25 years. Everything has been replaced.....liner (twice), heater, filter, etc.

The only one to use the pool over the past 5 years is Murphy.

He's our 4 1/2 year old golden... :-)

We had our fiberglass pool, which came with the house over 20 years. The last few years it was such a mess, that it didn't get used often, except by the grandkids and the dog. We installed a new pool/spa last year and swim laps almost everyday; we also have lots of visits from the kids/grandkids. Our Jack Russell likes this pool even more, since it has one of those baja ledges with bubblers, which I'm sure he thinks we installed for him.

My pool is 28 yrs old. I have replaced all the original equipment. The first few years are great then the maintenance begins.Everything for a pool has huge price mark ups. If one can afford the cost and ongoing maintence then it is worth it.

It's a place for the kid's to hang out at , and the parent's can party. This arrangement won't last forever, so
enjoy it while you can. Then when the kids are gone, you can either move or fill in that big water hole.
Enjoy! :-)

I installed a pool 3 years ago and it is great for my kids. I spent about $50,000 overall on the pool and landscaping (vinyl pool). I was in only once all summer; however, my 13 year old was in everyday with her friends and my 17 year old son has many friends and parties at the pool. It can be great for the social life of a 17 year old boy. I spend a lot on food/snacks/drinks but love knowing were my kids are and who they are hanging out with.

I know as they grow older, the pool will fade in popularity like the bikes in the garage. Like the other poster said, enjoy it while it lasts. We made the decision to install the pool for our children and I've never regretted it. I hope they will have many fond memories from it as they grow older.

If you can afford it- do it.

quote" do you still love it? "quote

Absolutely. I don't say this just because I'm a pool guy, I'm a pool kind of guy and would be even if I wasn't in the game. Literally everything at home besides school work raising my children involved the pool. We always hosted the after season parties for the kids sports/cheerleading activities. The best part was that for my wife it was the fact that the pool is a built in babysitter for the kids once they came of the age where they could be left outside at the pool unsupervised. Even though they're adults now it's still the same when coming home from college or when my son brings over his.
My buddies and I still enjoy the pool like we're teenagers playing volleyball, basketball, and (much to my wife's dismay) jumping off the roof of the pool pavilion into the deepend.

quote" Any regrets? "quote

I wish that I wouldn't have built my pool so large, the pools' electric bill kills me. It has it's own electric meter and 200 amp service just like it was a 2500 sq/ft house. And costs about the same monthly.

The folks I've seen who hate their pools are typically the ones that don't stay on top of them. If you keep your pools needs ahead of you it's easy to maintain. Once it gets behind you it's a bear to get it back.

See ya,
Kelly

I do have to admit that we would have filled in the pool about 7 years ago, if we did not have golden retrievers.

My wife was in the pool about 7 years ago and I have gone in about 7 times in the last year. No times this year and we are having the pool closed today.

Murphy will surely miss it until next year..... :-)

My parents first house was next to a creek that we played in all summer long. At the next two houses my dad built small ponds. The year I graduated from high school they built their last house and put in a 20x40 gunite pool. We hung out there alot during and post college years because of the pool enviroment.

After being in the business for 6 years and still single, I bought my first house that was next to a creek and immediately put in a monster pool. 37x54 fiberglass wall/concrete bottom with two adjacent wooden hot tubs. I dug it as deep as my backhoe could dig and ended up with 12.5 feet. I had 24ft vac poles and it was a chore to keep it clean but we had some incredible parties that I will never forget.

5 years later I was married with kids on the way and the bachelor pad turned into the young family entertainment center. The parties continued albeit in a different style. We didn't have cable so the kids spent most of their time in the pool. It was the go to place in the summer so there were lots of friends for the kids and mothers to keep my wife happy.

14 years and 4 kids later I bought a house from a pool customer in a more suburban enviroment with better schools. The pool is much smaller (18x40)and much easier to care for. We added a fiberglass spa. because of the pool our house was still the go to place for the kids and their friends as they grew up. My wife loves having them all around and knowing all of their friends.

Two kids have graduated from college one is attending and the youngest still has those great formative years of high school ahead. Hopefully the pool enviroment will have the same impact on his life that it did on the other three.

Grandchildren are next but hopefully not too soon?

Kelly... off subject (sorry) but how large is your pool and why a separate meter - is that normal? We're starting in a few months and pool size is 40 x 20 and 27 where it juts out for tan shelf. Is this considered a large pool? We're on 2 acres and have plenty of room and an 8 and 16 year old so we will definitely have plenty of friends and neighbors over to enjoy it. Most of our friends say their pools have only added maybe $50 to their electric bill.

Kelly - I have the same question that ginahoust has....how large is your pool? What is the perimeter? I will also be putting in a pool in a couple of months and I do not want my electric bill to double. I don't mind if it goes up $50, but I don't want to see an astronomical increase. Thx

I'll throw in my $0.02.

Our pool is a 36 x 22 kidney. 9 1/2' in the deep end.

We keep the pool @ 84 degrees all season long (who knows why we keep it warm for the dog). Well, we keep it warm just in case I do decide to chance it and go for a dip.

Our gas bill is maybe $50 more per month.

We put in an inground just 2 years ago so i guess i'm too new at the game to really know .... always wanted one and wish we had done it sooner. Just don't let anyone tell you its too difficult to maintain. Get the salt based system and find a reputable store to test your water sample for you (if u don't feel like doing it yourself) and its a breeze.

KC

Going on the end of our 4th year and totally LOVE our pool. Kids are currently 11 and 15, and we regularly have a large group of kids over every single week for an open swim day. LOVE IT.

I don't see an end or change, and this is despite the fact that we've had major maintainence issues this year (SWG broken, drought with through the roof hardness issues, algae bloom every single time we are blessed with a raindrop).

I'd still do it all over again. I honestly don't swim myself all that often, and neither does my teen, but it's the whole package that draws us, we entertain more, we BBQ more, we just sit and enjoy our coffee outdoors more. Honestly I like my outdoor space better than my house these days.

I am sure I am not qualified to answer this considering I have only had a pool for 1.5 months.

Every single day I go in my backyard and shake my head and say...man...I should have built this years ago...it is stupid not to have a pool...