One of the most difficult challenges, especially in the construction industry, is to research binding prices for handicrafts and materials. This has relatively little to do with secrecy, but is due to the fact that an on-site inspection is usually essential for a real cost analysis of planned construction projects. Nevertheless, we have tried it with the swimming pond costs, so that you, as a future natural pool owner, will get to know at least some guide values with which a rough planning can be done.
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- What is the cost of underground irrigation?
- Save costs and build a swimming pond yourself?
What does a specialist say about the swimming pond price
If a specialist company is brought on board for the outdoor pool in the garden, prices per square meter between 300 and 500 euros can be expected, depending on the equipment and size. By doing your own work, the costs for the swimming pond can be reduced to between 150 and 250 euros / m2. In cooperation with a gardening and landscaping company, a common concept is ideally prepared that includes all suitable activities that the property owner can do on his own, without overburdening him professionally or physically.
Digging yourself can reduce swimming pond costs
If you rent a mini excavator yourself to prepare the excavation for the natural pool, you will be able to leave a four-digit euro amount in your account depending on the size of your project. It is essential to clarify beforehand what will happen to the excavated earth. With a pond area of 100 m2, approx. 107 m2 of earth easily move, which corresponds to a mass of 240 tons. However, with a good 2,000 trips in a well-filled wheelbarrow that are at least necessary for this, an excellent physical condition is important. Renting an excavator (daily price from around 80 euros) is definitely less strenuous in this case.
Potential savings with personal contributions
The majority of specialist companies argue somewhat more cautiously with regard to a muscle mortgage for future swimming pond owners with regard to the savings just mentioned. You are of the opinion that many builders, especially with regard to the main cost factors, would clearly overestimate themselves. But which invoice items are actually among the price drivers for the cost of a swimming pond? In the middle to higher four-digit range, it is mainly:
- Excavation and removal or distribution on the property;
- Pond liner and its processing (welding);
- Purchase of substrates for green plants;
- Land and water plants for greening in and around the swimming pond;
- technical equipment such as filter and pump technology for water clarification;
- horticultural design of the areas near the pond (natural stones, wooden terrace, etc.);
Example of a rough cost calculation
This non-binding example is about a 100 m2 swimming pond that is to be built without a separately walled swimming zone.
| Activity type or material | Cost in euros |
|---|---|
| Rent mini excavators for five days | 425.00 |
| Rent vibratory rammers for two days | 60.00 |
| Fleece (300 g / m) for 160 m2 (2.00 per m2) | 320.00 |
| PVC film (1.5 mm) 160 m2 (10.00 per m2) | 1,600.00 |
| 30 tons of washed gravel as substrate (two different grain sizes) including delivery | 750.00 |
| Pond technology: simple circulation system with shaft pump, skimmer, particle filter, drainage and hose lines | 1,500.00 |
| Building material (sand, cement, stones and small parts) | 300.00 |
| Aquatic plants basic assortment 75 pieces | 190.00 |
| Filling water, initial filling without wastewater costs | 100.00 |
| total cost | 5,245.00 |
How do garden planners calculate?
Similar to how an architect realizes all planning work for home builders, garden planners help those interested in building a swimming pond. Experienced specialists take care of the entire organizational preparation and monitor the individual stages of the construction process, from the rough draft to on-site advice to the accompaniment of external tendering procedures. This service is not free of charge, but it does play a key role in ensuring that you are spared construction defects and that you will enjoy your new oasis in the country for many years to come.
Five types at five different prices
At a Korschenbroich garden planning company, we came across more reliable figures for pricing, which also provide a financial basis for planning for less experienced swimming pond planners. In addition to the individual cost factors that need to be taken into account for a cash drop, the company also points out the most important reasons why there are so many (supposedly) "cheap" offers, especially on the Internet. Cheap information for swimming pond construction projects usually only contains roughly estimated information on excavation, wages, filters, pumps and liner, although in practice other services are often billed later, such as:
- Earthworks (post-processing and removal of the soil);
- Plantings (substrates and aquatic plants);
- Floor drains and overflows and, if desired, additional sewer connections;
- Natural stone design;
- Underwater walls;
- additional pump and filter technology, dephosphating system;
- Design of the environment, restoration of lawns and plantings near the pond;
For better transparency, the different types of swimming ponds are divided into five categories, which differ both in terms of pond size and technical equipment.
- Type 1: assumed minimum size of 120 m2 with costs between 170 and 250 euros / m2; Total costs are between 20,400 and 30,000 euros; Properties: including a natural design including little technology, as the cleaning is carried out biologically; no targeted flow through shallow water zones with lush plant growth and tolerance of algae; no mechanical filtration;
- Type 2: size at least 100 m2 for a price of 350 to 500 euros / m2 and a total price between 35,000 and 50,000 euros; Properties: stagnant water flowing through it with pump, regeneration zones with pipelines, surface currents, etc.;
- Types 3 to 5: intensely designed systems in which a lot of pond technology is integrated; with a minimum size of 100 m2, prices of between 500 and 800 euros per square meter must be expected; The total expenditure of the system is between 50,000 and 80,000 euros; Properties: efficient water purification, design with separate flowing water, swimming and regeneration zones as a coherent water surface, walls below the water level, the entire water volume is circulated at least once a day; nutrient-poor water (little algae, no biofilm formation!), use of specially colored foils;
Be careful with bargains on swimming pond prices
During our research, almost 70 percent of our attention was also drawn to such offers:
- Complete swimming pond from 1,800 euros;
- Ready-made natural pools for 150, - Euro / m2;
- Pools & ponds: from 1,000 euros per square meter of water surface;
- Your swimming pond without technology: Only this week for an incredible 90, - Euro per m2;
Sometimes holes in the garden lined with cheap foil, in which an even cheaper submersible pump is located, are called swimming ponds. We can therefore only strongly recommend that you roughly plan your natural pool or swimming pond on the basis of the garden situation on site and according to your personal needs and that you contact a reputable and experienced provider for a real cost estimate.
Facts that strongly influence swimming pond costs
It is best not only to get several offers from different companies, but also to be shown reference objects that have been in operation for at least two years. The maintenance effort to be expected later should also not be disregarded in the calculation. How high the investment will ultimately be depends on a large number of factors that the client can only partially influence. Mainly these are:
- Planned depth and size of the swimming zone (from 1.50 m water depth, a building permit is required in most federal states!);
- geographical relief of the property (flat or on a slope);
- Height of the groundwater level (may make it necessary to lower it during the construction period);
- Subsoil condition (sand, clay, rocks, etc.);
- Utilization of the excavated earth taking into account the local landfill costs;
- Factors of the later operating costs (also water / wastewater) of the swimming pond;
The best thing to do is to break down your overall project "building a swimming pond" into several clear individual parts and first carry out a rough cost calculation yourself, similar to the following scheme (which you can expand):
| Performance or material requirements | my estimated cost | researched costs |
|---|---|---|
| Construction site equipment | ||
| Removal of bushes and trees | ||
| Excavation of the swimming pond pit | ||
| Removal of the excavation | ||
| Rental equipment costs | ||
| Cost of foundation, floor slab, pool walls | ||
| Purchase of fleece and pond liners | ||
| Foil assembly (welding?) | ||
| Pond technology (pumps, skimmers, pipes, filters) | ||
| Planting and substrate | ||
| Accessories (bridges, jetties, wooden deck, lighting, etc.) |
Alternative: prefabricated swimming pond?
In most of the offers that we researched on the Internet, we found surprisingly specific information about the scope of services and the expected equipment of the ready-to-assemble sets. Many companies also offer professional advice over the phone, so that interested parties who are halfway interested in construction and who have a correspondingly high time potential for assembly can be in good hands with direct sellers. Whether the final price will actually be cheaper in the end cannot be said with certainty due to the very different offers. But here, too, a concluding brief overview of the current market situation for swimming pond prices for do-it-yourselfers:
- Standard swimming pond with 240 m2 of water surface, 315 m3 of water and a swimming distance of approx. 17 meters: EUR 4,779.00;
- Allotment garden swimming pond 160 m2 water surface, 204 m3 water volume for around 3,710 euros;
- Mini swimming pond with 96 m2 of water surface, 117 m3 of water and a 9 meter long swimming section for just over 2,630 euros;
There are also several equipment variants in these examples. We have listed the cheapest in each case, so that the above-mentioned mini pond in the luxury version could well come to a total price of just under 11,000 euros. However, the total workload must always be added to the overall balance, including for any helpers and, as already discussed, you will not be able to manage the earthworks without hired special equipment for excavation and transport.
Tips
Many companies that sell prefabricated swimming ponds and natural pools offer special pond construction seminars for those interested, at which important knowledge is imparted so that your project leads to the desired success.
