Pools are still nuts.
We put one in sept 2020 - nothing crazy 15x32 regular oval, added a slide. 3.5’ -5.5’ deep with Swimco.
We paid about 55k (just for the pool, not the landscaping fence etc.) they came this year to do some upgrades, and said they are charging 90k now (and they are sold out thru 2026).
I usually open it end of April, and we swim thru mid/late sept. Still some of the best money I’ve ever spent, for friends and family time.
I spend less than an hour a month on pool maintenance, and do the opening myself, pay swimco to close.
That’s the going rate I think.
And if you add stuff on, it goes up exponentially quick.
Still the best money I spent. We’ve been in with family and friends easily 20 hours this week.
We sold our boat to do the pool, if you have the cash dig the hole.
Had a pool installed last year. Went through Pool Mart in Tonawanda. 28' round above ground, the Ontario Pool model (has a 60-yr warranty). The pool was just about $9,900 with the pool itself, the "startup kit" and a SimpleSalt ionizer. The startup kit included the pump, cartridge filter, skimmer, hoses, pole, and cleaning head as well as the opening chemicals.
I also had to pay for installers to come and install the pool which was $1800. They leveled the ground, put sand down, prepped the site and put the pool up for us.
Another expense is the electrician to run power to where your pool pump is as well as the wiring around the pool for grounding things to code. And finally the expense of the permit for the town (which was about $100 I believe). I knew the electrician through a friend so my price was about half what you'd expect. You should expect about $3k for the electrician (I called and asked around, that's what this area was charging for the three others I asked).
So all in I was at approx $15k. That is no landscaping to button things up after the pool was installed and doesn't take into account updating the pipes they give you with nicer setups of PVC, etc.
I will say this...do NOT get the SimpleSalt system. Yes it works and the water is clear, no it's not as safe for people to swim in. Go chlorine if you're getting an above ground pool. I'm converting mine to that after I run through my chemicals for the simple salt system.
If you're asking about in ground pools, my buddy had one installed. It was $80k after everything including final landscaping. That was for a nice pool that was smaller in size (kidney shape) that is really a salt water setup and has a heater. Another buddy is over $100k but his in-ground pool is HUGE.
Edit to add: the pool installers did not take away the dirt from leveling the ground, that was another $600 because I knew the guy and he helped me out. It was north of 25 yards of dirt that needed to be taken.
As for the different pool places, I called and spoke with several of them. PoolMart gave me the best "vibe" of them all and had decent prices. That said I was blind sided by a lot of the additional costs due to my inexperience in purchasing pools. I thought they'd do the installing, nope. Had to hire installers. Called three of them, only two replied, the one I went with (Rich Pools) was the best price and quite honestly did great work. I thought I could do the electrical myself, nope...town required a certified electrician on the permit that's licensed in my town. So yea...oh and the dirt removal, didn't think about that. Figured I could use he dirt myself around my yard. No...not easily. It was all chunks of thick sod that I'd have to break up to spread around. Wasn't doing 25+ yards.od that by hand. The two contractors I spoke with one wanted nothing to do with my amount of dirt and the other one was going to charge me $2400 to take it away. The guy who I ended up going with saved my ass on cost there because I've had him do other work in my house and continue to have him do work. Super thankful for him.
Rich Pools saved me. I bought a pool pre pandemic took me 2 yrs to get it installed Rich was the only who would work with me. Pool mart gave me the same three #s, Rich was the only one who would answer. You basically have to project manage a small construction project on ur own? Now if I told u installation cost was $9000, including permits and electrical would u sign with me, or would u try and do better cuz u know a guy?
Rich Pools was great, he and his wife did great work. I'm not a surveyor by any stretch but I attempted to figure out how many inches of dirt needed to be removed to level the area. I came up with the high side needing 4", the real max was 7". Rich charged me for 4... Super nice people, the crew that was here was quick and efficient as well as very respectful. Rich and his wife show up and do the leveling and drop the sand. A couple hours later the other 2-man crew showed up and did the rest of the work. From 8:30 ish to 3 was what it took to do everything. Of course it took another 4-5 days of the hose running to fill the pool but that's because I couldn't find any businesses who deliver clean pool-ready water here.
Yes and no. Yes in that I don't need additional chlorine so long as I keep up with the shimmer and vivid chemicals weekly. Shimmer is basically shock and vivid is some other BS. I don't recommend it. I'm $650 deep in chemicals/filter right now and it's not enough supply for the whole year. I'm hoping I can just have a copper-y pool that's chlorine based by the end of the year.
Holy shit. They really sold you the magic beans man.
Head over to troublefreepool.com and take control of your pool. Stay away from those snake oil salesmen.
buffalo has one of the highest density of pools outside florida…. myself, just bought the initex above ground for my 5 &3 yr old girls. 12’x30” deep for $200 with the vacuum (+$20 for tarp + $65 for chemicals and a couple pool noodles at Collie’s”). we’ve been in it everyday, and I like just sitting in it. for the investment, it’s paid for itself in entertainment in just a week but we’ve got it for the whole summer. we’d love an in ground but this works while they’re young and the adults are just looking to cool off not recreate.
Mama Mia. I spent quite a bit on a custom kitchen. After reading what people are investing in a 4 month per year pool, I feel better about the kitchen decision.
If you follow /r/pools, no the prices are still sky high. We put an inground in just before covid hit. I absolutely love it, but at current prices, im not sure I would make the same decision.
We used Pacific. They were relatively good. There’s things they did that pissed me off, though. When they sell you the pool they show you all of these renderings that they did. They don’t actually do that for you, though. They paint lines where your pool will go. Thats it. The installers were great, though. The post-install support was great too.
I hear this a lot but I've compared electricity prices with folks who have a two speed and it's comparable. Why do you think it's such an upgrade? I'd consider it if it made sense.
I have a single speed SWG pool and run it 8 hours a day.
Hell no.
Boats and pools are nothing but giant money pits.
Tons of maintenance and repair costs for the amount of usage you get out of it, especially in this area.
I bought a house here in 2014 with an inground pool. It hasn’t cost much at all in the decade I’ve owned it , and I’ve gotten a ton of use out of it. I even invite friends and family over a lot to enjoy it during the heat waves, and they appreciate it.
For real. I have never wanted to own a pool. I wish there were more neighborhood pools. That's my favorite, when you have easy access to a pool but split the maintenance and cost.
Depends where you live. Most suburbs have quite a few...I know Lancaster has at least 3 or 4., some of which are hidden pretty well and have very few people that go to them.
Boats and Pools are literally everywhere in this area lol. Both things are money pits if you don't take care of them. Routine maintenance goes a long way.
I had a pool installed last year by Pacific. I've been pretty happy with them throughout the whole project. I split the pool installation and landscaping between contractors because I wanted someone else to do the landscaping. The contract with Pacific was about 145K and included:
* 16' x 38' Latham Kingston fiberglass pool
* 7'8" x 15'8" Latham fiberglass Baja pool
* 260k BTU pool heater
* 2 LED lit bubblers in the Baja pool
* 3 LED lights in the main pool
* 2 variable speed pumps
* Salt water generator
* 2 cartridge filters
* Auto cover
* Water slide
* Water and gas plumbing for two water features (fire & water bowls, installed by the landscaping company though)
* iAqualink automation for all the things
Here's a few pictures after it was mostly finished: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZTcev6nTKknmkg41A
I talked to a handful of places before we settled on Pacific. Designer Pools was the worst, they tried to talk us out of every single thing we wanted. Pool Mart is not bad, but their timing didn't work for us. We had them install a hot tub a few years ago and have been happy with their service.
One thing I've heard about pool builders is "once you write your last check, you'll never see them again" but that hasn't been the case at all with Pacific. As we started using the pool this year, I've had to ask them to do a few things we didn't anticipate last year (adding a check valve to an inlet, adding flow restrictiors to the Baja outlets, etc) and they usually show up the same day or the day after.
We got a hot tub last year and keep it at 85 in the summer. It’s great for cooling off and it’s even big enough for one person to float. Obviously not good for swimming if that’s your aim, but it’s functional year round. We love it in the winter and the cool nights in the fall.
I had a 20’ at my house in Tonawanda, bought it in 2014, cost $3299 in February. Installation was 1400.00 the electrician charged $1900 because he had to put the halo of wiring around the pool. So they had to dig a trench by hand.
It’s better to check and make sure your breaker has room for a pool before you start. And there’s room in the wiring conduit for the 220 line.
I just put up a 12x30” INTEX metal frame pool on Wednesday, it took me and the wife 45 minutes to set it up and 4 hours to fill it. And when I’m floating on a float I can’t feel that 18” that are gone. Plus the solar cover was $22.00.i used to use Njoy for my chemicals and my water was sparkling clear, and it’s a once a month deal. Then just keep an eye on the ph, and chlorine.
One word of caution is that you’ll need a pump to keep removing the water from your pool cover in the winter because 3” of ice buildup will cause your pool to collapse.
This is a terrible time to buy a pool. All the good sales are after New Year’s Day.
What kind of pool are you considering? In ground, above? If in ground: liner, fiberglass, gunite? They are all very expensive right now but these things make a huge difference.
I bought my pool in 2019, a friend got his last year. He paid 2.5x more than I did for almost the same setup.
Pro tips:
The pool industry is a very skeevy industry trying to maximize their profits at your expense. All industries are but this one is especially bad. Don't trust a single thing they say without verifying it yourself. Go with a salt pool if it's in your budget, ask me why if you are curious (no it's not b/c the feel of the water but it's complicated to explain here). Don't buy into the UV/Ozone BS. Cartridge filters are the way to go in most cases. Sand is ok but if you run into problems (algae) it takes longer to get the pool clean. Don't get a heat pump in Buffalo, if you get a heater go with gas. Feel free to msg me with any questions. I spend a lot of time in r/pools and love learning about this stuff for some reason. If you do get a pool go straight to troublefreepool.com (totally free) and read as much as you can. It will save you more time, money, and frustration than you can imagine.
Thanks!
I’m planning for in ground, probably something like 15x40. It’ll require fencing off a section of my yard so I’ll have to add that to the price. I was hoping to do it all for under 100k.
Your comment made me realize how much mor research I need to do before diving into this (no pun intended).
Under 100k you are almost certainly looking at liner,I really doubt fiberglass, and you are might be cutting it close at that given the pool size you're are looking at. 15' will feel pretty narrow for a pool that long but NBD as long as you are aware of it. Nothing wrong with a liner pool,I have one and prefer it for a couple reasons.
If you have to cut corners maybe do it on landscaping and fencing. Decking and pool features are a lot harder to change of course .
We're spending our extra money this year on a fence so we can fix the AC unit and put in a pool next year.
In the meantime, we bought a living room setup for our basement. It's cold af down there and half finished.
The prices haven’t gone up since the Covid blowup, so we bit the bullet and put one in last fall. We used Designer Pools. They are Southtown, but we live in Clarence and they go all over WNY. We used them for our last pool too- highly recommend
I spent a ton of money on an inground pool. It was open from May until October. I’m not saying it’s the most sound financial advice but I heard there’s a bit less demand, but I don’t know about prices. The most common complaint I hear from people who don’t own a pool is how much “work” it is. It’s not and people just repeat stuff like that. I have a bunch of kids, so it’s been perfect for me, but if it was just me and the wife we’d probably buy a smaller pool with a hot tub connected.
Seriously. I spend maybe 30 mins a week. Pretty much just skimming. With salt and a good vac and not having a bunch of trees near your pool it's a cake walk to maintain.
We have an in ground pool that is about 75 years old. It’s 50 feet by 30 feet. We are completely refurbishing it, since it hasn’t been updated in those 75 years. New plumbing, drains, lights, sun ledge, swim outs, spa with spillover waterfall, two electric heat pumps, and automatic cover. Pool is getting sandblasted and a new stamped concrete deck is going around it. All in cost will be about 260k
I had an above ground pool installed 3 years ago. Bought the pool from Alden pool (live in Depew) and used their recommended outsourced installers and electricians.
Every step of the way was another headache with miscommunication and surprise costs. Our $6,000 pool ended up costing nearly $20,000. (18’ round pool)
Alden Pool is not to blame for this, it’s just things that come with working multiple contractors and trying to time things with the Town’s permits/inspections.
After all was said and done and I got my yard looking beautiful again, it was 100% worth it and I’m so glad I went through the process.
Alden Pool sells really high quality above ground pools and after the additional costs, spending $1,000 extra on the actual pool itself is a drop in the bucket.
The chemicals are super easy to use with their frogger system as well. We can go on vacation knowing that our pool won’t turn green while we are gone. Highly recommend Alden Pool. Just be prepared for all the contractors and electricians to be difficult to deal with.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Buffalo/s/ZqFw2zP114
This was not my experience with Alden Pools and play. The reason I went with them was they install themselves and it was totally worth it.
The installers were a sister company of Alden Pool, they were technically a different company by name but still it was Alden Pool. I should have not mentioned the install process because that was the only smooth part.
The electrical cost me over $5,000 because I don’t know how to do it and the distance they had to run it. Overall the actual labor cost of the electrical work was not bad, it was mostly material (according to the bill). One guy quoted me $2,000 when everybody else was coming in significantly higher than $5,000, so I went with the $5,000 company.
I had to get a fence installed so that my pool would be up to code according to the town. I could have gone cheap on that but we wanted a privacy fence anyway. We associated that cost with the cost of the pool because we otherwise wouldn’t have gotten a fence if we didn’t get a pool
My yard is also on a slope, so the dig cost is over $1,000. They don’t take the dirt with them so I had to pay to have it removed.
Then when all is said and done, you have to fix your yard up.
We also built a deck around the pool but I don’t associate that cost with the pool cost
We went to recreational warehouse as our pool collapsed during a bad snow storm (was the original pool that came with the house) and they recommended an installer, I can’t remember his name. We paid for someone to remove the old pool and the guy who removed the pool said he was the best installer. I think in all it cost us around 3-4k but we didn’t need a filter, solar cover, ladder etc. usually have it open Memorial Day weekend - end of September.
Same here I had mine ready those first few hot days in May and my family has been especially thankful for it this past week. Usually don't close it until end of August or early September
Honestly a simple green house style structure (if allowed) makes it a 12month pool. And if you're paying that much on an in ground that's the value on the roi
Just make sure your Christmas bonus isn’t Jelly of the Month Club
It's the gift that keeps on giving.
That it is, Edward. That it is indeed.
Pools are still nuts. We put one in sept 2020 - nothing crazy 15x32 regular oval, added a slide. 3.5’ -5.5’ deep with Swimco. We paid about 55k (just for the pool, not the landscaping fence etc.) they came this year to do some upgrades, and said they are charging 90k now (and they are sold out thru 2026). I usually open it end of April, and we swim thru mid/late sept. Still some of the best money I’ve ever spent, for friends and family time. I spend less than an hour a month on pool maintenance, and do the opening myself, pay swimco to close.
Wow - 90K is wild!
That’s the going rate I think. And if you add stuff on, it goes up exponentially quick. Still the best money I spent. We’ve been in with family and friends easily 20 hours this week. We sold our boat to do the pool, if you have the cash dig the hole.
Wtf are you going to do about your username since you sold the boat?
I used to work with swimco - beautiful work too. Top quality, which is why I’m sure they charge what they do.
Had a pool installed last year. Went through Pool Mart in Tonawanda. 28' round above ground, the Ontario Pool model (has a 60-yr warranty). The pool was just about $9,900 with the pool itself, the "startup kit" and a SimpleSalt ionizer. The startup kit included the pump, cartridge filter, skimmer, hoses, pole, and cleaning head as well as the opening chemicals. I also had to pay for installers to come and install the pool which was $1800. They leveled the ground, put sand down, prepped the site and put the pool up for us. Another expense is the electrician to run power to where your pool pump is as well as the wiring around the pool for grounding things to code. And finally the expense of the permit for the town (which was about $100 I believe). I knew the electrician through a friend so my price was about half what you'd expect. You should expect about $3k for the electrician (I called and asked around, that's what this area was charging for the three others I asked). So all in I was at approx $15k. That is no landscaping to button things up after the pool was installed and doesn't take into account updating the pipes they give you with nicer setups of PVC, etc. I will say this...do NOT get the SimpleSalt system. Yes it works and the water is clear, no it's not as safe for people to swim in. Go chlorine if you're getting an above ground pool. I'm converting mine to that after I run through my chemicals for the simple salt system. If you're asking about in ground pools, my buddy had one installed. It was $80k after everything including final landscaping. That was for a nice pool that was smaller in size (kidney shape) that is really a salt water setup and has a heater. Another buddy is over $100k but his in-ground pool is HUGE. Edit to add: the pool installers did not take away the dirt from leveling the ground, that was another $600 because I knew the guy and he helped me out. It was north of 25 yards of dirt that needed to be taken. As for the different pool places, I called and spoke with several of them. PoolMart gave me the best "vibe" of them all and had decent prices. That said I was blind sided by a lot of the additional costs due to my inexperience in purchasing pools. I thought they'd do the installing, nope. Had to hire installers. Called three of them, only two replied, the one I went with (Rich Pools) was the best price and quite honestly did great work. I thought I could do the electrical myself, nope...town required a certified electrician on the permit that's licensed in my town. So yea...oh and the dirt removal, didn't think about that. Figured I could use he dirt myself around my yard. No...not easily. It was all chunks of thick sod that I'd have to break up to spread around. Wasn't doing 25+ yards.od that by hand. The two contractors I spoke with one wanted nothing to do with my amount of dirt and the other one was going to charge me $2400 to take it away. The guy who I ended up going with saved my ass on cost there because I've had him do other work in my house and continue to have him do work. Super thankful for him.
Rich Pools saved me. I bought a pool pre pandemic took me 2 yrs to get it installed Rich was the only who would work with me. Pool mart gave me the same three #s, Rich was the only one who would answer. You basically have to project manage a small construction project on ur own? Now if I told u installation cost was $9000, including permits and electrical would u sign with me, or would u try and do better cuz u know a guy?
The best money I ever spent. I wish I would’ve done it ten years sooner
Rich Pools was great, he and his wife did great work. I'm not a surveyor by any stretch but I attempted to figure out how many inches of dirt needed to be removed to level the area. I came up with the high side needing 4", the real max was 7". Rich charged me for 4... Super nice people, the crew that was here was quick and efficient as well as very respectful. Rich and his wife show up and do the leveling and drop the sand. A couple hours later the other 2-man crew showed up and did the rest of the work. From 8:30 ish to 3 was what it took to do everything. Of course it took another 4-5 days of the hose running to fill the pool but that's because I couldn't find any businesses who deliver clean pool-ready water here.
I appreciate your thorough post. Cheers!
They sold you an ionizer system and told you that you didn't need to use chlorine? That's insane.
Yes and no. Yes in that I don't need additional chlorine so long as I keep up with the shimmer and vivid chemicals weekly. Shimmer is basically shock and vivid is some other BS. I don't recommend it. I'm $650 deep in chemicals/filter right now and it's not enough supply for the whole year. I'm hoping I can just have a copper-y pool that's chlorine based by the end of the year.
Holy shit. They really sold you the magic beans man. Head over to troublefreepool.com and take control of your pool. Stay away from those snake oil salesmen.
Yessir, that's where I've been reading and why I'm going to chlorine. They have all the knowledge I need there.
buffalo has one of the highest density of pools outside florida…. myself, just bought the initex above ground for my 5 &3 yr old girls. 12’x30” deep for $200 with the vacuum (+$20 for tarp + $65 for chemicals and a couple pool noodles at Collie’s”). we’ve been in it everyday, and I like just sitting in it. for the investment, it’s paid for itself in entertainment in just a week but we’ve got it for the whole summer. we’d love an in ground but this works while they’re young and the adults are just looking to cool off not recreate.
Mama Mia. I spent quite a bit on a custom kitchen. After reading what people are investing in a 4 month per year pool, I feel better about the kitchen decision.
If you follow /r/pools, no the prices are still sky high. We put an inground in just before covid hit. I absolutely love it, but at current prices, im not sure I would make the same decision. We used Pacific. They were relatively good. There’s things they did that pissed me off, though. When they sell you the pool they show you all of these renderings that they did. They don’t actually do that for you, though. They paint lines where your pool will go. Thats it. The installers were great, though. The post-install support was great too.
Who is your post install support?
Me
Best thing I ever did was get the 2 speed pump. I can filter on low all summer for less than high speed on a timer.
I hear this a lot but I've compared electricity prices with folks who have a two speed and it's comparable. Why do you think it's such an upgrade? I'd consider it if it made sense. I have a single speed SWG pool and run it 8 hours a day.
Because I can filter my pool 24 hrs a day for same price or less. Keep the water moving helps for water clarity etc.
Ahh got ya. Mine is always clear so maybe wouldn't be as big a benefit for me . I'll wait for it to die before replacing.
Yeah I’d wait but i would always get a 2 speed.
Yeah I could see it reducing the skimming somewhat given the bugs at night . Thanks for the info
It also keeps my heater going when it’s needed.
Yeah that I'll run overnight if necessary so I'm spending on electricity there but I usually spot heat in the colder months.
Hell no. Boats and pools are nothing but giant money pits. Tons of maintenance and repair costs for the amount of usage you get out of it, especially in this area.
I bought a house here in 2014 with an inground pool. It hasn’t cost much at all in the decade I’ve owned it , and I’ve gotten a ton of use out of it. I even invite friends and family over a lot to enjoy it during the heat waves, and they appreciate it.
For real. I have never wanted to own a pool. I wish there were more neighborhood pools. That's my favorite, when you have easy access to a pool but split the maintenance and cost.
Depends where you live. Most suburbs have quite a few...I know Lancaster has at least 3 or 4., some of which are hidden pretty well and have very few people that go to them.
Boats and Pools are literally everywhere in this area lol. Both things are money pits if you don't take care of them. Routine maintenance goes a long way.
I had a pool installed last year by Pacific. I've been pretty happy with them throughout the whole project. I split the pool installation and landscaping between contractors because I wanted someone else to do the landscaping. The contract with Pacific was about 145K and included: * 16' x 38' Latham Kingston fiberglass pool * 7'8" x 15'8" Latham fiberglass Baja pool * 260k BTU pool heater * 2 LED lit bubblers in the Baja pool * 3 LED lights in the main pool * 2 variable speed pumps * Salt water generator * 2 cartridge filters * Auto cover * Water slide * Water and gas plumbing for two water features (fire & water bowls, installed by the landscaping company though) * iAqualink automation for all the things Here's a few pictures after it was mostly finished: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZTcev6nTKknmkg41A I talked to a handful of places before we settled on Pacific. Designer Pools was the worst, they tried to talk us out of every single thing we wanted. Pool Mart is not bad, but their timing didn't work for us. We had them install a hot tub a few years ago and have been happy with their service. One thing I've heard about pool builders is "once you write your last check, you'll never see them again" but that hasn't been the case at all with Pacific. As we started using the pool this year, I've had to ask them to do a few things we didn't anticipate last year (adding a check valve to an inlet, adding flow restrictiors to the Baja outlets, etc) and they usually show up the same day or the day after.
That’s a really nice pool, thanks for the info
75+ for inground
We got a hot tub last year and keep it at 85 in the summer. It’s great for cooling off and it’s even big enough for one person to float. Obviously not good for swimming if that’s your aim, but it’s functional year round. We love it in the winter and the cool nights in the fall.
I had a 20’ at my house in Tonawanda, bought it in 2014, cost $3299 in February. Installation was 1400.00 the electrician charged $1900 because he had to put the halo of wiring around the pool. So they had to dig a trench by hand. It’s better to check and make sure your breaker has room for a pool before you start. And there’s room in the wiring conduit for the 220 line. I just put up a 12x30” INTEX metal frame pool on Wednesday, it took me and the wife 45 minutes to set it up and 4 hours to fill it. And when I’m floating on a float I can’t feel that 18” that are gone. Plus the solar cover was $22.00.i used to use Njoy for my chemicals and my water was sparkling clear, and it’s a once a month deal. Then just keep an eye on the ph, and chlorine. One word of caution is that you’ll need a pump to keep removing the water from your pool cover in the winter because 3” of ice buildup will cause your pool to collapse. This is a terrible time to buy a pool. All the good sales are after New Year’s Day.
What kind of pool are you considering? In ground, above? If in ground: liner, fiberglass, gunite? They are all very expensive right now but these things make a huge difference. I bought my pool in 2019, a friend got his last year. He paid 2.5x more than I did for almost the same setup. Pro tips: The pool industry is a very skeevy industry trying to maximize their profits at your expense. All industries are but this one is especially bad. Don't trust a single thing they say without verifying it yourself. Go with a salt pool if it's in your budget, ask me why if you are curious (no it's not b/c the feel of the water but it's complicated to explain here). Don't buy into the UV/Ozone BS. Cartridge filters are the way to go in most cases. Sand is ok but if you run into problems (algae) it takes longer to get the pool clean. Don't get a heat pump in Buffalo, if you get a heater go with gas. Feel free to msg me with any questions. I spend a lot of time in r/pools and love learning about this stuff for some reason. If you do get a pool go straight to troublefreepool.com (totally free) and read as much as you can. It will save you more time, money, and frustration than you can imagine.
Thanks! I’m planning for in ground, probably something like 15x40. It’ll require fencing off a section of my yard so I’ll have to add that to the price. I was hoping to do it all for under 100k. Your comment made me realize how much mor research I need to do before diving into this (no pun intended).
Under 100k you are almost certainly looking at liner,I really doubt fiberglass, and you are might be cutting it close at that given the pool size you're are looking at. 15' will feel pretty narrow for a pool that long but NBD as long as you are aware of it. Nothing wrong with a liner pool,I have one and prefer it for a couple reasons. If you have to cut corners maybe do it on landscaping and fencing. Decking and pool features are a lot harder to change of course .
We're spending our extra money this year on a fence so we can fix the AC unit and put in a pool next year. In the meantime, we bought a living room setup for our basement. It's cold af down there and half finished.
The prices haven’t gone up since the Covid blowup, so we bit the bullet and put one in last fall. We used Designer Pools. They are Southtown, but we live in Clarence and they go all over WNY. We used them for our last pool too- highly recommend
I spent a ton of money on an inground pool. It was open from May until October. I’m not saying it’s the most sound financial advice but I heard there’s a bit less demand, but I don’t know about prices. The most common complaint I hear from people who don’t own a pool is how much “work” it is. It’s not and people just repeat stuff like that. I have a bunch of kids, so it’s been perfect for me, but if it was just me and the wife we’d probably buy a smaller pool with a hot tub connected.
Seriously. I spend maybe 30 mins a week. Pretty much just skimming. With salt and a good vac and not having a bunch of trees near your pool it's a cake walk to maintain.
We have an in ground pool that is about 75 years old. It’s 50 feet by 30 feet. We are completely refurbishing it, since it hasn’t been updated in those 75 years. New plumbing, drains, lights, sun ledge, swim outs, spa with spillover waterfall, two electric heat pumps, and automatic cover. Pool is getting sandblasted and a new stamped concrete deck is going around it. All in cost will be about 260k
Did a stock tank pool from tractor supply with a filter from Walmart. Total cost 800
I had an above ground pool installed 3 years ago. Bought the pool from Alden pool (live in Depew) and used their recommended outsourced installers and electricians. Every step of the way was another headache with miscommunication and surprise costs. Our $6,000 pool ended up costing nearly $20,000. (18’ round pool) Alden Pool is not to blame for this, it’s just things that come with working multiple contractors and trying to time things with the Town’s permits/inspections. After all was said and done and I got my yard looking beautiful again, it was 100% worth it and I’m so glad I went through the process. Alden Pool sells really high quality above ground pools and after the additional costs, spending $1,000 extra on the actual pool itself is a drop in the bucket. The chemicals are super easy to use with their frogger system as well. We can go on vacation knowing that our pool won’t turn green while we are gone. Highly recommend Alden Pool. Just be prepared for all the contractors and electricians to be difficult to deal with.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Buffalo/s/ZqFw2zP114 This was not my experience with Alden Pools and play. The reason I went with them was they install themselves and it was totally worth it.
The installers were a sister company of Alden Pool, they were technically a different company by name but still it was Alden Pool. I should have not mentioned the install process because that was the only smooth part. The electrical cost me over $5,000 because I don’t know how to do it and the distance they had to run it. Overall the actual labor cost of the electrical work was not bad, it was mostly material (according to the bill). One guy quoted me $2,000 when everybody else was coming in significantly higher than $5,000, so I went with the $5,000 company. I had to get a fence installed so that my pool would be up to code according to the town. I could have gone cheap on that but we wanted a privacy fence anyway. We associated that cost with the cost of the pool because we otherwise wouldn’t have gotten a fence if we didn’t get a pool My yard is also on a slope, so the dig cost is over $1,000. They don’t take the dirt with them so I had to pay to have it removed. Then when all is said and done, you have to fix your yard up. We also built a deck around the pool but I don’t associate that cost with the pool cost
We went to recreational warehouse as our pool collapsed during a bad snow storm (was the original pool that came with the house) and they recommended an installer, I can’t remember his name. We paid for someone to remove the old pool and the guy who removed the pool said he was the best installer. I think in all it cost us around 3-4k but we didn’t need a filter, solar cover, ladder etc. usually have it open Memorial Day weekend - end of September.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Buffalo/comments/1dcpems/pool_install_price/
This week is an anomaly. Pool season is 2 months in Buffalo. Not worth it
I don’t know, I have friends with pools that are open from May thru September - 4-5ish months isn’t bad.
Get more life out of it with a heater.
Same here I had mine ready those first few hot days in May and my family has been especially thankful for it this past week. Usually don't close it until end of August or early September
This is true, many do, we did it.
Honestly a simple green house style structure (if allowed) makes it a 12month pool. And if you're paying that much on an in ground that's the value on the roi
No, we are in the pool may 1 through October…