Hi there! New to the forum and hoping for some advice from other people who have built/owned homes with pools. I know very little about pools having never owned or lived in a house with a pool l, so in getting bids from a few local pool builders in Phoenix area , I am somewhat overwhelmed. Most of the quotes are within $5k-$10k of each other with the exception of one, but even the cheapest is kind of at the top of my budget.
Some things that i could adjust to improve the cost of the project are the type of pool decking/coping (acrylic lace Vs travertine) and whether to get an in-floor cleaning system Vs a suction pool cleaner. Other options that are adding to the cost are a water feature and smart phone automation for lights and control of the water feature.
I’d really like to get a pool for my new house, but don’t want to spend more than I can afford and don’t want to have regrets about not getting certain features. Can anyone give me feedback on some of my options to help me decide which options might be best on my tight budget.
Here are the basics of my design that are common for all of the pool builds in my small yard:
- 75’ permitter rectangular pool- roughly 28’x9’ fee, 3-5 foot depth, Baja shelf in one end and bench in deeper end, pebble sheen interior, and a small wall water feature .
My original design before I saw the cost was to try to build a pool similar to a client’s pool of mine with a similar small yard which included the above basic design and having travertine coping and decking that would extend up and over my existing patio. The build would also have an in-floor cleaning system.
Well with one pool builder it was significantly more expensive to do the travertine so we switched the coping and decking to Acrylic Lace.
For another pool builder he said switching to the acrylic lace wouldn’t make his build cheaper and said I could take out the in floor cleaning system and do a suction cleaning system (Aquanaut suction side pool cleaner) to cut costs.
Another option is to lose the water feature.
So I guess what I need help deciding are the following:
For my small size pool that I will be trying to maintain myself without a pool service, do I go in-floor cleaning system or suction side cleaner? Two of the pool builders said I will probably really want the in floor cleaning if I don’t have a pool service. Another said he thought the suction cleaner would work fine and didn’t think I needed the in-floor pop up system based on the lack of debris that I would have falling into my pool and it’s size. Another builder said I could do either and both would work well for me but if it were him having worked on pools all over the city, he would probably do the in floor system .
For decking and coping- do I do the acrylic lace or the travertine? What are peoples thoughts on the two? I have heard travertine is nice because it doesn’t get as hot in Arizona summer sun. To me it also looks nicer. But some people say it is really slippery.
Another consideration I have is this, salt system or not. One of the pool builders doesn’t offer a salt system. Only one quote I have includes the salt system.
Any feedback appreciated. Thanks!
Attached are photos of my friend’s pool so you can see the design I was going for.
Some things that i could adjust to improve the cost of the project are the type of pool decking/coping (acrylic lace Vs travertine) and whether to get an in-floor cleaning system Vs a suction pool cleaner. Other options that are adding to the cost are a water feature and smart phone automation for lights and control of the water feature.
I’d really like to get a pool for my new house, but don’t want to spend more than I can afford and don’t want to have regrets about not getting certain features. Can anyone give me feedback on some of my options to help me decide which options might be best on my tight budget.
Here are the basics of my design that are common for all of the pool builds in my small yard:
- 75’ permitter rectangular pool- roughly 28’x9’ fee, 3-5 foot depth, Baja shelf in one end and bench in deeper end, pebble sheen interior, and a small wall water feature .
My original design before I saw the cost was to try to build a pool similar to a client’s pool of mine with a similar small yard which included the above basic design and having travertine coping and decking that would extend up and over my existing patio. The build would also have an in-floor cleaning system.
Well with one pool builder it was significantly more expensive to do the travertine so we switched the coping and decking to Acrylic Lace.
For another pool builder he said switching to the acrylic lace wouldn’t make his build cheaper and said I could take out the in floor cleaning system and do a suction cleaning system (Aquanaut suction side pool cleaner) to cut costs.
Another option is to lose the water feature.
So I guess what I need help deciding are the following:
For my small size pool that I will be trying to maintain myself without a pool service, do I go in-floor cleaning system or suction side cleaner? Two of the pool builders said I will probably really want the in floor cleaning if I don’t have a pool service. Another said he thought the suction cleaner would work fine and didn’t think I needed the in-floor pop up system based on the lack of debris that I would have falling into my pool and it’s size. Another builder said I could do either and both would work well for me but if it were him having worked on pools all over the city, he would probably do the in floor system .
For decking and coping- do I do the acrylic lace or the travertine? What are peoples thoughts on the two? I have heard travertine is nice because it doesn’t get as hot in Arizona summer sun. To me it also looks nicer. But some people say it is really slippery.
Another consideration I have is this, salt system or not. One of the pool builders doesn’t offer a salt system. Only one quote I have includes the salt system.
Any feedback appreciated. Thanks!
Attached are photos of my friend’s pool so you can see the design I was going for.
