What unexpected costs put you over budget?

[SJKMH20]

Over budget items:

$750 for upgraded tile in and around spa- The standard 2" tiles looked nicer in the booklet
$1500 for digging out 1.5 feet worth of rock- Rock is not norm in our neighborhood, but does show up we were told.
$400 for removing a tree that we decided would be too close to the pool area
$800 for new outdoor furniture. The wife didn't approve of the current furniture after seeing the pool almost done.
$700 for cost of TV's and electric work. We came up with this idea after the pool started
$?- Unknown costs to lay down new sod and get fill dirt. Our sod got ruined more than we had planned from the workers and we need to raise our landscaping a good foot around the pool. Not sure what this will cost me.

 

[riley00dog]

Our last minute add-on was a heat pump -- that was a big one, an extra $4500. But we are SO glad we did, otherwise our pool would have already been done for the season. As it stands, we will be swimming into October. Spending so much money on building a pool, it's well worth the extra to have a ~6 months season instead of a 3 month season.

Absolutely! Ours wasn’t an add on and more a necessity on my part lol. My boys swam all through winter here. Me, no way, but the pool itself was more than warm enough if you can manage the ambient temperature.

 

[Amazed]

Like others it’s the after build things you don’t really consider. I knew we would need landscaping but also the sprinkler system had to be reworked. We then decided we needed yard lighting around the pool.

 

[scdaren]

Oh yes.... after running the heat pump over and over again to warm the pool on weekends, I finally gave in and bought a solar cover. That was only a couple hundred dollars. But where to put it out of the way when it's not in use? Side of the house... the one part of my yard where there is still dirt and it's all muddy... so had to pour concrete there, another $1100 added to the list.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and almost forgot -- the heat pump uses tons of electricity to the tune of a couple hundred dollars a month!! So time to add another 20 solar panels onto the roof, through in another $10k.

 

[schwimmen]

We've had some expenses for plumbing, electric, and drainage that were outside of the scope of the pool build contract. We've also made decisions to upgrade or add on some equipment: current generator, heat pump with chiller. We decided to go ahead with an extra 6" on the beam along the fence to ward off drainage issues with neighbors, and to get a more experienced installer, we'll probably go with an upgrade of finish. And fencing! We need to replace fencing. Luckily, it's not a huge area.

I did decide to forego the glass tile. It was a significant added expense, and the tile that I liked just didn't go with the rest of the materials. I also like to work in the yard, so I'll do most of that work myself. Again, glad it's not a huge area.

 

[hollywoodfrodo]

We kinda started a little over budget to begin with, but the unexpected cost were...
1) Electricity running to Garage was severed in dig (expected) and contractor told us not to worry - his guy would easily be able to replace it. Made us think we didn't need to get our own estimates from our own electricians. Then I get a call at work "Our guy is here now and the cost will be $1200 and we need to know right now because they're running conduit." We probably could have done it ourselves with our own guy for $500-700...
2) Everything outside the pool was the biggest "extra" cost. The pool itself stayed pretty much with the original quote. But after the hole was there, we realized the A/C Condenser with though we could move if we wanted, we really HAD to move to be able to enjoy or have a deck so that was an extra $5000 getting that on the roof.
3) The cost of having electrical wire ran for some landscape lighting and connected to pool system for control was more than we had thought it would be
4) Little things like first stretching the budget to get a nice outdoor dining table because it was on sale then realizing that because we now have that table we then need to buy something to give it shade so that's an extra $300 on top of the table already being a stretch.

It was really all those little things that ended up adding an additional $10,000 on top of the pool itself...