This time last year we had the great idea to put a pool in the back yard, now our arguments for this were thought through and logical. It was a luxury for us and the boys as they love playing in the pool over summer, it also complements our lifestyle which is one of outdoor summer entertaining.
From previous experience we knew the end to end process would take about 6 months and would cost approximately $25-$-30000 for a basic pool, being the person I am I was happy to complete all the landscaping myself.
All the initial preparation went well we selected Blue Haven Pools, the largest pool builder in NSW and commenced the construction process.
Now its at this point that I think I should add in a few warnings to people considering putting in a pool. The fixed price quote and contract you receive and sign with a pool builder has many, many exclusions that will result in you paying more than the contract price to actually get the pool in the ground. Now this is not necessarily a slight against pool builders as they can know what they will find under your back yard however a warning to ensure you budget for at least an additional 30% over and above the quoted and contracted figure from the pool builder.
We went in with our eyes open and this story should serve as an example of how badly things can go wrong when you start out to put a pool in your yard.
Here is a short list of the main issues we faced last summer that resulted in approximately $8,000 in increased cost over and above the agreed price.
- Sewer pipe in neighbours yard to close to proposed pool
- Rock struck during excavation process
- Massive cave in on all sides
The first item that conspired to cause us pain was the discovery that the sewer line for the adjoining street went through our neighbours yard less than 3 metres from where we wanted to put the pool. Sydney Water requested a detailed survey be completed and the Line pegged and encased in concrete so no soil movement as a result of the pool construction would damage the sewer line. Quote $3000.
We luckily avoided this because I was in a position at that stage to move the location of the pool. The certifier agreed that if we moved the pool 2m from the fence line we would be able to avoid this cost and delay.
One of the most common areas of additional cost in the pool construction process is the additional cost of rock removal, we struck this problem as well, although for us this as only a small amount and the additional cost was only $1700.
Our biggest disaster in terms of both cost and stress was due to natural forces. Sydney had been quite dry during September and October of 2011, Early November the excavation and steel reinforcing was completed on the pool and by mid November we were ready to pore the concrete. I remember it was a Tuesday afternoon and the concreters were scheduled for Wednesday morning the Bureau of Met said Sydney would experience a few showers overnight and then clear up the following day. Well those few showers turned out to be a night of solid rain that didn’t stop for 3 days and by the end of the 3 days the soil on every single one of the sides of the pool had caved in. It was like we hadn’t even started and would have been cheaper if we hadn’t excavated in the first place.
All the steel and all the collapsed soil and clay needed to be removed then new steel placed in as well as double reinforcing. I was able to assist by removing some of the steel however could do it all.
Additional cost $6200.
Once the rain finally stopped the repairs and concrete pour all went smoothly but the damage was done our total additional cost for the pool was $7900 more than our $25000contracted price.
That being said, once the shell is in the ground the rest of the process should go smoothly but remember adding things like interior tiling and more expensive coping tiles can change the final price you pay for the pool as well.
Apart from the unforseen and natural disasters that struck our pool build I was very happy with our project manager who did everything in his power to reduce the costs of the issues the beset our pool.
Now its in, the boys are able to enjoy the pool next summer and we can enjoy a few wines all the stress will be rapidly forgotten.
