Avoiding hidden pool costs

Getting a brand new pool is an exciting prospect for any family or homeowner. But, outside the actual construction or installation of the pool there are a number of hidden costs that you may be unaware of.

If you’re not prepared for these costs, they can either slow down your dream pool or halt its progress altogether. In this guide, we’ll go through some of the areas where these hidden costs are, so you can take them into consideration when planning the budget for your pool project.

We sort out your compliance

Firstly, before the entire process can even begin, you’ll need to sort out the formal planning approval before breaking ground. There are two approval pathways for you to choose from: complying development certificates (CDC) and development applications (DA).

The first option you have is the complying development certificate (CDC). The CDC is used for when you know that your project meets every single approval pathway criteria that needs to be met, and it allows for the fast-tracking of the approval process by way of a private certifier. However, if your pool isn’t going to meet all of the criteria, you won’t be able to use the CDC approval pathway.

In that case, if your pool project is going to be a bit more custom-made, and won’t meet the CDC approval pathway criteria, you’ll need to use the development application (DA) approval pathway. Although this pathway lets you be a bit more free with your pool design, the process can take longer and you can be subject to the approval criteria set by your local council, which may vary from district to district.

Sorting out the foundations

Now that you’ve sorted out the approvals and compliance, you’ll need to figure out where your pool is going to sit on your property. However, where you decide that your pool is going to sit on your property can heavily impact how much you’re going to need to pay in establishing the foundations.

For example, if your property is on a sloping block, you may need to spend more money on getting your property surveyed so that factors such as soil erosion and drainage can be assessed, and retaining walls will need to be approved and built so that your pool sits level on the slope. As well as this, your installer may need to spend more money on guaranteeing safe and efficient site access for machinery, which may also be factored into the final cost. 

Picking the right type of pool

Once the foundations have been established, you’ll need to pick out the type of pool that you want. When looking at in-ground pools, there are two options for you to choose from: concrete pools and fibreglass pools.

Firstly, there’s concrete pools. If you’re looking for a custom shape for your pool, concrete pools are the way to go, which may also make them more ideal for those difficult or sloping blocks that we mentioned earlier. However, being custom-made, this can often result in extra costs. Concrete pools can also be quite lengthy in their installation, regularly taking between three to six months to complete. And not only that, but there’s a lot more maintenance associated with concrete pools, such as refinishing and acid washing.

The other option that’s available is installing a fibreglass pool. Although there’s less opportunity for customisation with a fibreglass pool shell, they more than make up for it through a number of other factors, such as being far cheaper to install, much quicker in their installation process, and being much easier to maintain due to their protective gelcoat surface.

Adding the finishing touches

Even when your new pool is freshly set within its foundations, it’s still not ready to swim in yet. There are still a number of things that you need to sort out, such as pool fencing and essential pool equipment, such as cleaners and pool pumps.

In NSW, pool fencing is a mandatory requirement for every single pool, so this isn’t a cost that you can just avoid. However, if you’re not worried about your pool fencing being too aesthetically pleasing, there are a number of cheaper options to choose from, such as the classic aluminium pool fencing. However, if you’re after a more modern look for your pool area, frameless glass fencing is ideal, although this is often more expensive than aluminium fencing, as well as often being more expensive to maintain and keep clean.

Alongside the mandatory pool fencing, you’ll want to grab a collection of essential equipment to keep your pool looking clean and at its best, such as pumps and pool cleaners. There are a range of pumps and cleaners to choose from, with each of them being offered at a different price range.

Pool pumps

With pool pumps, you can choose from either single speed pool pumps or variable speed pool pumps. As the name suggests, single speed pool pumps only run at one speed, making them a lot easier to maintain and a lot easier to understand. As well as this, because they’re the more traditional pool pump option, there’s a lot more of these available on the market, and often with a much more approachable price point.

Variable speed pool pumps allow for operation at varying speeds, which lets you control how much power you want to dedicate to your pool pump, letting you save money on power at times when you don’t need to have it running at the highest setting. However this level of control often makes variable speed pool pumps more expensive to initially purchase.

Pool cleaners

There are a range of pool cleaners for you to choose from, with each having different price points and advantages. Firstly, there are robotic pool cleaners, which are often the most expensive pool cleaners available, but they are often relatively autonomous, allowing you to set the cleaner in the pool and turn it on, not needing much more input from your end.

Lastly, there are suction pool cleaners, which are probably the type of pool cleaner that most people are familiar with. These are also probably the least expensive, but they do run off of your pool pump, which means that the price of purchasing the cleaner may not be offset by the additional energy costs from the pool pump needing to run more for the cleaner to work.

Talk to Sydney Poolscapes for affordable fibreglass pools today

These are just some of the hidden costs that you’ll need to be on the lookout for when working through your pool project. At Sydney Poolscapes, we’ve got years of experience in guiding people through the process of fibreglass pool installation. Give us a call on 1300 112 488 for a free consultation and quote or to discuss how we can help you with getting your dream pool.