Pool is an excellent oasis in summer and adds value to your house. The concrete pools built underground are excellent places for entertaining your guests or resting under sun. Main types of pools are outdoor pools, indoor pools, olympic pools, semiolympic pools, pools with jacuzzis, children and animation pools, thermal pools, thalasso therapy pools, wellness pools, condition pools, activity pools, floating pools and shock pools.
In this swimming pool cost guide, we will mention the basic and optional costs of building a concrete swimming pool to the backyard of one’s garden.
What Affects the Building Cost of a Pool?
A concrete pool that you decide to build to your backyard will have the following cost. The factors below will affect the average cost of a standard villa swimming pool construction:
1) The Dimensions of the Swimming Pool
First factor affecting the construction cost of a swimming pool is the dimensions of the pool. Generally, a villa type swimming pool is deisgned as 6*4 meters, 8*4 meters and 10*5 meters. But the main factor that determines the dimensions of the pool is the dimension and shape of your garden. When a pool order is received, we use these dimensions to calculate the approx. cost of the pool.
2) Pool System to be Used
Another important factor that affects the pool construction cost is the pump and filter systems to be used in the pool. The villa type swimming pools concentrate on 3 types of systems:
a) Skimmer Pool
Skimmer pool name comes from a device called skimmer. This unit takes water from the pool for cleaning and disinfection of the pool. In skimmer pools, skimmer is placed below the upper side of pool. This feature makes the difference between a skimmer pool and an overflow pool where the water surface is in the same level with the poolside.
b) Overflow Pool
In overflow pools, the water surface is in the same level with the poolside
c) Infinity Pools
An infinity pool is a system where water flows down from one or more sides of the pool and this creates an infinite visiual water effect.
3) The Shape of the Swimming Pool
Swimming pools may be designed in various forms. Generally, there are 3 popular shapes. These are rectangular pools, pools with Roman ladders and kidney shaped pools. Besides these, there are also free form (Radius), in geometrical forms (circle, oval, heart), L shaped pools as well. But basically, the dimensions of your garden will determine the maximum dimension and shape of your pool. Within these boundaries, the shape of the pool that you imagine will affect the cost.
4) Inside Pool Coatings
The pool coatings you choose for the surface and walls of the pool will affect the cost directly. There are many pool coating types such as ceramics, glass mosaic, natural coating and pebble coating. The figures to be used within the pool will also affect the cost.
5) Pool Terrace
Like the pool system and shape, the type of coating chosen for the poolside also affects the cost calculation of a swimming pool. Many alternatives such as wooden poolsides to hardwood terrace and to flooring tiles are the factors that change the cost analysis of a pool. Now let’s try to understand each of these options:
3) Other Options that affect the cost of a swimming pool
1) Swimming Pool Equipments and Materials
Swimming pool is a living system. For this reason, when you decide to build a swimming pool to your backyard, you will also make important choices about cleaning and disinfection concerns as well. Among them, the pool equipments and materials are important expense items.
- Pool pumps: They are the first and the most important equipments of a pool. A pool pump is chosen considering many different variables. The dimension of the pool, pool equipments and water features will affect the power and the type of the pump.
- Pool filters; is another component of the disinfection system of a pool. Generally, the mostly preferred pool filters are sand filters. Their usage is easy and effective. Besides these, pool filters with cartridge are also popular.
- Pool cleaners; are the equipments that provide you keep the pool clean and ready-to-use. There are many alternatives such as manual pool vacuum cleaners and accessories and automatic pool cleaning robots.
d) Pool heaters; the geography of the location of the pool may create the need for a pool heater. If you want to use your pool in cold weather as well, you may have to invest in a pool heater. This should also be included in the cost of the pool.
e) Chemical nutrients and chlorine generators; chlorine is the main player for pool chemicals. The ph balance of the pool water will be determined by how effective you use chlorine. There are many ways of adding chlorine to water.
f) Pool lighting system; the pool lighting preferences within the pool and on the poolside will determine the cost of the pool. Long life LED lights and pool lights may decrease your cost in the long term. Spot and omni illuminations, halogen lamps are good attraction points.
g) Water features; sprinklers, hidden waterfalls, nozzles and many other water features will affect the pool cost.
h) Pool security fences and pool covers; are the pool products that families with many children or with pets prefer as a necessity rather than an option. When you close your pool in winter, you will have to use different types of pool covers. For this reason, pool covers are important for both security purposes and for decreasing your costs in the following season.
i) Pool alarms; are important pool equipments that families with many children and pets prefer like pool covers.
j) Pool curtains and garden fences; are nearly obligatory both for providing privacy and security. Many alternatives in this section may affect the cost.
4) Accessories to be Used in the Swimming Pool
a) A swimming pool can be designed minimally only for the swimmers as well as a fun area. In this case, items to be chosen are accessories. Some accessories may double the fun and some are indispensable for the pool.
- Pool lighting; are the extra inside and outside pool lightings in addition to the standard pool lights. Leds shifting from colour to colour, sprinklers moving with the music and waterfalls are the major alternatives.
- Pool slides; are polyester or fiberglass pool accessories that make swim creative and fun.
c) Pool diving boards; can be thought of a necessity rather than an option for a pool. There are many types of them from the ones close to the pool surface to the very high pool towers.
d) Pool ladders and steps; besides removable and portable pool ladders, pool steps used for your pets are elements that increase your cost but a must for your pool.
e) Pool toys; are all the materials and products that beautify both your pool and your garden such as inside garden artifical plastic flamingos, ducks and fogs.
5) Pool Chemicals and Equipments
These are not included in the cost calculation of the pool directly. They are used to make the pool water swimmable in the initial setup, to balance and to provide disinfection for the swimmers. But if you have the idea of building a pool to your house, pool chemicals may be the largest expense item during the years. Especially if you do not know what to do, operating the pool may be much more costly than building it. Now let’s look at the major pool chemical expenses;
a) Chlorine; is the main pool chemical used in the disinfection of the pool. Although ozone disinfection systems have become popular in recent years, chlorine still remains the main factor in these systems as well.
b) Ph reducer and ph enhancer; are chemicals used to balance the ph level between 7,1 and 7,4 for the swimmers. In order for chlorine to operate effectively, ph balance of the pool must be maintained.
c) Pool shocks; are pool chemicals making disinfection with high levels of chlorine. They are used at appropriate time intervals for killing bacteria, algae and spor in the pool.
d) Water test kits; are products by which you decide which chemical to use when to your pool.
e) Algaecides; are pool protection chemicals that keep little microorganisms away from your pool.
f) Other pool chemicals; like limescale reducers, spot cleaners.
All the pool construction and operation expense items may differ depending on your requests. A general rough calculation is that an amount equivalent to the construction of the pool will be spent for operation and the pool area as well.
After lining up all these expense items we can come to the most important expense item: the choice of the pool company. The most determining factor in constructing a pool is the name of the pool company. Swimming pools are not a standard engineering project. You can not give your project to an ordinary contractor. Constructing a pool needs special engineering skills and experience besides creativity and imagination. All pools whose feasibilty, landleveling and engineering project are miscalculated will be a great burden to the user in the long run.