no grill for our kitchen
 

We opted for just the fridge and sink and not the entire kitchen with the grill. From our experience, grills wear out after about 2 years of use and to replace that large built in grill in the summer kitchen would have been more work than it's worth, so we decided to get our own cheapy grill and use it on the side. This way when it needs replacing, we can just throw it away and get a new 99$ grill! Works for us.

There are many reasons why we wanted a house with a pool. But I suspect from talking to some of our friends the main reasons they have a pool are privacy and no restrictions. You can use it when you want and it never gets crowded. I especially like comments from folks about how much work a pool is. Well that was true up north as our pool there required a lot more time and effort than the pool here does. It takes us about one hour per month to clean and service our pool. Once a month we bring a water sample to T&D for testing when we will be near the store. For us that is not a lot of time.

2 thumbs up on a pool
 

I agree spk. We opened our pool about Memorial Day up North and used it until Labor Day. That's 3 months of use. And, probably only 1/2 the time the weather was good enough to swim. Plus with the leaves and pine needles dropping in the pool we had to vacuum twice a week and put chemicals in more often than I wanted to. We did have the automatic cleaner so it could just roam around and clean but we still had to hook it up. So, after only swimming in it for about 45 days total we had to drain the pool, the lines, put lots of chemicals in it to close for the winter, put all furniture away, take out diving board, ladders and hand rails and cover it. It was one full day of back breaking work. With a pool in TV we get to swim in it for probably 9 months a year, never have to cover it or put furniture away and with a salt pool it should be less maintenance. Plus we can swim when ever we want in the privacy of our own home. Now I call that sweet!

Sounds pretty much like what we went through with our pool/spa in CT except that we had it open for about 6 months a year. Funny thing is that even though it was operating for 6 months that pool cost us more per year to operate than the pool/spa here that is open year round.

I understand your point about not having to put away the furniture here but we are not entirely out of the woods in that respect. Hopefully it is a rare event but when we first moved here all our lanai furniture was delivered two days after closing. One week later a tropical storm came through, went across the state and came back. So we had boxes of items, furniture and lanai furniture all over the inside of the house for three days. Guess we have our trials and tribulations no matter where we are.

Happinow: When you say grills wear out in 2 years, do you mean the entire workings or just the metal piece on top?

There is a "Pee" in pool but not in Lake Sumter!!!

Gas grill
 

The inside wears out...rusty, falls apart and beat from the drippings from meats. The outside stays pretty good. I know we can switch out just the insides but that gets expensive too. Our last gas grill was a big one and expensive. The inside wore out to the point it discintigrated (not spelled right, sorry) and the shell was good. Sold it at a garage sale for 10.00. So, I'd rather buy a less expensive one and use it for 2 years then get a new one.

Really surprised. We have an expensive outside grill and are really lax about upkeep. I mean really lax. Four years and it is just stellar. I will be selling it and am pretty sure we will get at least $400 for it. I would never expect the inside to "rot. But now I guess I will go check it out :)

Gas grill
 

Ummm. We cook on ours almost every night...even during the winter, so maybe we use ours excessively?? Glad you have had better luck. Keep on grillin'!

Well. we aren't grilling EVERY night but we do also grill in the winter. so you are right. maybeit just hasn't had as much use. whatever it is, I am not moving that big thing all the way to FL so figure we will just put in the grill. Less clutter on the patio.

Gosh, we must be doing something right. Most of our grills have lasted 10+ years. We clean and keep covered.

Army Guy

I've been reading your posts with interest. We are coming down at the end of the month to make our home choices and pool choices. We will be building in Sanibel. Any help or advice your may have on the process of designing the pool would be great. Never had a pool (never really had a desire to have one for 3 months in Ohio), but it has always been a dream. So...why not. Does T&D offer solar or do you have to go to an outside company? Anything you wish you had done or wished you hadn't done in your pool? Any info would be a help since I am a pool novice.

I hope these figures are right...Happinow?
 

Happinow posted some time ago that they paid 76K for a pool and birdcage. Fumar said his cost 36K. No dogs allowed in either.

I have heard it costs about 5K a year to maintain them.

You said it. Privacy and convenience, especially when family is visiting.
Plus lovely to look at through the living room and master bedroom sliders, open or closed.

Up north, an inground pool requires much more work by the home owner or the pool service; most people do it themselves. Lots of cleaning plus maintaining the correct balance of chemicals.......no birdcages so lots of leaves and "stuff" like pollen get into the pool ....not to mention bugs...so filters have to be cleaned out.....proper PH or whatever maintained. Just lots of cleaning, vacuuming.........then covering in the fall prior to winter and reopening, uncovering in the late springtime.........we kept the pump in our shed. We had a deep end diving board and a fibreglass sliding board on the long side......plus walk in steps.........a very big olympic sized inground.


In Florida, we've seen the pool guy come ONCE A WEEK.....and it's in and out very quickly. The water definitely stays cleaner under a birdcage.

Maintenance definitely seems easier. We were quoted something like $15,000 for a birdcage (two story one) and $25,000 or so for a pool which would have the salt water, supposedly a good feature. Also, GET A HEATER installed. Even in balmy November the heater was a blessing.........the sunshine was wonderful and the temps were in the low 70's but still the heater is needed.

WE were pleasantly surprised as we thought the birdcages would be much more...having seen them going up while driving around to get our "bearings" in all the villages. Home pool is one of the first things I checked out.

Not all the homes in TV are that close to a neighborhood pool. Having one right off your own lanai and under a birdcage would be wonderful ...........again, as you said, PRIVACY is why people have home pools put in.....plus convenience.

Happinow revised the number to $67 I think. Transposed. What do you mean no dogs?