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Our first order-of-business was to install an above ground about 24-26 feet in diameter, then build a deck around the pool big enough for me to completely walk around to clean and wide enough to add a 12 foot by 12 foot gazebo along with a 5-person hot tub next to the wall of the house since the pool proper was about 10-12 feet away from the house.
During those 12-15 years, we have had to do nothing to our pool or pump (except add a new motor) but our hot tub (a Hot Springs Prodigy) has required maintenance twice at a cost of about 1/2 of what we paid for it. Part of the problem is that we were using powders to clean the tub and that was causing problems even though powders is what the seller recommended we use. Once we switched to liquid, our only issues has been replacing the heating elements.
A month ago, our hot tub stopped heating the water and we called the technicians expecting a $2,000 bill and decided that we would use our COVID-19 stimulus money from the Government but it was just a bad switch in the electrical box which cost us substantially less except for the huge labor fee.
My wife sits under the gazebo most every day in the summer when it is not raining or lays in a lounge chair soaking up the sun and if she gets too hot, cools off in the pool. I use the pool on a daily basis but have to wear long sleeves because of my Melanoma and the sun, but what I do is walk around the circumference of the pool for exercise.
As far as the hot tub is concerned, I use it at least every other night all year long, remaining in the 104 degree water for about 30 minutes each time. The jets are pre programmed to only last 15 minutes for health reasons.
Our investment in our backyard was the best money we every spent and those monies did not come from salary or savings but from consulting fees that I earned on-the-side as a second job. If I had remained in NC, my skill set would have been a dime-a-dozen and no consulting would have ever come my way, but in TN I was unique and consulting gigs were easy to acquire.
