Cost of Maintaining a Pool
Building a pool is an exciting adventure that will bring happiness to your family and value to your home. There are many different options for pool construction in Stamford, CT, and it’s important to take a few things into consideration to ensure that you get the exact pool you’ve been dreaming of. You’ll need to figure out the location of your future pool, which will also have an affect on the shape of the pool. Do you want a standard rectangular pool or do you want a more interesting shape? Will the pool have any additions such as a spa or lounging area? Many people are adding decorative elements to their pools such as waterfalls, fountains, and interesting landscaping. There are many technical details that need to be sorted out as well such as how deep the pool will be, whether it will be below or above ground, and how much ‘fall’ the land has where the pool will be located. It’s also important to make sure that you will be following all the Stamford building codes and have the necessary permits.
Consider your budget
Pools can be quite expensive, both in terms of time and money. It’s important to realize that building a pool is not a one-time expense. In addition to the building costs, plan on spending money and time on maintaining your new pool. On average, it costs about $20,000 to build a pool and about $40,000 for a contractor to build a vinyl liner pool.
Location, Location, Location
Finding the best spot for you new pool is almost as important as the pool itself. If you’re not sure about the technical limitations for pool construction, an experienced pool contractor can help provide valuable insight. A pool should never be located beneath overhead telephone or electrical wires, and should not be built on top of buried sewer lines, septic systems, or electrical cables. You will want the pool to be visible from the house so that you can monitor swimmers while you’re indoors.
Choose a Circulation System
The pool's circulation system is designed to keep the water clean and crystal clear. To do this effectively, it uses both filtration and sanitization. The heart of the filtration system is the pump. This draws water from the pool's bottom drains, sends the surface water through an automatic skimmer, and then passes everything through a filter before recirculating it to the pool. There are three types of filters commonly used: sand, cartridge and diatomaceous earth (DE).
All three types of filters work well when properly installed and well maintained. An experienced contractor can help you decide which filtration system is best for your pool.
Sand filters
Sand filters are the oldest and most common method of pool-water filtration. They use special filter sand to trap dirt and debris. As the sand particles "load up" or become clogged, they trap smaller and smaller particles. Sand filters are cleaned by backwashing, which involves reversing the water flow through the filter and flushing the dirty water into a waste line.
Cartridge filters
Cartridge filters have been around for a number of years, but their popularity has only recently begun to skyrocket. This system uses large cylindrical cartridges to screen out dirt, much like the systems in fish tanks. Most pool builders recommend using large cartridges that have 500 to 600 sq. ft. of filter area. Unlike sand filters, cartridges don't require backwashing. Instead, you simply remove them and rinse off the dirt with a garden hose, a process that uses much less water than backwashing. In fact, backwashing has become an environmental issue in the southwest and other drought-prone areas of the country.
Chlorine
Chlorine is by far the most commonly used pool sanitizer. There are different kinds of chlorine sanitizers available, including cal hypo, dichlor, gaseous chlorine, liquid chlorine, lithium hypochlorite and trichlor. It’s important to understand the differences between these chemicals and how you will react to them. Some chemicals are much stronger than others and are known to sting the eyes, while others are milder. An experienced pool contractor or chlorine vendor can provide the necessary information to help you make a decision on how to sanitize your pool.
Consider your budget
Pools can be quite expensive, both in terms of time and money. It’s important to realize that building a pool is not a one-time expense. In addition to the building costs, plan on spending money and time on maintaining your new pool. On average, it costs about $20,000 to build a pool and about $40,000 for a contractor to build a vinyl liner pool.
Location, Location, Location
Finding the best spot for you new pool is almost as important as the pool itself. If you’re not sure about the technical limitations for pool construction, an experienced pool contractor can help provide valuable insight. A pool should never be located beneath overhead telephone or electrical wires, and should not be built on top of buried sewer lines, septic systems, or electrical cables. You will want the pool to be visible from the house so that you can monitor swimmers while you’re indoors.
Choose a Circulation System
The pool's circulation system is designed to keep the water clean and crystal clear. To do this effectively, it uses both filtration and sanitization. The heart of the filtration system is the pump. This draws water from the pool's bottom drains, sends the surface water through an automatic skimmer, and then passes everything through a filter before recirculating it to the pool. There are three types of filters commonly used: sand, cartridge and diatomaceous earth (DE).
All three types of filters work well when properly installed and well maintained. An experienced contractor can help you decide which filtration system is best for your pool.
Sand filters
Sand filters are the oldest and most common method of pool-water filtration. They use special filter sand to trap dirt and debris. As the sand particles "load up" or become clogged, they trap smaller and smaller particles. Sand filters are cleaned by backwashing, which involves reversing the water flow through the filter and flushing the dirty water into a waste line.
Cartridge filters
Cartridge filters have been around for a number of years, but their popularity has only recently begun to skyrocket. This system uses large cylindrical cartridges to screen out dirt, much like the systems in fish tanks. Most pool builders recommend using large cartridges that have 500 to 600 sq. ft. of filter area. Unlike sand filters, cartridges don't require backwashing. Instead, you simply remove them and rinse off the dirt with a garden hose, a process that uses much less water than backwashing. In fact, backwashing has become an environmental issue in the southwest and other drought-prone areas of the country.
Chlorine
Chlorine is by far the most commonly used pool sanitizer. There are different kinds of chlorine sanitizers available, including cal hypo, dichlor, gaseous chlorine, liquid chlorine, lithium hypochlorite and trichlor. It’s important to understand the differences between these chemicals and how you will react to them. Some chemicals are much stronger than others and are known to sting the eyes, while others are milder. An experienced pool contractor or chlorine vendor can provide the necessary information to help you make a decision on how to sanitize your pool.