Laps of luxury
Pools and entertaining go hand in hand
By
L.J. BUTTERFIELD :: May 29, 2006
Entertaining around the backyard pool is fun for everyone.
Kids love it because they can splash around with friends and run soaking wet through the yard.
Adults love to barbecue at its edge, mingling around the perimeters.
If residential pools in our area aren’t up and running yet, rest assured they will be.
“The benchmark is Memorial Day,” said Bill Rizzo, owner of Aqua Leisure Pool and Spa in Elmsford, the authorized service company for Anthony and Sylvan Inground Concrete Pools, a national chain that serves Westchester and Fairfield, Conn., counties.
And most people aren’t even waiting that long.
“Many of my customers opened the pool a month ago,” Rizzo said. “It’s about family, socialization and aesthetics,” he said.
But pools aren’t just for looking. So if we’re going to entertain why not have the option of actually swimming in them, even when it’s a little chilly outside.
“At least 75 percent of our pools are heated,” said Bert Desbiens, store manager at Fairfield Pool in Fairfield, Conn., that installs liner pools. “For example, this week has been cool every day. Say you have a graduation party this weekend, you crank it up before the occasion and in 10 hours you’re ready to use it,” he said. “Anything over 74 degrees is nice.”
“Ninety-eight percent of our pools are heated,” said Rizzo. “It can cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month heating a pool. People that have the money, do it.”
But not everyone has that kind of money, and for them there are options. There is a major cost difference between liner pools and concrete or gunite pools.
“They’re for different pocketbooks,” Rizzo said. “The cost is much less for liner pools, the longevity is too.”
“We use a liner pool,” Desbiens said. “A gunite pool is much more expensive. We go from $15,900 to $30,000 for our liner pools. They’re affordable.”
Liner pools have also come a long way as far as maintenance and design. Patterns are much more attractive and natural looking than they used to be and unless you’re an ultrasavvy pool aficionado you may not be able to tell the difference.
“We do between 80 and 100 pools a year,” Desbiens said. “And we do it all ourselves. We’ve definitely seen an upswing in business.”
“Sales have definitely increased,” agreed Jeremy Blum, president of Fairfield Pool. “And we also offer some upgrades.”
But while the process of installing in-ground pools has become more accessible to a wider range of homeowners, in Westchester and Fairfield counties there is certainly no shortage of wealth.
“Gunite pools instead can range from anywhere between $40,000 and, well, the sky’s the limit really,” Rizzo said. “And business has been pretty constant. We do 100 to 150 new pools a year in our area. Right now we’re in the process of opening about 1,300 pools for clients in the tri-state area. We maintain about 500 pools a week.”
There are options for every pocketbook. So if poolside entertaining is an appealing concept, it’s not too late to have one installed and still be able to enjoy it this summer.
With proper permits in place the time it takes to construct a pool can vary, but Fairfield Pool promises to have a customer swimming in a liner pool three weeks after it breaks ground.
And it’s common to have them installed this time of year. Desbiens said there are two times a year that he gets a lot of interest.
“Three weeks before Christmas, for a Christmas gift,” he said. “Then February and March for installations in April and May.”
The wide price range has made owning an in-ground pool less of a luxury and more a regular feature for homes in our area.
Desbiens mentioned a Fairfield couple that were buying a new home and couldn’t imagine living without one. “We actually started the pool the day of the closing,” Desbiens said.
Rizzo had his own anecdote: A woman had called inquiring about a pool who told him that she spent $180,000 solely on landscaping.
“If you have the property and the finances, you get a pool,” he said.
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