Pools are an excellent investment. Not only are they a fun addition to your home, but they also add to the value of your home. More and more, pools are becoming a norm in homes in the west. If your home doesn’t have one, you may find it hard to find a buyer if you decide to sell at some point. For this reason, thinking about installing a pool is a good idea. However, while pools are an excellent investment, they are also expensive. That is why you need to carefully think through every aspect before you decide to install a pool. For this reason, we have decided to talk about the most important factors to consider when considering a pool design.
1. Chose the Type of Pool That You Want
Before you go about designing a pool, you first need to think about what kind of pool you want to have in your backyard. There are a plethora of different options when it comes to pool design. From eco-friendly pools that use storage containers as their base to extravagant ones that mix and match different types of materials. However, the three most popular types you will come across are:
- Concrete pools
- Fiberglass pools
- Vinyl pools
Concrete Pools
This kind of pool is the oldest and most common type that you will find. The construction for this type starts with excavation and a steel structure. Then, the whole structure is sealed using concrete and plaster. If you don’t want to use plaster, there are alternatives. With this pool, you won’t have to worry about unforeseen issues or heavy maintenance. Since it is the most popular type, there are a lot of resources out there that can help you with any issue. They are also easy to customize, upgrade and design to your liking. However, concrete pools are costly to install, and the installation process can last for months.
Fiberglass Pool
This type of pool is one of the most cost-effective types out there. All you need to do is buy a fiberglass shell in the shape you want and place it in an excavated zone in your backyard. However, being cost-effective doesn’t mean cheap. Fiberglass pools are more expensive than concrete ones because many of the systems necessary for a pool to work need to be adapted to the shape you want. On the plus side, you can install this fiberglass pool in as little as three weeks. In addition to that, fiberglass pools are also very durable. You can expect them to last for years on end without a lot of maintenance. This is the case even if you have a lot of bad weather in your area.
Vinyl Pool
Vinyl pools are an option if you’re on a tight budget. They have a metal or plastic frame, a sand base, and support panels with a vinyl liner. Vinyl pools can last long, but you need to maintain them heavily because they are susceptible to fungus growth and deterioration. To increase the lifespan of your vinyl pool, you need to treat it with UV exposure and fungus inhibiting chemicals. You can design these pools in any shape or form that you like. However, the downside is that this type of pool can easily rupture, necessitating repairs that are not cheap.
2. Consider Who Your Pool Is For
Now that you know what kind of pools you can consider, it’s time to talk about how you should design them. The look and the size of the pool should be the first things you talk about with your contractor. And to find out what the best approach is going to be, you need to answer two questions:
- Who will use this pool: This will pertain to who you live with. If you have small children, you must take safety precautions and have different sections of pool depth.
- What will this pool be used for: This question will inform the shape and the size of your pool. If you are, for example, going to use this pool for sports, then the form will probably be less important than how long and wide it is. If you want your pool to be for pleasure, the depth and shape will be much more critical.
3. Consider Your Budget
Building a custom pool is a significant financial investment. For this reason, before you begin, you should ensure that your budget can meet the project’s requirements. That being said, these days, it’s hard to estimate the cost of such a project accurately. Many factors can influence and hinder the installation process. For this reason, planning for the worst is a good idea. More accurately, you should choose an option under your budget so that you can have something to fall back on if there are setbacks. It is better to do this than to spread your budget too thin and risk having a poorly installed pool. If your pool is not installed well, it can cause water intrusion in your home. Therefore, when determining your budget, it’s better to err on the side of caution.
4. Think About the Maintenance Cost
And the last of the four factors to consider when designing a pool is the maintenance cost. Most people don’t think this is important because they get too caught up in the installation process. However, over time, you will spend more money on maintaining your pool than building it. That is why when designing a pool, you need to think about sustainability. The size and the shape are going to determine how much maintenance you are going to need to do. How many chemicals you will need to use to keep the water clean, and how often you will need to clean and service it. All of these things cost money, and you need to think about them upfront.
Author Bio: For the past five years, John Mitchel has worked as a content writer. Most of his recent work has been for Verified Movers. He primarily writes about engineering, but he also writes extensively about real estate and moving.
