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?

My parents sold their larger family home with outdoor pool thinking they would be glad to see the back of the maintenance and upkeep but they actually really missed it and have installed one in their new house - it’s open May to End of September and gets so much use. The recent summer heatwaves we’ve had have made it worth it. They also heat it using solar panels so my mum swaps her indoor gym swims to outdoor ones throughout the summer. Grandkids love it too. They have built an outdoor kitchen next to it so it makes it more of a social space which I also think helps it have maximum use.

As have I but the question is about whether that still stands for a large £2.5m property (not in the South).

I honestly wouldn’t worry about value/reselling if you have no plans to move for at least 15 years. Do what you want and enjoy the house - I agree with you that once a house hits a certain value, a pool is a pretty standard feature.

My daughters boyfriends family have an indoor pool, they used it for a few years when they moved in but found the novelty wore off and being indoors it had no further function. They drained it and made it into a skate park for their youngest and his friends. It got a lot of use.
The children have all left home now and they use it as storage, mostly just closed off from the rest of the house. Having an outdoor pool to sit beside is more appealing.

If you don't plan on selling, then just go ahead and install it.

If this was a property that you had bought to flip and sell again, then that would be a totally different matter.

It is your space to be enjoyed. You have the space and the means to do it.

There have been lots of mentions that this is too small for a training pool. Well yes, most domestic pools are too small as no-one is going to install an olympic size pool in their yard. I am sure if someone is that serious about swim training, then they would go to use a training size facility for that. We are examples of that. I do now, and have always had a pool at home. We were competitive swimmers in younger years, but we went to a training pool to train. The pool at home was/is for pleasure purposes.

Op, I think it sounds lovely, and I agree with you that at that price range, a pool is not the white elephant it would be in a semi.

But I would firstly tot up the number of days every year in your area where the weather was balmy enough to sunbathe and swim (there might be more of the latter) going back say 10 years.

And I'd definitely get one of these for another 15K - all-weather cover . It's not lovely to look at, but it's not hideous either. There are probably posher ones too.

A family member has an outside pool. It is heated and used every day. She used to swim a few times a week at the local pool but they had their own installed and she swims every morning come rain or shine, even if it’s snowing or hailing! Family bbqs mean all the kids (and grownups tbh) and up in the pool playing volleyball and other games. It’s expensive to run I believe, given that it’s heated, but is used every day and works really well for them. I think it’s worth it if you have the space and believe you will get the use out of it.

We have an outdoor pool of approx that size (SE England), and on the whole I think I would rather not have it. DH would disagree, but I think that's at least partly because I'm the one who has to sort out getting it repaired when things go wrong.

It did put us off buying the house, but the house was otherwise perfect, so we went for it anyway.

I'm a keen swimmer, but it's just not big enough for the kind of exercise I like. Most of the time the weather's too cold for it to be tempting. In the heatwaves I can't stay in it for long or I'll burn. (Basically I'm just a picky bitch.) It costs too much (heating, maintenance, repairs) for the amount we use it, imo.

Having said that, DH loves flopping into it after work in the summer. The kids loved it when they were younger (not so much now). It makes for a great summer get-together if the weather's right. So it's really down to your personal preference, I guess.

If i had the space and the money a pool would be top of my list. I love swimming but don't get out to do it much. I think the reason people might be against is the unpredictable weather in this country so you might not get as much use out of it as you might want. I know people who have pools and none have regretted it.

Summers in the UK are only going to get hotter. I would do it. I see a lot of metal ones with automatic sliding covers where I live.

You're just showing off. Unless it's some idiot having a joke.

I would but then I love swimming! A family member had one, the kids had such a great time but I think it was hard work to maintain (ok if you're retired maybe). If I had 2.5k, the first thing I'd look for is a pool - although that would be on the south coast.

Get a small outside, heated indoor typec pool surrounded with a glass/greenhouse type covering.

Like the ones you see in the Canary Island and Spanish. hotels .
With an integrated jacuzzi/whirlpool and fountain jets.

Think this is a divine idea. Money well spent.

😻🩱👏🧜
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If DH swims for fitness purposes, a home pool isn't going to be long enough to be much use.

It sounds like you would get a lot of benefit and enjoyment from an outdoor pool. Your health would benefit, your social life will benefit (friends will enjoy coming over in the summer) the DC will love it and it will be a lovely relaxing feature, somewhere to lounge and enjoy. You’ll get 15 years of fun. It sounds like a great investment to me. Enjoy it, I can’t imagine it deterring the right buyer eventually. It sounds like you’ve earned it!

Go for it and when can I come and stay?

WTF? Why on earth am I just showing off or having a joke? Literally everything I put in that post was context to explain the reason for the question.

I’ve owned 2 properties, both of which we put outdoor pools in (heated). Husband was a builder so did the work himself. I’m not really a water person but I did enjoy having them. They actually don’t add much value to a property and are expensive to run so not everyone’s choice

Yep, same here.

If you can afford to heat it and pay someone to come in to maintain it on a regular basis, yes.

I wouldn’t get one however if you and DH don’t plan to stay in the house and use it regularly.

The main thing is the commitment to maintain it (chemical balance as well as clear leaves etc).

In terms of selling, it would be a bonus for some buyers, but not others depending on their priorities.

My parents had a pool probably about the size you are thinking of when I was growing up, OP, as did many in town. And in our neighbourhood the gardens were considerably smaller than yours.

I agree a well landscaped pool can make a garden feel welcoming and hospitable, and look lovely. It is a great focus for a party, for fun and games, and possibly for diving.

But most domestic pools are only so-so for exercising: they are too short. Your DH may still prefer the gym for that.

Also, our climate was Mediterranean. I wouldn’t get enough use from an outdoor pool in the UK to make it worthwhile installing one, but then I am not British.

We have an outdoor pool. we were looking for a house with one but had to do it ourselves in the house we bought. We heat it up from April till end of September so it gets used a lot. We have solar panels but I guess it’s still quite expensive to keep it warm. But it means you can swim even if the weather isn’t great if you’re a dedicated swimmer 😁 we love it

I’m struggling to understand the business case. What’s the reason for getting it? Your husbands/kids occasional swim (presumably during summer months only but he’ll likely want to continue going to the gym anyway), Or raising the value of your house (although if you’re selling in 15 years time, that’s a huge unknown and pool could look shabby by then).

Or are you just looking to make a change? Is it a boredom thing? Unless you guys actively want a pool to use, I don’t understand why you’d spend so much on one.

Respectfully, £150k is a life changing some of money to so many people. I’m surprised to see people have so much money that they’re looking to spend it so whimsically.