How To Build Your Own DIY Pool
This is a candid, no holds barred tutorial on how to build your own DIY swimming pool for as little money as possible. Not a technical instruction guide, this two part article is a first hand account of every possible way to cut costs without cutting corners and prepare for building your own swimming pool.
Why build your own swimming pool?
So you want to have a swimming pool, but basically you can't afford one. The current base price for an in-ground vinyl liner swimming pool is anywhere from $27,500 to $35,000 depending on where you are located. A similar style pool built as a gunite plaster concrete pool would have a base price starting around $40,000 to $60,000. With these prices, it is easy to see why so many people are interested to know how to build a swimming pool without paying these costs.
Good news, there are many ways to cut the costs of having a pool that you can do just by following this guide. This article will teach you everything you need to know to build a swimming pool with as little money as possible - information that can save you thousands of dollars whether you are building it yourself or planning on hiring a swimming pool contractor.
DIY swimming pool money saving information right from the experts
I own a custom swimming pool contracting business, and I am a second generation pool builder dealing with both vinyl liner and concrete swimming pool installations. I have spent as of this writing over thirty thousand on site hours as a full time swimming pool installer, and I have condensed this knowledge into a straight forward and easy to read manual designed with two purposes:
1) To teach you how to save as much money as possible when building a swimming pool.
2) To Create the easiest and most cost effective guide to building your own swimming pool.
I have devised a multitude of tips, tricks and information tidbits that will help ANY person to save money building a swimming pool no matter how big or small your ambition level and construction skill.
What Can You Expect From This DIY Pool Article
You can expect to save as little as 20% on your total pool installation cost, and as much as 50% and it is entirely up to you how much you save. That means you can save as much as $15,000-$20,000 on vinyl liner pool installations. Why vinyl liner? Gunite pools are a MUCH bigger and more specialized process. If you want to build your own swimming pool, one of the most important outcomes is a successful swimming pool installation. Building a gunite pool is far too risky for a DIY project since there are so many 'make or break' steps involved where if you do something wrong you can ruin the whole project at tremendous financial loss. Vinyl pools are more cost effective and pose less overall risk for diy pool builders.
Vinyl liner pools are, by far, the most common type of residential swimming pool in North America. A lot of this has to do with a good product design as well as reasonable installation costs. For your money, having a vinyl liner pool installed is your best long term cost versus quality purchase. Given that you can also build a vinyl liner pool yourself, this becomes a defined winner in terms of how to save as much money as possible building a swimming pool while choosing a reliable and proven swimming pool technology.
Outline of the DIY pool building tutorial
There are so many ways that the average person can save money when building a swimming pool that it was hard to fit them all under the scope of one article. I understand that your time is precious so I have attempted to condense the best and most valuable information into the shortest and most concise form possible. The following list will outline the main sections of this article:
Choosing a pool
Choosing a process (how much do you want to save?)
Digging in - literally
Walls & supports
Plumbing & pipe runs
Pumps, filters, heaters and peripherals
Coping track installation
Floor installation
Vinyl liner installation
Wrapping up your project
Additional options & peripherals
Go swimming!
The first half of this tutorial will cover much of the financial planning and strategy for saving as much money as possible with your DIY pool project.
Choosing A Pool Kit
Choosing a pool when you are trying to save money comes down to budget, location and skill level. The most common shapes of in ground vinyl liner pools are rectangle and kidney shape. There are literally hundreds of shapes of pools available which come in kits that you put together, but if you are concerned about your ability to put this project together at all - stick with a rectangle pool as it will be the easiest to install.
Choosing the size of your pool is important since you do not want to decide later that you wish you had chosen a bigger pool. Since the cost of building a slightly larger pool is actually quite small, I recommend to build the largest pool that your property can accommodate comfortably. To determine what size of pool your property can handle it is important to know that you will want a minimum of four feet of decking clear around your pool in order to have a safe swimming environment for your family.
Swimming Pool Sizes
The two most common rectangle pool sizes are 16'x32' and 20'x40'. This means if you want a 20'x40' pool you will need an area that is nearly 30 feet by 50 feet. Use a tape measurer to mark out the shape on your property and find the best size pool for your yard.
Since you have the tape measurer out now, you can also measure the width of the access to your property. Since digging the pool requires heavy machinery you will need to know how big of a truck you can get through the gates, or more specifically just how much fence you are going to need to remove in order to accommodate the back hoe.
Measuring Pool & Machine Access
Start a notebook in which you will keep all of your relevant swimming pool notes, and at this point include a sketch of the pool area in relation to the house and equipment access point. Be sure to include rough measurements that show how far the run is from the house to the pool and the access to the pool, and any other measurements that are important for your situation.
Swimming Pool Building Codes & Permits
At this point, you need to become familiar with the building codes, permits and license procedures for the location in which you live. This important step includes the process of securing permission to dig from utilities and gas companies to ensure that you do not blow up your neighborhood in your attempts to build a pool. An often overlooked utility to consider is any power lines or cable lines which run through the air overtop of the area that you want to install the pool. In most locations these utilities will need to be relocated in order to put in a pool as they are a major safety concern.
A single trip to the city hall for your area will provide you with all the forms required in order for you to build. Common requirements are site surveys, engineered drawings and inspections. Once you have researched the permits and permissions that you will need to build a pool from your local utilities, it is time to start the fun stuff.
DIY Swimming Pools - How Much Money Do You Want To Save?
So this is the point where you make up your mind and decide just how much money you want to save on your pool installation. If you are a DIY guru and you have every confidence in your ability to build following direction, then you can expect to save in the range of 50% of what it would cost to simply hire a local contractor. If you really do not have a lot of skill, or tools, or drive to build a pool with your bare hands, then some simple organization and scheduling skills can still save you as much as 25% off hiring a contractor to take care of everything.
Regardless of which method you choose, the process is the same. In order to save money on your swimming pool installation you are going to act as the general contractor for the project. The concept is simple. You are going to perform all the menial tasks, materials, organizing and invoicing concerns and scheduling of different trades required - yourself. These are steps that just about anyone can do with the proper instruction and will absolutely save you money. Since you will be planning and executing many stages of the project, any contractors that you hire will be hired to do specific tasks alone, which is vastly less expensive then having one company perform the whole project from beginning to end.
How To Be Frugal With Your DIY Pool Budget
If you have a lot of DIY skill and access to tools and helpers you will want to complete as many stages of construction as possible in order to save money. If you have minimal skill, then simply do as much as you can yourself and hire contractors to complete the remaining stages.
Not every stage of the construction can be completed by just anyone, and in almost every case you will need to hire at least a few contractors to build your pool. The idea is that you are the pool professional, and you are simply delegating the steps involved in building the pool to the sub trades like electricians and plumbers. This will allow you to minimize almost every charge by your hired contractors and almost completely avoid inflated materials costs.
Hiring Contractors & Trades For DIY Pool Construction
Hiring contractors and trades for select work instead of large and inclusive contracts can be difficult as you may meet with some friction from potential contractors. The way to avoid this friction is be 100% prepared before you get in touch with a specific contractor. When you call someone in, you need to have confidence and be an authority about the subject you are discussing with them. You need to display an understanding that you appreciate that their time as important. You need to make the message clear to the contractor that working on your project will be great because they simply need to show up, and you will have provided all the arrangements pertaining to the work you are asking them to do.
EXAMPLE: If you need pipe runs installed from the pump room to the pool edge, when you call the subcontractor to look at the job, you want to be completely prepared. If the contractor shows up and you show him an area on your property where you plan to build a pump room, and a trench, and a swimming pool, you will not get good service or prices. The contractor will not believe that you are serious or capable with the project since contractors meet with many people who are not serious about their projects.
You need to stand out from the crowd. When the contractor shows up at your property, you should have the pump room marked and laid out, the pool marked and laid out, and a perfect trench that connects the two ready to accept pipe runs.
How A Clean Jobsite Can Save You Money Building a DIY Pool
Make the jobsite clean and neat, and be sure that the trench that you are providing is deeper, wider and clearer than they would expect to see. Also go the extra mile and groom the bottom of the trench to make it level and add a layer of sand or crushed gravel to provide an easy and protective place to put the pipe runs.
You want to impress the contractor with your readiness. You want all the materials to run the pipes on site, organized and ready to go next to the trench. The materials you provide MUST be the correct materials for the job, and must not be located in your car, or on their way from the supplier. You need to be prepared and ready to go. Have cash on hand. If you do a good enough job of being prepared the contractor may just install the pipes right then and there. This is the ideal situation, since the contractor realizes that the job is actually really easy since you already took care of everything, dug the trench, bought the materials. The key to pulling this off effectively is found in the details.
Build a DIY Pool That Is Higher Quality Than Most Other Pools
If the trench you provide is too small, or too narrow, or too shallow, or rough and unlevel the contractor will see this as a lack of knowledge or preparedness on your side. You want them to immediately recognize how easy your job will be. Overkill on these details will provide you with more willing and affordable short term contractors, as well as make your pool very high quality.
Staying with the same example, running a group of pipes in a narrow and unlevel trench is much more difficult than a very wide, clear and level trench. Which pipe run do you think has a higher chance of developing a leak or breaking during the backfill stage? It's worth the extra effort for the quality assurance that your pool is built properly and without cutting corners.
We will look more into specific contracting issues further on. For now let's look at how you are going to save money acting as your own pool contractor.
Markup On DIY Swimming Pool Materials & Supplies
A pool contractor will charge you as much as $150 per hour for skilled labor and typically marks up their materials prices to the tune of 100% or more. Not that they are a bunch of jerks, but this is the industry standard much as it is for other specialty trades. This means that every single item and piece of equipment that your pool builder buys for you, you are paying exactly twice as much as you could be if you use the tips and tricks in this guide.
In addition to paying the per hourly cost of the contractor, you are also paying a whopping mark up on every last piece of the puzzle - which for a vinyl liner pool amounts to easily $7000-$10,000. Take that money and put it in your pocket. If you need to hire a contractor for anything, you want to provide their materials for them. You might think that contractors must not like when you do that since they lose so much of their profitability...EXACTLY.
Frugal Is Good Cheap Is Bad When Building Your Own Pool
There is a fine line here that needs to be respected though. It is one thing to provide a $900 pump and save yourself $450, but you need to allow your contractor some small freedom to charge for shop materials like nails, screws, tape etc.
The importance of this, is that a contractor can respect a savvy homeowner being frugal, but no one wants to work on a job where the owner is making the project unnecessarily complicated. You may encounter during your pool building experience some contractors who are hesitant to accept a contract working with a homeowner who is acting as a general contractor. This is understandable. You need to exhibit signs of confidence and industry knowledge to the contractor to gain their respect, and that is precisely what this guide is designed to do.
Get your DIY Pool supplies From the Same Place Professionals Do
When a pool contractor purchases the materials to build your swimming pool, they simply go to the local pool supply store and pick up a vinyl liner kit. These kits come with the pool walls, coping, liner and depending on which kit you order, they often come with the pump, filter and peripheral equipment as well. The contractor buys the kit on account, which means on credit, and delivers it to your property. This simple act of delivering the kit to your house earns the contractor 50% the retail value of the kit which is a HUGE amount of money for those cutting costs.
If the average person walks into a pool store, you will be asked to pay full retail price, otherwise known as list price. If you are a pool professional, you automatically are granted a 30-50% discount on this price. If you really wish to save as much money as possible, you need to be able to purchase from the wholesaler for the same price that contractors do. So how can you accomplish this?
Incognito Swimming Pool Supply Purchases?
You could pose as the owner of a new or travelling swimming pool company, but maybe you don’t feel like going undercover in a local pool store posing as a pool expert with your own company just to get a discount - very understandable. There is some validity to the argument that this practice could be considered unscrupulous by some, and even as I write this my wife reminds me that she considers this advice to be a little grey area in terms of ethic. Is it? I don't know. I don't propose to teach to you how you should live your life, I simply promised to teach you every way that you can possibly save money building a swimming pool and these are the facts:
Getting contractor pricing is the single biggest way to save money building your own swimming pool. In almost every pool installation situation this will save near to $10,000. Is it fair that the guy in front of you and the guy behind you in the line up both pay $5000 for the same item you would pay $10,000 for?
Try Honesty To Get A Discount On Your DIY Pool Supplies
If you still do not buy into the idea of just saying that you are a pool contractor to get a discount, then a final suggestion would be simply to go to a local pool supply store and tell them that you are planning on building your own swimming pool, and you are looking for a supplier to provide all of the items that you will need. They will surely accommodate your request enthusiastically if they appreciate your patronage. You could possibly also temp them further with the fact that you have not yet decided where you will be buying your pool chemicals from for the next 40 years.
Negotiate For Lower Prices For Bulk Purchases Of DIY Pool Supplies
You can then explain that you are aware that most pool supply companies provide a 40-50% discount off the list prices to their contractors. Ask them how much of a discount they are willing to give you off of the list prices in order to get your business. Since there are lots of pool supply companies around, most of which all buy their supplies from the same place, the pool supplier knows that you can go elsewhere and get the exact same product.
This means that they will likely be willing to offer you a percentage discount if they want your business. You could potentially have a number in mind that you want to reach, and be ready to make a big order if they are willing to step up and give you a good discount. You may not save quite as much money this way, compared to if you tell them that you are a pool contractor, but this method will still allow you to save thousands and enjoy your new swimming pool, morals and all.
Chronological Stages Of Construction To Build Your DIY Pool
It's time to build the pool, or at least put the process in perspective enough for you to realize that this really is a doable project. Let's look at the chronological order that the pool construction will proceed in from beginning to end:
Engineering & Site Plan
Buy pool kit
Layout pool area
Arrange access point for heavy machinery
Locate excavation company
Dig pool
Assemble walls & supports
Pour cement collar
Install skimmers and return fittings
Dig trench from pool to mechanical room
Run plumbing runs
Install coping track
Pressure test plumbing
Backfill pipes
Install pump, filter & heater
Lights, stairs, steps, electrical bonding, safety cover rails & water features
Install pool bottom
Hang liner & fill
Cut fittings & start up
As you can see there are a number of subjects to cover here, and each of these has a thousand variations - remember there is always more than one way to do something. Given that you are reading "How to build a swimming pool" and NOT "War and peace" I will explain the easiest, most efficient and most reliable way to complete each of these steps. You may very well find yourself thinking that perhaps you could do a portion of one of the steps differently because it would be better for your specific situation - this may well be the case.
Is There More Than One Way To Build A DIY Pool?
There are hundreds of ways to build swimming pools, I have simply chosen to relate the most simple, most reliable and most cost effective solution without sacrificing anything in quality. In fact, by following these details your pool will outlast every other similar pool in your neighborhood. Why? Because you sure aren't going to cut any corners building your own pool are you? Of course not...let's dig in.
How To Buy A Pool Kit For Your DIY Pool
Go to your local pool supply store and introduce yourself. Ask to peak with a manager or choose a specifically pleasant looking person and explain that you are a building a swimming pool and are considering them as your potential supplier.
The kit that you order should be a 16x32' rectangle, 18x36' rectangle or 20x40' rectangle as these are the easiest to install for a beginner with some instruction. They also provide the maximum surface are for swimming and playing in the shallow end.
Verify What Your Vinyl Liner Pool Kit Includes
When you order the kit you want to make sure that your kit has pre-cut returns and skimmer sections in the wall. Cutting these holes into the walls yourself can be a real pain in the butt later and require a high speed grinder with a metal cutting disk or other similar metal cutting tool. Either way, kits are available that have the holes pre-cut and these will save you a good deal of effort later so shop carefully. Your liner kit must include the following items:
-Walls
-X frame supports (not A frame)
-Coping track
-Hardware (screws, nuts and bolts)
-30mm full print and border vinyl liner
-At least 1 skimmer (2 for a 20x40) and corresponding cut outs in the walls
-At least 3 return fittings
In addition to these fundamentals you may also elect to choose kits that come with the following items to install:
-Guard rails
-Underwater lights
-Steps or stairs
-Diving boards
-Slides
-Water features
-Circulation pumps
-Filters and heaters
-Peripherals, chlorination water chemistry
Saving Money Can Actually Make Your Pool Safer!
Looking at this list there are quite a few frivolous items that need to be cut from the maybe pile. Diving boards and water slides to name two. More like drowning boards and whiplash slides. Pool statistics say that diving boards and waterslides are the two leading causes for injury or death in a swimming pool. Forget them outright. Besides, they get used for a few seasons at best and then sit unused for another twenty years. Put that money right back in your pocket because no amount of fun is worth the life of a loved one or family member so if you can make your pool area safer simply by saving money then go for it.
Pumps, Filters & Heaters For Your DIY Pool
What you need for your pool is a basic setup that is both enjoyable and safe. Your pool needs a pump and filter obviously. You need a pump that is 3/4 to 1 1/2 horsepower as this will be able to do pretty much anything that you need it to do other than climb up three stories of the side of your house for a solar heater. Pumps come ranging from .5HP up to 5HP for residential purposes. Regular pool pumps are .5HP to 1.5HP, large pool pumps are 2HP to 2.5HP. Anything larger than this is ridiculously huge. Getting the largest pump of the normal bracket will give you the most value for your money. You could spend 10% less to get a pump that is worth 20% less...if you know what I mean. The brand name is not hugely important, but a few recognizable names for pumps are Hayward, Sta-rite and Pentair. There are so many good pumps available it hardly matters which you choose.
You would think that it would be an important decision, but in all likelihood you will install the pump and barely think about it again for the next twenty years. Buy the best name brand 1.5HP pump that you can get a deal on for your best chances of quiet and reliable operation over a long period of time.
How To Buy A Filter For A DIY Pool
For your filter you need to buy a cartridge filter. There is a much debate as to which is the better value either traditional silica sand filters or newer and less common cartridge models. They both require equal maintenance. The cartridge filter is twice as much money, but it is easier to install than lugging 500 pounds of filter sand around. A cartridge filter is 3 times as effective at removing impurities from the water than a sand filter. What does that mean? Less chemicals to run your pool which translates to cash back in your pocket.
I am in favor of cartage filters over sand filters in this debate. Oddly I install at least 95% sand filters. It seems that almost everyone prefers to save money and choose a sand filter. I feel that the debate weighs heavily towards choosing a cartridge filter over a sand filter, but it seems that I am mostly alone in this. At this point I would be willing to concede that it is at least debatable as to which is better. What about the fact that a cartridge filter may not require a backwash port depending on where you area you live in?
A backwash is a term that most people are familiar with all thanks to sand swimming pool filters. Backwashing is the monthly maintenance that you have to perform for your pool, but in actuality your pool does not require this attention. The filter does.
Which Is Better - Sand Filters Or Cartridge Filters
You need to backwash your sand filter to wash the debris and garbage that it collects out. Since you are wasting chlorinated water there are major concerns over where you send this water to. Check with your local bylaws to discover what your region requires for this waste water. In most cases the solution for this is to dig another trench to the sanitary collection point on your property, typically a sump tank. Essentially this amounts to a trench that runs from 20-200 feet around your property.
If you choose a cartridge filter, then you may not need to install a backwash line at all to the pump room, so this fact alone could make the decision to go with a cartridge filter.
Stairs, Ladders & Handrails For A DIY Pool Project
To save money do not install stairs as they are quite costly to purchase and install. Instead two sets of ladders is all that is required for an economical and safe pool. Stairs have too many potential problems and are not recommended for novice installation. Even if you manage to get them in without leaking or collapsing, they will certainly be the weak link in the longevity of the pool, not to mention that stairs could end up costing more than a few thousand dollars to purchase.
The ladders will both require a set of handrails that get installed into the deck around your pool. Be sure to pick up deck wedge anchors for each ladder as these are the hardware that you will be installing into the deck. Check your kit to ensure that it comes with sufficient anchors for your design. You should also note that you need wedge anchors designed for the type of deck you will have. These will be either the style to be submerged in concrete or surface mounted with hardware. Ladders are functional, cheap and relatively easy to install.
Salt Water Generators, Ionizers And Ozone Systems For DIY Pools
Salt water, ozonater, chlorinators, ionizers etc. The answer for all of these items are no for the time being. You can install these at any time in the future so worry about getting your pool built now and you can enhance your pool plumbing system with all the latest gadgets at some point in the future - of which there are a few notable upgrades that you will want to consider.
Should You Add Waterfalls Or Water Features To Your DIY Pool?
Who are you, Hugh Heffner? Just build a basic pool for now. Remember we are trying to save money here. It is important to recognize that it is easy to become distracted by options, but the ultimate goal is to build a swimming pool on a slim budget, and a water feature is just not needed. Build the life size grotto water feature next year.
Underwater Lights Are Important For Your DIY Pool
Purchase a basic 500 Watt underwater light niche and bulb meant for a vinyl liner pool if one does not come in your kit already. Note that it is preferable to choose a liner kit that comes with a light AND has the hole pre cut in the wall section to accommodate the light niche. Having a light is a safety issue, otherwise your pool is just a pitch black water hole at night. Night swimming is fantastic and all you need is a single basic light that is installed in the center of the wall of the pool closest to the house. This way from inside the house looking out you do not have to stare directly into a spotlight, but instead your pool will be backlit and have a warm and even glow.
DIY Swimming Pool Kits & Product Guides
In conclusion about pool kits, I understand that it can seem overwhelming at this stage. There is so much information to remember. I suggest that you go and pick up a product guide from your local manufacturer that will show available pool kits and detail their contents. You will see that many pool kits come with everything discussed above already and you will need to do actually very little other than pick the kit that you like the best and bring it home.
How To Really Get Started Building Your Own Pool
You have managed to get a pool kit delivered to your door. Good work. You have already saved yourself thousands of dollars just in this action alone. Go out for dinner with your spouse and enjoy yourselves. You earned it. See I told you building your own swimming pool would be fun. The next day you can start to layout and dig the pool.
Having your permits arranged, and with permission to dig from your local utility companies you can now officially commence construction of your swimming pool. The first day you will simply open the kit and organize and check inventory to make sure that you have everything you need. Be sure to set up a system and a secure location to locate the supplies. There will be many, many small parts and you do not want to lose anything so be diligent.
Organization Is Critical To Saving Money & Building A Quality Pool
The next step will be to collect and review all the documents that come with your kit equipment. You will need to keep all of these together in a file. Included in this material will be a dig specification sheet which is a diagram of the size and shape of hole that you need in order to dig the pool. Make a few photocopies of this document at this point and keep the original in the file.
Take down your fence if you need to create access from the road and BE SURE to put up a temporary safety fence to keep your jobsite safe and accident free. Now you need to use the dig specification sheet and layout the orientation of your pool. The dig specs account for the size of the pool, and also something called an over dig. Over dig is the additional amount, usually in feet and inches, that must be dug in addition to the size of a pool in order to be able to install all the wall braces and support brackets without further manual excavation.
A 20x40' pool with a 1.5' over dig would be a hole that is 23x43' in total surface area.
How To Transfer Elevations for Digging your Own Pool
Hammer a steak into the ground off to the side of the pool. You will need to rent a transfer, which is a tool that you use to transfer elevation points from one location to another. You will use this to determine what height you need to build your pool up to in order for your yard to work congruently. You don't want the pool sitting two feet below the rest of your yard do you? Whatever finished elevation you want to meet, whether it be your patio door height or something else, mark this elevation on your securely placed stake near the pool. You will need this when you are doing the dig itself.
I recommend to use spray paint cans and carefully trace an outline of the actual pool shape and location. The best way to do this is to get some assistance from someone and take a lot of measurements. A common orientation might be to have the pool parallel to your house for esthetic value.
Lay Out The Pool Interior With Spray Paint For The Pool Excavation
Now that you have marked your pool shape, measure and mark the actual dig spec which will be outlined in your kit instruction manual. Most over digs are between 1.5' to 3' depending on the size of pool you choose. You will have rectangles drawn on the ground with spray paint, one inside the other. Now, inside the perimeter of the pool mark out the beginning of the shallow end slope, the end of the shallow end slope, the side slopes and the back slope.
All of these measurements are on the dig spec sheet. You do not need to worry about being 100% precise, you are simply creating a diagram to show the machine operator what you want. Some machine operators are very talented and can dig your pool by eye to an exacting standard. Try to find one of these guys. Failing that option, you will need to find a machine operator that will come in, dig the hole and transfer the load to a dump truck which takes it away. You will be working with them to dig the hole and both of you will be working from a copy of the dig spec.
Have A Few Hands Available To Help On The Day Of Your Pool Excavation
You will need a transfer again for the elevation points, as well as a few long sticks, 2x4's and a four foot level. Running string lines can be a handy way to get those hard to reach measurements. Be sure to have a few on hand for this day along with a hammer and small nails for making grid lines if you need to.
The machine operator will dig a perimeter hole and then dig the deep end from inside the shallow end. Throughout the process it will be your job to measure the depth of the hole, or the width of the hole so you will need to have a tape measurer or two on site. One of the long ones 50' or 100' that are on a reel are especially handy.
Be Effecient With The Time Of Your Machine Operator
Most machine operators are helpful and will hold a tape measurer for you if need be, but you might want to consider having an extra helper on site for the day to minimize any wasted time with the operator climbing in and out of the machine. These guys charge a phenomenal amount of money per hour so you want to be sure to get them in and out quickly.
Make sure that you choose a stretch of good weather for your dig, and be sure to communicate well with your machine operator to ensure that you both are on the same page. Many operators do not offer to get rid of the material they dig up leaving you with a big mess to deal with. You would like to keep a small amount of the dig in order to backfill around the pool, but even for that sand or gravel makes a better choice if you can afford it.
How To Prepare For Your DIY Pool Excavation
Have the access ready, and be sure that someone brings you and the machine operator coffee a few times in the day. This way he will be inclined to assist you, since this is probably the first time you have ever done something like this before you want to make the machine operator as happy as possible. Little gestures like this go a long way towards getting free advice and help so always be ready to shell out for coffee or lunches. You can just level with him when he shows up and say this is your first time and you appreciate any advice they can offer, and most people will be happy to make sure your pool gets dug properly. Make sure you choose a machine operator that has pool experience, which most do.
Just remember if your reference marks or elevation measurements are off it will cause huge problems later on so be sure to double check and triple check your measurements before breaking ground.
Remember To Install Safety Fences Around Your Pool Excavation
At the end of the dig day you will need a stiff glass of scotch because it is a nerve rattling experience working around heavy equipment that is tearing up your yard. If things go well, the machine is gone and once you put the safety fence back up you can go to sleep. It is a huge liability having a large and dangerous hole in your yard. Be vigilant with safety measures to ensure that this is a problem that you do not have to deal with.
Congratulations on digging your first swimming pool
When Planning Your Own DIY Swimming Pool Keep An Eye Out For Concrete Finishers
Ask your dig operator if he can recommend any concrete finishers to you. There is at least a 50% chance that he himself is a part time concrete finisher. Perfect. You can also ask him if he knows which ready mix cement companies are popular in the local area. He will know them all by heart. Get a business card, you will need that soon enough.
For now, you have a huge ugly hole in the yard and you are beginning to wonder if you have lost your mind trying to build your own swimming pool. The good news is that you have already completed the hardest parts. Getting your discount and pool kit as well as digging the hole are the two hardest parts of the process. A good deal of the remaining work, you will be hiring sub contractors to do.
It would also be very helpful if you could find a student or two who are good with tools that might be available to assist as a low cost laborer. A good portion of building a pool and the steps involved require getting things, or measuring, or moving materials from one place to another, or digging. Having a good, sturdy laborer to rely on can really make the difference to both your timeline and budget - and also your back!
Contact us today to be informed when the second half of this article becomes available.