Views on whether outdoor pool is a bad idea

[user704750]

We are very lucky to live in beautiful place. We won't be moving for at least 15 years (been here for 20).

I am toying with the idea of an outdoor pool. I think it would cost about £150k

I'm not a massive swimmer. DH swims regularly (at the gym). I hate travelling though and am very much a home person. We tend to stay at home during the summer and go away in the autumn and at Easter.

House is worth c£2.5m. Large 5 bed with 14 acres, separate guest cottage. High standard of decor. Based in the Midlands rather than the South coast so a bit cooler.

DC are at university but both are likely to live back at home for post grad study.

Everything I read says a pool is a bad investment but given the house is high end, I'm not sure. A reasonable number of houses in this price bracket in this area seem to have pools (although there aren't that many of them). Can't afford an indoor one which would add tens of thousands to the cost.

We have solar panels which generate excess power in the summer.

Would a pool devalue a higher end home in your opinion? Would it put you off buying the house?

I’d like a tennis/basketball court though!

Our neighbours had one put in 2 summers ago. Plus a substantial pool house. I think it’s a plus when it comes to selling as their house is huge and they have several acres and separate guest accommodation above their garages. Their house is grade 2* listed; that didn’t appear to be a problem with consent.

It’s when people squeeze in a pool to a smallish garden that it becomes off-putting, imo.

We have an air source. We are on a variable tariff - sometimes the pool is a lot cheaper to heat - we once got it up to 30 when there were negative electricity prices. It’s not super quick to heat it up though. Needs a min 24 hours notice.

In that price bracket it's not really a question of investment, or otherwise - I think it depends on whether you will make use of the pool.

You say you won't be moving for at least 15 years so who knows how house prices will go during this time.

I have friends with pools indoor/outdoors mainly in the South but also Suffolk - they seem to make good use of them!

I think you’ve missed the boat if your kids are grown ups. Several of our neighbours have pools, the outdoor ones don’t seem to get used much unless they have kids. And there’s a lot of griping about the maintenance!

What about a powered spa thing - where you can swim against a current? If its actual swimming rather than sitting round your after? (I’d have thought the lake was more scenic for a sitting spot?)

Comes down to if you will actually use it. I’m surprised an outside pool would be that expensive to put in actually. As someone else mentioned, depending on access I would consider whether an indoor pool costs could be offset by renting it for a few set hours per week for small group swimming lessons (insurance might be an issue too) because outside in the uk is so seasonal

If you can’t afford to do an indoor then I wouldn’t bother unless your hobby is skimming out leaves, insects, mice etc.

I have a pool, and the maintenance and running of it isn't massive.

If you are installing one from new, fiber glass would be best as it is longer lasting and also cheaper on chemicals.

I do live in another country though, and many houses have pools. We also only use ours part of the year to be really honest, but the running of it in the winter season is not costly as you run the filter way less and it uses less chemicals as well.

In my mind, a grand house is incomplete without some sort of pool, whether it be indoor or outdoor.

And there is nothing better than sitting with your feet in the pool if you want a quick cool down. Or to just have a quick swim or float around in a warm evening. My entertainment area is next to it, and when visitors come over, it is taken for granted that a cozzie is packed too.

You will need dedicated pool towels though. And a good amount of them.

Much too cold. And needs a lot of maintenance and cleaning. I wouldn't but up to you. I've heard people buying higher end houses saying no pool. Don't blame them.

The pool itself isn't £150k but I would want to use the same stone around it as the patio plus sorting out any landscaping mess created

Wildlife can climb out of a lake if they accidentally fall in. They can't climb out of an in-ground swimming pool. According to a professional pool maintenance friend of mine, there are few things worse than having to fish drowned pets and other animals out of a swimming pool.

You also need to bear in mind random small children who have wandered unnoticed away from neighbouring properties. It happens. 🙁

A fence around a swimming pool area is a necessity.

Is it your husband pushing for one? From your post it doesn’t sound like you want one particularly or would get much out of it.

A fence around a pool area, or a safety net over the pool is law in my country.

Although if the property boundary is fully walled, then this counts as the preventative measure.

So just check on the legal side of things for your area OP.

I do know several people who removed (or filled in) an outdoor pool in their gardens. Also people who put them in. It certainly put me off buying a house which was ideal in other respects, though it had a smaller garden than yours.
They're usually not long enough to do any real swimming anyway, just splashing about to keep cool. Personally I wouldn't bother unless it was a good long size and was indoors so I could use it for more of the year, especially if I had solar power which would keep it warm.

We had a nice pool in our garden when I was a child and it wasn't used much except in really hot weather.

What about one of those small pools with a current to swim against?

My previous house has an indoor pool and my current house has an outdoor pool. I actually prefer the outside pool as for half of the year it feels like being on holiday. We open it before the Easter holidays (although haven’t yet this year) and close it after October half term.

We have a safe pool cover that you can park a car on, although like you, have water around us anyway as we live on the river.

Ours is heated by ASHP set to 31deg. Any cooler and we wouldn’t use it. We have a pool man who comes fortnightly to clean and service it, although we do have a robot pool cleaner too (which is pretty rubbish but expensive!)

My house is currently on the market for £4m but in SE so probably equivalent to yours in the midlands and i think it’s far more expected to have a pool.

I would love a pool at a house in Spain. In the UK...not so much, regardless of how much money I had.

Pools are expensive and it's a really odd thing to install if you're not a big swimmer. Even if you are a big swimmer then you need to think about how big the pool would need to be to be worthwhile. For exercise I'd want 20 metres minimum. What would your DH want to be a realistic replacement for his gym swims? And do you have space/budget for that?

Outdoor pools in the uk reduce the saleability of a house as buyers are nervous re maintenance.

From my perspective I would swim if I had my own pool but I'm certainly not an every single day swimmer at the moment.

DH swims about five times a week. The kids would use it all summer (although they obviously won't live here forever).

The pool would be 12m x 5m so not enormous but a decent size. This wouldn't eat into our garden at all. We have 14 acres.

No issues with neighbouring kids wandering in since we don't have neighbours close by and in any event both neighbours have outdoor pools. We would get an automated hard cover anyway (cost includes that)

If I had that amount of money and that sort of house..... I would absolutely love an outdoor pool, not at all keen on indoor ones. My teens would adore it too and it would get a lot of use, I do like cold water though. I say do it 😍

If I had a property that size and a husband and children who liked swimming I wouldn't hesitate. Sounds absolutely blissful. Go for it. (Your house and garden sounds lovely btw, sigh...) please tell me you've got a Jack Russell and I can be properly jealous!

Get a,spa pool above ground cheaper and less investment

Something like Storm Spas | Swimspa Turbine 6 share.google/Vj3xItJqk8BjdWVi5

No jack russell but a collie, two cats, six chickens, ducks and a few million bees..

Another vote for a large spa pool, heated, swim against the current.
Arctic Spa’s salt water types almost self regulate pH and CL.

@user704750 your bees will be drawn to the pool :(, def go with spa and cover!
Also a fellow owner of 1M bees.