Re: Considering an above ground pool
Welcome to the Pool Forum!
I agree with your husband. If you're going to spend the money to have the fence extended and the ground leveled you might as well go with a more permanent, larger pool. You will ultimately be happier with it than a smaller pool which will be drained and stored at the end of each season.
Our AGP is 15x30 and holds around 12,500 gallons. My annual maintenance cost is less than $150. That covers liquid chlorine, test kit refills, and what grocery store ingredients I may need at the beginning of the season to balance the water. Since we top off/refill with well water we don't have the expense of municipal water. Its functional depth is about 4' - how tall are 8 year olds?
I spend an absolute maximum of five minutes a day on pool maintenance: testing the water, adding chlorine, brushing the pool bottom, and sometimes skimming leaves or bugs off the surface. I don't use an automatic cleaner; instead, I vacuum by hand every couple weeks or so, as needed. That takes about 45 minutes and is very relaxing for me (because the pool is then "closed" and is mine, all mine <G>). A permanent AGP does not get fully drained in the winter. You drain down some of the water but leave the majority in the pool.
Installing an above-ground pool can get a little pricey. Ground preparation, the pool and equipment, a deck, if that's what you want, landscaping the exterior, building permits and so forth, and it would take some years to break even with the annual membership to the swim club. But it would be YOUR pool and you would know the water is clean and sanitary, you are not limited as to when to use the pool, you decide who gets in the pool, and best of all: no driving to the swim club.
The other option is a temporary pool for a couple of seasons to see how easy maintenance really is and whether you like doing it.
Regardless of what you decide, we can help you by teaching you how to maintain the water and troubleshoot the equipment, if that should become necessary. In all honesty, time and money spent on pool maintenance are a non-issue.
Oval 12.5K gal AGP; Hayward 19" sand filter; Pentair Dyn 1 HP 2sp pump on timer
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