An above-ground pool provides low-cost entertainment for the whole family throughout the summer months. When we decided to purchase an above-ground pool a few years ago, we opted to install it ourselves. While there are many competent pool installers available, there are three good reasons to install your pool yourself.
Reason Number One for Installing Your Own Above-ground Pool
You save money. Having the pool company install your pool can be quite expensive. The costs vary according to the size and shape of the pool. Round pools are cheaper to install than Oval pools and smaller are cheaper than larger. We chose the largest oval pool available. While this choice elated our children, it also insured that our installation costs would be the highest charged by the installer.
Prices vary from company to company, but the price list provided by the installer can give you a general idea. However, depending on your yard, the costs may end up being more than the base price. For example, our yard is not level. An above-ground pool must absolutely be on level ground in order to hold water. We had to dig down over two feet on one end just to make the ground level enough to support the pool. If we had gone with the professional installer, this extra digging would have cost us an extra thousand dollars.
Additionally, price quotes vary concerning what materials are included. Most above-ground pools require concrete blocks and sand for support. Many installers will include these materials in their quotes. You must make sure what is included in order to make an accurate comparison.
Although you will save on labor costs by installing your own pool, you will still have to provide your own materials. Installation may also require the rental of heavy equipment. When we installed our pool, we rented a bobcat for one day to dig and a tamper the day we actually installed the pool. These expenses must be taken into account as well.
Reason Number Two for Installing Your Own Above-ground Pool
You have control over the results. Any time you hire a contractor, you should get references. With careful vetting, you will not have any issues with quality control. However, quality and expert workmanship are not always synonymous with customer satisfaction. Your contractor can installer your pool in accordance with the guidelines and still not give you exactly what you want. My husband is a perfectionist. He is not satisfied with meeting the bare minimum quality standard. He wants things done his way. For example, our pool installation instructions called for a certain size of concrete block. My husband wanted larger block. Because we did the installation ourselves, we were spared the awkwardness of debating the point with the contractor.
Reason Number Three for Installing Your Own Above-ground Pool
You gain an enormous sense of satisfaction. While a professional contractor can install an above-ground pool in one day, our installation took two months. We spent a long, hot summer making sure the ground was level, the blocks were level and even, and the measurements were accurate. The kids asked us every day when the pool would be ready. The day we finally opened it, they were speechless. Being perfectionists, we saw every small wrinkle in the liner. They didn’t. They thought it was perfect. I appreciate my pool so much more because I worked so hard to install it. I take better care of it because I know how much work and time went into it. I think that if I had simply written a check to the contractor, the expense would have been quickly forgotten. The labor is not so quickly forgotten. The kids appreciate it more too. They know how hard we worked to provide this for them and they make the most of the pool every chance they get. They also help take better care of it.
Installing your own above-ground pool saves you money, lets you do it your way, and gives you an enormous sense of satisfaction. Bypass the contractor and do it yourself.
