How Much Does it Cost to Build an Inground Pool?

With summer fast approaching, there are few better ways of taking advantage of the hot sun than with a backyard inground pool. Why let the space of your lawn go to waste? Residential pools are a universal crowd-pleaser for friends and family alike. They are one of the best home improvement examples of having your cake and eating it too. The icing on that cake is that a backyard pool can also increase your properties’ value. If you’ve been thinking about building a swimming pool in your yard, you may be wondering: how much does an inground pool cost? Wonder no more, because inground pool costs are exactly what we are going to talk about in this article.  

When it comes to building a residential pool, you have two main options. One way to go is to build an above-ground pool which is usually freestanding or attached to an existing structure. The alternative is an inground pool. These are built into the ground, usually with concrete, stone, fiberglass, metal, plastic, or a combination of these materials. The biggest example of an inground pool is an Olympic-size swimming pool. Most of us don’t have enough room in our backyards for a pool that big. Nevertheless, there are a lot of benefits to be had by adding an inground pool in your backyard. 

How Much Does it Cost to Install an Inground Pool?

What It Will Cost to Have Your Own Inground Pool

Building costs range from $50 to $125 per square foot. The average inground pool size is 500 square feet. So, total costs will be between $35,000 and $90,000 for an average inground pool. However, these figures assume that you will be using a combination of less expensive materials such as vinyl and fiberglass. Indeed, the material you choose for the body of your inground pool will make the biggest difference in cost. Inground pools tend to be more expensive than their above-ground counterparts, though they do have distinct advantages. Fiberglass pools are the middling option when it comes to cost Here is a table with average pool costs by body material:

Partial Inground Pool Cost

How Much It Costs to Build a Partial Inground Pool

Partial inground (or semi-inground) pools try to capture the best of both pool worlds. They are essentially a combination of the above-ground and inground pool design. These pools are built into the ground, but usually only about half as deep as your typical inground pool. But like an above-ground pool, the other half of the structure is free-standing. These pools are great alternatives for those of us who don’t have perfectly flat lawns with soft soil. If you have a lawn with an incline or other geographic features that make digging difficult, you may not be able to easily install an inground pool. In those cases, a partial inground pool just might be the best solution because it can offer you a more flexible setup that can work around an uncooperative yard. 

Make Your Partial Inground Pool Complete With a Deck

Partial inground pools can therefore be a better option for making the most of limited space. Semi-inground pools are also much more customizable. You have an almost limitless number of options when it comes to body styles since the pool doesn’t have to be fully dug in. You can build a wooden deck to surround the pool, and you can even get partial inground pools with different wall styles such as Victorian or minimalist. Because semi-inground pools usually have a smaller footprint than their inground counterparts, they won’t take up as much room in your yard. This is great because it means that getting a residential pool doesn’t have to mean giving up your yard. To top it all off, semi inground pools are a lot more affordable than inground pools. Whereas inground pools may have to be custom-built for your yard, you can easily find affordable semi inground pool kits. Their installation costs are also pretty reasonable, ranging from $16,000 to $22,000.   

How Long Does it Take to Install an Inground Pool

How Long It Takes to Install an Inground Pool

Inground pool installation can be done in as little as two weeks. However, most pool installation projects take from eight to twelve weeks. The time it takes to install the pool will depend on a bunch of things, not least of which the size and style of the pool you want. Your general contractor will typically have a set timeline for how the project will play out, and that timeline will include things like a design stage, pulling permits, excavation, landscaping, etc. If you’re curious about how long it takes to install an inground pool, check out our companion article. 

How Much Does it Cost to Heat a Pool?

Post Production Costs of Having a Pool

Why should the aquatic fun stop when the dog days of summer end? A pool heater lets the good times roll year-round so not even Jack Frost can put a crimp in your outdoor pool recreation. As such a pool heater can be a very worthwhile swimming pool improvement despite being on the pricier side. Typical installment costs for a pool heating system run between $2,000 and $4,000. Running the heater will also cost you, and will add to the total monthly upkeep costs of the pool. The cost will vary based on what method you use to heat your pool. 

The most affordable way to heat a pool is via a natural gas heating system. This costs between $200-$400 a month on average. You can also heat your pool electrically, but that tends to be more expensive with costs ranging from $175 to $600. For bigger pools, the monthly cost of heating can exceed $1,000. Of course, you can save quite a bit of money by not heating the pool constantly and only turning on your pool’s heating when the pool is in use. This is also a great option for the environmentally conscious swimming pool aficionado since it means you’ll greatly reduce waste.   

How Much Does Pool Maintenance Cost

Costs of Maintaining a Pool

As you might expect, swimming pools are high maintenance. To keep your inground pool in good working order, you’ll need to have it serviced regularly. A pool technician charges between $80-$150 per month for monthly maintenance. However, weekly maintenance visits are recommended because leaving a pool without treatment for weeks can cause health and safety issues. Some nasty things like to fester in untreated pool water, so it’s important to keep your pool water free of contaminants. This involves testing the water pH, cleaning out filters and baskets, cleaning, and checking the pool’s machinery. Closing your pool during winter and opening it again in summer can cost between $300 and $600 per year. Energy bills, pool supplies, and other maintenance costs will add at least $2,000 to the total. Of course, the countless good times you can have in a swimming pool will be priceless.