Thinking of getting a pool? Here's what's really involved

Growing up I dreamed of owning a pool. Long summer days were often spent at friends who were lucky enough to enjoy what many consider a luxury backyard addition.

When the chance came to buy a house with a pool, I had flashbacks to these glory days – my husband on the other hand had worry written all over his face.

In a stalemate, we thought we’d research the benefits and hindrances of pool ownership.

A Facebook post revealed some good insights, and many were positive. “A fantastic investment as the kids get older,” said one. “Endless entertainment,” said another.

“They [can] look great as a visual feature of your garden year round… It’s a social cue and a reason to invite people around on a hot day/night, and they are strangely magnetic like a kitchen bench… People can’t help but gravitate towards them… Sit with their feet in it on a hot day, talking s**t and drinking wine,” another added.

And then came the cons.

“Kids drown in them and the concept of that always has me on high alert,” Kate Hely, a Melbourne-based pal added.

“Pool gate regulations are as strict, as they should be. E.g. we have a lockable gate because the kids are smart enough to work out how to open a regular gate.

“Many people don’t maintain their gates so they don’t auto-close well – especially if they have older kids and don’t see it as an issue for them anymore.”

With two young children, this point hit home. And the most recent stats around pool drownings are grim.

The 2018 Water Safety Drowning Report revealed the number of fatalities in pools in 2018 was up 200 per cent (10 deaths) on the 2013-2017 five year average. The highest toll since 2007.

In 2018, 16 people were hospitalised from home pools, up 14 per cent on the 2013-2017 five year average. Sixty three per cent of those were those aged under 15.

The safety issue was a big consideration in our decision, but there were others.

Sam Learmonth, a lawyer at specialist insurance law firm Fee Langstone, said you should investigate how it is covered by your insurance policies.

“Most people have ‘sum insured’ home policies, which provides for the maximum sum that your insurer will pay to reinstate your home. You will need to make sure that the cost of rebuilding or replacing the pool is factored into the sum insured. The costs of reinstating damage over the sum insured will not be covered.

“Home insurance policies do not cover gradual damage and for the most part, do not cover damage caused by hydrostatic pressure, that is pressure that is exerted by water. If the pressure outside the pool becomes too great, it can cause the pool to buckle or break.”

Another consideration was the cost of operating the pool. One pal, having never owned one before, clocked up a power bill of $1000 in the winter.

Most agreed an additional cost of around $60 a month needed to be factored into your budget for power and chemicals.

Finally there were those who decided to fill theirs in.

“They are fun when the whole family are involved, but as they leave the nest you find that the pool only gets used a few times a year,” Aileen Kerry said.

Sharon Newey decided there was no room in her renovation to include their kidney-shaped pool.

“To keep it, we would have to install hydrolic self-closing ranch sliders from the house as there was no room to add a fence.

“It was very deep and not very family friendly. A real estate agent said they didn’t necessarily add value (50/50 over whether people liked or loathed them), the maintenance would be a burden. In the end the pool saved us money in tip fees – all our masonry renovation rubble went into the hole!”

Although the pros were great, the cons led to the pool dreams taking a  dive – summer day trips to the beach are back on the cards.

This story originally appeared on stuff.co.nz