subject: Set a budget for swimming pool ownership [print this page] Set a budget for swimming pool ownership Set a budget for swimming pool ownership
When you're making your budget to construct a swimming pool, you also want to talk to your swimming pool contractor to get an estimate of what your weekly or monthly pool maintenance bills might be. This is something you want to consider when making your plans for swimming pool ownership. Remember, simply installing the swimming pool is not the only cost associated with pool ownership.
When calculating the costs of pool ownership, here are things to keep in mind when putting together a pool maintenance budget:
Pool chemicals: You need chemicals to keep your pool water clean and safe for swimming. If you decide to do the cleaning yourself and purchase your own chemicals you are probably looking at a price tag of about $200 for a season. Switching to an automatic chlorine generator that uses salt as a cleaning agent rather than chlorine will cost you even less. If you decide not to clean the pool yourself, talk with a pool contractor to get an estimate on what the annual cost of a maintenance contract would be.
Electric bills: Because your pool pump runs on electricity, your electric bill will increase. The amount will be hard to determine but a pool contractor may have some estimates to offer to help you with budgeting. The increases to your electric bill will depend on certain variables the size of your pool, the cost of electricity in the area in which you live and how frequently you will run your pumps and filters.
Water: The biggest upfront expense, following the pool's construction comes in the form of the first time you fill the pool. The cost can be determined by whether you will have the first water to fill the pool trucked in or whether you will fill it yourself from a hose. Once the pool is filled, it's rare that you will ever have to refill it. You might need to add water occasionally to make up for evaporation. To help address any evaporation issues, if you keep the swimming pool covered when not in use you can decrease the amount of water lost through evaporation.
Pool heating costs: If you decide to use gas to heat your swimming pool, you will need to factor that into the costs of operation. Again, using a swimming pool cover or a solar cover will help address the need to heat run a heater as often.
Swimming pool cover: A swimming pool cover is more than an accessory, it can be a necessary part of keeping your swimming pool heated and keep dirt and debris out of the water. Consider investing in a solar cover to harness the heat of the sun to heat the water.
You need to weigh the costs of owning a pool year round for many, many years to come when you're putting together the budget for your swimming pool project. Once you've set your budget and made your plans, owning a swimming pool will be a decision you will come to cherish for years to come.
