Pool, bird-cage & spa for new home
 

We have our home design meeting next month for our future home in St Catherine. We have done some research, but would like some feedback from our future neighbors in the Villages. Our first set of questions were about energy savings. We received a lot of good responses...Thanks! Now we want to find out more about putting in a pool, bird-cage & spa.

• If you have a pool do you use it much?
• Is your pool heated; if so, how (heat pump, solar, other)?
• Leaning toward a stand-alone hot tub instead of inground. If you have one, do you use it much? In a recent thread on this a number of people say it won't get much use.
• Any suggestions on bird-cage? UV-protection an option?
• Thoughts on artificial grass inside bird cage? Allowed/useful?

We put in a pool 6 1/2 years ago and use it almost every day and it is solar heated. We have cool crete around the pool and the bird cage is SPF 15. I have never seen an above ground pool only inground pools.

On the other hand, I do not have a pool here, because I had a pool in Phoenix and our dogs used it more than we did.

One consideration is that if you have a pool you HAVE to maintain it, run the pump/filter, add chemicals, etc. That costs time and money monthly. I save have to because if you don't and you let it go, algae will grown, and if mosquitos start breeding in it the mosquito control people will clean out your pool and bill you. If you drain it, it will crack, so once you have it, it is a "life time" commitment.

Just something to think about. There are a lot of public/neighborhood pools here. Some people use those, some prefer there own. It is really a personal choice.

We pay $115 a monthly for weekly cleaning and the chemicals are included. Worth the money to us because love going in the pool at night.

With 4 pools located with in 1/2 mile of our house, we decided not to put in a pool. We did add a birdcage and above ground spa in the lanai, all of these after we had our house built and were sure of what we wanted an where we wanted it. I believe we saved money, no mortgage expense on these items, but I also have no cost basis for these during the initial build. If you go the route we did, allow several months from the scheduling of your project to completion.

To get better advise tell us what model home that you will build.

We were thinking about the Lilac or Begonia model.

We have a gardenia also, I use the hot tub / spa 3 to 5 times a week, and love it, set at 102 degrees.

Birdcage:. If you have a view opt for the more expensive 'panoramic" option. It has fewer vertical supports obstructing your view.

Salt pool - roof top solar heated. There is an electric heater for the pool but we never use it.

We started with a tab pool and I just converted it to salt a few months ago. I do all my own pool maintenance. Balancing is much easier with salt - brushing and vacuuming are still the same.

You can heat and cool the pool with solar. There will be 2 maybe 3 months during the “winter” when you won’t be able to maintain a comfortable water temp.

That’s when we use our above ground spa. We drain it in March and refill it in November. The first year in our current house we kept the spa going all year but never really used it outside of the few months where solar was unable to maintain 87 degrees in the pool.

We use our pool several times a week and use the spa more often. Our spa is a part of the pool structure which I recommend. Maintenance is inexpensive relative to the cost of the pool and spa. We have solar and a gas heater. Solar works great when the sun is shining. Gas works on overcast days. Gas tank also runs our outdoor grill.

Enjoy your pool and spa.

If you drain a hot tub the seals will dry out. Same as a pool, lifetime commitment but wonderful if you use it all the time.

We use the spa (Spa Kingdom had an excellent selection) nearly every day, just have to use it early morning during the summer. Easy & inexpensive to maintain. We can easily walk to 2 pools - we chose to let TV maintain them & saves us $$$. Birdcage is a must - keeps out bugs, animals, lizards. Love our hot tub, love TV’s pools!

I have a Spa Kingdom (good company) stand alone spa in our enclosed lani. Used it a lot when i first got it 5 years ago not so mush not. When it goes i will not replace it. We have had a spa since 2005, i 've just lost interest but thst's just me.

Let me preface my response by telling you that I am an engineer and was in IT most of my life... so I tend to over-research anything I buy. The more expensive the purchase, the more I research.

Responses:

• If you have a pool do you use it much? I have had a pool for the past 35 years. I had each of them installed - one in Michigan, the 2nd in Georgia, and the 3rd here in The Villages. We use the one here in The Villages far more than any of our other pools. We are in it multiple times daily, year round (unless we are on vacation). It's nice to be able to just walk out back and jump in.
  
• Is your pool heated; if so, how (heat pump, solar, other)? We have had heaters on all of our pools. We have a heat pump on our current pool. I looked at solar, but you can't keep your pool at 86 degrees plus year round with solar. During the cooler months the solar doesn't heat nearly as much (when you need it!), and pool will cool down overnight. In most cases, you'll be looking at your pool being unusable during the winter. This means you still need to get either a gas or heat pump to supplement the solar heater. My heat pump costs me about $30 a month to run during the winter to maintain 88 degrees, and $0 in the summer. If I need a heat pump anyway, why spend $5K on solar? Do the math, you'll never recover that cost before the system needs to be replaced.
  
• Leaning toward a stand-alone hot tub instead of inground. If you have one, do you use it much? In a recent thread on this a number of people say it won't get much use. I have a standalone Tuff Spas TT250. Love the patented cover that you'll never have to replace. I had a standalone in MI, and a built-in in GA. I would never get a built in again. The standalones are far more comfortable to sit in, and can be heated independently without impacting pool temp.
  
• Any suggestions on bird-cage? UV-protection an option? A standard bird-cage reduces UV significantly. You don't need extra UV protection. The upside to this is temp control in the summer for your pool. During the hottest months, the uncovered pools in The Villages will see the water temps soar into the mid to high 90's. When you get in the pool, it feels wet, but not refreshing. My pool under a cage never goes above 90 in summer - it usually stays around 87-89 and feels refreshing.
  
• Thoughts on artificial grass inside bird cage? Allowed/useful? You would have to check with ARC, but generally anything you put in your backyard inside the cage is outside of the purview of ARC. You'll need to go to ARC for the cage, but since the pool is in the cage, they could care less. My thoughts would be more around how you clean it. It will build up with dirt, dust, and pollen from the air (yes, it comes through the screen). When you do need to clean, the water won't run smoothly away from the pool like it would on concrete or pavers, so you might put a lot of dirt and cleaning solution in the pool.

Below is a list of recommendations I have that you should ask every pool builder you talk to. There are several pool builders I would recommend you quote, and several I would say stay away from at all costs. PM me if you want my list:)

I would get at least 3 quotes from companies with high ratings. You will find that most folks here will say T&D... that is because T&D is local and is the contractor that The Villages uses. They do good work, but generally cost far more than other companies outside of the bubble. If you don't mind paying 25%-50% more, then T&D is fine. My pool was done by Premier Pools of Central Florida out of Winter Park and I couldn't be happier. My pool was $65K - T&D wanted $90K, and that was with older automation, an undersized filter, and an undersized salt water generator (SWG) cell.

When I asked them to meet the same hardware as Premier, I was looking at another $10K. This is why I say - get multiple quotes, then make sure they all have the same components. Things to check:

1) Verify filter size - the smaller the filter, the more often you will be cleaning it.
2) Look at pool automation. It will make your life easier, and will save on electricity over the long run.
3) Make sure you get auto fill/drain. Here in FL with the rain and sun we get you'll be constantly adding water or manually draining without it.
4) Make sure you get a variable speed pump. A VSP can save $20-$40 per month when run at 40%.
5) If going salt water (highly recommended), make sure the SWG cell is rated at least 2x the size of your pool.
6) If you are not getting a deep end, look at asking for a channel drain. In a shallow pool, you'll have folks stubbing their toes on the standard drains that most companies install.
6) Look at the included pool interior finish. Pebble finishes last far longer than plaster, and are more $$ accordingly.

I could probably add more, but that is a good start!

We bought our house with an inground spa in the spf birdcage. I love it. We use it at least 4 to 5 days a week. I turn down the heater in the summer, raise it when it’s a little chilly. We maintain it ourselves. Very simple.

Ambivalent
 

No matter what else get the cage.
We've had our own pool which we barely used and we also had an inground spa without a pool.
Now we have a large screen porch and miss the cage and pool.
If I was in your position and cost was not an object I would get the heated pool with attached spa, and a large enough cage to move around all sides of the pool. Size largest cage and then size pool & spa to fit. IMHO

I agree about getting the largest cage your yard will allow within reason. That can allow for room to have seating around the pool and spa, perhaps an upper level with a waterfall or two, and a grill in the corner. Look upon it as your water view.

Having a pool is totally personal. Some love them. Some don't. If you decide to, get it heated, have a motorized cover for it, consider a built in cleaner instead of a robot style, and consider a built in hot tub if you decide to have one. We chose not to. We bought a small hot tub to try out while we waited for the design and during construction. Two months after getting it, we sold it and that was the end of having a built in hot tub for us. We just painted the floor of the lanai and under the bird cage. We also chose to only have a 1" drop from our main house floor instead of the standard 3" or 4", which ever is standard. Have them install electrical outlets in the columns on the corners of the lanai.

How much money are you willing to spend and how much work are you willing to do? If your answer is lots, then go for it. It’s your choice.

Go for a pool with a pour over spa. The designers will explain what that is. I used our spa almost every night before going to bed.

Don’t get all uptight about the cost of heating the pool. I had five solar panels installed by Jack’s Solar (the best!). I never changed the temperature setting from 85 degrees. There was no additional gas cost for about eight months a year. Even during the coldest month or two it only cost about $200 per month over our normal natural gas bill. The solar alone would keep the pool temp between 70-75 degrees.

Go for it! Don’t get too uptight about incremental gas cost. Get solar and the total additional annual cost will in the range of only $1,000 or so. Easy decision for the enjoyment of a pool and spa.