Where do you live? How much of the year will the pool be closed? What will it look like then? Are you landscaping around it? Are you sure you want to put it in now? Often, people with kids don't want a pool until the kids are old enough to know how to swim. 17k is still a fair amount of money--- how long will such a pool last? Might it make sense to wait and save for a proper pool?

I have an above ground pool. Wish I had located it closer to the house.

mtnrdredux - We are in NJ located right outside NYC.. We priced out a basic and true inground and the quote was 42k which included only a small concrete trim.. That also only includes basic install and does not factor in that we are on a sloped property and would need to then look into walls and building up around it..

As far as waiting goes.. While we do want the pool for future kids to enjoy we are also getting the pool for us as we are pool-a-holics.. While we could wait I just don't see us ever willingly dropping 45k+ on a pool.. Our taxes will already be on the high end and a full inground will only raise them which is another factor to consider.. A semi inground is our best option all around.. I have talked to above ground pool owners which is what we are basically getting and the only real expense will be replacing the liner which most have said that with the newer materials you can get 15 years out of easily.. Other than that there is not real downside to the pool.. It is not like one of those pools that is done after 1 season..

Lastly the pool season (depending on weather and personal preferences and if heated/unheated) can be as long as 5-6 months.. Mostly May-September but again this will largely depend on weather..

Allen456 - I agree.. We thought about locating closer to the actual house, however we feel that if we do move it closer we will lose any functionality for the yard.. At this point we still have 26x64 of yard space.. If we move the pool closer we will lose that big section of yard and be left with two small sections which would not be big enough to do anything with.. We are hoping that we can still fit in a nice play set for when kids do come into the picture and also have a nice section for running and playing..

The picture below shows what we are hoping the pool will look like once done with the exception of a full wrap around deck.. We plan to do minor landscaping in the front but will try and put tall, thin trees around the edge of the property to help with providing a little more privacy..

Personally, I think you'll be sorry for not getting that pool closer to the house. Our first year we didn't have the deck finished. We had to walk down the deck stairs, through the grass and into the pool. We didn't use the pool as much then as we do now. Potty breaks were a pain. Shoes were required if you didn't want to bring grass into the pool area. You'll make a lot of trips back and forth for chemicals, equipment, toys, floats, things that can blow away and a solar cover if you use it. Landscaping may actually be cheaper as well. If close enough to the house and covered with decking the only visible side of the pool wouldn't be visible from your home and current deck plans. If there's kids in the future, you'll be making a lot of trips back and forth.

Our pool is further away from the house as we had an existing concrete deck out back. It works for us but most people prefer the pool closer. The downfalls being the walk back and forth to the house and location of pool items. Our walk is not terrible by any means but if it wasn't concrete the grass and debris you walk through in a yard would mean putting on shoes and more to clean out of the pool. We have a storage shed right next to the pool to store all of our pool items which helps with having to walk back and forth for cleaning, chemicals, etc. I did buy a red metal cart from Home Depot that we can push snacks, drinks, etc out to the pool on which does help with the number of trips back and forth to the house. Again, without concrete that would not work as well.

Locating it further back you'd need to take those things into consideration.

I have a pool within the boundary of my home, I spend very tough time in its repairing and maintenance even I have taken the help of Swim Right Pool Services and Repair.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swim Right Pool

I'd put it as close to the house as possible. We had to choose, too. It was either close to the house or way in the back because there is a rainwater drain that runs across our property. So glad we picked close to the house. Sometimes even the short distance we have to walk to the kitchen or the bathroom is too far on a lazy, summer day. LOL.

It looks like you have a raised patio off the back of your house now, yes? Could you tear that out or integrate that into the pool deck if you decided to put the pool close to the house? Our friends kitchen sliding door opened out to a raised wood deck. When they decided to do the pool, they tore it off, built the pool level with the sliding door and built a patio around the whole thing. It looks like a built in pool and leaves the whole back area of the yard free for the kids. They can see everything that's going on IN the pool and the yard from any window on the back of their home. It's awesome.