Swimming pool – What are the best options?

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  • #172062
    VictoriaLST
    Member

    We would like to put in a swimming pool and are considering options. There is a fiberglass pool company near Orotina but I have no information on quality. There are other options.

    If you have had a pool built or bought a house with a pool and have experience with it, we would love to have your opinion on options. Thanks guys.

    #172063
    costaricafinca
    Participant

    We used the Orotina company and were pleased with their installation, and their response to a problem a year later.
    In your location you may find that you need it heated …
    Be prepared for constant leaf removal if in a windy location and near trees.

    #172064
    maravilla
    Member

    i’d kill for a lap pool. what’s the price range, and how big a pool did you put in CRF???? my cousins have a huge pool in Wales and they have it solar heated (which is a big bizarre since they hardly get sun!) and they swim all year round. i would have to do something like that here, and it would need a pool cover when not in use because we have lots of wind up on the ridge.

    #172065
    costaricafinca
    Participant

    Now for the second time…
    We installed a [url=http://ecopiscinas.net/p1_3.html]small one,[/url] but the company will make one to your specific plan.
    We paid just approx. $10k for the pool, installation, cement work, groundwork, wall to block the wind, etc. Hubby would advise more drainage rock and pipes underneath as ours was on a slight slope and the heavy rain washed away some fill, so we had a crack, but the company came PDQ and fixed the problem, at no additional cost .

    [img]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/costaricafinca/IMG_4416cr_zps03d6b084.jpg[/img]
    The ‘igloo’:) hides the pump, etc ….

    #172066
    maravilla
    Member

    thanks for that link. i guess they could make me a one lane lap pool without a lot of problem. now where to put it. Ten grand isn’t so bad — my pool in California back in the 70’s cost 3 times that. what a deal we get here.

    #172067
    costaricafinca
    Participant

    We got a [i]really good price[/i], since we were on very good terms with the trades people.
    It wasn’t fancy, but was fine for the farm.

    #172068
    VictoriaLST
    Member

    http://ecopiscinas.net is the company in Orotino and they have a 9 meter pool – big enough for laps, Maravilla. Ok, short laps…. A pool that big is not going to be 10k though.
    Thanks for the info on this Finca. We are near trees but already plan on a covered screen surround built on cement blocks as a barrier to debris, bugs, snakes (dare I say “the neighbors?”) And a solar panel. We had a pool in Georgia and were in it daily. I really miss it. I would settle for a smaller one here although laps are excellent exercise.

    Anyone else have ideas and experience with something other than fiberglass, or is that our best bet?

    #172069
    DavidCMurray
    Participant

    In one of my many (many, many) post-retirement jobs, I worked for a company that gunshot fiberglass on the interiors of concrete pools to waterproof them. My understanding is that, while a concrete block or gunite pool may be less expensive (I don’t know if that’s true) and can be built to be very sturdy, the ongoing maintenance of keeping it watertight can be substantial. Waterproof paint and plaster coatings have a definite lifespan, and they’re not cheap.

    Were it mine to do, I’d go with a fiberglass pool IF it could be installed in a way that would protect it from all but the worst earthquakes.

    #172070
    jreeves
    Member

    We have two different pools in my neighborhood (at the beach in the Central Pacific). One is concrete but built above ground, the other is concrete but built below ground. The above ground one overflows during rainy season but is much more easily maintained than the inground one. The inground one is often chocolate colored during rainy season because of the mud that is able to flow into it when it is raining hard.

    Jessica

    #172071
    DavidCMurray
    Participant

    Gee, isn’t that an appealing image!

    #172072
    VictoriaLST
    Member

    What, David, never been to a spa and had a mud bath?

    #172073
    DavidCMurray
    Participant

    [quote=”VictoriaLST”]What, David, never been to a spa and had a mud bath?[/quote]

    Yup, an’ that’s the way it’s gonna stay.

    #172074
    costaricafinca
    Participant

    Jessica is absolutely right in regards to the ‘discoloration’ that turns the lovely blue water into what looks like ‘chocolate milk’ in the rainy season…which makes a lot ‘more work for ‘someone’ who may be [b]you[/b]!

    #172075
    costaricabill
    Participant

    [quote=”jreeves”]We have two different pools in my neighborhood (at the beach in the Central Pacific). One is concrete but built above ground, the other is concrete but built below ground. The above ground one overflows during rainy season but is much more easily maintained than the inground one. The inground one is often chocolate colored during rainy season because of the mud that is able to flow into it when it is raining hard. Jessica[/quote]

    Obviously very bad placement, very bad design and very bad implementation! Except for a few blowing leaves and occasional toad poop, our in ground, salt water pool stays pristine year-round (and I am on prowl for the toads, even tonight)!

    #172076
    jreeves
    Member

    “Obviously very bad placement, very bad design and very bad implementation!”

    I actually don’t think it is any of the above because it wasn’t always a problem. There is a small estuary that runs through our neighborhood. On the property behind us, the owners messed around with heavy equipment, ultimately toppling the digger INTO the estuary, & managed to cause once dry areas to now overflow during the rainy season. A call to MINAE stopped their nonsense but the result is that this particular private pool is often the color of chocolate milk after a really hard rain.

    Jessica

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