know whatcha mean about the swim up bar- I've dreamed of having one too. The only problem is you can't really have a bar w/out a bartender. That leads me to my next dream... oooh la la!! lol

Skinnydipper, I've seen your bar...it's beautiful. I'm sure your DH will walk the few steps to serve you a lovely drink in the grotto...don't you think?

Skinnydipper, it seems you HAVE the dream pool. Is there a link where you have posted pictures? I'd love to see it.

A swim up bar and a rock waterfall grotto would be the ultimate!!!

Must haves:
Solar - significant other thought I was wasting money and we wouldn't need it. He was also the first one to admit how much he's glad we have it!!!

Pebble finish - preferably smaller pebbles

Jandy Aqualink - so everything can be automated and work from controller

Decking/Patio - lots of it. We have approx 700 sf and it's just barely enough

Auto-fill valve

Water feature - sheer descent or waterfall of some kind

Wish we had:
Depth - should have gone from 4' to 7', instead of 3.5 to 6'

Swimup bar & waterfall grotto ;-) Seriously, at least the waterfall grotto!

Pavers - love the light-colored travertine pavers

Also, I wavered on a sun-shelf and we ultimately opted against it to maximize swim space. If space isn't an issue, a nice sun-shelf with a palapa would be perfect. Otherwise, just put a couple of bench seats in the deep area and maximize swim space.

the only 2 things i really wish we had done that we didn't:

1) make our pool deeper than 7 ft. so we could add a diving board if we want to later.

2) POUR MORE CONCRETE FOR THE DECKING AREAS. if you are thinking at all about adding more patio/decking area later on, do it all at once when they are out there the first time. it is sooooo much easier and will look uniform.

Thanks Kristen! DH is happy to get me drinks, but the thought of a swim up bar with a really hot bartender ain't so bad. ;-) I'd be a shriveled prune cause I'd never leave the pool!
Linda117- I love my pool, but there's certainly upgrades I'd have if money were no object! ;-)

Here's a link to my photobucket album.

Here is a link that might be useful: Skinnydipper pool

SkinnyDipper, your pool is gorgeous, I LOVE the color of the water, what is the finish? Also, I LOVE! your BBQ area, where in the world did you get the hut like house. The only place I've ever seen anything like that is at a resort! I WANT ONE!

We have had mixed opinions about the auto fill. Does anyone have one that has a well?

i've been working on pools for 17 years and i love the auto fill, salt water chlorine generator, and hayward color logic lights. automation and remotes are also great. i recomend gold line controls PS-8 system which has the salt system built in(you need cell and flow switch) and can control any thing youy can put on your pool or any lights in your yard by timers or remote.

Skinnydipper, your pool looks like the size I am aiming for, I searched old posts and found that you said you were doing a 15 x 23 pool. Please tell me your pool is bigger than that. I looked at a few pools that were 18x40 and I wasnt sure if that was big enough.

Linda,
Thanks for the compliments. First of all--- It's freeform and the width varies between 15 ft and 23 ft, depending on where it's measured. The widest point is 23 ft wide. The length of the pool is 35 ft, then the spa extends another 8 ft +. It looks extra big because the overall length is about 45 feet from baja step to grotto. The finish is dark gray plaster. (don't get dark gray plaster if you can afford to upgrade!) If I were doing it again, I'd reprioritize my budget and upgrade to pebblesheen or pebblefina. I also wish I has done the baja step in flagstone.
The bbq island was an impulse buy at the LA County Fair. We went to see if there were any pool builders there. The only pool builder was Blue Haven and since I'd never consider using them, we started looking at BBQ's. We hadn't even planned on having one. We had priced them at more than 10 different dealer booths when we found this for 10k less than the others. To top it off, the quality far surpassed the others. It almost seems crazy, we couldn't pass it up! It gives us the tropical atmosphere that we love. Pina Colada's and Mai Tai's are required!

Does anyone have a picture of a "weeping wall". Im still trying to figure out what it is.

A weeping wall will have water that trickles down. Here's a photo of our waterfall. The water behind the fall is a kind of weeping wall. The majority of the water cascades over the ledge, but we have holes so the water can run down the back of the waterfall as well.

Scrapula, your water looks amazing, could you post a picture of the whole pool? Whats the finish and color?

Our pool is 40' x 24', freeform shape, sport pool depth (3.5 x 6 x 4), w/a baja shelf on one side (so we could have a designated 40' swim lane) and a 7' round spa that's raised 12" on the other side. If you search "Mel2001" you'll find LOTS of photos of our pool. :-)

Must Haves:

1) Baja shelf - not only do kids use it, but DH and I love sitting on the edge (w/an umbrella on the decking next to us) and just hanging out. Also, it's where our two German Shorthaired Pointer dogs (Pepper & Lilly) go "swimming" to cool off. If you have the yard space, you can put your baja shelf/step on the side of your pool and still have lots of swim space.

2) Calf jets in the spa. They are WONDERFUL!

3) At least a 40' swim lane (if you have the space). It takes slow-poke me about 14 strokes to cross the pool, and that wears me out!

4) Flagstone coping. We have 3 River Rock and it looks great w/our light grey plaster (blue water look) pool. Plus, we have a big hill next to our yard and the flagstone coping and freeform shape give our pool a natural look.

5) LOTS of decking space, as others have emphasised. Whatever you mark out, go BIGGER! We have 2500 sq ft of decking around the pool, but we have a huge side yard where our pool is. If you go big, make sure you have lots of drains and those lines to help prevent bigger cracks in the decking (sorry--forgot the word for that!).

6) Autofill. Nice to have and not worry about evaporation, etc.

7) Indoor pool controls. Makes turning things on/off a lot easier!

8) Pool house. DH and DS finished building ours last year. We've got a tv, satellite radio, small fridge, ceiling fan/light, dartboard, and other fun things in it. It's not big (14' x 12') but it's a great place to hang out when it's too hot outside (we're in SoCal). Plus, DH recently finished building our outdoor shower on one side of the pool house.

Have/Don't Need:
Can't think of anything. We put our $$ into a larger pool and lots of decking.

Wish We Had:
1) Solar. Eventually we'll put it in, but we have the yard space to have the panels on the wood frames (instead of our roof). That project is at least 1-2 years away. We just crank up the propane heater every now and then if we need it.

2) Designated deep end. Every now and then I think we should have done the traditional shallow-to-deep pool, but we're happy w/the sport pool. I also think we should have gone to 7' depth in the middle, but that would have cost more and we probably would have hit rock (again, we're in SoCal).

3) Different pool finish. We're happy w/our light grey plaster, but if we had the $$, I would've considered an upgraded finish.

Again, we're very happy with our pool and use it as much as we can. Good luck with your project!

-Melissa

We have an autofill and a well, can't imagine NOT having it, particularly with a negative edge. What have you heard against auto fills and water wells?

Autofill is a must have in my book.

Nanshot, one of the pool guys that we talked to said he didnt recommend the auto fill with a well because, 1. you never knew if there was a break in a line somewhere and 2. If there was a break in a line, you would run your well dry. Other pool people we talked to didnt agree with him, but it got me thinking.

Linda/FYI: I believe there's an on/off switch, so you don't always have to have the autofill turned on.

-Melissa

Huh, that's a twist I had not heard, I suppose if you travel a lot, or are not home for long stretches of time, that could be a concern, albeit a random/farfetched one. We practically live outdoors, I can't imagine not noticing water dumping out for DAYS on end, which still wouldn't empty our well, so it isn't something I'm particularly going to worry about. We have a very deep well, plus I'm fairly certain Texas is going to slide inTO our well (or the Gulf of Mexico) soon with all this rain we've got going on.

If you plan on a negative edge, an autofill is truly a pump saver, add in water features (waterfalls in particular) and you're going to lose a lot of water if you live in a hot area.

Can't live with out: Solar, SWG, Screen enclosure, colorlogic lights, baja step, in pool table / bench with therapy jets, great white cleaner, and umbrella sleeves in baja and table.
So far haven't used the deck sleeves for the volleyball net.
Pool is 20X32 would have gone to 35' in length if I'd calculated how much pool space the baja would require.

Bump, great info for new pool planners.

Have had my brand new, ready for Xmas pool up and running for only a few weeks, but am very surprised how much I enjoy my silly Colorlogics light. I have it on every evening and it's the SW Florida equivalent of staring at the fireplace. Also LOVE the Lightstreams glass mosaics I put in as step and bench decor.
Can't imagine living without heat pump and screened cage.
Wish I had: don't really know yet!
Pool is 22x25 freeform, Sandy Beach aggregate surface.
Hayward Colorlogic PX 100, Pentair WhisperFlo 1.5 HP pump, Pentair 200 cartridge filter, Jandy SWG, AquaCal H-100 heat pump.

Bump... I love this thread!

Yeah, this is a great thread!! Now that our pool has been up and running a while I'll add my input:

Glad we have it: SunTouch automation and QuickTouch remote (makes life soooo much easier!), waterfall (even when we can't swim it makes the pool a beautiful, soothing water feature), baja shelf (when it's too cold to swim it's so nice to just put my feet in on the shelf), mosaics (add so much interest to the pool), lots of decking (amazing how much is needed when other families are over), fenced off side yard (great place for storing pool stuff out of sight), LED lighting (effects are great).

Not sure about just yet: Slide (it's fun, but the size kind of overwhelms the scale of the pool, won't know until summer how much it gets used).

If doing it over again would change: Location of baja shelf (instead of "in" the pool where it partially blocks the swim lane, would pull it off to the side so it's out of the way).

Hi, here's two cents from the Southeast on a 18x36 rectanglar liner pool done on a moderate budget. My must-haves:
>A generous deck space with pavers instead of concrete.
>Good pump location to minimize background noise.
>SWG...love it!
>Polaris with booster pump
>two pool lights instead of one for rectangular pool, pointed AWAY from the house. and I like having them on a dimmer switch. great advice from this forum!
>cantilever edge finished w/bullnose coping...no ugly plastic edge. most people don't realize it's liner pool until they get in.
>a nearby pergola or pavilion w/overhead fans...keeps the 'skeeters away!
>dual timers to save energy
>integrated steps rather than the plastic add-on steps that don't age well
Wish I had:
>a couple more jets in the pool, the standard four or five seem skimpy now.
>a sheer descent or similar...spent my $ on the deck and custom pergola instead (but no regrets)
>a spa..again, out of my budget for phase 1.
>solar heat...would like to add a couple more months of swim time! no heat for now...maybe in a couple years.
>an in-house panel control...a luxury/convenience I hope to add
Not so much:
>I had six deck jets installed and wouldn't do it again. Maybe two for the far end of the pool, but all-on they are noisy and it's too hard to change spray pattern.
>folks seem to love their color lights, but I just can't get excited about them so I went with two standards
>the handrail the pb insists including in the package (unless a family member needs it)

glad to have:
spa: it has extended our pool season by at least a month on either end. We swim at 60 degrees when the spa is hot. Polar plunge is also popular when the pool is above 40 degrees.love that tingle.
Mini shelf in the deep end of the pool seats 2 adults
infinity edge: swimming with a view, quite nice.
automation with remote: priceless to be able to control spa heat and bubbles while in the spa.
auto fill
variable speed pumps i run em in silent mode 24x7
swg
flow meter
level changes in the landscape: too flat can be boring. we have a wall and inf edge and a stepdown to an eating area.

Wish I had:
Subdued lighting in the pool and spa. Man that big searchlight is a buzzkill.
a skimmer/filter in the trough. its always full of crud.
a quiet and gentle spa blower

Would you add anything to this list?

Love this post! Thanks for all of the post and please keep them coming.

I would have:
-added more umbrella holes (we didn't give consideration to where the sun would be at certain times of the day)
-made our swimout shelf MUCH bigger (at least 10x12')
-done a tile waterline instead of Pebbletec all the way up (it gets calcium buildup and looks bad)

Otherwise I can't think of anything I would have done different. I love our pool!

I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but regarding autofill: ours broke two days ago and the pool overflowed. I caught it after it had gone over the top for probably only a few hours. We turned the autofill off at our faucet (it is connected at your hose spigot and you turn it on/off from there, very easy) and within 24 hours our water was evaporated down over two inches. This is Phoenix, so with the 115 degree temps it does evaporate quicker, but I imagined not having the autofiller, we would have to be filling it back up every day. The part was just $26, and it was just a piece that screwed in, an easy fix.

In a desert climate the autofiller is a MUST.

Must have- salt water or other low chlorine sanitizer, Jandy remote.

Do without, nothing so far!

I'm going to update my above comments, I said I wasn't sure about the Turbo Twister slide. Well 4 months into using the pool we LOVE LOVE LOVE the slide! It gets used constantly and has been incorporated into all kinds of games and contests that I never would have thought of myself (the kids come up with wild stuff!) Now that the landscaping is starting to grow and fill in the big slide doesn't overwhelm the pool like it originally did. For sure it would be on my "must have" list if we ever did another pool.

We've also since added an SWG and it's wonderful. Makes the chemical maintenance so much simpler!

I didn't mention the autofill, but we have one and it is nice to have as well. Ours is hooked up to a multi-tap on the side-yard faucet like Michelle's is (they can also be hooked into sprinkler systems, but that type is on all the time). When the pool needs to be topped off we just turn on the faucet, then turn it off later. So we don't leave the autofill on all the time, we just use it so that we don't have to worry about dragging a hose out and watching it fill.

Tresw,you don't need to turn off the leveler unless it is broken. It only feeds the pool when the leveler gets below a certain level in the pool, then stops itself until the water is back to normal. It stops water from filling the pool if you don't need it. No need to drag out the hoses!

This thread is fabulous! It hasn't been bumped for a while, does anyone have anything else to add?

So far (we have no pool yet), I could not live without a professional landscape/pool architect as we start this process. To get bids, we were getting wildly different prices and drawings from the PBs. But once we got a plan drawn with exactly the size/shape/features and equipment list, shopping for a PB became much easier. Best $1500 I ever spent.

we are considering having a pool added to 5 yr old home we bought in December in DFW TX area...
no one has mentioned much about the piping/plumbing used in your pool---or the interior mechanics much--
although on other posts people talk about good planning for energy efficiency and cleaning efficiency...

was glad to see someone mention planning where the sun was during its cycle for umbrella shades...and the location of the pumps for noise control...

how far can/should your pads for equipment be set away from the pool--read something that made the think you could not get TOO far away because of the power factor...
did anyone have to have new breaker box added for your power

does the location/orientation of the pool have any effect on the color...we had a very difficult time picking paint to repaint interior of house when we bought it because of the light--north light creates a different color pallete...

does anyone here have a spa that is actually separate from the pool--we have see some new homes with in-ground spas done that way to make it more of a pool/youths and spa/adults set up...close but not in same construction...that kind of appeals to me but I assume it would mean more expense...

is there any rule of thumb about how close to the foundation line of a house that you can have a pool start...I know there are easement issues with other boundaries like fence lines/phone/cable...

Can't do without -
swg, water feature (we have water stream off of pergola into pool), spa (did not have in last house - use it in this one alot), lot's of electric outlets, lot's of deck, swithces in the house, outdoor cooking area.

Wish I had -
A pool cleaner that doesn't squirt windows (polaris tails) and doesn't plug in (aquabots, etc) and actually works (unlike the suction side piece of crap I bot)

More tile on inside - we did 1' mosaic in spa footwell - I'd love to have the whole spa, or more done that way.

Could do without -
being the member of the house who removes critters.

Hi all
We have a 20X38 rect vinyl and LOVE the SWG. This is our first pool so we spent a long time searching this site for ideas. Unfortunately, we spent most of our budget on a telescoping pool enclosure to extend our swim season by a few months. We would have loved a water feature, spa and cool lighting but we are very happy to at least have a pool! Our pool/decking is very basic but the enclosure so far has been worth missing out on all the 'must haves' as we have been swimming here in CT since Easter. I don't know how to post the link to our build but if you want to see our pool/enclosure, do a search for something like "trying to post pics of joanneswimscr build". I sometimes wish we had more bling but, again, am grateful for what we do have...
Joanne

Wish I had a bigger piece of property (back yard) so I
could of built a larger pool area.
Wish I had a spa.

Don`t need auto fill,floor cleaners,remote,diving board,
slide,water feature,varable pump,high dollar deck finish,
pebble tech,fancy (expensive)lighting,etc...

couldn`t live without SWG,heat pump/cover on reel,my turtle
family mosaic,basic beautiful affordable pool.

Skinny dipper,post a few pics of you skinnydipping ???>

Bump,Waiting to hear from skinnydipper...>

just curious since I don't have it....why does everyone love their SWG so much?

Haven't visited this topic in a while...any more input from pool owners/operators?

Mine is a very basic, keep it affordable pool. What I added because I had to have it, was

SWG and Pebblesheen

I really like the SWG as I had swum in a pool that had one and it was so nice not to have that chlorine smell or sting in the eyes. I LOVE my SWG for the same reason, the pool water is so clear and fresh. There is a slight salty taste to the water when your swimming, then lick your lips.

Hair drys just fine, not clumpy in regular chlorine, same with the swimsuit. It just feels less chemically somehow.

However, the kids don't care. They just want to go swimming, in our pool or their grandmoms which is regular chlorine.

SWG and spillover hot tub is the best thing we added!!

What is SWG?