A backyard pool offers a lot of benefits, but as it’s such a large expenditure, it’s smart to consider all of the pros and cons to help you decide if it’s a good choice for you and your family.
To help you decide what works for you, we’ve pulled together some of the best and the worst things about owning a backyard pool.
First, let’s talk about why a backyard pool can be a great addition to your home.
- ⬥Good exercise
- ⬥Fun for the whole family
- ⬥Great for entertaining
- ⬥Desirable amenity
- ⬥Looks great
Good exercise
Water is one of the best and most gentle forms of exercise.
Although it’s easy on your joints, it can still increase your heart rate and tone your muscles enough for you to get a great, effective workout. Take a look at Michael Phelps!
Fun for the whole family
It will keep the kids busy for hours. From swimming and splashing around, to pool games, poolside sunbathing and lounging about, a backyard swimming can be a lot of fun.
If you live in an area where backyard pools are less common, you’ll also gain “cred” with your older kids and teenagers. All because your home will suddenly become the “cool house” in the neighborhood.
Another benefit is you’ll be able to keep a closer eye on your older kids and get to know who they like to hang out with.
Great for entertaining
Teenagers and older kids aren’t the only ones who get props for having a “cool house”.
If you like to entertain or spend time with your friends, rather than fight for the best spot at the local park, your backyard pool is the natural place to invite everyone over to spend some time together.
Desirable amenity
Depending upon where you live, having a swimming pool in your backyard could be a defining feature that sets your home apart from the others.
On the flip side, even if you live where everyone has a pool, your home won’t be overlooked should you decide to sell because your market will have a lot of people looking who consider pools to be a “regular feature” of every home.
Looks great
There’s nothing quite like slipping outside on a cool summer morning with a hot drink in your hand as you sit poolside and watch the sunrise, its beams reflected off the sparkling water.
It’s the perfect start to a great day.
If all of these benefits have you excited at the thought of adding a pool to your backyard, it’s important to temper your excitement with the realities…and not so fun things…about pool ownership.
- ⬥Maintenance (time)
- ⬥Maintenance (costs)
- ⬥Installation costs
- ⬥Safety
- ⬥Sunk costs
Maintenance (time)
Weekly pool maintenance is required to keep your pool clean and healthy. It’s important to maintain the right balance of chemicals, clean out vegetation and clean or replace the filter(s).
To save yourself time, you could hire out to have this done. But if you do, realize that while it can save you time, it’s also a costly option.
Maintenance (costs)
Whether you choose to do it yourself or hire a pool cleaner to maintain your pool, there will be costs involved. Costs like chemicals, filters, the costs to heat your pool, and run the pump, etc, and also labor costs if applicable.
Installation costs
While the costs have come down over time, it’s still expensive to install a backyard pool.
Not only will you have the costs of installation, there’s other features such as the pool decking, poolside furniture, fencing (that may be legally required) landscaping and of course the cost of the pool cleaning system and pool cover to help keep out debris and/or prepare your pool for the off-season.
Safety
Even if you don’t have small children in your home, putting safety measures in place is without question something that cannot be ignored.
Besides the fact that fencing around your pool might be a legal obligation, it’s simply a smart thing to prevent accidents by adding features such as a self-locking gate, a gate alarm, walkable pool cover (for those times the pool is not in service) etc.
And of course, swimming without a responsible adult or older child watching should always be against the house rules.
Sunk costs
While a backyard pool can potentially boost your home’s value, it’s not always the case.
The value of your home will always depend upon various factors such as the market and demand. If your home is vying against hundreds of similar homes, don’t expect a new backyard pool to drive up its value.
Be prepared for the real possibility that you won’t recover the costs of your new backyard pool and you will be pleasantly surprised if it does happen to boost your home’s value.
