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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To really really want my own swimming pool

85 replies

misspoirot · 18/02/2014 20:54

No, I probably can't afford it but..... Maybe with some clever financial planning and if we sacrifice holidays, nights out, non-essential clothes, Chinese takeaways and all things frivolous..... It might be possible. Maybe I could start a neighbourhood swimming pool co-op?!

I've always wanted a swimming pool in the garden since I can remember, even better if it came in one of those log cabin type buildings! I just want to wake up and literally take a running jump...!

Does anyone know how much it costs to maintain a pool after the initial outlay of having one built?

OP posts:

Milliways · 18/02/2014 21:07

This thread may help? but it is a little old.

YANBU to want one, but the only people I know who have made good use are those with permament covers / log cabin.

One friend left theirs drained as could not afford to keep, and found a dead deer in the bottom, frozen in the trapped rainwater, this winter! :(

Pedallleur · 18/02/2014 21:10

Of course you can have one. But can you afford to run the heating/filters and maintain the pool itself? I'm sure you can find out what a small pool would cost to run but how often would you use it?

Sourpickles · 18/02/2014 21:16

oh god.. its the first thing I'd buy if I won the lottery. I love to swim but hate public pools!

youbethemummylion · 18/02/2014 21:21

An absolute fortune!!! I only know of the gas/electric charges from work but just those are huge then you need all the treatment/maintenance etc. If you can afford it go for it but can you realistically see yourselves never having a takeaway ever again?!

FrimpongDench · 18/02/2014 21:23

I'd like a swimming pond, or a lap pool (one with a current) However they are a money pit. And a hedgehog drowned in the water and sucked into the heating element costs a fortune and smells a lot

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 18/02/2014 21:24

How about an endless pool where you swim against the current produced? They take up far less space.

This sort of thing?

tolittletoolate · 18/02/2014 21:24

I used to work for someone who had a swimming pool in a log cabin in her grounds.
It was amazing and she used to expect me to use it all the time

livelablove · 18/02/2014 21:27

My gran used to have one of those ones you construct from metal parts, it stands above the ground. It was not that big. Hers was unheated though. I don't like that these days but as a kid we would swim in it when quite cold. You don't need a hut if you are willing to swim only when it is fine enough weather.

butterfliesinmytummy · 18/02/2014 21:31

I grew up with a pool and I'm sure it was a money pit but it was amazing.

My kids have always grown up with a pool, firstly in Asia and now the US so we swim a lot (literally every day in Asia and now March through October in the US). It's amazing to have kids jump in the pool when they get home rather than switch on the TV.

Running costs in warm countries aren't high - we have an automatic vacuum and we throw in chlorine every week or so. We do have to top up with water every so often.

I don't think I'd have a pool if I lived in the UK though, the season is too short and heating costs would be too high. Would rather spend the money on membership of a decent health club with a good pool.

BikeRunSki · 18/02/2014 21:31

Guy at work bought a house with a pool. He wasn't looking for a pool, but the house ticked all the right boxes and was a good price because the builder had gone bust. He said the only expense he didn't account for was the cost of feeding his DC's friends who spent the whole summer round his house!

BrianTheMole · 18/02/2014 21:41

I love that endless pool. I didn't know such a thing existed. I could fit one in my garden!!!

Bombaybunty · 18/02/2014 21:46

My super rich friend has one. She lives in a huge house and the pool costs more to heat than her house!
Beware!

DoJo · 18/02/2014 21:47

God damnit! I had just reconciled myself to the idea that it will be a while before we can have the balcony that we want added to our house, and now an endless pool has to go on the list too! Looks awesome, and big enough for kids to play in too - perfect...

Original poster

misspoirot · 18/02/2014 21:54

Blimey Milliways that sounds like something out of a horror film!

I like the idea of a lap pool and swimming against the current in a smaller pool but there's something about a full size pool that clinches it.

Would love the kids to want to play in the pool rather than stay inside glued to screens. Plus, no having to be all adult and sensible when no strangers are about, can dive bomb till my hearts content!

Maybe I'll do it in stages - build the cabin to house it first, then the actual pool the next year and then live on cabbage soup to maintain it.

Youbethemummylion, you make a good point, not sure I could commit to no Chinese takeaways forever.

Having said that, I do have two scratch cards that have been waiting to be scratched for the last month - I like to make them last!

OP posts:

Philoslothy · 18/02/2014 21:54

We have an indoor and outdoor pool. They do cost a lot to upkeep and I suspect it could put buyers off. However they are constantly used

MidniteScribbler · 18/02/2014 21:58

I love my pool, and I know that as DS gets older it's going to be in use constantly. I have solar heating on mine (solar panels on the roof) which heat it, so I don't find the costs too high. I also find having a pool blanket keeps the heat in so it extends the swimming season. I find running my spa (jacuzzi) costs more than the pool.

Original poster

misspoirot · 18/02/2014 21:59

Heating sounds like a costly problem. Maybe I'll go unheated and invest in a wetsuit. Aren't they supposed to keep you quite warm?

The cabin could be western facing with lots of full length glass windows to use the heat from the sun (ha ha yes I know, what sun!)

OP posts:

DoJo · 18/02/2014 22:02

misspoirot If you're living on cabbage soup, you could turn your pool into a jacuzzi at no extra cost!

Fannydabbydozey · 18/02/2014 22:02

Oh god I'm with you. I'd love a pool. I fantasise about having a pool. I've never had a private pool but when I lived abroad there was one on top of my building (a swim with a view. You could chill at the side with a view of the city) and then in the next apartment, thee was a pool WITH A SWIM UP BAR downstairs next to the beach. Ok they weren't my OWN, but there was rarely any more than a handful of people in them and they have put me off cold miserly public pools for life. I'm a pool snob.
I have the tiniest of gardens and no money so I've made do with an easy set pool big enough to sit in... It's not even close.

Original poster

misspoirot · 18/02/2014 22:03

Philoslothy, indoor and outdoor, I'm positively green with envy! Sounds great x

OP posts:

Philoslothy · 18/02/2014 22:05

It was either private school fees or a pool .

Philoslothy · 18/02/2014 22:06

That was a joke before I get flamed - well kind of.

AngelinaCongleton · 18/02/2014 22:07

Oh philoslothy tell us about your pools and how you use them? That sounds amazing!

AngelinaCongleton · 18/02/2014 22:08

Awwww was so sucked in! I'll go to sleep dreaming of having a pool now

Original poster

misspoirot · 18/02/2014 22:08

dojo ha I knew there had to be an upside to living on cabbage soup!

fannydabbydozey pool with a bar.... Never thought of that...

OP posts:

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