NOTE: THIS IS THE 2nd IN A SERIES OF six ARTICLES FOR THOSE WHO ARE CONSIDERING A SWIMMING POOL.
- The Pros & Cons of Pool Ownership
- How Much Does it Cost to Build a Swimming Pool?
- How Long Does it Take to Build a Swimming Pool?
- How Do I Begin the Planning Process for a Swimming Pool?
- 5 Tips on How to Select a Pool Builder
- 10 Reasons to Select Gohlke Pools as Your Pool Builder
One of the most common questions that pool builders get is—“How much does it cost to build a swimming pool?” As with many other purchases, prices vary greatly depending on what the prospective buyer is desiring. We all have different tastes. Following are a few examples of why it is so difficult to answer the simple question—“How much does _________________ cost?”
Restaurants
When selecting a restaurant, there are those who would prefer to just spend a few dollars per person for a meal, while there are others who prefer a gourmet meal and will spend $150 or even more. I imagine we could all tell the difference between the dining experience at McDonalds vs. the dining experience at Nuri (Dallas’s newest Asian Steakhouse in the heart of Uptown Dallas).
Hotels
Hotels in the DFW area start at $50 per night and go up to nearly $1,000 per night (Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek per tripadvisor.com). Of course, hotel costs can vary greatly, and some of it is based on supply and demand, but mostly it is based on quality. The high-end hotel would likely provide a much better experience than a $50 per night hotel.
Automobiles
And how about new cars? New cars start at approximately $17,840 (2024 Mitsubishi Mirage—per Kelley Blue Book) and go all of the way to $30 million (Rolls Royce La Rose Noire Droptail—per US News & World Report). I believe that we would all agree that the Rolls Royce would provide an unforgettable experience.
Homes
Homes also vary greatly in price. In the current market, you would be hard pressed to find a new home in the area for much less than $200 per square foot, but very high-end custom homes are considerably more, as much as $500-$1000 per square foot. It likely wouldn’t take any of us long to tell the difference in a home costing $200 per square foot and a home costing $500-$1000 per square foot.
Swimming Pools
So, back to the original question, —“How much does it cost to build a swimming pool?” Recently, we have seen inground pools in the DFW area as low as $75,000 and as high as $500,000. There have even been residential pools constructed in the north Texas area for upwards of $1,000,000. With that being said, most of the basic pools that are being built in the DFW area are in the $90,000 to $100,000 range, with attached hot tubs typically $20,000-$25,000 in addition to that.
Why the wide range in pool pricing? There are many variables, following are a few of them:
- Quality of construction—Pool construction is like any other type of construction, there are different levels of quality, not only in the materials used, but also in the installation of those materials—some installers are simply more skilled than other installers. Many of these components cannot be seen once the pool is complete, but quality is typically reflected over the long term. The bad thing about construction is that once it is done, it is done—if it is possible to change it, it can be very expensive.
- Materials selected—These are the components of the pool that you see, the finish out materials. There are many types of materials to choose from, some that vary greatly in cost. A few examples of options in the area of materials selected are: interior finish of the pool (all tile, pebble, quartz, white plaster, etc.); coping material (stone, travertine, marble, etc.); and deck material (travertine, stamped concrete, textured concrete, gray concrete, artificial turf, etc.).
- Features of the pool—There are quite a few features available for a pool, such as an attached spa, beach entry, waterfalls, fountains, slide, diving board, etc. All of these features add to the cost of a pool.
- Other backyard components—Typically a swimming pool is just part of the backyard project. Oftentimes there are additional backyard components such as patio area, shade structure, outdoor kitchen, fire pit, putting green, landscaping, etc.
- Elevation changes—Many backyards are not flat in elevation. Elevation changes oftentimes require the use of retaining walls or raised beams in order to deal with them—both from a structural standpoint and a functionality standpoint (proper drainage). This typically adds thousands of dollars in costs to even the most basic pool.
- Size and depth of pool—We naturally think that the wide range in pricing mostly has to do with the size and depth of the pool. Although size and depth does factor into the cost, it is not as big of a factor as the other variables mentioned here. There are small pools that have been built that are very expensive and large pools that have been built that are cheap.
- Warranties—I am not sure if I have ever seen a pool that did not require at least some level of warranty work needed. Unfortunately, doing warranty work costs money. It is easy for a pool company to say that they have a “lifetime warranty”, but when they are not around to support that warranty or everything that could go wrong is excluded from the warranty, then the warranty really doesn’t mean much. Support after construction costs money.
- Roots—This is oftentimes referred to as “overhead”, but this “overhead” is what every quality business has—insurance, equipment, quality staff, etc….Texas is a state that does not require licensing or bonding for pool builders, which means easy entry and even easier exit out of the pool business. The DFW area has had dozens of pool companies over the years who have gone out of business with unfinished projects. Most of the older, larger pool companies have stories of finishing pools for pool contractors that went out of business during the construction of a pool.
As you can tell, there are quite a few variables when it comes to the cost of swimming pools. One of the biggest mistakes that people make when selecting a pool builder is basing everything on price alone, instead of options that they want or need. Although price is important because no one wants to overpay, you want to be sure that you get what you want and not be misled by price alone. It would be like buying a car without an air conditioner or power windows; although you bought the car for less money, you really did not get what you wanted.
If you simply cannot afford the exact pool that you would like to have, a good recommendation would be to cut features and other backyard components, which oftentimes can be done at a later time. Never scrimp on the quality of the construction—those who do typically eventually regret it, potentially paying for it in the long run by having more maintenance and repairs and it could also hinder the house sale when you do decide to sell. It is not a car—a pool cannot simply be traded in if it doesn’t work out. You are stuck with it.
Bottom line—It is never a good idea to make money the number one priority in any type of construction project (home, pool, renovation, etc.)—once that happens, bad things begin to occur and you rarely end up happy.
Note: Similar to homes and automobiles, most swimming pool purchases are financed. Pool financing typically comes in one of two ways—either a home improvement loan or a home equity loan. Let us know if you have any pool financing questions.
Matt has been around the pool business since he was born. When he graduated college in 1984, he joined the family business working for Gohlke Pool Supply. The following year Matt and his father formed a partnership, Gohlke Custom Pools, and started offering pool construction.
