Our home overlooks Lake Michigan. It’s a 1960’s Esther Williams diving pool that looks to be in good shape (all concrete, no leaks) but needs to be re-plastered and all equipment replaced. We need a new fence and the patio needs to be power washed. It’s a lot! But removing it will be difficult and expensive as well.
Members of our facebook group for midcentury home owners were happy to help.
Below are some examples of members thoughts on the topic. These are only a few of the thousands of tips that are shared in our exclusive Facebook Group dedicated to midcentury modern home owners. If you own a midcentury house and are not already a member, join us now!
- “It will be an awesome project. Make sure you document every little piece of the work you’re putting into this treasure. We have a 1955 baby that still requires lots of work as well..expensive but worth every penny!“
- “I am all about pools—LOVE THEM and miss mine!!! But they are expensive to maintain. The simple way to “take away” a pool is to simply fill it in. There are many excavating companies that will deliver free dirt.“
- “Even here in Arizona when people just backfill pools or even drill holes in the bottom and backfill, it causes draining issues in the property. We put about $8,000 into our pool 10 years ago (I know this number has gone up) but we got pebble tec and new equipment and have had no problems since. I say keep it and enjoy it! I have fond memories of swimming in Michigan in the summer.”
- “Looks like a great pool. But then pool season is real short up there.My current home had an indoor pool that ended up being too expensive to keep when the place was being rehabbed so they filled it in.I really with they hadn’t but then it would have been my money pit.”
- “I live in Seattle and pools are considered a luxury item for the wealthy. They’re only usable a few months of the year because it’s usually cold and rainy, and maintenance is a hassle because we’re in a forested place. I would consider whether the maintenance is worth the amount of time you will spend in it, or if a nice patio/lawn will get more use.”
- “An in-ground pool in Nebraska now runs at least $80k. It may be expensive to get it up to speed, but is well worth it in my opinion. Also, the first year of maintaining it can be a lot, but once you get the hang of it, it gets much easier.”
- “If you’re truly on the fence about it, get an inspection and an estimate for all the work it needs to be completed and functional. A real money number will give you a better idea of whether or not it’s worth it to you. We recently redid our entire pool/patio and spent almost $50k. But we’re in southern CA and are major pool people, we use it 8 months out of the year.”
- “Speaking as a real estate agent, we used to not give pools any monetary value in our area of Pennysylvania. Post covid, now they do add value because people are traveling less and want a backyard oasis. I would restore it. I also personally had an in-ground pool, and did not find it all that expensive to maintain, as long as you learn to open and close it yourself … which was not that difficult. I used a shop-vac to blow the water out of the lines, poured in some RV anti-freeze, and threw the cover on!“
- “I suggest living in a house for a year and using everything. That way after a year you will know how you feel about everything. But a pool is definitely a big selling plus, great for family gatherings and wonderful to pull you outside. But don’t make a major decision about this until you try it in for size!!! We love ours!“
- “Checking in from Cleveland OH…. I love our pool we love being around the water and we love to entertain.Yes it’s costly but for us it was definitely a plus when we bought our house in 2018.The ROI that comes with the pool is an intangible.”
- “I live in Connecticut…similar climate. I grew up spending summers on the ocean, so was never a pool person at all. Found my MCM 18 years ago, and it happened to have a pool. It was beautiful, but had been severely neglected for the 10 years prior to my buying the house, I also thought about filling it in since I didn’t really like pools, but couldn’t get myself to do it. So I spent a small fortune restoring it. Have to say it’s the best investment I’ve ever made in my life. We have relatively short summers, but I’m in it nearly every day. If I had it to do over again, I most certainly would!”
You can read more tips about this topic and offer your own suggestions here.
