Concrete Pools

There are several things you need to consider before starting the construction of a concrete pool. The first is how much room do you have for the pool. The big advantage of a concrete pool is that is can be virtually any shape or size that you can think of Squares or rectangles can give a more formal and stylish look while freeform pool can transform your backyard into a tropical oasis with beach areas and rock formations! Your choices are endless and only limited by your imagination.

Grab a tape measure and go into your yard and peg out a rough shape of the pool you want and see how it feels. Stand in your pool and consider privacy where the pool fence will be accessibility from the house where you want a water feature and where the steps into the pool will be. Ensure the pool will not be too close to a building or it may have to be underpinned.

If your pool will take up most of your yard ask yourself if it would be better made a bit smaller so you still have some yard. Once you are sure that you want a pool and that it will fit you need to consider access for construction. Having good access is very helpful in building a concrete pool. Generally the better the access the cheaper the excavation and removal of waste material will be.

The next thing that needs to be considered is your budget. As a general rule you should be able to construct your pool for half of what most pool builders will quote you. The more you do yourself the more you will save.

In your budget you will need to include the following costs:

• Engineering Plans
• Council Approval and inspections
• Excavation and soil removal
• Steel Reinforcing and Formwork
• Steel Fixer
• Pool plumbing (including jets and skimmer box)
• Concrete and Concreter
• Pool Equipment (filters pumps heating)
• Pool Fencing
• Lighting
• Water features
• Pool Coating and Waterline Tiles
• Coping Paving Tiling or Decking
• Landscaping

Most of the work that you can do yourself takes place after the concrete for the pool has been sprayed in and finished by the concreter. You may wish you get a quote from a pool builder to get an idea of price (remember you will be saving about half his quote). The pool builder may also be able to point out some considerations about your site that you may have missed.

Remember though if you have no intention of using a pool builder for any part of the work you don’t want to waste their time ‘type kicking’ make sure you ask for a rough estimate not a full quote. One advantage of building your own pool is that you can go at your own pace. If you need to you can stop construction once the concrete has been poured while you save some more money.