What Does My Budget Buy?

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user_namea

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May 11, 2014
14
Texas
I've begun reading up on here the past week to try and educate myself. I'm many months out from my build. I have LOTS of reading to do. The first thing I want to figure out before I ever even have a PB out to design something is a ballpark figure I should expect to pay. I realize without the exact equipment list it is hard to nail down even a ballpark figure, but any help I could get from those of you who have been through this recently would be appreciated.

I'm in the Houston, Tx area. I am not looking for anything particularly high end. Here is what we want:
16'x34' rectangular pool with rounded corners
Prefer a sloped design starting at 3' going to 7-8'
Standard size round spa with gas heat(no heat for pool)
Sufficient LED lighting
About 500Sq Ft decking, prefer lower maintenance
Umbrella posts in multiple locations build into decking

I really have a lot to learn on the equipment side, but I'd be wining to pay a little more for convenience. I don't need fancy automation though. I'm not looking to have jets or a water feature or rock wall on the pool.

Could anybody tells me what price range I should expect to see from the pool builders with this information? Is there something I left off the list you consider a must have?
 
This highly depends on your exact location, in the Houston area it seems gunite pools are particularly popular, compared to here in SW Louisiana where they are a rarity and vinyl is FAR more common, so is Fiberglass. To give you a comparison I was in a pool store near here the other day that also installs pools, and I looked at their turn key pool price list, they offered a basic vinyl pool with sand filter and 3 ft wide concrete decking in your size range for about $19,000 (did not include electrical post at pad or permits) or Fiberglass in that general size but only about 6 ft deep for around $23,500.

Ike

I think LED intellibright pool light was a $750 option, but it did not specify exact model
 
Probably not. If spj says $48-50K is the starting point, you likely won't end up there (though I don't know what is considered in the "pool" aspect of the comment). Consider these "options": two/VS pump(s), SWCG, LED lights, automation, extra outlets/lighting, cleaner, automatic cover, remote control, mucho decking. Unfortunately I didn't consider these "optional" for our pool so we were much higher than a starting price would suggest. Taking a sedative before you review any quotes and total it up with options is my suggestion, joking of course but the concept is sound. All that said, good luck and hopefully you can get what you want for a price you can live with. It's definitely a ride.

As a side note, 3' is really shallow and kids grow fast. 3 1/2' might work well as a starting point.
 
One thing to keep in mind.

The numbers you are seeing most likely do not include any significant landscaping to speak of. Or retaining walls if they are necessary. And there are so many options they alone can run into 10s of 1000s of dollars. Its easy to get carried away.

At a minimum you are going to have plan and budget for rain and runoff drainage, install or repair irrigation system, plant sod, hydroseed or sow grass seeds yourself. Thats a minimum. Landscape lighting, flower beds, rocks, boulders or rock beds, plants and flowers and mulch, pots and planters ... it all costs money and a considerable amount of it.

And there is the patio furniture $$$, Patio lighting if you need any, extra outlets on the patio and any toys you want. Pool cleaner robots. You can literally be 1000 dollared all the way to the insane asylum.

So, examine your TOTAL amount that you can spend, that includes everything and then work up a budget for each category... It takes a lot of will power to stay within reason.

user_namea said:
That's generally within the numbers I am wanting to stick to. I had it in mind that I did not want to exceed $50k. That sounds reasonable huh?
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I definitely agree with this. 3 ft shallow isnt a good idea. Not only would most folks consider it too shallow, but it will be hotter water there in the hot summer which may end up pushing everyone to cooler deeper water anyhow. the 3 foot shallow end will also result in a a considerable increase in the angle of the slope from shallow to deep. so much so, that it may be difficult to stand on it. Gentler slope is always a better and more enjoyable slope.

bmoreswim said:
3' is really shallow and kids grow fast. 3 1/2' might work well as a starting point.
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That makes sense. Luckily I'm on a corner lot where a fence section can come out. We are talking about minimal sod replacement. Landscaping doesn't necessarily need to be included here. I'll DIY once I know what I want. The spinkler system is definitely going to need to be addressed as you mentioned though.

I can definitely see how it's easy to get carried away. The purpose of this post was to make sure I wasn't crazy to think staying under $50k is possible. We could be happy with nothing more than what is in the original post, and some locals have informed me I'm right within what quotes should be.


Divin Dave said:
One thing to keep in mind.

The numbers you are seeing most likely do not include any significant landscaping to speak of. Or retaining walls if they are necessary. And there are so many options they alone can run into 10s of 1000s of dollars. Its easy to get carried away.

At a minimum you are going to have plan and budget for rain and runoff drainage, install or repair irrigation system, plant sod, hydroseed or sow grass seeds yourself. Thats a minimum. Landscape lighting, flower beds, rocks, boulders or rock beds, plants and flowers and mulch, pots and planters ... it all costs money and a considerable amount of it.

And there is the patio furniture $$$, Patio lighting if you need any, extra outlets on the patio and any toys you want. Pool cleaner robots. You can literally be 1000 dollared all the way to the insane asylum.

So, examine your TOTAL amount that you can spend, that includes everything and then work up a budget for each category... It takes a lot of will power to stay within reason.
Click to expand...
 
I myself would lose the built in spa and put more money into the pool. I'd also not bother with all those rock formations that are in style now. You could get a stand alone hot tub later if you wanted and to me, keeping the water and plumbing separate would simplify things. You *need* more cement than 500 sf, IMO. That simplifies maintenance which is what you mentioned.
Well, that's how *I* would stretch my budget :)
 

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Oh Yeah, surely for 50K you can end up with a really nice one. Just saying it will probably take some budget management though.

I spent about 15K less than that on mine, start to finish, everything. Built the fence myself. Furniture (not all pictured), little bit of landscape (I need inprove my flowerbed design skills, but oh well).., and hydroseed. It's Done.
4 ft wide deck all around with 350 sq ft big part of of the patio. Exposed aggragate. See my sig for more info on what it all is.



 
What you want is doable for around $50k in Houston.
It's about what my neighbors spent on their rectangular pool (slightly larger but 5.5' max depth).

The compromises may come in pool finish, deck surface and amount of decking.
 
Definitely doable. Here in MD (which should be far more expensive), you can get a basic 16x34 ft freeform pool with 3' of decking for $32000. Incluides everything except water.

As I found out, things can be added on to that VERY fast - Quotes from that builder
LED Lights - 1500 extra each
Heater - 4000
Salt - 1500
Cleaner - 750
800 sq ft concrete decking - 12000
Spa - 15000
Automation - 4000
Raised beam wall - 3000
Each sheer waterfall - 1000

Forget what else, my point is, little things add up fast. I did my whole thing DIY and couldn't stay under 50 for the pool. +35 more landscaping.
 
It sounds like a go then. I may have to reconsider the depths as mentioned. I'm thinking the more common sports pool design with a 3.5' shallow end and 5.5' deep/middle section may be the way to go.

On the topic of cost, I've spoken with a builder who will do a pay as you go installation. He will do everything a normal PB does. I write the checks to the subs once they complete work. He get's a 12% commission for his services. 12% doesn't sound too unreasonable. I suspect the typical builder needs more margin than that to earn a reasonable profit.
 
YippeeSkippy said:
Just a thought- Don't those shallow pools tend to get warmer which may be a bit of a nuisance in the hot Texas weather?
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Absolutely. If this was just for myself and my wife I wouldn't have anything below 4.5'-5', but I've got a baby and a toddler who won't be over 4' tall for a little while. I want them to be able to touch once they are good enough swimmers to not need floaties. Compromises...
 
FYI...I'm in the Houston area too. I just had a fiberglass pool installed with no spa for around 42K. I did get around 800 sq ft of decking and a salt system. I spent another 5K on landscaping, pergola, water line tile on pool, sprinkler system, furniture, robot cleaner etc which I did all myself. It's very doable for that pricepoint...look at all options...not just gunite. I'm so happy I went with fiberglass....super easy to take care of, keep clean, less chemicals compared to gunite. Below is pic right after I installed the pergola in February. Since then, I have installed the water line tile and the palms in background have all greened up from our hard freeze this winter...I'll post more pics soon so you get an idea of options. I used American Fiberglass Pools here in Houston. Been in business 40 years and manufacture their own pools. Highly recommend you look at them...they just won a BBB award this year. Good luck on your search...
 

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HoustonHusker- I love your pool and pool deck! Is that a Sundek product? Color, pattern? I want to do something like this over my existing brushed cement (once I win the lottery)
For User Namea poster - buying shallow "for the kids" just doesn't make sense to me. They're going to be short for a few years then tall enough to enjoy diving for things. Most kids I know spend a few years on the stairs or very shallow end until they master floating around in their vests/floaties. I've never heard a kid complain that his feet didn't touch the ground. Perhaps they learn to swim faster for not just walking... I dunno??
 
YippeeSkippy said:
For User Namea poster - buying shallow "for the kids" just doesn't make sense to me. They're going to be short for a few years then tall enough to enjoy diving for things. Most kids I know spend a few years on the stairs or very shallow end until they master floating around in their vests/floaties. I've never heard a kid complain that his feet didn't touch the ground. Perhaps they learn to swim faster for not just walking... I dunno??
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That's interesting feedback. Depths are still something very much up in the air.
 

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