The True Costs of Building and Maintaining
a New In-ground Swimming Pool

Have you ever wondered what the actual costs are of owning a pool??

This article will discuss, and show, the true costs associated with building and maintaining an in-ground swimming pool. Due to the many details being discussed, the article is divided up into 4 parts. Part 1 is below. The other 3 parts can be found on the 'neighboring' pages.

If you would like to know what would be your cost, per month, to own and maintain a pool, please read these very informative articles in their entirety.

General Pool Costs
The cost of installing a new in-ground swimming pool is going to vary widely. You could have a decent size pool installed for as little as $10-12,000, or one that could reach towards 6 figures and upwards, depending on whether you want a gold-plated pool or not. Actually, I don't think gold-plated pools exist but you get the idea about the expense. We obviously we will focus on the lower end.

Types of Pools
Now on to the details, the first factor that will determine pool cost is the type of pool. Your choice will probably fall into one of the three following types:

1.) steel-walled, vinyl lined pool
2.) fiberglass pool
3.) cement (or unite) pool.

Other Pool Factors to Consider
The second factor is the size and shape. It should be obvious that the larger pools are going to cost more, but fancy shapes will also be expensive. You could potentially get an 18 ft x 36 ft rectangle for a cost similar to that of a 16 ft x 32 ft kidney shaped pool. You get the idea.

From here on, we'll deal exclusively with the cost of a vinyl lined pool, but please keep in mind, that fiberglass and gunite pools should be competitively priced depending on where you live. In fact, in some markets, there are so many pool builders that the gunite pools are cheaper than the vinyl ones. Furthermore, some environments require a gunite pool. If all this is true, then why are we talking about a vinyl pool? Well, simply because the company I worked for only installed vinyl pools, and the pool that was installed at my home is a vinyl pool. I think we'll all be better off if I go with what I know best.

The Major Cost of Pool Installation
The first thing to remember is that one of the major costs of building a pool is labor. In fact, I heard once that materials for gunite pools are actually cheaper than vinyl-lined pools because the only material is basically cement mixture, rebar and piping. But this type of pool is quite labor intensive. On the other hand, the kit for a vinyl pool includes things that cost a bit more, like the steel walls, framing, steps and the vinyl liner, but many pool builders prefer to install these vinyl pools because they are much quicker and easier to install.

Part II will continue the discussion of a pool installation contract, pool prices and then lead into costs of pool options. Click Pool Costs - Part II to continue.

© M. Dinger LoMist Publishing 2006