I would have like to have had a pool only occasionally, but seeing how much trouble and expense friends went through with theirs, I demured. At least one friend had his pool filled in, covered over, and was done with that headache.
I have had a Hot Springs Hot Tub for 29 years, the same one. It is working fine, though the decorative tiles have given up the ghost, or rather the sealant/caulk holding them in place has.
I have moved that tub twice more than 700 miles between homes. (Hint, it is easier if you take the water out first.) I had turned it off over the summer to cut down on the power usage, but overall, the thing is pretty efficient. I just turned it back on a few days ago with the threat of freezing weather for a couple of weeks here in Georgia.
Though I don’t use it as much as I once did, I still use it, when I’m feeling bad, have a cold, or am afflicted with sore muscles, which at my age happens a lot. If I gave it up, I would replace it with a sauna.
@Dstraktd
One neighbor spent $20K on a really nice pool, many thousands more filling and refilling it with water (it cracked and had to be repaired “free” three times), and then jackhammered it out when it cracked a fourth time. A year later, he sold the house.
@Dstraktd@werehatrack When I hear these stories, I know that if I got a pool, I’d just buy a pre made fiberglass one. All those problems not an issue. I’ve been researching them for a while.
@00 I’ve never had a chance to try a banya, but I’ve heard a LOT about them from my spouse (who spent quite a bit of time in Russia before we met). I’d love to try to build one when I’ve got the time and money to do it right.
After owning a pool (at my rental property), I will never, ever, buy a house with a pool again. The maintenance and chemicals cost more each month than a gym membership where you can use a pool that they maintain. The electricity to run the pump probably adds $50-$80 each month alone on the electric bill.
If I am being magically gifted both the tub/pool and the maintenance, then I would opt for the pool.
If am stuck with the maintenance going forward, I would opt for the hot tub. They both can be headache, but depending on the size/type of hot tub, it is usually less so.
I have a pool. The only time the electric bill gets high is when it’s really cold and the freeze guard kicks in. The water bill gets a little high in the summer due to evaporation. For chemicals, I keep it simple with only chlorine and a phosphorus removal.
According to Google, a pool doesn’t usually add more value to a home then it costs. And I don’t want a hot tub. So I guess I will take the money and invest it elsewhere.
@werehatrack Having once had a hot tub, I agree. It is better to have a friend with a hot tub. (It is even better to have a hot friend with a hot tub. )
neither. i have a hot tub which was free, but it’s like $75+ a month extra on the electric. i use it like once a month. oh and i get to try an fix it when it breaks - so far been lucky, but parts are getting harder to find. I’d rather have it than a pool i guess, at least my yard isn’t taken up by it
I really have no use for either. If it came with all the requisite plumbing/grading/retaining walls sure. The retaining walls would be worth it even if I paid to fill it in.
Hot tub wise… Wouldn’t a jet tub suffice? I have never used or wanted to use the one I have I don’t need people over in my hot water. Hot tubs should not be social. Room for two should be enough
We had a heated pool in our garage when I was a kid (that garage was larger than my 1500sqft condo, though only two rooms and a loft with a low ceiling). My dad really enjoyed it but after a few years we ended up taking the pool down.
I’ve got no desire for a hot tub.
So I’d want to use the money to rennovate the bathroom in my basement and put in 240V 30A outlets just inside the basement windows for EV charging.
@macromeh I’d prefer more than 30A but my entire apartment is only 40A total (well, 2x40A)… my plan is to replace the electric dryer with gas, thus freeing up the existing 240V/30A circuit for other purposes, including car charging and a decent arc welder.
I’m aware that a single circuit can be shared between a dryer and car, but electricity is so much more expensive than (natural) gas here in NYC that I’m planning to replace the electric dryer with gas regardless.
I grew up on a lake and while I do enjoy going and swimming in my friends pool, I like the openness of the lake. I can’t stand when people put a bunch of chlorine in their pools and my bathing suit gets ruined, my hair and skin are super dry. At least with the lake I know not to drink the water, and shower after I’m done.
My moms had a hot tub for like 5 years and I’ve never been in it. I always forget she has one.
Had a pool/hot tub combination in our previous house.
Only time hot tub was really useful was when it got down in the 30’s in Florida and then you felt like it was a good investment.
Pool probably added $ 200 to our monthly expenses between pool service and electricity for running the pump.
Heated it one cold winter’s week so my son could take his dog into it to swim. Dog was in it for about 30 minutes total and my gas bill went up $ 250 for the month.
Pools are kind of a requisite when you first move down to Florida but as they get older the cost to repair them goes out of sight. We might be the only one on our street that doesn’t have a pool in our new house, but after having one in two houses for 15 years-been there and done that. Picture of our last pool----
I’ve had an in ground pool almost my entire life (not my first 7 years). The chemicals cost about $100 for the entire NE summer and the pump is on a timer, doesn’t add that much to the electric bill. As for towels, we have plenty of them as well!
A pond with a filtration system. I had a friend in high school with one, and it was like swimming in silk. Although surviving the Sanford Flood has made me a bit water shy.
When I was young I invented the pool I wanted in a dream. As yet not available in reality, but its what I want. Pool in a box. Open the box and there are a bunch of large square tiles. Set the tile on any surface and they are a pool surface. add more tiles, make it any size or shape you want in those squares.
Honestly now it makes me think of Minecraft, only water blocks are tiles and it didn’t come with other pieces (in retrospect there should have been edge pieces but those would end up being restrictive).
Mom got mad at us for splashing the walls of the room we set up the pool in (well, dream-Mom, though I expect real Mom would have felt the same).
Pick up the tile and put it back in the box when done. Yes, you have to start picking up from an open edge. No spills or leaks. No you can’t pick up a tile and put it in a box if your bratty younger sibling is still even partially in it
That’s the pool I want. I don’t think I’ll settle for a mundane physics-compatible ordinary one.
Just give me the cash and I’ll add it to my “move to Captain Cook” fund. Last time I checked, that comes with an endless pool and a ski (snow or water) resort.
Heated pool. Best of both worlds. Hot tubs, while fun, aren’t big enough to properly enjoy giant blow up wolf toys in.
Hot tub.
I would have like to have had a pool only occasionally, but seeing how much trouble and expense friends went through with theirs, I demured. At least one friend had his pool filled in, covered over, and was done with that headache.
I have had a Hot Springs Hot Tub for 29 years, the same one. It is working fine, though the decorative tiles have given up the ghost, or rather the sealant/caulk holding them in place has.
I have moved that tub twice more than 700 miles between homes. (Hint, it is easier if you take the water out first.) I had turned it off over the summer to cut down on the power usage, but overall, the thing is pretty efficient. I just turned it back on a few days ago with the threat of freezing weather for a couple of weeks here in Georgia.
Though I don’t use it as much as I once did, I still use it, when I’m feeling bad, have a cold, or am afflicted with sore muscles, which at my age happens a lot. If I gave it up, I would replace it with a sauna.
Like Sam McGee before me, some like it hot.
@Jackinga sauna
@Jackinga
Sauna! Now that sounds nice!
It would be way less work and hassle if you dug a hole in the yard and just threw money into it.
@Dstraktd
One neighbor spent $20K on a really nice pool, many thousands more filling and refilling it with water (it cracked and had to be repaired “free” three times), and then jackhammered it out when it cracked a fourth time. A year later, he sold the house.
@Dstraktd @werehatrack When I hear these stories, I know that if I got a pool, I’d just buy a pre made fiberglass one. All those problems not an issue. I’ve been researching them for a while.
@Dstraktd I have a friend who bought a house with a pool and immediately (within days) had it filled in so her kids would not fall into it.
Drugs: no maintenance upkeep as you don’t care if you have a habit.
[Of course incarceration is a risk.]
A sauna. Banya.
In the garage, basement, or back yard.
@00 I’ve never had a chance to try a banya, but I’ve heard a LOT about them from my spouse (who spent quite a bit of time in Russia before we met). I’d love to try to build one when I’ve got the time and money to do it right.
Hot tub. Easier to get rid of and doesn’t leave a giant hole.
After owning a pool (at my rental property), I will never, ever, buy a house with a pool again. The maintenance and chemicals cost more each month than a gym membership where you can use a pool that they maintain. The electricity to run the pump probably adds $50-$80 each month alone on the electric bill.
@cengland0 bathing in other peoples’ effluent.
I would love to have a pool. Are you offering? Yes it can be Meh branded
How great would it be to have a huge tile mosaic of Irk at the bottom of ones pool!!!
If I select the pool, do I get the house where the pool is too?
If I am being magically gifted both the tub/pool and the maintenance, then I would opt for the pool.
If am stuck with the maintenance going forward, I would opt for the hot tub. They both can be headache, but depending on the size/type of hot tub, it is usually less so.
I have a pool. The only time the electric bill gets high is when it’s really cold and the freeze guard kicks in. The water bill gets a little high in the summer due to evaporation. For chemicals, I keep it simple with only chlorine and a phosphorus removal.
According to Google, a pool doesn’t usually add more value to a home then it costs. And I don’t want a hot tub. So I guess I will take the money and invest it elsewhere.
A pool as long as a pool boy comes with it.
@pooflady You can get the boy-toy for a lot less if you leave out the pool. Maintenance costs are probably lower too.
@pooflady
Now we’re talking lol.
I would get a masseuse that knows how to cook.
All pools are hot tubs if you are good enough at peeing.
@brennyn Unless you have a really bad fever that’s gonna be a warm tub at best. Or a tepid tub which is more fun to say.
@brennyn all pools are hot tubes in Texas during August
No. Neither. I have had neighbors and friends with both. I have seen how much work those can be, and I have seen the water bill for filling a pool.
No.
@werehatrack Having once had a hot tub, I agree. It is better to have a friend with a hot tub. (It is even better to have a hot friend with a hot tub. )
neither. i have a hot tub which was free, but it’s like $75+ a month extra on the electric. i use it like once a month. oh and i get to try an fix it when it breaks - so far been lucky, but parts are getting harder to find. I’d rather have it than a pool i guess, at least my yard isn’t taken up by it
I really have no use for either. If it came with all the requisite plumbing/grading/retaining walls sure. The retaining walls would be worth it even if I paid to fill it in.
Hot tub wise… Wouldn’t a jet tub suffice? I have never used or wanted to use the one I have I don’t need people over in my hot water. Hot tubs should not be social. Room for two should be enough
@unksol clarification: never used the jet tub that is in the unfinished master bath. No hot tub. But why have a tub outside of that…
The most use that tub has ever gotten was a friend’s daughter splashing all out of it cause it was the only usable tub.
We had a heated pool in our garage when I was a kid (that garage was larger than my 1500sqft condo, though only two rooms and a loft with a low ceiling). My dad really enjoyed it but after a few years we ended up taking the pool down.
I’ve got no desire for a hot tub.
So I’d want to use the money to rennovate the bathroom in my basement and put in 240V 30A outlets just inside the basement windows for EV charging.
@baqui63 I went with a 50A EV charging outlet in my garage in anticipation of future needs.
@macromeh I’d prefer more than 30A but my entire apartment is only 40A total (well, 2x40A)… my plan is to replace the electric dryer with gas, thus freeing up the existing 240V/30A circuit for other purposes, including car charging and a decent arc welder.
I’m aware that a single circuit can be shared between a dryer and car, but electricity is so much more expensive than (natural) gas here in NYC that I’m planning to replace the electric dryer with gas regardless.
I grew up on a lake and while I do enjoy going and swimming in my friends pool, I like the openness of the lake. I can’t stand when people put a bunch of chlorine in their pools and my bathing suit gets ruined, my hair and skin are super dry. At least with the lake I know not to drink the water, and shower after I’m done.
My moms had a hot tub for like 5 years and I’ve never been in it. I always forget she has one.
Had a pool/hot tub combination in our previous house.
Only time hot tub was really useful was when it got down in the 30’s in Florida and then you felt like it was a good investment.
Pool probably added $ 200 to our monthly expenses between pool service and electricity for running the pump.
Heated it one cold winter’s week so my son could take his dog into it to swim. Dog was in it for about 30 minutes total and my gas bill went up $ 250 for the month.
Pools are kind of a requisite when you first move down to Florida but as they get older the cost to repair them goes out of sight. We might be the only one on our street that doesn’t have a pool in our new house, but after having one in two houses for 15 years-been there and done that. Picture of our last pool----
I’ve had an in ground pool almost my entire life (not my first 7 years). The chemicals cost about $100 for the entire NE summer and the pump is on a timer, doesn’t add that much to the electric bill. As for towels, we have plenty of them as well!
A pond with a filtration system. I had a friend in high school with one, and it was like swimming in silk. Although surviving the Sanford Flood has made me a bit water shy.
When I was young I invented the pool I wanted in a dream. As yet not available in reality, but its what I want. Pool in a box. Open the box and there are a bunch of large square tiles. Set the tile on any surface and they are a pool surface. add more tiles, make it any size or shape you want in those squares.
Honestly now it makes me think of Minecraft, only water blocks are tiles and it didn’t come with other pieces (in retrospect there should have been edge pieces but those would end up being restrictive).
Mom got mad at us for splashing the walls of the room we set up the pool in (well, dream-Mom, though I expect real Mom would have felt the same).
Pick up the tile and put it back in the box when done. Yes, you have to start picking up from an open edge. No spills or leaks. No you can’t pick up a tile and put it in a box if your bratty younger sibling is still even partially in it
That’s the pool I want. I don’t think I’ll settle for a mundane physics-compatible ordinary one.
Just give me the cash and I’ll add it to my “move to Captain Cook” fund. Last time I checked, that comes with an endless pool and a ski (snow or water) resort.