swimming pool small or big?

[jingjoe]

I am looking at putting in a swimming pool at my new house.
I was thinking of a larger pool to do laps,but am more likely to become lazy and just use it to cool off.
How many people here use their pool for laps,and if not with hindsight would have been better to build a smaller pool.or have a small pool and wish they had of built it bigger?
I am also thinking of fibreglass instead of concrete,i believe fibreglass uses less chemicals,as algae cant affix to the surface as easy as concrete,also not having to worry as much with bodgy builders.

[hhfarang]

I chose not to put in one at all when I built my house. That choice was validated by at least 5 friends who put one in and loved it for a couple of years until it became a 3 to 4K per month liability that was only used by visiting family or guests.

So, only you can determine if it's worth it to put in a big pool. If you will use it for years to come on a near daily basis it is worth it. It does help resale here as most people that are shopping think they want one.

It's overhead, so if it's worth the initial and monthly maintenance expense and if you will use it and maintain it is the question you have to ask yourself.

[jingjoe]

I thought that would of been the first thing you installed in your home with your aversion to the heat in Thailand!!
I have a young son,and I remember as kids in Australia we were in the pool everyday.
My friends back home whose kids have grown up hardly ever use their pool now.
At least with Thailand its swimmable weather 12months of the year.
Im pretty sure I would use it regularly,just wondering if people use them more as a cooling down/dip pool or if it really is beneficial to pay more and get a larger one for laps,.
The other way to go would be maybe get a small pool,and if required install a swim machine(not sure if that's the right word) at a later date.

[SunandFun]

If you have room, build a large one. It doesn't have to be as wide or as deep, but long enough to swim laps.
One of the turnoffs to me, as I am looking at houses, are that the pools are so small. Why bother with such an expense and then have it so small? Second, it must work with the house layout. It should be part of an overall entertainment theme with lots of covered areas close by the pool. Third is lighting. It should have nice lighting that really highlights it's presence. These are my thoughts and ideas. I know it is personal, but thought I would share.

[jingjoe]

some of those smaller pools are marketed in Australia as a dipping pool,just to jump in an out of to cool down.
You are right about the lighting,it makes the pool area usable at night for entertainment, whether it be a swim or just sitting around having a bbq and a few drinks

[SunandFun]

I agree. A well designed pool can be a beautiful addition if designed right. Are you still South of Hua Hin? Close to the ocean and close to your son? Or have you bought a house somewhere else?

[jingjoe]

Yes,but moving up top of soi 88 area soon,closer to sons school and golf courses(be back playing soon).
Still waiting for my shoulder to get back to 100%.
Dean from the gym on soi102 has almost got it back to full strength.

[migrant]

We were looking at pools a while back (here in California) and one of the most popular designs include a shallow, flat area with a hole in the bottom to put in a large umbrella. The idea being it's shallow enough to set a lounge chair in, cool off, and get out of the sun.

[jingjoe]

We were looking at pools a while back (here in California) and one of the most popular designs include a shallow, flat area with a hole in the bottom to put in a large umbrella. The idea being it's shallow enough to set a lounge chair in, cool off, and get out of the sun.

Im surprised more pools here aren't partially covered from the sun.Most pools are unswimmable during the hottest part of the days.
I will definitely have part of the pool shaded,also cuts down on chemical use.
The shallow lounge area is a good idea

[brianks]

I had a pool at both houses we lived in in Hua Hin. First house had a 8 x 3 meter pool that was barely swim-able. One or two strokes and your at the other end. I cannot see the value of all the money for a dipping pool. Second house we had a 12m x 3.5 m pool built so I could swim some laps after my morning run. If your not using it for exercise (and I do daily) then it simply is not worth the expense unless you have cash to burn.

We have just built a new house in the south (Khanom--mainland south of Koh Samui) with a 14 meter x 4 meter pool. I use the pool daily for swimming a few laps and have designed its depth to be useful for the short Thai's (1 meter deep at one end) and the swimmers (at 1.5m deep at the other end). I can understand that if I could not use the pool in the future that it would become a big wart to take care of as HHFarang illustrates. I hope I am able to get years of swimming out of my new pool.

Water could be a big issue for those of you in Hua Hin with pools. I don't know where all the water is going to come from for all those new condos and developments since we have left. Just go to the Pranburi Dam and see where your water comes from. I always worried about it as Hua Hin is so much drier than most of Thailand.

[SunandFun]

Jingoe, One more thing I thought about. If you go with a "salt water"pool it doesn't require chemicals, only salt. (I think that is correct) And there are less problems with algae, etc. I experienced these at my coastal retreat in North Carolina, USA. Check it out. You will see the differences.

[icebear]

Our pool was mostly used by visitors with children. Occasionally for us after 4.30 pm.

Cost/cleaning/pump/under-water-lights/salt needs to be taken care by someone. When we were not there, no salt was ever put in.

It is similar with the pest control people, who didn't spray underneath the house without my wife being there..

However, for reselling the property, the pool was a necessity...

[jingjoe]

sun and fun,the salt water pools are actuallly a salt water chlorinator which converts salt to chlorine,algae attaches itself easier to concrete surfaces,but you are right a better way to go these days
The land is just around the corner from orchid palms,and i have been told the "village" have their own water supply(there is a large full dam and river wrapping around the property.So hopefully not an issue for water.
I would be living their fulltime so no issue with staff slacking off and would probably maintain it myself any way.
Anybody have a preference for tiled pools over fibreglass.
Any recommendations for pool installers can be pm'd as well

[brianks]

You need to check out the water supply your talking about. I lived in both Orchid Palm and Ave 88 and both drew from that water supply. It is very dirty and I understand from some living there that it has become so bad that they were existing only on Tanker water even though they had their own very expensive water filtration systems. The water situation is Hua Hin is very critical as once you get out of the city and over the hill it sure gets bad and ALSO unreliable. You cannot use that water for your pool unless you get connected into the new water filtration plant nearby. Connecting to the new plant could cost you quite a bit to run the line from it to you.

Yes, and a salt pool is the only way to go. Its what I had in Hua Hin and here and no problems with it. Water slightly salty in taste but no algae.

[jingjoe]

thanks brianks,the land is about 5mins from orchid palm,there is a small thai restaurant across from land and I will ask them about water supply.The dam this village uses(I think)is about 200m up from me,i do remember my teacher saying there was no problem with water,because this village had its own source,but will double check.