Home buying thread

Burns · May 17, 2023

TheBeagle said:
If the water is clean and clear then 90% it's fine. To get something like cryptosporidium you'd have to literally be swimming with a baby that has a dirty diaper.

Any non retard can follow the instructions on your test kit to keep the water good. 15%+ water bill is the dumbest thing I've read since the last Wormie post in Pol. Why would your water bill go up unless you have leaks? Again, modern pools have 100 years of know how behind them, they're not a money pit unless you are a retard that ignores it for 6 months out of the year.

There is a big pit of water in your back yard and water does something called evaporation. The bigger the pool, the more evaporation. You have to top it off, at least, every week for half the year, even when you never step foot in it. For the other half of the year you might be lucky to only need to fill it a couple times a month. In addition to the evaporation, the more you use it, the more water gets taken out with the people swimming in it. If you let dogs in, they take out more water than the people (if they are medium or larger breed). All those gallons of water add up.

Then there is the power use of the pump. In Texas, it's recommended to run it for something like 6 hours a day for the hottest 6 months, or for as long as people are going to actually use it. When it gets cold enough that people stop swimming in it, you drop it to 4 hours.

Pool shit breaks often, so there is an ongoing cost to replace things.

When people are swimming and evaporation is high, it needs more chemicals and testing.

You either spend time keeping it clean and within the proper pH range or you hire someone to do it. Cost in time or money. Pool guy ain't cheap.

The 15% was certainly a guess, as I've never owned a pool and never will (I have taken care of various pools for friend's of the family, when I was a teen). To act like there aren't a whole slew of ongoing costs associated with pools is sillier than my 15% guess.

Captain Suave · May 17, 2023

Fogel said:
Thats why you get a pool boy, duh

Plus the pool boy can take care of your wife when you don't want to deal with her!

Burns said:
There is a big pit of water in your back yard and water does something called evaporation. The bigger the pool, the more evaporation. You have to top it off, at least, every week for half the year, even when you never step foot in it. For the other half of the year you might be lucky to only need to fill it a couple times a month.

Water use for a pool is surprisingly not a big deal. The refill requirements are at rough parity with what you'd need to irrigate an equivalent amount of grass (including hardscape area). Pumping electricity and service + chemicals are a couple grand a year, though.

Burns · May 17, 2023

Captain Suave said:
Water use for a pool is surprisingly not a big deal. The refill requirements are at rough parity with what you'd need to irrigate an equivalent amount of grass (including hardscape area). Pumping electricity and service + chemicals are a couple grand a year, though.

It certainly seems like a whole lot of water is being added, when you have wait for one to two hours for the "hose" to fill it up, in the middle of summer when no one is even using it (while people are on vacation). Houses are fairly water efficient now days, I didn't think 15% more from filling every week would be that far off.

Napkin math from the internets (evaporation increases with air temp, water temp, and humidity):
Generic average surface loss is around a quarter inch a day
"Standard" Pool maxes out around 30' x 15' before considered a "diving" pool (not many homes will have a bigger pool than 450 sqft?)
0.25 ÷ 12 x 7.48 x (30 x 15) = 70.125 gallons a day.

2023-05-17 20.45.36 dengarden.com a6d8f1f6fe15.png

If you want to get even more exact:

2023-05-17 20.46.32 dengarden.com ebb193b026c1.png

https://dengarden.com/swimming-pools/Determine-Evaporation-Rate-for-Swimming-Pool

Captain Suave · May 17, 2023

Burns said:
It certainly seems like a whole lot of water is being added, when you have wait for one to two hours for the "hose" to fill it up, in the middle of summer when no one is even using it (while people are on vacation). Houses are fairly water efficient now days, I didn't think 15% more from filling every week would be that far off.

Napkin math from the internets (evaporation increases with air temp, water temp, and humidity):
Generic average surface loss is around a quarter inch a day
"Standard" Pool maxes out around 30' x 15' before considered a "diving" pool (not many homes will have a bigger pool than 450 sqft?)
0.25 ÷ 12 x 7.48 x (30 x 15) = 70.125 gallons a day.

View attachment 473988

If you want to get even more exact:
View attachment 473989

https://dengarden.com/swimming-pools/Determine-Evaporation-Rate-for-Swimming-Pool

Now do a comparison on irrigating a pool + hardscape area of grass in a comparable climate. I didn't say it took no water, just it doesn't really move the needle by comparison to what you'd otherwise be doing with the land. I live in CA and have had a pool for years. I run the hose 20 minutes a week May to September, vs 30 minutes a week of multiple irrigation stations for grass.

Sludig · May 17, 2023

TheBeagle said:
Ya, I don't know much about above ground pools beyond that they sell em at Wal Mart. I think an in ground pre cast fiberglass shell is more appropriate for BFE locations.

Tons of ground water etc maybe make a difference? Oklahoma in green country area seems lacking in as many tornado shelters as other area's, and so far seems like many above grounds. I'll need to ask around, the ones I've seen look like they have a little better more sturdy looking frames than the skinnier walmart shit.

Need to discuss with wife how far we are willing to go, but in my head didnt want to go more than 10-20k for a modest rectangle, enough I can take a couple backstrokes before turning around vs a 10 foot circle that all you can do is really sit there like jacuzzi.

Might help if I can do some of the work for an inground like escavating it etc before getting Gunther and Wilbur the inbred cousins to put something in.

Kithani · May 17, 2023

More importantly for

TheBeagle how many Jello packets would it take to fill your average sized pool?

Burns · May 17, 2023

Captain Suave said:
Now do a comparison on irrigating a pool + hardscape area of grass in a comparable climate. I didn't say it took no water, just it doesn't really move the needle by comparison to what you'd otherwise be doing with the land. I live in CA and have had a pool for years. I run the hose 20 minutes a week May to September, vs 30 minutes a week of multiple irrigation stations for grass.

Irrigating your lawn is some expensive bullshit too and accounts for a majority of the water usage in your home, when it's in use; but you're right, I wasn't really considering it, if you irrigate your lawn, the water cost would be about the same.

I was thinking about where I live now, in the country, which does not have irrigation. I guess I should have said, if I added a pool, it would add 15% to the water bill, alone.

BTW, there are native grasses that don't need all that water and can grow in the city. Lawn care is big business, so of course they are going to push the most needy fucking lawns they can (Bermuda (it does look nice, but not worth the cost)).

Lanx · May 17, 2023

Sludig said:
Tons of ground water etc maybe make a difference? Oklahoma in green country area seems lacking in as many tornado shelters as other area's, and so far seems like many above grounds. I'll need to ask around, the ones I've seen look like they have a little better more sturdy looking frames than the skinnier walmart shit.

Need to discuss with wife how far we are willing to go, but in my head didnt want to go more than 10-20k for a modest rectangle, enough I can take a couple backstrokes before turning around vs a 10 foot circle that all you can do is really sit there like jacuzzi.

Might help if I can do some of the work for an inground like escavating it etc before getting Gunther and Wilbur the inbred cousins to put something in.

wouldn't you want to have whatever this is called w/ an above ground hottub?

Sludig · May 17, 2023

Lanx said:
wouldn't you want to have whatever this is called w/ an above ground hottub?

Excessive, especially if I consider just risking snakes to go to many nearby lakes and streams vs dropping 100k/

Ishad · May 17, 2023

Burns said:
It certainly seems like a whole lot of water is being added, when you have wait for one to two hours for the "hose" to fill it up, in the middle of summer when no one is even using it (while people are on vacation). Houses are fairly water efficient now days, I didn't think 15% more from filling every week would be that far off.

Napkin math from the internets (evaporation increases with air temp, water temp, and humidity):
Generic average surface loss is around a quarter inch a day
"Standard" Pool maxes out around 30' x 15' before considered a "diving" pool (not many homes will have a bigger pool than 450 sqft?)
0.25 ÷ 12 x 7.48 x (30 x 15) = 70.125 gallons a day.

View attachment 473988

If you want to get even more exact:
View attachment 473989

https://dengarden.com/swimming-pools/Determine-Evaporation-Rate-for-Swimming-Pool

So roughly $16 worth of water a month?

TheBeagle · May 17, 2023

Burns said:
There is a big pit of water in your back yard and water does something called evaporation. The bigger the pool, the more evaporation. You have to top it off, at least, every week for half the year, even when you never step foot in it. For the other half of the year you might be lucky to only need to fill it a couple times a month. In addition to the evaporation, the more you use it, the more water gets taken out with the people swimming in it. If you let dogs in, they take out more water than the people (if they are medium or larger breed). All those gallons of water add up.

Then there is the power use of the pump. In Texas, it's recommended to run it for something like 6 hours a day for the hottest 6 months, or for as long as people are going to actually use it. When it gets cold enough that people stop swimming in it, you drop it to 4 hours.

Pool shit breaks often, so there is an ongoing cost to replace things.

When people are swimming and evaporation is high, it needs more chemicals and testing.

You either spend time keeping it clean and within the proper pH range or you hire someone to do it. Cost in time or money. Pool guy ain't cheap.

The 15% was certainly a guess, as I've never owned a pool and never will (I have taken care of various pools for friend's of the family, when I was a teen). To act like there aren't a whole slew of ongoing costs associated with pools is sillier than my 15% guess.

Last pool I had was 20 yrs old, no leaks. I ran the fill line from my house bib about 30 mins a week. That's the same as running your garden hose hose for thirty mins a week. And only during the summer months. That's a couple extra showers a week worth of water. When water temps get in the high 80's you should only be losing about 1/2" of water per week. Anything more you have a leak.

Modern pumps run on variable speed motors. It will run full speed 3 hrs a day(1100 watts) and then run at low speed (10% or 110 watts) the rest of the day. Go ahead and do the math, unless you're in CA or the EU that might be $20-$30 a month in electricity. Everything you mention is how it was 20 yrs ago, anyone buying a new pool isn't going to deal with that. Especially for anyone living in the warmer half of the country.

TheBeagle · May 17, 2023

Sludig said:
Tons of ground water etc maybe make a difference? Oklahoma in green country area seems lacking in as many tornado shelters as other area's, and so far seems like many above grounds. I'll need to ask around, the ones I've seen look like they have a little better more sturdy looking frames than the skinnier walmart shit.

Need to discuss with wife how far we are willing to go, but in my head didnt want to go more than 10-20k for a modest rectangle, enough I can take a couple backstrokes before turning around vs a 10 foot circle that all you can do is really sit there like jacuzzi.

Might help if I can do some of the work for an inground like escavating it etc before getting Gunther and Wilbur the inbred cousins to put something in.

Should You Buy A Fiberglass Pool in Texas? 4 Points of Consideration

Considering an inground fiberglass pool in Texas? Trying to understand whether or not this type of swimming pool is right for you? In this article, we look at how fiberglass pools in Texas are beneficial as well as when they might not be the best option.

www.riverpoolsandspas.com

I'm not affiliated with these guys in any way, shape, or form but this is probably the type of thing you want to be looking at for that price range.

Everything in OK is cheaper and things are slowing down so you might want to contact some builders about a basic gunite pool. How far from Tulsa are you?

Sludig · May 17, 2023

TheBeagle said:
Should You Buy A Fiberglass Pool in Texas? 4 Points of Consideration

Considering an inground fiberglass pool in Texas? Trying to understand whether or not this type of swimming pool is right for you? In this article, we look at how fiberglass pools in Texas are beneficial as well as when they might not be the best option.

www.riverpoolsandspas.com

I'm not affiliated with these guys in any way, shape, or form but this is probably the type of thing you want to be looking at for that price range.

Everything in OK is cheaper and things are slowing down so you might want to contact some builders about a basic gunite pool. How far from Tulsa are you?

30-45 mins east in Mayes County (near the big google data center and that stuff if familiar.)

TheBeagle · May 17, 2023

Sludig said:
30-45 mins east in Mayes County (near the big google data center and that stuff if familiar.)

Pool biz has been dropping off quite a bit since interest rates have shot up. There was a huge boom nationwide after Covid and lots of companies got overextended and are now just trying to keep their guys working. Never hurts to make a few calls and get a couple bids, I'm sure Tulsa has a few decent builders.

Burns · May 17, 2023

Ishad said:
So roughly $16 worth of water a month?

Meh, you stole my joke with your edit, I saw that $8! I was going to say it might be as high as $16 in some places!

Bills are bills and it all adds up in the end. Houses will nickel and dime your ass all over the place, but yea, it's not that much, comparatively.

TheBeagle said:
Last pool I had was 20 yrs old, no leaks. I ran the fill line from my house bib about 30 mins a week. That's the same as running your garden hose hose for thirty mins a week. And only during the summer months. That's a couple extra showers a week worth of water. When water temps get in the high 80's you should only be losing about 1/2" of water per week. Anything more you have a leak.

Modern pumps run on variable speed motors. It will run full speed 3 hrs a day(1100 watts) and then run at low speed (10% or 110 watts) the rest of the day. Go ahead and do the math, unless you're in CA or the EU that might be $20-$30 a month in electricity. Everything you mention is how it was 20 yrs ago, anyone buying a new pool isn't going to deal with that. Especially for anyone living in the warmer half of the country.

Well that certainly sounds nice. It would be interesting to see how much upkeep has come down over the years. I would assume there is still fairly short lifespans on a bunch of the equipment. Creeper/vacuum and the filter seemed to get the most complaints about breaking or needing maintenance (from acquaintances with 15+ year old pools).

TheBeagle · May 17, 2023

Burns said:
Meh, you stole my joke with your edit, I saw that $8! I was going to say it might be as high as $16 in some places!

Bills are bills and it all adds up in the end. Houses will nickel and dime your ass all over the place, but yea, it was a small comment that Beagle made sound like I insulted his dog or something.

Well that certainly sounds nice. It would be interesting to see how much upkeep has come down over the years. I would assume there is still fairly short lifespans on a bunch of the equipment. Creeper/vacuum and the filter seemed to get the most complaints about breaking or needing maintenance (from acquaintances with 15+ year old pools).

Yup.
Cleaner: get a Polaris 280. They've been going since I started in 1999. They run forever and you just have to replace tire treads, bags, and backup valves when they wear out from normal wear and tear. Maybe a $100/yr. It's the one thing you DON'T want the newest latest product for. You absolutely can not beat the tries and true Polaris 280.

Filter: get a normal sized cartridge filter and as long as you or your service tech is cleaning them 2-4 times a year the cartridges will last 3-5 years. All you need to clean them is a 5/8" socket, cordless impact, and a garden hose with a good spray nozzle. Takes about 30 mins. Once your cartridges wear out, buy a new set on Amazon for $200-$300. The filters themselves last forever.

It can get pricey maintaining everything if you have to hire someone to do everything but if you have a little common sense and can do a minimum amount of your own research it's really not that bad. Especially in the warmer states. Coming from Texas my perspective is probably a little skewed.

lurkingdirk · May 18, 2023

I have friends who have a massive house/property. They're looking to sell and relocate. They are on a good sized lake, and the house proper is about 300 meters from the lake, and well up on a hill. Right next to the lake is a primitive cottage that was built around 1930 (the house was built just six years ago). It's a small cottage, a couple bedrooms and a big common area. They asked if I could bring plumbing into the cottage, give it a proper kitchen and bathroom and laundry. The cottage has it's own road access, so they are seeing it as a potential rental property. Their real estate agent said it would add $250K to the value of the property. It's about a $40K project. Big return on investment.

So now I get to work on that for a month. It's an amazing place to be. Beautiful setting, access to fishing boat, naps in the shade.

Spending money to make money on selling homes is a real thing.

Tmac · May 18, 2023

Burns said:
It certainly seems like a whole lot of water is being added, when you have wait for one to two hours for the "hose" to fill it up, in the middle of summer when no one is even using it (while people are on vacation). Houses are fairly water efficient now days, I didn't think 15% more from filling every week would be that far off.

Napkin math from the internets (evaporation increases with air temp, water temp, and humidity):
Generic average surface loss is around a quarter inch a day
"Standard" Pool maxes out around 30' x 15' before considered a "diving" pool (not many homes will have a bigger pool than 450 sqft?)
0.25 ÷ 12 x 7.48 x (30 x 15) = 70.125 gallons a day.

View attachment 473988

If you want to get even more exact:
View attachment 473989

https://dengarden.com/swimming-pools/Determine-Evaporation-Rate-for-Swimming-Pool

I guess rainfall doesn't exist in your scenario? Convenient!

Burns · May 18, 2023

Tmac said:
I guess rainfall doesn't exist in your scenario? Convenient!

Can't account for the rain in napkin math! Also didn't account for 100+ days of over 100 degree temperature or the drought conditions of last summer. The rate of evaporation has so many different factors that it's impossible to get anything close to an accurate monthly lose for a single city, let alone a state or country.

Jysin · May 18, 2023

TheBeagle said:
I built 51 pools last year. Pricetags ranging from $55k up to $212k. If you have any questions hit me up.

Ok, what the fuck does a $200k+ pool look like!?

I remember my parents had one installed in the 90s in FL. Roughly 40ft long and kind of jellybean shaped. Had a jacuzzi spa thing on a higher platform that waterfall dropped to the main pool. Spa was heated, pool wasn’t. That cost roughly $50k back then. Imagine that’s a $120k pool now? (Pulling that number out my ass)

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