Such thing as a cheap inground pool just doesn’t exist. If you do extensive research on inground pool expenses, it won’t surprise you when you receive your first quote from a pool builder. Nevertheless, you will be surprised when you realize how much you’ve actually paid for your pool as soon as it’s finished. The reason is that the many extra features for inground pools can increase your bill faster than you can imagine. Why do inground pools cost so much? Why inground pools usually exceed the budget?
It is estimated that the actual building of an inground pool is only about 50% of what you will end up paying. Whether you want to decrease your expenses, or just need a better understanding of what to expect, below you can find some additional expenditures to take into account.
Enclosures
To provide public security, most local laws imply building a fence around your pool. Anyway, you’ll need one to protect kids and animals nearby. You can choose removable pool fencing that is quite affordable, but the price of a permanent fence could reach thousands of dollars. For additional security, it’s also a great idea to have an alarm set up on your fence gate and in the pool itself. Other security installations – most of which may also be stipulated by local legislation – can also substantially increase your expenses.
Landscape design
Landscape design around your pool might be seen as an additional expenditure, but not many pool owners can do without it. No matter you’re just growing several trees and plants, or constructing a completely paved deck and patio, you’ll wish to do something to improve the looks of your pool. However, it’s not all about aesthetics. Trees offer seclusion and protect the pool from the wind. Decking allows to maintain your pool clean. Landscape design is an essential element of a backyard pool, and you need to start planning for it yet at the design stage.
Lighting
Considering how much you’re already spending on installation; it makes sense to spend a bit more on the inground pool lights. They prolong the bathing hours for your pool, increase security and look great. However, they are far from cheap, particularly the ones installed under the water. Luckily, it is possible to find inexpensive LED lights floating on the water surface. For additional public security savings and comfort, you can even buy solar pool lights, which use the power of the sun throughout the day to illuminate your pool during the night.
Toys
When you first set up your pool, several inexpensive swim floats may be everything you need. Still, you may soon want more sophisticated – and costly – entertainments. Springboards, water slides for the children, water jets – the price of such features can reach thousands of dollars. At the planning stage, try to imagine what things are going to be like once the original excitement of having a new pool wears off. Will you want to add on to keep things fresh?
Running costs
In some sense, there’s actually no exact price for a pool since owning one is associated with running costs. You need to pay for chemical processing to keep it clean, whether you do the job on your own or entrust it to a pool cleaning service. You also need to pay to maintain the work of the pump and heater. To top it off, you’ll probably have to pay more for insurance because of the dangers posed by inground pools.
Conclusions
The reason it’s so difficult to assess the cost of a new pool is a huge number of variables. Therefore, it is often argued that you can only get a substantive response by contacting pool contractors in your region. Nevertheless, even that might not give you a full understanding, as many of the costs indicated above aren’t included in their price quotes. As usual, it is useful to think in advance and be ready for the additional costs. An inground pool can be a great complement to your house, but only if you’re sure you can afford it.
