Is an inground pool worth it in Northeast Ohio?

It is the first thing people ask us, and it is a fair question. Left alone, a Northeast Ohio pool is comfortable from roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day. That is about 14 weeks, and a cool June can shave some of it off.

Two things change the math. The first is a heater, which adds weeks at both ends of the season, so May and September become swimming months instead of looking-at-the-pool months. The second is a cover, which keeps that heat from leaving overnight. A pool with both gets used from late spring into early fall. A pool with neither gets used on the hottest weekends and then mostly admired.

The other thing a short season does is make each warm day count for more. In a place where summer is a limited resource, having water in the backyard means you use the good days instead of driving to a crowded park or a lake to find them.

Usually not in full, and we would rather you hear that from us than from an appraiser. The National Association of Realtors' 2023 Remodeling Impact Report looked at an 18 by 36 ft inground pool, which landscape professionals estimated at $90,000. Realtors estimated a seller would recover about $50,000 of that, or 56 percent. Only 1 percent of Realtors said they recommend adding a pool before selling a home.

The same report asked owners how they felt about the finished project. The inground pool scored a Joy Score of 10 out of 10, the top of the scale. Eighty-nine percent said they had a greater desire to be home since the pool went in, and 90 percent said they enjoy being at home more.

Those two sets of numbers are the honest answer. A pool is a purchase you make to use, like a good kitchen or a family vehicle, and part of its value comes back when you sell. If the resale value is the reason you are building, the math rarely works. If the reason is how your family spends the next ten or fifteen summers, it usually does.

From what we see on site visits, the families who get the most out of a pool tend to share a few things:

• They plan to stay in the house for a good while, long enough to get many seasons of use before any sale.
• They have kids at home, or grandkids who visit, and would otherwise spend summer weekends driving to a pool or a lake.
• They like having people over, and a pool gives the backyard a reason to gather.
• They budget for a cover from the start, on top of the heater that comes with our packages, so the season is long enough to justify the build.
• They have the funds or the financing lined up before the design gets final.

It is less likely to feel worth it if you expect to move in two or three years, if you are building mainly to raise the sale price, or if a pool would take up the whole yard on a small lot and leave no room for anything else.

It helps to plan with real numbers. Our fiberglass packages start at $68,400 installed for the Dignity 10x20 or the Enrichment 9x17, and run to $103,900 for the Virtuous 16x40. A popular family size like the Hero 12x26 is $74,900. Every package includes the Liberty shell, a Pentair variable-speed pump, DE filter, a pool heater and LED lights, a 4 ft concrete wrap deck, starter chemicals, installation and the electrical hook-up at the equipment.

Most owners add a few things on top: the barrier fence their town requires, more patio, the electrical run from the house panel to the equipment, and usually a cover. We also build vinyl liner and ICF concrete pools, which are priced from the design.

Spread over years of use, the number looks different. A $74,900 pool used for 20 summers works out to about $3,745 a summer before running costs. That is not a small number, but it sits next to what many families already spend on summer trips, club memberships and day passes.

Angi puts routine yearly maintenance at $500 to $1,500 for a fiberglass pool, $1,100 to $1,700 for vinyl and $2,700 to $4,000 for concrete. That covers chemicals, cleaning and ordinary care. In Ohio you also open the pool in spring and close it for winter, which you can learn to do yourself or hire done.

Heating is the biggest variable, and a cover is the biggest control on it. A variable-speed pump, which comes with our packages, runs slowly for most of the day and uses far less electricity than an old single-speed pump. Pool type matters over the long run too. A vinyl liner has to be replaced during the life of the pool, and a concrete pool will need resurfacing. A fiberglass shell has neither, which is a large part of why we lead with it.

One more line to budget: insurance. The Insurance Information Institute calls a pool an attractive nuisance and suggests owners consider raising the liability portion of their homeowners policy to at least $300,000 or $500,000. Call your agent before the build, not after.

Long enough that you should think of it as part of the house. The written 2025 Liberty warranty covers the shell against leaking due to structural failure from manufacturing defects for 25 years, and the finish against osmotic blistering for 20 years, provided conditions such as keeping the pool full of water are met. The document that comes with your pool governs the actual terms.

The equipment will wear out before the shell does. Pumps, heaters and lights get replaced over the life of a pool, and that belongs in a long-term budget the same way a furnace or a roof does.

All three types we build can be worth it, and they suit different yards. The difference shows up over time more than on day one.

Vinyl liner usually costs the least up front and can be almost any shape. Latham, whose liners we install, says a liner typically lasts 10 to 15 years, so plan on at least one replacement over the life of the pool. ICF concrete pools use insulated concrete forms, and the insulated walls hold heat, which matters in a climate where every warm week counts. They also take any shape you can draw. Fiberglass sits between the two on price and wins on upkeep: no liner to replace, no plaster to resurface, and a smooth gelcoat that is easy to keep clean.

For most families who want a good pool that stays out of their way, we think fiberglass gives the best value in Northeast Ohio, and we say so. If you want a shape nobody makes in a mold, or a pool wider than 16 ft, ICF or vinyl may be the better answer, and we will tell you that too.

A pool changes your responsibilities, and it is worth being clear-eyed about it. Your town will require a barrier fence with self-closing, self-latching gates before the pool is filled, and we draw it into the permit plans. Beyond the code minimum, many families add a door alarm, a safety cover or an automatic cover, and set firm rules about adult supervision.

The weekly work is lighter than most people expect with a fiberglass pool: test and balance the water, empty the skimmer baskets, run a cleaner. If you would rather not do it, we offer weekly cleaning, openings and closings, so the pool is something you use rather than something you manage.

Start with how you would use it. Picture a normal July week, not a party. If the answer involves the kids in the water most afternoons and dinner outside most nights, you are probably the kind of owner who gets the value back in use. Then check the budget against real numbers, including the fence, the deck you want and a cover.

A site visit helps with both. We look at the yard, tell you what applies to your lot and your town, and design the pool in 3D on your property so you can see how much yard is left once the pool, deck and fence are in. Some people see the drawing and go bigger. Some decide a smaller pool and more patio suits them better. Either answer beats guessing.