Owner Building your own Pool
With the drought taking hold more and more pool installs are taking over backyards all over Australia. A pool will actually take less water and maintenanance than a well kept lawn. The days are gone where I now have to run the mower around the backyard for an hour and then sweep up all the cuttings etc.
I have spoken to many pool builders and installers and they are telling me the same thing, flat out for the next 6 months. A shortage of exsperienced trademen and orders has caused a backlog for most pool builders.
The two main choises are to either have a concrete pool or fibre-glass shell. A concrete pool can be built to anysize, shape, design etc, only your imagination and area to install is the restriction.
Fibre glass pools are limited in size and shape however they have so many to choose from now that this really should not be a problem. Also fibre glass pools are quicker to install and are Owner Builder freindly.
We decided to install our own fibre glass pool, not because we would have to wait along time but the quotes we recieved were a little out of our price range. Quotes varied from $23,000 to $26,500 depending on the shape and quality of the pool shell.
We have ended up spending approx $15,000 on ours which was equivalent to about the $25,000 quote so very happy, although my wife would have liked it to be finished a little sooner. All quotes that we had did not include landscaping or paving but only a 600mm beam around the pool which is prity much the stage we are at now.
Follow the stages below and if it helps you brill............... my kids are now both great swimmers so if I have managed to acheive that the money was well spent. I just have to learn to swim my self and that will be a bonus!!
Pool selection
- Whatch out ...here she comes!!!
There are approx 20 manufactures of fibre glass pool shells in Australia. All shells must meet basic AS Standards but some go that one step further to improve on the quality of your pool. Check out the links to view some available.
We checked out probably five web sites which after looking at the designs available narrowed down to three to obtain a price.We also chose these as they had showrooms in Victoria. I had no idea what to exspect as we didnt know any one with a pool. We got it down to two, the Rockpool 7 from Narrellan and the Riviera 7.5m from Compass pools. After many arguments we went for the Compass shell as we thought this would be more practical for the kids to learn to swim, the Rockpool looked great with its beach area but didnt have a large swim area in the smaller model, larger would not have fit in the garden. The stairs into the Compass was perfect from our patio doors and finger grip right round the pool perfect for me to hold onto, I mean the kids!!
Owner Building.....why not
As I was Owner Building the extention I thought I would research to see if I could do the same with the pool and how much I could save. After several calls I found that I could save roughly $10,000 so it would be well worth the effort.
As I had a man with his digger preparing the footings for my slab I asked him if he would be interested to dig out for the pool as well, which he replied yes, even though he had never done one.
I then phoned a couple of the distributors in Victoria to get a quote on shell only. A call to E-Pools was very usefull telling me the costs of the main pieces of equipment and then a rough guess on the costs of pipework etc. I could see that this would be a considerable saving so decided to owner build......why not.
Just remember that the pool company suppling the shell will only guarantee the shell up to the point of delivery, once your crane guy attaches the ropes to lift off you have no warranty.Most will only give warranty if installed by there installers. Have a good look at the shell when it arrives and check for any obvious damage. Have a video camera handy to film all over back and front as you may have something on camera that the eye may miss. Your shell would have been lifted on and off three maybe four trucks before it arrives at your place. Also check with the crane driver that he has insurrance, if he drops it he pay's for it!!!
I have a complete cost breakdown for this part of the project, if you would like a copy send me an email and I will email you back a copy, it is in both xcell and word formats.
To install an inground pool ( or above ) you must apply for a council permit and an Owner Builders permit. Had I put "extension and pool" down on my original application I wouldnt have to apply again, and pay another $75. Your council will require 3 sets of paperwork showing pool location on a site plan, comps and engineering data for the pool and types of safety barriers etc to be used. Make sure before you buy the shell that the manufacture supplies you with the engineering docs you require. They generally have an A4 sheet that they can send that has been certified by an engineer, without this the council will not proceed.
My council fee was $400 which included two inspections, the first when you have dug the hole to check that you have dug it where you said on the plan and the second and final when you finished the pool fencing. They build a few dollars in there just incase they find something wrong and have to come back but you dont get a refund if all is ok.
When you order your pool, which might take between two to six months to arrive make sure they supply you the comps and also a dig sheet. This will help you and your digger man to dig to the right depth, especially if the pool slopes from one end to the other.
Some companies use special trucks which will crane the pool directly into the hole, thats if they can get up close enough. However this is not likely in most cases so you will have to arrange a crane yourself. They vary in cost but exspect to pay around the $1000 mark. Once you have the delivery date book the crane company, they may need a couple of weeks notice. Also get a early hours contact number for the delivery man and crane company, if there are strong winds they will not deliver so you will have to cancel the crane, check to see if they will charge you for this. Also the pool delivery man may charge if the crane driver doesnt turn up as he may not have anyway of getting the pool of the truck. Sounds complicated but with a little planning will go ok. Most trucks can at least place the pool on the naturestrip and your crane can pick up later, it will give the kids on the street something to play in that night! Ask the right questions and you will be ok.
The first three photos show the digger preparing to dig the hole...........the hole with approximately 120-150mm of 20mm scourier as the base................and the pool arriving on the big truck!! (as the kids called it)
