Hurricane Lauras Effect On Chlorine Production
While not at all connected to last years pandemic, Hurricane Laura also arrived in August of 2020. This hurricane single-handedly took out one of the largest chlorine manufacturing plants in North America as the plant caught fire during the storm. With chlorine demand already at an all-time high, this huge loss of both chlorine and the manufacturing infrastructure only made the problem worse. Since the plant burnt down, the cost of Trichlor tablets has nearly doubled and is only expected to increase going into 2022.
How Much Does An Underground Pool Liner Cost
Pool liners come in a range of thicknesses, and this affects the price you will pay. For example, a 28/20 mil 14 by 28 pool liner will average $600 while a thicker 28/28 20 by 40 pool liner will average $1,700. If you are replacing an existing pool liner with a new one, the labor costs associated with draining the existing pool, removing the current liner, and replacing it with the new liner are around $2,500.
New York City Heat Wave To End But Expect More Miserable Weather This Weekend
Youre entertaining more in the home, youre living, working, schooling, exercising youre doing everything in the home, and I think people have gained a real sense of appreciation for that, added Alison Bernstein, founder and president of Suburban Jungle, a real estate advisory platform.
But BHS broker John Engel sees the trend in a bigger lens.
The rental market and the for-sale market are seeing an increased demand for not only swimming pools, but nice outdoor spaces, he said. Flat land is now an asset, waterfront is now an asset, more acreage is an asset a pool is just one more of those amenities that people are looking for.
Last week, Engel listed a five-bedroom home with a pool at 1654 Ponus Ridge in New Canaan Conn., for $1.5 million, and it received a full-price offer on its first day.
And thanks to a gunite pool, Douglas Elliman agent James Keoghs East Hampton home went into contract after three weeks for over the $1.59 million ask.
Vinyl had always been good enough, he said, but those upgrades were major .
After her headache-filled build in Westchester, Stein knew what was on the top of her list when she bought a new home in Connecticut: a pool.
I didnt want to go through what I went through in Chappaqua, she said.
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Higher Prices May Cool Consumers Heels
This jibes with what Ryan Johnson, Owner of Check It Out Pools in Sparks, NV thinks might occur. His concern is that rising interest rates will affect new home buyers who may have been considering a pool. It will put off buyers in the market that are so close to homeownership that they are barely close to qualifying for something, said Johnson, a $400 increase in their house payment will hurt a lot of middle-class families to the point its not worth it. They definitely will think twice about installing a pool, getting service, or upgrading their pool or backyards.
While the last two years, consumer confidence seems to have been at an all-time high for reinvesting in the backyard, many have serious reservations we will see a repeat this year in terms of demand. The current inflation outlook seems to be less optimistic that consumer interest will reach the levels seen in the previous two years and that the time for belt-tightening may finally have arrived.
Stock prices were down after the inflation report was released with the S& P now -5% for 2022 so far and all sector indexes reporting a decline. The Nasdaq was also down and is so far -11% for 2022 and poised for the worst start to the year since the 2008 financial crisis.
Should I Buy A Swimming Pool In Today’s Economy
The question is, should I buy a fiberglass pool when I am not sure of what the economy is going to do?
The answer to that question solely rests with you.
You are the one that knows your financial situation, how stable your job is, if you have a savings account to fall back on in hard times, and how well you manage your money.
If you have a job that is in a stable field such as law enforcement, doctor, nurse, dentist, dental hygienist, and other areas where the economy does not affect you, then you should not have to worry about the economy so much.
As far as 401ks go, and the stock market, they should be looked at as long term investments, so the fact that they are down now, 5 years from now they will be back where they should be.
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Maintaining Pricing Structures Is Impossible
Maintaining existing pricing structures has already become untenable for pool service companies due to the rising costs of chemicals like trichlor and dichlor. Many pool service companies have begun to send out announcements to customers to expect price increases on weekly pool service this season. We have absolutely no choice said Mike Pompura of Pool Masters in Corona, CA. Distributors have raised their prices considerably this season and unfortunately we are going to have start passing these price increases on to our customers.
Pompura who has run his pool service company for the past two decades, says he has never seen conditions like this before. Ive been in business since 2001 and this is the worst I have seen it. We are having problems getting valves. PVC has also gone way up this year said Pompura.
The problems Pompura is experiencing seem to echo the sentiments of many pool companies sounding off in pool industry groups on social media. The stress on plastic supplies and a surge on demand for resins are causing bottlenecks in the supply chain across the nation. Experts cite a number of causes for ongoing delays including port closures, over the road capacity shortages, and an increased demand on plastics for food packaging and PPE.
The Secret Shopping Challenge
To try to solve this problem I went undercover posing as a swimming pool buyer with a project and asked for prices from 10 of the UKs leading pool companies to find out what they actually quote you. I put the same project parameters to all of them because I wanted to ensure the quotes were all on the same basis.
To represent the majority of pool buyers, our mystery project was an 11 x 5 metre heated pool with a cover. The reasoning behind this choice is that an 11-metre pool is long enough to feel like youve completed a meaningful length, but not so long as to be outside the bounds of what can be considered a reasonable average family pool size.
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Shortages Causing Prices To Soar
One thing is certain, with raw materials increasing in price consumers can be certain to feel the trickle down effect in their wallet this pool season. The price of an inground swimming pool is predicted to increase 15-25% in most markets throughout the United States this year in comparison to last year. This is on par with the rising costs of raw materials like lumber contributing to an expected additional $36,000 to the price of average new home construction this year.
In addition, timelines for completing inground pool projects have also been dramatically impacted. There is an enormous backlog of homeowners waiting just to get on the list for pool construction. Consumers can expect extended timelines for construction to go up from the typical timeframe of 6-8 weeks to now 3 months or more in many areas of the country.
The news does not bode well for homeowners like Penny Lopez in Las Vegas who contracted with her pool builder back in January and is still waiting for her pool to be finished. We were told that we would be swimming by May but Im still looking at a giant hole in my backyard, said Lopez, whose story seems to resemble that of other homeowners throughout the Las Vegas region.
Bottom Line On Will Pool Prices Go Down
In the end, as you can see the pieces of what makes up a pool price arent all that flexible. Yes you may be able to score a discount, but most often thats only going to happen when the company has holes in their construction schedule. At the time of writing this that doesnt appear to be anytime soon for most builders and given the constant rise of raw materials the pool prices continue to go up.
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Inground Pool Installation: Pro Vs Diy
While a handy homeowning DIYer who has completed an inground pool installation may be able to take on this task, we recommend hiring a professional pool installer for the job. Considering the high costs to install an inground pool, a poor DIY job could cost you tens of thousands of dollars, which is not worth it in the long run. Plus, a professional installer may throw in a maintenance package or continue to help you keep up your pool for years to come.
Not Every Pool Company Does A Turnkey Operation
One of the biggest unwanted surprises that homeowners run into when hiring a pool company is when its finishedbut not really finished. These are pool builders who have tunnel vision. That means theyre focused on getting your pool into the ground, and thats about it.
But you know that a pool area is so much more than the pool itself!
This happens a lot with pool builders who dont also have landscaping experience. They completely mess up your yard in the process of building your pool and then they dont put it back together. You might be left with huge piles of dirt, torn up or dead grass, and zero landscaping. This can be incredibly frustrating because now you need to go out and hire a landscaper to fix everything.
Ideally, you want to choose a turnkey operation that not only puts in the pool but thinks about the entire space as a whole.
That means not only ensuring that all of the landscaping around the pool is taken care of, but that youre given the option for all of the amenities and features you might also want around in and around your pool.
Pool features like we talked about above arent always offered by standard pool builders. But on top of that, you likely want features outside of the pool like an outdoor kitchen, pavilion, and even lawn areas where people can play lawn games when they arent swimming. Ultimately, these all become part of the overall pool experience and shouldnt be afterthoughts.
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The Advantages Of Installing A Pool In The Offseason
When spring rolls around, many homeowners start to plan home renovation projects. For those who have decided to finally act on their dream of owning a swimming pool, those plans naturally include figuring out the cost of a new inground pool by contacting local pool contractors. Demand for pool installations continues to soar into the summer, when contractors are at their busiest.
Contrast this with fall and winter, the low points for pool installation. Pool contractors usually have to reduce their workforce during this time of year, as the competition for scarce pool projects becomes fierce. High competition often means contractors are willing to lower their prices to try to win contracts. You can often get the best deals on pool equipment, too, as suppliers try to clear out their inventory.
There are other advantages to waiting until the offseason as well. With a more relaxed schedule, builders may be more careful with their work, rather than rushing to get things done so they can move on to the next project. You may also have more time to spend supervising the project an activity that you might enjoy during the cold months as you anticipate having your pool ready for the first day of summer.
Delayed Shipment Of Parts
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, many countries closed their borders. As a result much of the shipping industry came to a screeching halt. Later, as global lockdowns began to lift, many orders for pool parts had been delayed by weeks or even months. While many pool products are built in the United States, some of the smaller parts needed to build a pump or filter are manufactured overseas. This means that replacing a pump motor or a heater manifold now could take weeks to be scheduled and completed instead of a few days. Delayed shipments and backed-up orders has also caused the price of the end product to increase.
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The Trickle Down Effects
The pool and spa industry is just one of many industries affected by this crisis. John Schiegg, VP of Supply Chain Services for Houston-based home builders David Weekley Homes, said hes seeing shortages and price increases on everything from siding to adhesives to insulation. After winter storm Uri, several PVC manufacturers reported to Schiegg they would be unable to meet their contractual obligations. Schiegg said he was surprised to hear distributors in other neighboring states were impacted as well.
New York based Confer Plastics, manufacturers of pool ladders, steps, and spa accessories said they would be unable to deliver products planned or scheduled. Theyve already been forced to layoff 40 employees. Vice President Bob Confer said hes never seen a situation like this in his 47 years in the industry. Confer Plastics is far from the epicenter of the Texas freeze but is still experiencing the long range ripple effects as are many other manufacturers throughout the pool industry.
Pool Owners Facing Higher Chlorine Prices For A Second Year In A Row
Prices expected to keep going up
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Pool season is just around the corner and if you own a pool, brace yourself for higher chlorine prices in both liquid and tablet form.
Last year, prices jumped because a fire destroyed the plant in Louisiana that was main supplier of chlorine tablets in the U.S. In late 2021, a smaller chlorine plant in New Jersey also caught fire and is out of commission.
The bottom line, the valley needs to get our chlorine supplies from international markets. Those markets are China and Europe.
So, supply chain issues are expected to hit pool owners hard.
A 50 pound bucket of chlorine tablets in 2020 cost about $120. Right now Im selling it for $250, said Sam Saha, owner of Pacific Pools Supplies.
He said the higher prices for chlorine tablets created a new and stronger market for liquid chlorine last year. Those prices are also up.
Two gallons cost about $15.99 up 30% compared to last year, Saha said.
His best advice for pool owners: buy your supplies now before the rush. He expects prices to keep going up.
Were predicting a 50 pound bucket of chlorine tablets will cost as much as $300 later this year, Saha said.
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What Caused Prices To Go Up
Soaring costs for fuel, rising inflation, and a litany of other factors such as logistical delays and workforce shortages have plagued the pool industry. A factory closure due to a fire at one of the nations largest producers of dried chlorine products certainly did not help matters.
BioLab, the manufacturer in question is spending $170 million dollars on rebuilding their plant after it burnt to the ground during Hurricane Laura. While many pool professionals were hoping that the plant would be back online in time to impact and offset summer chlorine prices, a series of delays related to a second hurricane has pushed back operations. Consequently, any impact BioLabs production would have had on this years chlorine supply is now a moot point.
Backyard Pool Landscaping Prices
Landscaping costs$3,000 to $5,000 on average for a new installation or around $4 to $12 per square foot to add plants, trees, and shrubs around your new pool. Three of the more common styles of landscaping design for built-in pools are tropical, modern, and desert. Here are average prices if you are starting with a bare-bones yard, or you want to add features to the backyard to complement the pool area:
- Sod installation costs$0.90 $1.80 per square foot and will help regrow your grass.
- Installing a yard drainage system costs $3,400.
- Re-sloping your lawn costs $1,850 on average.
- Cutting down a tree costs $825 on average.
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Exactly How Much Have Chlorine Prices Increased
Chlorine like many other chemicals is a commodity. As such the prices for chemical commodities are clearly viewable from various credible sources. The price index for Alkalies and Chlorine, Including Natural Sodium Carbonate and Sulfate, reached a record high of 483.79600 in May of 2022. As we progress later into the summer and prices are predicted to continue to rise and blow away analysts forecasts.
In response to a changing market, many pool professionals began to switch to liquid chlorine and alternative sanitizing methods to help offset operational costs. Consequently, these materials have also increased in price over the last year and a half. Exactly how high have prices gone?
Well lets put it this way, you can finance a 50-pound $449 bucket of Bromine tablets for just $41 bucks a month if you buy it from Leslies, on Amazon youll pay $498 if you can find them in stock. That were at a state that necessitates the need for consumers to be able to finance a bucket of tablets, is a pause for reflection on exactly how high prices have gone up.
