Ballpark?

[mhnewcomb]

I'm interested to hear from you guys regarding the costs and specs for pools you've had built.

We are about to start construction on our new home, and I'd like to have a range of what the pool will cost. Not a huge deal, really, because the profit we'll make from our current home will pay for it--I would just like to know if anyone totally tries to jerk us around on pricing.

Here are my specs:

Nashville, TN
New lot is FLAT, no trees, plenty of room for pool in backyard
18x36 inground, vinyl liner, rectangle, 3.0 to 4.5 depth (we like volleyball!)
Plenty of deck (10ft around two sides, 6ft other two)
Sundek for deck and coping ("brick look" for coping)
4ft vinyl fencing around deck
Sand filter, auto water leveller, solar heating, auto cover

I appreciate any and all input from you guys--you're my only good source of pool information! There is really only one company around here that I feel comfortable with, although I will have conversations with two others (if they even show up--whole other story, there).

[JohnT]

Too shallow, IMHO, but your needs may vary. Actual water will be 6" less than that.

4 ft fencing may not meet local codes, or the requirements of your insurance company some require 4.5 ft. Verify that your fencing is BOCA compliant so you won't have insurance problems. Well worth checking into.

Consider a gate on the side of the fence where you don't think you need one. It's a pain to have to walk around a pool to get to a ball that bounced out or to go across the yard.

[Jeffski]

I am looking at about the same pool specs, maybe not with some of the add-ons you listed like Sundek and autocover, but I can say in Michigan you're going to pay about $40-50K for that set-up including pool, cement, and fence.

[mhnewcomb]

Too shallow, IMHO, but your needs may vary. Actual water will be 6" less than that.

Great...didn't know that. Then I guess I'd want to add 6" either way. I was citing the current depth of our water. It's PERFECT for volleyball...we just put the tall people in the deep end with one extra on their team. :)


4 ft fencing may not meet local codes, or the requirements of your insurance company some require 4.5 ft. Verify that your fencing is BOCA compliant so you won't have insurance problems. Well worth checking into.

We have a 4ft fence now, and we're building in the same county, but I'll check it anyway. I can check both codes and insurance online, I think.


Consider a gate on the side of the fence where you don't think you need one. It's a pain to have to walk around a pool to get to a ball that bounced out or to go across the yard.

Oh, yes! We have gates on both sides now, and I love it! Due to the layout of the house and pool, we might be even better served by three gates at the the new place.

Thanks, John!

[Sherra]

We paid right around $18,000 for:


18x36 2' radius rectangle vinyl liner w/ 3'4" shallow end (equates to about 3' water) and 8' deep end (Frontier)
6' step section
diving board
plumbed for dedicated vac/automatic cleaner line (but no auto cleaner installed yet...we'll add that later)
3' concrete deck all around
additional 3' of deck (total 6' wide) on shallow end on one of the sides
total of 10' deck on end of deck from edge of shallow end of pool (6' from edge of steps)...did that make sense? There are pics in the link on my signature if you need a visual.
3 returns
2 skimmers
main drain
light
ladder
1hp pump (Pentair Challenger high flow pump)
24" sand filter (Pentair Triton II TR60)Pool was installed this past March and deck was poured in April.

[mhnewcomb]

I am looking at about the same pool specs, maybe not with some of the add-ons you listed like Sundek and autocover, but I can say in Michigan you're going to pay about $40-50K for that set-up including pool, cement, and fence.

That's around what I was thinking. My boss just had a pool installed, with LOADS more bells and whistles, deeper than mine, and an enormous landscaping project for 65K.

She has the auto pool floor cleaner--like eight projections on the pool floor which come up every hour and suck the leaves up. All I see there are potential leaks--I'll net 'em! Mega heater on hers, too, but with such a shallow pool, I don't need it. I wouldn't even want solar except that it would extend the season at a reasonable cost. She also has the digital auto brominator--yuck. I like to do my own chemistry on the BBB plan. It's really a shame for her...she's spent a fortune on this pool, and her water stays cloudy below the surface. I wish I could get her to look at this site, but I think the Pool People have her scared. Maybe after a few years of pool ownership...

[mhnewcomb]

We paid right around $18,000 for:


18x36 2' radius rectangle vinyl liner w/ 3'4" shallow end (equates to about 3' water) and 8' deep end (Frontier)
6' step section
diving board
plumbed for dedicated vac/automatic cleaner line (but no auto cleaner installed yet...we'll add that later)
3' concrete deck all around
additional 3' of deck (total 6' wide) on shallow end on one of the sides
total of 10' deck on end of deck from edge of shallow end of pool (6' from edge of steps)...did that make sense? There are pics in the link on my signature if you need a visual.
3 returns
2 skimmers
main drain
light
ladder
1hp pump (Pentair Challenger high flow pump)
24" sand filter (Pentair Triton II TR60)Pool was installed this past March and deck was poured in April.

Oh, yeah, Sherra--I was looking at your pictures this morning! Maybe I should be able to get this for less than I thought.

The prices I have in my head are based on the company that built my boss' pool--they are by far the best quality builders around here. I'm sure they'll be the most expensive, but I have issues with all of the other builders in my area. I'll just have to see what they all say, I guess.

[maureenc26]

You mentioned auto-cover in your post -- they run about $7-8 thousand. Have heard that the best are Aquamatic cuz their motors are hydraulic and last a lot longer than most.
Maureen

[mhnewcomb]

Thanks, Maureen. That one is mostly for my husband--I think he's tired of helping me pull the cover back over every night! With that kind of cost, I think I can talk him out of it. A good solar cover and reel is plenty for me.

[Sherra]

Thanks, Maureen. That one is mostly for my husband--I think he's tired of helping me pull the cover back over every night! With that kind of cost, I think I can talk him out of it. A good solar cover and reel is plenty for me.
We've got a solar cover and reel. It's very easy for one person to unroll a solar cover using a reel. If my 5 year old is in a very "helpful" mood then I'll let her grab one side of the cover and walk along the edge while I unroll it, but she's really not doing much "helping"...she doesn't know that though.;) And at $200-$400 for a good solar cover and reel it's WAY cheaper than than $7,000+ for an auto cover.

The key to an easy unroll is a good roll up!

[mer1844]

One thing that you can do now, since you are just in the beginning stages of home construction, is to pick the spot in your yard where you want your pool to be. Stake it off NOW with rebar and yellow caution tape, and tell your contractor than NOTHING is to be placed in that area; septic tank or lines, water lines, underground utility lines. That way when you are ready to build the pool, you will be assured that there are no suprises underground to deal with.

One thing that I found when pricing our pool last summer, is that pool prices can vary greatly from one area of the country to the other. Our pool is a small pool as compared to others, 14 x 28 vinyl lined. It is 3 ft in the shallow end, and 5.5 ft in the deep end. We have 4 ft of concrete across the back side and on each end, with 10 ft on the front side. Electrical was included in the price, as well as a safety cover. No fencing was included in any of the prices. I got 4 prices from various builders, and they ranged from $18,000 to $20,500. My point is, that I could have built a larger pool in many parts of the country for the same money. It is good to get a "ballpark" figure, but the actual price in your area may be much higher or cheaper than other areas of the country.

[rollinrock]

We paid right around $18,000 for:


18x36 2' radius rectangle vinyl liner w/ 3'4" shallow end (equates to about 3' water) and 8' deep end (Frontier)
6' step section
diving board
plumbed for dedicated vac/automatic cleaner line (but no auto cleaner installed yet...we'll add that later)
3' concrete deck all around
additional 3' of deck (total 6' wide) on shallow end on one of the sides
total of 10' deck on end of deck from edge of shallow end of pool (6' from edge of steps)...did that make sense? There are pics in the link on my signature if you need a visual.
3 returns
2 skimmers
main drain
light
ladder
1hp pump (Pentair Challenger high flow pump)
24" sand filter (Pentair Triton II TR60)Pool was installed this past March and deck was poured in April.


Sounds like you got a good deal.

GO GAMECOCKS!!!http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/images/icons/icon7.gif
Smile

[Sherra]

We're pretty happy with the deal we got...plus the company that installed it is the only licensed pool contractor in the area...everyone else around that installs pools is just a "pool dealer" who installs.