Average Cost To Build Pool (Austin, Cove: tile, shop, linear)

[Austin97]

Pool maintenance is very easy, I would get a pool robot to clean the floor and walls of the pool. I barely need to empty my skimmers, maybe once a month.

https://marinapoolspaandpatio.com/pr...s-dolphin-799/

You do need to add chlorine, for me it is .5 gallons/day, but I have an automated system to do it.

Pool companies have to use pucks which are bad.

read troublefreepool.com pool school to learn how to take care of your pool.

I spend maybe 15 minutes a week checking pool chemistry emptying skimmers, etc.

Filling my chlorine does take longer.

[Mama Grey]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Pool maintenance is very easy, I would get a pool robot to clean the floor and walls of the pool. I barely need to empty my skimmers, maybe once a month.

https://marinapoolspaandpatio.com/pr...s-dolphin-799/

You do need to add chlorine, for me it is .5 gallons/day, but I have an automated system to do it.

Pool companies have to use pucks which are bad.

read troublefreepool.com pool school to learn how to take care of your pool.

I spend maybe 15 minutes a week checking pool chemistry emptying skimmers, etc.

Filling my chlorine does take longer.

Appreciate the info very much! I will take a look at that url and read up. It's helpful to know that owner maintenance isn't as consuming as the maintenance companies make it out to be.

[TTBintheHills]

Originally Posted by Mama Grey

Now that we're under contract on a home with a pool (yes!), I need to pivot on my original question. What is typical pricing for a pool maintenance company in the area? Our pool is a chlorine pool. I have a quote from the current servicer, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't get a few more quotes. They quoted:
$46/week for full cleaning, weekly service
$56/week for full cleaning, every other week
Chemicals billed separately
Full cleaning = brush, vacuum, skim, empty baskets, adjust chems, maintain sand & DE filter

I pay $50/week in Austin plus chemical costs. Doing it yourself isn't that hard but I choose to let the pool company deal with it right now. I may take over doing the pool maintenance when I decrease my work schedule to 3 days a week.

I recommend hiring a company at first while you learn more about it. You can always cancel the service and try it yourself for a while next year.

[riaelise]

I pay $40 per week in Round Rock with chemicals. He's a mom and pop, so a bit no frills but it's a compromise for those who don't want to do it themselves (us) but shy away from bigger companies that want to charge $$$.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by riaelise

I pay $40 per week in Round Rock with chemicals. He's a mom and pop, so a bit no frills but it's a compromise for those who don't want to do it themselves (us) but shy away from bigger companies that want to charge $$$.

the big problem with pool companies is if you dont have saltwater then they have to use pucks. If they use pucks you are adding about 2ppm of cyanuric acid/day in the summer. Starting at about 60 ppm of CYA your chlorine starts to be ineffective. And you need much higher levels of chlorine to sanitize your pool.

As CYA builds up over 2-3 years they either need to drain your pool to remove it, or start adding other chemicals like algaecide or temporarily high levels of chlorine to kill algae blooms to compensate.

[blakely]

We maintain our own pool as well. It’s not too hard. Trouble free pool website is a good place to start.

Agree on avoiding pucks if you can.

[Trainwreck20]

Fwiw, the city of Austin gives you a water price break if you notify them ahead of time that you are going to fill a pool.

[austindream]

People building pools skyrocketed due to COVID so pool prices have risen some. With that said, the going rate in Travis County is around 90-120k to install a pool. It is more advantageous to buy a home with a pool already in it, UNLESS you plan to stay in your home longer term. (Realtor here, and this is what I've seen).

[Mama Grey]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Fwiw, the city of Austin gives you a water price break if you notify them ahead of time that you are going to fill a pool.

We’re tied into city water but have a well for gardening and pool. So very thankful for that!

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Mama Grey

We’re tied into city water but have a well for gardening and pool. So very thankful for that!

It is cheaper, but not 'free' - depending on the depth of your well. For a reference point, a 300' well and 10 cents/kwh will cost you about $1/1000 gallons, or $50 to fill a 50,000 gallon pool. The cost is essentially linear with the well depth, so a 100 well would be 1/3 as much.