Buying a swimming pool can be an intimidating prospect.

Rather than focusing on the flashy, attractive aspects a swimming pool offers, focus instead on the practical matters. Look at the water level elevation around your house and check how resilient the soil is.

There are a lot of factors to consider when buying a swimming pool, and this article will hopefully shed some light on them.

Let’s look at the ten biggest tips to consider before you even think of buying a swimming pool for your backyard.

1. Why Do You Want A Pool?

Some people want a pool dedicated only for fitness and sports. For these people, a lap pool that sits neatly at the back of their yard will suffice. Others want a stereotypical pool that’s meant to look luxurious and entertain guests. For such people, a kidney-shaped pool or a standard-issue rectangle swimming pool is perfect.

The reason for your wanting a pool will determine the type of pool you need, and that will establish the upper and lower bounds of your budget.

2. What Safety Features Do You Want?

Safety features should be considered with the size, shape, and location of the pool in mind. If you have kids or pets at your home, you’ll want a swimming pool that can accommodate a pool cover. Pool covers are essential to prevent people from just slipping into your pool, and can save you a significant amount of money in heating bills in the long run.

Some of the more irregular sized and shaped pools don’t come with all the safety functions you would want. It’s important to move forward keeping in mind the safety features you want first, then move backwards from that.

If you have kids, you’ll want safety fences around your pool as they come with childproof locks. Consider the landscape, along with the size and shape of pool you want.

3. What Type Of Pool Do You Want?

There are fiberglass pools, concrete pools, gunite pools, and vinyl pools.

They each come with their advantages and disadvantages.

Vinyl pools for instance have a low initial cost of construction but can be expensive to maintain.

Concrete pools can be robust and withstand the elements. But they come with higher lifetime costs and installation charges.

Gunite pools are built on-site and come with endless customizations. But they come with higher maintenance and installation charges.

Fiberglass pools are the most modern styles of pools. They are quick to install, economical to maintain, but are limited in the sizes they come in.

The kinds of facilities and add-ons you install can also depend on your swimming pool type, so make sure to take your time deciding on its composition.

4. Who Maintains The Pool?

Do you have enough time, with all your other obligations, to maintain the pool? Will your significant other maintain the pool? Or will you install automated pool hardware that handles most of the cleaning, chemical balancing, and circulation of the pool?

A neglected pool quickly becomes a waste of space. So decide on who has the responsibility of cleaning and maintaining the pool. You could always simply hire pool service professionals to take care of your pool in the end, but that comes at a cost.

You’ll need to brush, scrub, and pick up leaves from your pool at least once or twice a week, taking 30 minutes each time.

5. What Are Your Long-Term Costs?

Apart from regular pool maintenance, you’ll need to tend to the pool hardware. The pool filters, pool pumps, and overall circulation systems need to be kept in top shape and require their routine maintenance as well. This should be incorporated into any monthly budget you set up.

6. What Size And Shape Do You Want?

Do you have less backyard space? Would you like a simple lap pool? Or do you want to indulge more with a kidney-shaped pool? There are an incredible amount of different shapes and sizes that can be made to stretch around your backyard. There are irregular and unusual shapes as well, if your backyard desires it.

Most importantly, you want to choose one that suits your needs. So choose a size and shape that accents your backyard instead of one that holds it back.

7. What Features Are You Looking For?

Some people want hot spas, water fountains, and shimmering water curtains that shock and awe guests with their exquisiteness. Such facilities require a sizable budget and a good deal of pre-planning.

If you’re planning to install LED lights and water fountains, where will they go relative to everything else in your backyard? What kinds of plants and trees accent that type of landscaping the best?

8. Can Your Backyard Handle It?

Different types of pools come with different costs. The installation of a concrete pool takes a long time and is done on-site. But it is extremely resistant to rains yet inflexible when an earthquake hits. Look at your local zoning laws, home association rules, and fencing laws to determine the rules of the land. You’ll want to understand the water table around your house and that might change the type of pool you can accommodate in your backyard.

Fiberglass pools tend to be among the most flexible, but are pre-fabricated so they aren’t built on-site. Consider these and other factors when choosing what brisbane swimming pool to build.

9. Do You Prefer An In-Ground Or Above-Ground Pool?

Above ground pools are quickly installed and fit most tight budgets. They arrive in a kit form to your yard and a team of installers erect them on your yard.

Above grounders are generally considered temporary pools and are more limited in the amounts of shapes and sizes you get.

In-ground pools can enhance your landscape by leaps and bounds and come in countless sizes and shapes. However, they come with sizable increases to your power bills from running the filters, heaters, and other chemical dispensers.

Talk with your local pool contractor about the advantages and disadvantages of both. They should be able to help you settle on the ideal one for your budget and backyard.

10. Who Will Build The Pool?

The most important thing is to have a contractor that you can trust.

Finding the right pool contractor will go a long way towards finding you the most efficient and extravagant pool for your tastes.

Seek out good references through friends and family. Look into known building inspectors and architects and ask their opinions. The right builder can make or break your entire pool-side experience.