Summers around the world are a great time to have fun in the water – especially if you’re from Canada. Canadians from one coast to another can enjoy summers splashing water in their backyard's pool. To help you make the most of this fun, let’s take a look at what you need to know before buying a pool.
Costing:
Above-ground pool: According to Alpine Credits, this pool option will cost you in the range of $1k to $5k. This is not the only cost, as additional expenses are attached to it related to cleaning services, electricity, replacing the liner, or chemicals. We advise you to contact your pool company of choice to get a comprehensive quote on this.
The cost mentioned is one-time for buying the pool, but subsequently, there are ongoing costs associated with pool's maintenance, such as the cleaning, chemicals, electricity, and replacement of the liner.
This maintenance can pile hundreds or thousands on top of your original pool cost.
In-ground pool: We have discussed above-ground pool, but an In-ground pool is more expensive than Above-ground pools. The cost depends on the size but on average, the vinyl-lined costs around $20k. Fiberglass pools are more costly than this, whereas concrete (gunite) ones cost $50k to $100k.
Maintenance:
As mentioned above, buying a pool is one thing but taking care of it regularly is a different task. You need to test daily if the water is running and the sanitization is appropriately done or not. This is not enough as even water that appears clean can contain microorganisms that cause skin rashes and stomach or ear infections. To properly take care of your pool, you should:
Test water balance for total alkalinity, sanitizer's levels, hardness of the calcium, and pH. This can be done either through a good quality test kit or through a professional pool dealer. For most of the manufacturers' warranties, you must get a timely water testing done.
Be careful to check and use label directions required for all chemicals. It is strongly advised to thoroughly wash your hands after you deal with any of the chemicals.
All devices and chemicals you are using to control the algae and microorganisms should be authorized by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency of Health Canada. More information on this can be found here.
Precautions:
Pools can be a fun place to go in the scorching sunlight, but they can turn out to be dangerous in some cases. One significant risk associated with the pools is the risk of drowning. If the child is left on its own without the caregiver is around, and the pool does not have any self-latching or self-closing gate, then there is a high probability that a child can fall into the pool. To protect yourself and others from this risk, we recommend below-mentioned steps:
The fence should be there around the pool; it should be a minimum of 1.2 m up with recommended space of 10 cm between the bars.
To protect from risk of drowning, the pool should have a self-latching and self-closing gate.
Some other necessary equipment around the pool are the first aid kit, readily available devices for lifesaving floatation, and a working phone in case of any emergency.
Though personal flotation devices and lifejackets are required, they are not substitutes for careful supervision for non-swimmers and children.
While the homeowners get the insurance for the whole home while buying the policy, you should specifically mention installing a pool. You would need the additional coverage for that to get the claim against any damage. To ensure you have enough liability coverage in case of an accident, you strictly need to follow the laws and the maintenance guidelines, even in winters when the season is off for swimming.
We will now summarize the critical things you should know before thinking of buying a pool. Firstly you should be clear on why you need to have a pool and what is your budget for its installation. You should also check the site where you want to have the pool as some places are costlier and have more requirements than the others.
You should decide if you're going to have it in-ground or above-ground and once you have done the homework on it, you should note what the additional requirements on fencing and the gate, etc. are. Once the pool is ready, it requires regular maintenance related to checking and water, putting the chemicals, and getting the pool's insurance.
