Private Pools?????

Discussion in 'Sun City General Discussions' started by BPearson, Jan 9, 2019.

  1. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Okay, so i know we have had a thread or two on this before, but now it is personal. I know diddly about pools and as we finish the remodel over the next two months on the house, we are setting our sights on turning the backyard into our own private oasis.

    Between last week and this, we have met or are meeting with pool contractors and landscape guys. We are getting bids and picking their brains for the "right" way to go. There's so darn many options it is almost frightening.

    I know, just swim at one of the RCSC pools and there's no headaches. Unfortunately that's not the answer or help i need; not if i want to stay happily married. We sold the compound and moved to this house because the last one would not accommodate the size pool we wanted.

    I've gone on line and read volumes, but most often i end up more confused. Salt water? Chlorine? UV? All options and is one better than the next? We know they put a salt water pool in at Oakmont and seems people love it? Which is easier on maintaining?

    What about pool surfaces? The cool decking at Bell seems to have continuous problems. Is it better to bite the bullet and put in tumbled travertine that will hold up better? Clearly it looks better.

    Then there's the question to heat or not? We over-paneled the house with solar with that intent, but is it worth it to gain two or three months? And how about solar covers? Good or too much work to be worth the effort.

    So many questions; so little time. Anyone out there a "pool expert?"
     
  2. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    My solution was to buy a 3 ring pool that I can still blow up in a short amount of time. Unfortunately it's all a shallow 8" but can be easily drained and stored when not in use. Don't need solar or electricity and if I want salt water I just dump in a cup or so! :)
     
    Kim-Sandy Kline likes this.
  3. GCotten

    GCotten Member

    Bill.....I have gone through seven pool homes 4 of which I had built including one salt pool. Currently getting bids on the next one. I'll be glad to share my thoughts in person when you have the time.
     
  4. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Thanks Gary, i’ll see you tomorrow at the meeting.
     
  5. Julianna

    Julianna Member

    Hi Bill, the house that we just purchased has an inground pool. I really like the idea of having a pool as when we visit Mom and Dad we would be too young to use the rec center. When we bought the house we thought it was heated. But soon found out November that in fact is not heated. However from the gas company I have learned that it would probably cost 400 to $500 a month to heat it in the winter. I don't know if that is true I'll be curious to hear what you find out about solar color covers as I have been looking into that too. You probably already know as we are learning. that the pump uses quite a bit of electricity even in off hours. Your solar panel should help with that. Along with the electricity for the pump the pool guy that came with the house and then not being able to use it in the winter our pool wound up being more of an expense. Although I think it will be worth having. And proved fun at Christmas as even though it was too cold to go in my sister bought a huge inflatable float and we floated around the pool in the warm sun fully clothed!
     
  6. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Hey J, too funny because the thought of using the pool in Dec or January is down right frigid in my mind. In fact every night as we walk Sybil , dressed in winter jackets, our toque's (Canadian for stocking cap) and gloves i shiver over the idea of why anyone would want a pool. Thank goodness the other 9 months of the year ranges from gorgeous to blistering hot and then it all makes perfect sense. And, we put a 15 foot by 8 multi-slide door in the house so as we look out to the backyard, the water feature on the pool will be front a center.

    Thanks to Gary Cotton for sharing his experiences on pool building, looks like salt water will be the way to go.
     
  7. Julianna

    Julianna Member

    Bill,
    Well I did say that we were fully clothed (too cold for bathing suits) while lying on the pool float
     
  8. IndependentCynic

    IndependentCynic Active Member

    My 2-cents: I always had covers for the pools I've had. W/O a cover the pool temp will roughly be the night-time low temp +/- a few degrees. A cover alone will raise that maybe 10 degrees. A cover helps reduce evaporation which translates to lower water, chemical and maintenance costs. A cover will reduce heating costs if you heat.

    If your pool is large, get a cover with an electrically operated wind up roll -- actually, I liked the ones that run in tracks the best -- they are power operated both to remove/put back the cover, they kept more debris out of the pool, keep the heat in, and only take 5-min to remove/replace the cover. They are also safer in that the cover will support the weight of pets and children if they step/fall on it. The more irregularly shaped your pool is the harder it is to manage cover(s).

    My recommendation -- unheated pool + heated spa. I've spent many hours in them (even when the temps are below zero and it's snowing). Yes, it's cold in the dash between the house and the Spa, LOL!
     
  9. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the comments gang, both here and face to face. We did decide to go with a salt water pool and signed the contract a couple of days ago. Now if we can ever finish the work on the body of the house we can get started on that project. Lordy, will it ever end?
     
  10. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    A salt water pool is the way to go! Good choice. The Oakmont pool was always the only pool I used because of a sensitivity to chlorine. The Water Volleyball Clubs more or less limit the hours so much that it's no longer available to the rest of the RCSC cardholders. A shame.
     
  11. GCotten

    GCotten Member

    When a person reads through this site we find that most of what we read is education and clarification on topics that most of us otherwise may not be familiar with. At times we see clarifications on topics from members who have intimate knowledge or experience on the issue and it helps those who may have had different perceptions to understand the real facts. Such is the case with my posting regarding the use of Oakmont pool. There are two water related clubs that RCSC management have assigned to use Oakmont pool for their club activities. One is the Aqua Fitness Club and the other is the Water Volleyball Club. For the previous 5 years that I am aware of Aqua Fitness uses the pool for maybe 5% of the available pool time and usually when the pool opens early in the morning, possibly a total of 3 to 4 hours a week. The Water Volleyball Club gets the use for 8 hours a week. Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 2 and Fridays and Sundays from 2 to 4. Both clubs have use of only 15% at the most, of the available time. This has been the history for the last 5 years since the Water Volleyball Club was chartered. The other RCSC members have unabated use of the Oakmont Pool the other 85% of the time. I need help in understanding how 8 hours a week "limits the hours so much that it's no longer available to the rest of the RCSC cardholders". This is not intended to be a challenge to Aggie or the numbers of people out there that say the same thing......I just don't understand why that thought is there. I know some changes are going to occur later this year but it probably won't bring too many smiles.
     
  12. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    The Oakmont pool is the ONLY saltwater pool and it is one of the smallest. It's been said that members can't even sit poolside waiting for the clubs to finish their activities. My firsthand knowledge only goes as far as when the summer heat/sunshine rolls around and morning/early afternoon hours of pool time by cardholders in a SALTWATER pool is desired, the pool is being used by clubs. So many try to avoid the sun these days so the prime time hours morning and early evening in the summer are sought by many. I no longer use the pool but will follow up on the actual hours that is reserved by clubs. I do wish that there was more than one saltwater pool available.

    Gary - could you be referring to when the construction begins at Mountain View? I'm sure there will be a great migration of cardholders to the other pools once that pool becomes unavailable. The large Mountain View Aqua Fitness classes may have to become Terra Firma Fitness!
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2019
  13. GCotten

    GCotten Member

    Aggie....We should probably start another thread on this but will continue with this for a short while. There are several items that fit in with this topic. A commercial pool salt pool is somewhat different than a privately owned pool thus different county regulations come into play. I believe the benefits of salt water are more pronounced in private pools such as smoother feeling skin and less chlorine. A privately owned salt pool normally only requires the addition of muratic acid from time to time to keep everything in balance. Remember that salt basically creates it's own chlorine and that is sufficient for the privately owned pool. A commercial salt pool such as Oakmont is under the requirement of county regulations and additional chlorine and possibly other chemicals is required to be added. Due to the additives including the chlorine the actual benefits from Oakmont are much, much less than what most individuals think.

    Regardless of the above the Oakmont pool is the least attended pool of all in Sun City and history shows it have been that way long before the clubs were assigned to it. The use by the two water related clubs account for around 50% of the useage by all RCSC members in only 15% of the available time. This tells you how little the pool is used by non- club members. It is my understanding that the small workout room has a greater attendance than the pool. I have personally been at the Oakmont pool approximately 900 times in the last 5 years and have found only on two occasions that the non-club attendance by RCSC to be close to 10. Never have I seen more and most of the time it is zero to 4. The time of my visits usually range between 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. My personal conclusion is that the salt water may not have the appeal.... contrary to popular believe.

    As far as sitting poolside during club activities I can only speak to the rules set forth for the Water Volleyball Club. It is my understanding initially when the club was chartered RCSC thought the activity would be viable for open play. Non club members were allowed to sit and watch, swim in the pool lanes and use the spa. This proved to be problematic due to spectators tripping over the volleyballs, balls going into the swim lanes and spa area. Safety became a real issue for non-club members. Thus for safety purposes RCSC changed the rules that only club members were allowed in the pool area during their designated club time.

    The Water Volleyball Club maintains well over a hundred members but only 40 to 44 can play at one time with two nets. Pool size has it constraints. There could well be a greater number of members if more time or more space were available. The redo of Mountain View would be good for an additional location with a second sports pool being built during the redo (not the existing pool). RCSC has chartered the club and agrees that it is their problem to solve and that it needs to be solved sooner than later. I think what we will see as a temporary solution for the club is to increase the time available for the club at Oakmont. Unfortunately Oakmont is the only sport pool in Sun City and it is the least utilized.
     
  14. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    This thread is the classic example of what is wrong with the RCSC. Years ago, there should have been a long range plan to address changing needs and wants within the community. We've had no long range plan, just boards bouncing from one short term goal to another. Then along the way, golf became the end all-all-be-all. And oddly enough, boards didn't conspire for it to happen, they just got caught up in the mantra of fixing the lake at any and all costs.

    If you look at what Sun City West is doing with their committee on space allocations, it is how our community should be run. I hated to see them dump long range planning, but they immediately replaced them with the group to study where they were going to wisely spend their resources moving forward. Remember, they came along 18 years after us, and they are moving far more progressively to adjust to the new population of buyers. They have been more fluid and more flexible as they looked outward and inward almost at the same time.

    Here's the good and bad news: Our pool will be salt water, 16 by 40, water volley ball nets inset in concrete and heated by solar. The bad news is, no we are not opening up for use by the RCSC. Sorry. Gary is spot on, perhaps it is time to consider one big butt sports pool to accommodate both water aerobics, water volleyball and swimmers. Of course that would mean actually looking at the needs of the community and creating a master plan. God, what a novel idea.
     
  15. GCotten

    GCotten Member

    Bill..........your pool is going to be a little over 1/4 the size of Oakmont and set up properly for water volleyball. Are you sure that you don't want to share?? LOL
     
  16. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Dang Gary, i misspoke, it's only going to be 14 by 40 so it's going to be way too small. Otherwise...
     
  17. Hate to be late to the post, but as my neighbor said to me many years ago that a pool was a container of water that you constantly throw money into. Consequently, I never put a pool in the backyard. I decided to go with a tented oasis type thing.
     

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