Planning, designing new pool.

[eljefe281]

1) Does size matter? The pool, that is. Considering 18 x 36, however why not go 20 x 40? Is it a lot harder to heat or clean?

I am only in the planning stages as well, so any opinion I express should be taken with a grain of salt.

Having said that, I would abandon the idea of heating your pool. Spa, sure, but I believe that heating a pool is an expensive proposition.

[Jeffski]

You must not live in Michigan.

Heating is a necessity, not an option. The heater is about $1,800 plus the monthly cost to run it which should be less than $100 a month.

[Davenj]

We had a 18x36 vinyl last year. Put extra money in spill over spa, swim out, filter setup, swg, Kooldeck/retaining wall, robotic cleaner. Drives the price up pretty fast. Check if the sub contractors (elec./gas line) are general estimates from the Pool Builder. The sub's actual cost will be slightly higher.

[CarlD]

Does size matter? Well, form follows function. If your pool is for dunking (cooling), playing and floating, you don't need size.

But if you want to swim laps I think you need a MINIMUM of 36' in length. I have a 40' long pool and that's great for lapping, but my parents had a 33' foot oval and even going long point to long point it wasn't really long enough. My pool is only 16' wide, but 16x40 is just great for us, seems big enough, and we don't miss AT ALL the 20' width we had originally planned for.

[baseballmom22]

We're in the process of building. Ours is free form, will have the diving board and is 39 x 18. We had an above ground as a test while the kids were smaller. We decided we loved the pool so much that we wanted bigger since the kids are now older and becoming teens. They've actually gone to the city pool for the diving, so our small one wasn't being used. I didn't realized until they dug how big 39 x 18 was, but we're really glad that it is that big. The kids have already decided who is coming to the first pool party.

http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ing_6-9-06.jpg

I would definately plan on having monies set aside. While everything was going ahead of schedule, we hit a snag because my city requires a ptrap on all pools no matter what. After installing the ptrap, the city didn't pass inspection because we needed a dual cleanout, so plumbers had to come back out and put in a two way cleanout. We finally passed the plumbing inspection, and we're back on track. We should be getting the gunite tomorrow. If we hadn't have hit that snag we'd be ahead of schedule.

[Dr. Spike]

You must not live in Michigan.

Heating is a necessity, not an option. The heater is about $1,800 plus the monthly cost to run it which should be less than $100 a month.

I would agree, a heater in the 'colder' states is a good idea. I am glad to have a heater for my pool. Wisconsin is not the warmest state.

The temperature in my enclosure gets to 90 or more but without a heater my water stays around 62 Of course my pool gets no direct sun light so I don't have the chance to warm it up with the sun.