Guide To Purchasing Inground Pools

Inground pools appeal to many homeowners who have some disposable. They know that installing an inground pool will increase the overall value of their home and property if they eventually decide to sell.

Now, you have decided. You and your family will use an inground pool regularly enough to justify the cost of installing and maintaining one. Your options are several, and each option has its benefits and its disadvantages, beginning with the precise kind of inground pool you decide to install. They come in three varieties: concrete, vinyl-lined, or fiberglass. Moreover, as you might expect, the cost of their typical installation or building is very different.

The vinyl liner pool is probably the least expensive option. The average cost of buying and installing a vinyl liner pool is believed to be $7,000-$16,000. This pool is popular in cooler regions and is easy to maintain offseason—all you have to do is drain it down and cover it until spring arrives. In addition, if you happen to be a do-it-yourselfer this may be the pool for you, too—the typical installation takes between one and three weeks. Typically, a vinyl-liner pool comes in kit form. Once you excavate the area you want for your pool, you bolt or fasten panel walls with concrete footing supporting them at bottom. Then, you spread the liner over the interior panel walls and over the concrete floor. Its smooth surface makes cleaning the pool simple—all you have to do is clean stains the moment you spot them and, of course, vacuum the bottom.

Fiberglass swimming pools are probably the second most expensive of the three options, the estimated average cost today is between $15,000-$25,000. A fiberglass pool takes about two weeks to install—it is manufactured and installed in a single piece after you excavate your desired area. It may actually prove cost-effective in the long term because you will spend less on chemical treatments and avoid replastering and re-lining expenses. You will require, for example, less muriatic acid for a fiberglass pool than a concrete pool, because the fiberglass material does not change water chemistry. In fact, your basic cleaning requirements are lower with a fiberglass pool because the non-porous nature of the material—you will not have to brush your pool as often as you will with a concrete, plastered pool.

The concrete pool is the most expensive of the three inground pool prices, averaging between $17,000-$45,000. Built to your specifications by your designated pool builder, a typical concrete pool takes three to twelve weeks to build once the desired area is excavated. This is because the pool is built in several stages, from layout and excavation to installing the steel core supports, the plumbing, the support equipment, the gunnite or shotcrete (concrete delivered pneumatically) installation, tile trim and interior finish. What makes a concrete pool worth the time is not only your option to design or shape it yourself, but that the material itself gives you limitless flexibility for shaping, sizing, designing, and finishing your pool, bearing in mind that your total cost can be affected by the style or shape you want. If you live in a high- or extreme-heat summer environment, a concrete pool may be best suited, particularly if your soil expands liberally in extreme weather or even earthquake risk. For more information on inground pool prices, visit my other hub.

If your choice is either a vinyl-liner or a concrete inground pool, you should be prepared to ask many questions of your prospective builder. These should include the percentage of work done in-house versus subcontractors, the crew turnover both in-house and subcontractor, financing options, warranties, and references.

You will also have to meet your municipality’s building permit requirements, a process that can require from two weeks to three months or more at a cost between $100 to $1,000 or more. Moreover, pool builders typically will not include permit and survey fees or infiltration bed costs with the price of the pool itself, even if the builders are willing to help you with the needed paperwork. 

In addition, you will have to be prepared to spend money on refurbishing your yard even if your excavation itself was perfect. You will also need to consider the costs of pool upkeep, and will need to purchase items such as automatic pool cleaners. There will be inevitable temporary damage when your pool is installed, and you will likely need to have a good amount of fine re-grading and re-seeding once your pool is complete and operating. These costs should be figured as well when planning and building your pool.

One outlet for finding a competent pool builder is the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals, formed in 1956 and based in Alexandria, Virginia. This organization’s Website features a national-map search engine through which you can find an APSP-approved or certified pool builder close to your home, such as Paddock Pools. You will be offered numerous options in numerous categories, from pool-building materials and equipment to plumbing, pool landscaping, covers and liners, cleaning and filtration services, accessories, chemicals, and construction parts.

Through APSP, a prospective pool owner can find detailed information about building and owning inground pools, using their related products, maintenance and safety tips, and finding reliable dealers and builders and financing.

Now that you have factored all the foregoing, done your due diligence on the costs and the actualities of building your inground pool, when is the best time to do it? Many pool builders recommend autumn—they are not normally as busy then as in other months, the weather is usually better for undertaking such a major construction project, the pool can be installed and the surrounding landscape repaired before the next swimming season begins, and as often as not the builder may be able to save you some money.