Swimming pool build

[crackerjackbaby]

We are so considering a move out of London, to Kent. We’d like to have an outdoor pool built in the grounds. Any idea how much this would cost and how long it would take?

Me too - thought it was funny.
Not remotely jealous - l am a keen and regular swimmer but couldn't think of anything worse than having a pool to upkeep.
But you do you op.

We have a pool and have someone who comes to clean it and do the chemicals weekly. He charges us £50 per visit.

Stables for how many horses? TBH converting my 2-car garage to 2 stables + tack room was a lot less than an inground pool (my parents had one, but that was in North America, where it's pretty normal for middle-income families)...and diamond tiaras I'm sure vary wildly in price...

Considerations, beyond the price, might be: who is cleaning it? Maintenance is a bit of a faff, and the weekly hoovering was a hotly contested chore between my sister and me. As in, who would get out of doing it. Winterising/opening for the summer (probably later in the UK than in NA) is another big faff. We were able to use it (unheated) 5-6 months of the year. During those months, it was in heavy daily use (as in we never left it) for a few years, and then we grew up, and eventually, our parents became less keen on cold water. Altogether, we loved it while we had it, but it was a lot of work to maintain. So beyond the installation budget (the 100k sounds about right, but I'm out of touch in pool matters), consider if you want to maintain it yourself, or if you have a budget to pay a pool maintenance company. It's not difficult to manage yourself, but is a massive faff.

I would look at an indoor pool or an outbuilding with retractable roof as then you can get year round use out off it

The people who look stupid are the ones choosing to trigger themselves by insisting on engaging with threads they dislike. Going onto someone else’s thread and whining because they haven’t considered your personal sensitivities is what is self absorbed.

OP - honestly, prices vary wildly depending on size, materials, whether it’s in or above ground, whether you want decking, and so on. The pool itself is the cheap part, it’s everything else that adds up. You can do it for as little as £20k, or you can spend in excess of £100k. I would advise shopping around for quotes and deals.

Do your neighbours have pools? Ask who maintains them and get a rec for a builder. Don't skimp on the cover - a retractable electric will keep it warmer. (Cost about 20k just for the cover). We have a pool and use it all the time. It's an absolute pleasure and no hassle if you get a good pool guy. Sadly we are not in Kent or I'd recommend ours.

Could you not just have converted a section of your lake?

Actually, if I were ever thinking of installing a pool, I would go for one of these systems. https://www.bionizer.com.au/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=23730778759&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23730778759&gclid=CjwKCAjww-3VBhAcEiwAwUUIuyoovt6Hyh5jVPX6ukjHcOaL4tb9U7x7eS5Vz0VkvI_li9fZKNqdVBoCHbMQAvD_BwE

A friend of ours here in Australia has one and says the sheer joy of swimming in a pool without chlorine makes any extra cost well worth it.

That Aussie idea does look good, but a domestic swimming pool isn't very chlorinated and shouldn't smell of chemicals. It's a very gentle water - because it is not used by loads of people and no one is pissing in it, so the chlorine levels are minimal and not reactive.

I didn't realise that. I've never had the opportunity to swim in a private swimming pool. These friends of ours live quite far away.

I just remember growing up in the UK in the '70s, the only family in our suburb who had one used to use gallons of the stuff! Their children always smelled of chlorine in the summer.

I’ve got a pool and I’m not rich, I just live in Australia. 😀 The cost of a pool is very much how long is a piece of string, but I know my friend recently put in an 8m by 4m fibreglass pool and it cost her the best part of 100k aud, so about 50k in stg. So it seems like pools are cheaper here. I don’t find it expensive to run at all, but we do have solar and a salt water pool, so maybe not so many chemicals. We get it cleaned at start and end of swimming season and my husband does the rest of the maintenance. I just enjoy it.😁

I don't have a pool but know a couple of people who do. I've decided it looks like a massive headache in terms of maintaining the balance of chemicals, more than I could be bothered with. In my examples, the man of the house has had to assume the pool as a hobby and is constantly checking the pH, temp, solar heater. I've come to the conclusion that knowing someone with a pool is awesome but owning a pool is one massive faff!

It takes my husband about an hour a week to do all this, most of which is spent fishing leaves out of the pool. It’s really not that arduous, although we never test the temperature, you know if it’s too hot or cold by sticking your hand in the water.

We probably spend 10-15 mins a day on pool maintenance. Fish out any frogs and salamanders, rinse the robot filters, empty the skimmer basket, backwash the pump filter, switch the pump on/off, drop the robots in. Check the chemicals every few days. Pull the cover over daily.

In winter we shut it down and stop thinking about it.

We swim maybe 4 months a year but the pool is over 30 years old so I’d say it’s recouped its initial investment. It’s also really lovely to sit beside. Also you get to skinny dip.

Two extras worth spending on imo: a swim jet, so you can swim continuously against it rather than be bound by the modest length of the pool,
and a proper slide

And a fence with a lockable gate if you have small children living with you or visiting. It is also handy for drying bedding on in the summer

“In the grounds”???

are you buying a stately home???

Ours was a lot cheaper, but it is an above ground one. We can inflate it in about 10-15 minutes and it came with a couple of blow-up fish and a starfish. The kids love it. Our garden is not that large so we do have to take it down when the kids want to use the trampoline to look at the neighbours over the fence.

Yes and I’d agree with you about that, but she didn’t sound bitter at the start did she?! When the sarki little comments started she’d simply asked a question! It happens all over Mumsnet, if anyone has the audacity to appear to have money they’re met with nothing but sarcasm or disdain!

she didn’t come across as jealous. She was witty.

anyway. This conversation is out of my tax bracket, I’ll pop off to find a home bargains thread.

I had one put in about 15 years ago and it was £35k including the paving around it. In ground pool with a liner (not mosaic tile). But the guy installed another one at the same time it was £75k for similar type but slightly larger and with upgrades (automatic cover etc). Theirs was also further from the house so getting electricity out there and higher spec heat pump. Different terrain. I used an air source heat pump and the ambient temp had to be above X degree to work so it was an April to October pool. I really don’t remember how long it took but a few weeks.
After installation the running costs were a few hundred a year rather than thousands - including closing it down and opening it up (needs a certain amount of chemicals which you can learn to do yourself). But the day to day maintenance was easy. I’d say £80-100k is probably a ballpark figure these days and like all things it could cost double that depending on XYZ. It was great I had no regrets.

OP anywhere between 75-100 but I would also install solar at the same time. Removal of earth is usually not included.

A serious point is that you must consider safety when you install the pool including if it is open and outdoors whether you want it to be gated. Even if you don't have children yourself, it is inevitable that you will have visitors who do. Drowning is a leading cause of death in children under 5.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/child-drowning-deaths-us-pools-parents-b3022390.html

Do you know where you are moving to? Or are you looking? I would look for a house with a pool and compare that to ones without to give a cost and value idea.

We have a non-chlorine system. We don't have any help unless there is a major problem with the pump/heater. DH does any regular maintenance required and it honestly seems pretty minimal to me, after a period early on when he had to get the hang of it. Well, apart from this year when he had to do some significant structural work on it. But that saved us the best part of 50k!