Adding an Indoor Pool in Edmonton:
Vacation at Home by Swimming Year Round
Remember when travelling on a holiday, staying in a nice hotel and letting the kids swim all day in an indoor pool was a favorite among family vacations? Not to worry – those days will come back, likely by the spring of 2022, when most Albertans will be vaccinated against COVID-19 and life returns to normal.
Until then, however, there are lots of ways to make your home more livable, more enjoyable for everyone, and even a great spot for vacationing. Adding an indoor pool is a sure-fire way to keep the family busy, feel like you’re travelling even though you’re at home, and keep family members exercising 12 months of the year.
In Edmonton (and most cities in our province) swimming outdoors is strictly a three-months-of-the-year proposition, unless you’re a really brave sort who doesn’t mind cold temperatures. Even a heated, in-ground pool at home is only usable when the surrounding air temperature is warm. If we’re lucky, that means from the May 24th long weekend until somewhere after Labor Day – not quite long enough to make the most of all the fun an in-ground pool has to offer.
Now, what if you had it enclosed, accessible for the entire year? Before you leap into a project of this scale, there are a few things you should be aware of, and that’s what our post is about today!
1) Enclosing an existing pool is expensive. Unlike sunrooms, which require fewer special considerations, enclosing a pool is a tricky process. Ideally, an indoor pool is constructed and put in when a house gets built (in terms of cost) but that can’t always happen. After all, who can precisely predict a family’s needs 10 or even 20 years down the road? No one could have known that, in 2020 and 2021, everyone would be looking for ways to holiday at home! So, at times, an expense like enclosing a pool is worthwhile, and this is one of those times!
2) More than just walls to consider. Of course, your designer will review all these with you, but enclosing a pool means more electricity, a system to eliminate humidity, and vapor barriers between the main house and the pool – and those are just for starters! Drainage and ventilation are two other key factors that must be brought into the equation. Each one of these features’ costs money, and adds to the final bill. Remember: an indoor pool is a marvelous way to bring the outdoors home year-round, but it isn’t a project for the cost-conscious.
3) How will it affect your home’s value? Often, an indoor pool makes a home’s market value skyrocket, depending on the neighborhood. But it does narrow the resale market, too, in that families (for example) with small children are sometimes wary of purchasing a home with an indoor pool, as kids need even closer supervision than usual. And because a pool can be expensive to maintain, some buyers think twice about the monthly upkeep bills. These and other factors of a project the size and scale of indoor pools are important to discuss thoroughly with your designer and contractor and always keep safety and security a highlighted feature.
If you have the budget, and you and your family love swimming, building an indoor pool, or enclosing an existing outdoor pool, is a great way to bring the summer inside all year long! Just think of it: bathing suits in January, and a dip after supper… what could be more appealing than that during the cold months of an Edmonton winter? For indoor pool construction and more Edmonton renovations, contact the award-winning team at Kay2 Contracting for your free estimate and consultation.
