Swimming pools advice.

Hi Folks
We( the royal we) are looking at purchasing, or should i say having a swimming pool put in. This is of course now we have had all the other jobs done.So do we have any of the Forum members with pools who would be able to give us any advice, or what pitfalls to look out for. Any advice on companies would be great but i think you would have to PM us.
Thankyou
Sue & Chris Simmons Chabanier.
Simmo in the Correze.

To be honest, I think they're very over-rated. We have a pool and I never use it. My wife uses it, so my idea of converting it into a hot house for plants isn't a starter! They are expensive to install and, unless you spend a fair bit of cash on heating it, the season is relatively short, even with a pool cover. In the final analysis, it's a personal choice. I have no doubt that there will be many who love their pool and use it frequently.

The only reason we have one, is because it was already installed when we bought the house. One thing I would seriously consider if we ever moved from here, would be to have a large(ish) pond/lake. It would cost less than a large pool and would be a bigger and better option (imo). It would also double up as a wildlife pond, cost nothing to run and would be useful (as a pond) all the year round. The idea of swimming backwards and forwards in a tiny pool is my idea of purgatory but the prospect of seeing all manner of pondlife would be quite entertaining.

The company which put ours in, seems a reputable enterprise. I am happy to send you his contact details if you're interested but I don't know whether he would operate in the Correze

Hi Tocyvi
Thanks for that,we have a stream at the bottom of our land and a 200year old stone built pond/water holding area for farm animals. This is used by wild life and water loving plants and requires a clean out, so we will listen to what the swimming pool people have to say but may just use a small portion of our monies to have the old stream bed and pond cleaned out.
We would be very intereasted to find out from you who the pool contractor/construction company was that built yours. Thanks again.
Simmo in the Correze.

I have to agree with tocyvi, we had a lovely pool, but after the initial novelty wore off, it was never used and became a bit of a liability.
As he said, there are people who love their pools, and use them all summer, but that was out experience, and I would never buy a property that had a pool again.

We had a pool put in about 4 years ago, and we use it almost every day from May to October. It does need a little bit of commitment, but it's a great way to keep fit and we find that even if we think we are too tired to go for a swim, if we just make the effort we feel so invigorated afterwards! Our pool needs chlorine tablets once every 3 weeks and about 2 doses of pH plus each season, so the chemicals cost less than €50 a season. Having experienced a bad pool which was always going green and leaking in our previous house, I think the answer is to get a really good design, which may mean that the installation costs a little more but it is worthwhile in terms of saving worry and cost in the long run. Our pool company (in Limoges) put no pressure on us to spend more than we wanted to, and did a good job on the construction - I'll send you a pm with their name.