Pools - Tim the pool man, can I have your advise please?!
Discussion
Looking for some advice regarding pools!
We're looking at purchasing a house which has a pool and just wanted to get some advice on it.. its an in ground pool which is solar heated, not sure if it’s a salt water or a chlorine pool but wondered what sort of costs etc would be associated with running and maintaining a pool. What sort of regular maintenance would I need to do… actually… what do I need to do to maintain a pool properly??
Would appreciate your advice
Thanks
Kev.
We're looking at purchasing a house which has a pool and just wanted to get some advice on it.. its an in ground pool which is solar heated, not sure if it’s a salt water or a chlorine pool but wondered what sort of costs etc would be associated with running and maintaining a pool. What sort of regular maintenance would I need to do… actually… what do I need to do to maintain a pool properly??
Would appreciate your advice
Thanks
Kev.
Kev,
I could possibly offer a bit of advice from a new owners point of view.
We bought a house last year on the Gold coast with an in ground pool.
It is a salt water pool.
It doesn't cost that much to run, but does stil have a fair chemical mix you need to keep up. chemicals seem pretty cheap. Its a lot cheaper to run that I expected. Reckon we have probably only spent about $100 in a year.
we get the water checked for free at our local pool shop and then buy whatever they tell us WE NEED.
we also paid about $40 on top of that for a pool guy to come out and show us how to work it.
we have a Kreepy Krawly which cleans it. They are bloody expensive though in real terms so see if you can get it included with tHe house. Ours was with the fixtures and fittings. (dont know if thats normal... we didn't ask for it)
Cheers
Pete
I could possibly offer a bit of advice from a new owners point of view.
We bought a house last year on the Gold coast with an in ground pool.
It is a salt water pool.
It doesn't cost that much to run, but does stil have a fair chemical mix you need to keep up. chemicals seem pretty cheap. Its a lot cheaper to run that I expected. Reckon we have probably only spent about $100 in a year.
we get the water checked for free at our local pool shop and then buy whatever they tell us WE NEED.
we also paid about $40 on top of that for a pool guy to come out and show us how to work it.
we have a Kreepy Krawly which cleans it. They are bloody expensive though in real terms so see if you can get it included with tHe house. Ours was with the fixtures and fittings. (dont know if thats normal... we didn't ask for it)
Cheers
Pete
Thanks for the response.
Sounds pretty simple to me but I bet there is a few lessons to be learnt as I go through it! Liking the idea of getting the water checked and for the pool chap to give me some lessons... are there many filters and things?
Good advice on the pool cleaning equipment though... hopefully our offer on the house will be accepted and I can then get to grips with it...
Sounds simple.. but I bet it takes some getting used to!
Sounds pretty simple to me but I bet there is a few lessons to be learnt as I go through it! Liking the idea of getting the water checked and for the pool chap to give me some lessons... are there many filters and things?
Good advice on the pool cleaning equipment though... hopefully our offer on the house will be accepted and I can then get to grips with it...
Sounds simple.. but I bet it takes some getting used to!
Hi Kev,
I think it varies depending on the setup, but we have a great big cartridge filter, and some sort of electronically controlled pump combo thing!
They really aren't that difficult to manage. I have been pleasently suprised.
everything varies though depending on a number of things, like construction of the pool (concrete/fibreglass etc) type of water (salt/fresh) and probably even what state you are in, with whether you are allowed to fill it up with a hose.
I reckon getting a local pool guy to have a look.
We were lucky with ours, as the motor stalled, and the pool guy managed to diagnose it and talk me through fixing it on a sunday for no charge, so we use him now if we need anything.
cheers
Pete.
I think it varies depending on the setup, but we have a great big cartridge filter, and some sort of electronically controlled pump combo thing!
They really aren't that difficult to manage. I have been pleasently suprised.
everything varies though depending on a number of things, like construction of the pool (concrete/fibreglass etc) type of water (salt/fresh) and probably even what state you are in, with whether you are allowed to fill it up with a hose.
I reckon getting a local pool guy to have a look.
We were lucky with ours, as the motor stalled, and the pool guy managed to diagnose it and talk me through fixing it on a sunday for no charge, so we use him now if we need anything.
cheers
Pete.
tim the pool man said:
Just got home and seen this thread, just heading out to play squash then go to the gym but will reply later.
geez,I just got back from the Olympics where I did the Marathon and the Mens double sculls at rowing. Will gte back to you after I've run to Palm Beach and back.
7805 said:
Looking for some advice regarding pools!
We're looking at purchasing a house which has a pool and just wanted to get some advice on it.. its an in ground pool which is solar heated, not sure if it’s a salt water or a chlorine pool but wondered what sort of costs etc would be associated with running and maintaining a pool. What sort of regular maintenance would I need to do… actually… what do I need to do to maintain a pool properly??
Would appreciate your advice
Thanks
Kev.
Sorry Kev, got home pretty late and forgot about this, just about to race out again now...We're looking at purchasing a house which has a pool and just wanted to get some advice on it.. its an in ground pool which is solar heated, not sure if it’s a salt water or a chlorine pool but wondered what sort of costs etc would be associated with running and maintaining a pool. What sort of regular maintenance would I need to do… actually… what do I need to do to maintain a pool properly??
Would appreciate your advice
Thanks
Kev.
Just quickly then, if the surfaces are in good condition, there isn't a great deal of difference maintaining a concrete of fibreglass pool. Most pools need regular (ie weekly or fortnightly) addition of a cup or 2 of acid to keep the pH correct, with FG you use liquid (HCl) and with Concrete you use dry acid as HCl will attack the plaster. Other than that pretty similar. Older FG pools tend to be more susceptible to "black spot" algae, which is very hard to get rid of once it takes hold. Older concrete pools tend to start going flaky or causing cloudiness as the plaster deteriorates.
The usual guide is around 15 years for either before they need resurfacing. A well balanced pool will last longer than a neglected one.
Hopefully it will be salt chlorinated. Probably 98% of my customers' pools are. Manual chlorination is a chore, and I find those pools are the ones that get neglected. Older SW chlorinators need the cell cleaning regularly due to calcium buildup, most newer systems are self cleaning.
Filtration: again 90% plus have sand filters, these are easy to maintain, just a monthly backwash. Cartridge filters rtequire stripping and manually cleaniong and periodic acid bathing.
Total running costs depend greatly on the size of pool and efficiency of equipment. An average (say 45,000L) pool would have a 0.75KW pump, running 6-8 hours/day in Summer, depending on the type of chlorinator. A better system will cut the running time significantly as they produce more chlorine per hour.
That's all for now, I'll have another look later. Any other questions just ask.
Cheers
Tim
Nice one, we're in a very similar position.
Bought a place with a pool and moving in at the begining of October, similarily clueless about what we are meant to be doing about keeping it running well - funnily enough not much call for outdoor pools when we were in Scotland.
Some extra questions on top of what has already been asked if i may...
What's the best way to go about heating it in winter without it costing a fortune? Obviously the usefullness of solar deteriorates when you need it most at that time of year but are there any options other than a dedicated gas/electric pool heater that you know of potentially that can be combined with the heating for the house itself? Would seem like a good plan to be able to make use of heating that is going to be on anyway to heat indoors to also heat the pool a bit to make it usable all year round. We'll be having ducted heating/cooling installed when we move in so would be good if there's a system that can use any excess heat to warm the pool too.
Secondly - what's the going rate for maintainence etc - ie how much roughly should it cost to get someone to come in and give it a good clean, clean the filter, and set it up properly for us etc when we move in? Just a ballpark so i know if we're getting ripped off when i go hunting for someone to do it.
Cheers
Al
Bought a place with a pool and moving in at the begining of October, similarily clueless about what we are meant to be doing about keeping it running well - funnily enough not much call for outdoor pools when we were in Scotland.
Some extra questions on top of what has already been asked if i may...
What's the best way to go about heating it in winter without it costing a fortune? Obviously the usefullness of solar deteriorates when you need it most at that time of year but are there any options other than a dedicated gas/electric pool heater that you know of potentially that can be combined with the heating for the house itself? Would seem like a good plan to be able to make use of heating that is going to be on anyway to heat indoors to also heat the pool a bit to make it usable all year round. We'll be having ducted heating/cooling installed when we move in so would be good if there's a system that can use any excess heat to warm the pool too.
Secondly - what's the going rate for maintainence etc - ie how much roughly should it cost to get someone to come in and give it a good clean, clean the filter, and set it up properly for us etc when we move in? Just a ballpark so i know if we're getting ripped off when i go hunting for someone to do it.
Cheers
Al
Tim - thanks for the detailed answer, I was at the open house again yesterday and had a good look around the pool pumps etc to see if there was anything to report! As long as I look after it and keep the regular maintenance.. well.. regular then it should be okay. The pool was built by a company called Anglesea pools (the plans were on display at the open house). Its solar heated (made sure I checked this out) and the water is very clear right now. Pool was built in 1998 according to the plans. Although I wasnt in the pool to check in detail, the tiles etc look clean and well maintained. All pumps work and filters were clean too.
Thanks for all the advice though - really helped..
Kev
Thanks for all the advice though - really helped..
Kev
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