Making the decision to add a pool to your family’s home is not a choice that homeowners take lightly. If you’ve decided that a pool would be a fun addition to your home, then you’re going to want to know exactly how much your new pool will cost. While you’re contractor can give you a knowledgeable quote, you need to be prepared for the three factors that can lead to a higher excavation bill.
Rock Bottom
About one in every fifty pool excavations will have rock making it impossible to excavate your pool in the ordinary way. In these uncommon circumstances, there are a few solutions that will allow your contractor to continue excavating your pool:
- Free– move your pool to an area with less rock, however this will mean digging up random holes in your yard until a spot free of rock is located.
- $2,000 + – Keep your pool in the original location and blast or hammer out the unwanted rock. The equipment and labor required for this option makes it more expensive.
- Unknown – Keep your pool in the same location but elevate it higher. The cost of extra dirt, retaining walls, and labor is dependent on how high your pool will need to be elevated.
Hitting Ground Water
While hitting ground water sounds really scary and awful, it actually doesn’t happen that often and when it does it can usually be fixed relatively easily.
- A dewatering system will help to keep your excavated pool dry while your pool is being built and is usually installed by your contractor at the beginning of excavation anyway.
- Depending on the price in your area, extra gravel may need to be bought to support cave-ins or sandy soil caused by ground water, usually around $400-500.
- If you’re in no rush to get your pool excavated you could simply wait for the water table to subside as sometimes it rises after a heavy rainstorm.
Inclemete Weather
Watching the forecast and planning your pool excavation for a time when the weather is agreeable is ideal; but depending on location, climate and mother nature, this prior planning doesn’t always work out. While these weather issues won’t cost you any extra money, they will take more time.
- Heavy Rainfall– in the case of heavy rains, the walls of your pool may cave-in. Your contractor will spot holes appearing in the wall or floor of your pool and put shotcrete or gunite in the holes to prevent them from spreading. A pool can’t be excavated in mud so in these cases nothing can be done until the rain stops and the pool site dries, which adds unwanted time to your pool excavation.
- Heavy Winds- when the wind is too strong your pool builders will be unable to apply plaster in fear of leaves, sand, and other debris ruining the wet material. Strong winds could also make the plaster and concrete dry out too quickly causing unwanted flaws.
To have your pool displayed in the best light, be sure you get your local landscape experts in to help you sculpt your yard into a personal paradise.