Tony Tye, Post-Gazette The kidney shaped pool at this Mt. Lebanon home is just a few steps away from the family room at right, and the pool house at left, which was added a year after the pool was installed in 1996. Click photo for larger image. More information Open houses will be held today at 1017 Greenlawn Drive, Mt. Lebanon, from 1 to 4 p.m. and at 1528 Hazlett Road, McCandless, from noon to 4 p.m. Information: Carmela Viviano of Coldwell Banker 412-551-9513 or www.pittsburghmoves.com, MLS. No. 616384; Irene Szafranski, Northwood, 412-487-3200, ext. 130, or www.northwood.com, MLS No. 617375.

With temperatures nearing 90 degrees, you'd think a house with an in-ground pool would be an easy sale.

In the three weeks Linda Kearns has had her Mt. Lebanon house on the market, a few Realtors and couples have come to look -- and admire. But no offers yet.

Apparently, a house with its own pool isn't an impulse buy. Even if the prospective buyers are ready to melt.

"It narrows your audience," said Realtor Carmela Viviano of Coldwell Banker Real Estate. "But if you find someone who wants a pool, they can't live without it."

And those who are on the fence just might take the plunge.

"From now until August, it's a strong selling point," Mrs. Viviano said.

The 25-year-old brick house at 1017 Greenlawn Drive has four bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths, and is priced at $295,000. Patete Kitchen & Bath Design Center redid the kitchen about 12 years ago, just before Ms. Kearns bought the house. She also put in a new energy-efficient furnace last year and had hardwood floors installed throughout the first floor.

But the real highlight is the 36- by 18-foot kidney-shaped concrete pool. Ranging in depth from 3 to 6 1/2 feet, it is just steps away from the family room and a pool room with full bath and refrigerator. Ten years ago, Mike Hodak installed the pool in three weeks, while Ms. Kearns was attending the 1996 Summer Olympics.

"It was my dream. I saved my money and got it. When I got back from Atlanta, the hose was in the pool, filling it up."

Ms. Kearns enjoys swimming and sharing the pool with her friends, family members and their children, who have created dozens of painted rocks that decorate the yard. She spent nearly $70,000 on the pool and pool house. But that -- and higher premiums for home-owners' insurance -- was a small price to pay for all the fun, she said.

"This is a lifestyle. I'm downsizing, buying a condo with a pool. I can't live without one," she said.

If you're looking to enjoy that kind of lifestyle year-round, a house with an indoor pool might be the ticket.

	Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette photos Above: There is more than 6,500 square feet of living space in this Colonial, which is situated on 1.7 acres in McCandless. Below: The indoor pool of this home in McCandless is in a separate building connected to the house. Click photos for larger image.

A sprawling Colonial at 1528 Hazlett St., McCandless, recently listed by Northwood Realty Services for $499,000, includes a nearly 40- by 20-foot concrete pool in a separate building connected to the main house by a long hallway.

To give swimmers the feeling they're splashing around at the beach, the sellers had Sewickley artist Shirley Melnyk paint a large wall mural depicting a Hilton Head-like beach, with sand dunes, palm trees and waves on an aquamarine ocean.

She also decorated the pool's interior with tropical fish, an octopus and, in the corner under the diving board, a treasure chest filled with gold.

"And it's 10 feet deep, so you can scuba," says owner Lesley Andrzejewski.

She and her husband Max were looking for a house with an indoor pool eight years ago. They had enjoyed having an outdoor pool in Shaler but now they and their five small children were learning to scuba. Having grown up down the street from this house, Mrs. Andrzejewski pounced when she heard it was on the market.

The pool and poolhouse were built with the house in the 1960s. Glass-block walls provide plenty of sunlight and four doors open onto a wraparound concrete patio that's shaded by a large maple. A heated sports court tile floor keeps wet feet from slipping.

The pool hallway holds a full bath, a dressing room a steam room, all recently remodeled with new tile in shades of green, white and blue. Because the pool is attached to the house rather than inside it, the smell of chlorine doesn't waft into the main living spaces, says Realtor Irene Szafranski of Northwood Realty Services. There are also no dampness or mold issues.

Several other spaces allow for more fun and games. The integral garage is now a workout room with sports court tile floors and fluorescent lights (cars are parked in a detached two-car garage); the adjoining mud room has a rock-climbing wall.

There's also a game room in the finished basement with enough room for pool, foosball and air-hockey tables and a 50- by 120-foot basketball/tennis court behind the pool house that was paved with asphalt last year.

The house also boasts an eat-in gourmet kitchen outfitted with double wall ovens and a large center island. It has glazed red tile floors and a separate dining nook. A wall of windows with four doors opens onto a heated, carpeted sunroom overlooking the pool.

The 28-foot-by-16-foot formal living room has new white-maple hardwood floors and a gas fireplace with a black slate surround and hearth. The formal dining room has the same blond floors.

The second floor holds four carpeted bedrooms and two full baths, both of which were retiled in 2004. The master suite measures 19 feet by 14 feet and includes a separate dressing area and a mirrored wall. Altogether, there's more than 6,500 square feet of living space, including the pool room, on 1.7 acres.

Neither the Andrzejewskis nor Ms. Kearns factored their pools into their asking prices; they're based on what comparable nearby houses have sold for. So think of it as a bonus, especially if you have children.

"There was a time when having a pool was not an advantage," said Ms. Szafranski, a Realtor for 26 years. "But there's more family unity with this generation and buyers are more accepting of a pool. Now, it adds value."

All three families that have lived in the McCandless house have had at least five children.

"I really want a family to enjoy to enjoy this house," Mrs. Andrzejewski said. "It needs children."