Posted by Jason Hughes on Wed, Jun 02, 2010 @ 09:27 AM
What does it cost to wire a swimming pool??
Every inground pool project comes with certain peripheral costs that need to be figured when calculating a budget. In many cases, one such cost is electrical hook-up. This article is a guide to provide inground pool shoppers with a "ball-park" idea of what to expect to spend to have an electrician wire all of the components of their pool. Please keep in mind that swimming pool electrical hook-up cost may vary widely between regions.
General Price Range
In the Virginia, Maryland, D.C. areas a standard electrical hook-up package for an inground pool will generally cost between $1,200 and $1,500. This standard package would include:
- Labor and materials to wire standard pool components which include: pump, light, pump timer, and installing one gfci receptacle plug between 10'-20' from the pool.
- Bonding all necessary components
- Insuring all necessary inspections pass
Criteria of a "Standard Installation"
Most electricians consider an installation to be "standard" when:
- The equipment (pump and filter system) is located at the house and therefore does not require any trenching between the house and the pool equipment.
- The house has a standard crawlspace foundation.
- The house panel box has room for the additional breakers needed for the pool equipment.
Factors that will affect cost:
Obviously, there are many pool projects that do not fall within the parameters of a standard electrical hook-up package. Here is a list of additional factors that will affect the electrical hook-up cost.
Filter system location
Locating the pool equipment away from the house adds cost for two primary reasons. First, because the electrician now has to dig a trench across the yard from the house to the equipment and this trench has to be inspected by local building officials to verify that it is at proper depth. Second, because it's a longer run from the panel box in the house to the equipment the amount of labor and material increases proportionately.
Additional Cost: $500-$1,000
Pool Equipment
As I stated earlier a standard hook-up normally includes wiring the pump, pump timer, light, and a receptacle. Each additional piece of pool equipment that needs to be wired will add some cost to the bottom line. Here's a list of pool options and a general price to wire them.
- Salt Chlorine Generator: $150
- Fuel Burning Heater: $300-$500
- Automatic Cover $500-$750
Basement or Concrete Slab Foundation
A finished basement or concrete slab foundation requires the electrician to run his wire out of the house at the location of the electrical panel box and trench around the entire perimeter of the house until he reaches the pool equipment. In contrast, with a crawl space foundation (standard installation) the electrician can run the wire under the house and have the wire exit at the equipment location. This additional labor and materials will usually cost an additional $500-$1000.
Room in House Electrical Panel
If the house electrical panel is full there are two options:
The first option is to have the electrician install a sub-panel which will simply provide the breaker space needed to accommodate the pool equipment. This approach assumes that the existing service to the house can handle the load placed on it by the new pool equipment. This approach is basically a means of re-distributing the existing electrical service in your home and will normally cost an additional $250-$500
The second option is to contact the electrical company and get what's known as a service upgrade which will increase the amount of electricity provided to your house. This normally takes the electrical provider three to six weeks to install and can cost from $750-$1500.
Well, there you have it: a cost guide for wiring an inground pool. Please feel free to share any questions or comments below and we'll be happy to respond.
Posted by Jason Hughes on Fri, May 28, 2010 @ 09:27 AM
If you want a crash course on the finer details of a fiberglass pool installation then you've come to the right place. Contained in this article are points of a fiberglass pool project that are NOT frequently covered on the internet, or possibly even in your backyard with your contractor, but are absolutely essential to a successful installation. These are the things you absolutely should know before the first piece of equipment shows up.
These points are in random order. Get ready for a Fiberglass Pool Feeding Frenzy!
1. If electrical hook-up is not included in the contractor's standard package keep this in mind:
The further your filter system is from the house (or an existing sub-panel) the more the initial electrical hook-up cost will be. In our area, placing the filter system in the yard as opposed to being adjacent to the house will increase the price $500-$1000.
2. The filter system does not need to be enclosed to protect it from the weather. It's made to be outside already!
3. The filter system does not need to be located directly beside the pool. On most occasions as long as it is within 50'-60' of the pool its fine....and it can be much, much further away if needed. Read more about filter system location here.
4. Most contractors do not pour a concrete pad for the pump and filter system to sit on. They usually bring out one of those plastic deals like the ones used for your house hvac units.
5. You need to become familiar with the term bonding because many regions have not adopted the latest bonding requirements for fiberglass pools (which are necessary) and therefore some local contractors may not be bonding their pools properly.
6. Bonding is essentially a means of making all components around the pool that bathers come in contact with the same voltage potential. In non-pool guy terms, it's a way to insure swimmers do not get shocked by the stuff around the pool. This is accomplished by connecting these components together with a bare copper wire. The things that need to be bonded around the pool include but are not limited to handrails, ladders, slides, metal pool lights, the pool deck, and the water in the pool. I can't emphasize the importance of proper bonding enough....please research it and ask your pool guy how he bonds his pools. Getting zapped by a handrail can be a traumatizing experience.
7. 
Most areas require a plug-in service receptacle between 10' and 20' of the water's edge of the pool so plan accordingly. Everyone asks the same question..."why?" Best I can figure is because at 10' a standard cord on an appliance will not reach pool-side, and at 20' folks will break out the extension cord in order to reach the pool area.....in which case it may get a little too close to the pool, Ouch!
8. Regarding pool decks: if you are considering concrete as your material of choice, you need to understand that IT CRACKS! It is a guarantee that concrete will crack every 12'-15' throughout a pool deck. Contractors understand this and install control joints (cut, groves, or pieces of material) in the concrete to attempt to force the crack to occur within the pretty straight line of their joint. The problem is that sometimes concrete decides to crack where it wants despite the intentions of the contractor. These "shrinkage cracks" are not structural in nature and are not indicative of unsuitable concrete, an unstable base, or poor workmanship. There is no guarantee that you will get a shrinkage crack on your patio, but if the chance of it occurring makes you shudder, you might want to consider another option....like pavers or natural stone.
9. Pool coping is the material that borders the inside of the pool and provides the transition between the pool and the patio. 90% of all fiberglass pools installed in the United States have what's known as
cantilevered concrete coping. This is a poured-in-place concrete coping that's affordable, looks great, and lasts a long, long time. However, most fiberglass pool installers will tell you that it is also the most difficult portion of the project. Make sure your concrete finisher is a well seasoned cantilevered concrete installing machine!....otherwise it may not be pretty. To see how this product is installed check out our cantilevered concrete video.
10. If you're considering pavers for your fiberglass pool patio, a popular way to do this is to pour a concrete border around the pool (we like 18") then butt the pavers to this concrete coping. This method is budget friendly because paver coping can get pricey, it is structurally sound because the concrete supports the pool, plus it looks awesome!
11. If you're considering stamped concrete around your fiberglass pool you need to be aware that if your patio is large enough to require multiple truckloads of concrete, the color between the different trucks may not match. These differences in color, if they even occur, are usually very mild, but keep in mind that the darker the concrete color the higher the probability of this occurring.
12. 
Stamped concrete can be very slippery around a pool unless a skid-resistant additive is incorporated into the sealer as it is applied. This will make the surface safe and you should not have any concerns about ‘slippery-ness' if this product is used correctly. But if not, get ready for a backyard version of Disney's swimmers on ice.
13. Keep in mind that the lighter the color of the patio the cooler it stays on your feet. Gotta keep your feet happy!
14. Let's talk about your site: First, access lane....How's the builder getting in and out? Chances are that they do not take down or re-install fences or other barriers. Check with them up front.....no surprises!
15. 
Warning, disturbing comment to follow: Your yard will get destroyed! Sorry, but you're going to find out sooner or later, so I might as well tell you right now. The great thing is that when God created grass, he made it so it grows back.....cool huh?
16. What are you going to do with the dirt? If you have a flat yard with a few ‘low areas', you may be able to use about 1% of the dirt filling them in....so plan on your pool guy getting the stuff out of there so you're not stuck with it. To give you an idea of how much dirt we're talking about, look at the shed out in your back yard.....where talking about a pile of dirt about the size of 5 of those. Yep, it's a lot! Be sure to discuss hauling and dump fees before the project begins.
17. Don't assume your yard is level. In fact, make dang sure someone shoots some elevations in your yard before the project begins. Pool guys are famous for installing a pool then saying, "Ooops, I had no idea your yard had a 3' slope.....I guess you'll need a $5k retaining wall."
18. Don't allow a pool guy to install flexible PVC around your pool...it's a no-no in our book (along with dozens of folks who've contacted us with flex pipe problems since we began writing about this). Heat bending rigid PVC is the only way to fly. Check out our video to see the heat bending process in action and read about it in our article Rigid vs. Flex pvc pipe: Which is Better?.
19. Let's talk fence, but first a disclaimer. River Pools and Spas does not claim to know any barrier requirements (fence code) for any specific areas and the following are only suggestions. So anyway, there are several fence facts that may apply in your area that you need to check on. First, gates normally have to swing out away from the pool, have to self-close, and self-latch. There are also restrictions on the following specifications of a pool fence such as: distance from bottom of fence to the ground, spacing between pickets, type of gate latches, etc. Also, many areas require door alarms on any doors from the house if they open directly into the pool area.
20. Remember bonding? It applies to metal fence as well. If any metal fence, including aluminum, is within 5' of the water's edge of the pool it will need to be bonded....which is a major pain in the butt. So to avoid the hassle make sure your fence is at least 5' away from the pool.
21. Make sure you're pool contractor pressure tests his plumbing. Leaks are bad....avoidable leaks are worse.
22. You must have a dewatering system installed on your fiberglass pool! This is simply a way to access and drain the ground water around the pool if needed. The objective of this system is not to constantly remove the ground water around the pool; it will be fine so long as it remains full of water. However, when your pool needs to be drained (even if it is 50 yrs from now) the ground water around the pool must be removed or less-than-fun things tend to happen. We simply install an 8" pvc pipe off the deep end of the pool and place a skimmer lid on top and leave it. It costs $50....make sure your contractor installs one for Pete's sake! Here's a detailed article on how it's done.
23. We are huge proponents of using gravel to backfill around fiberglass pools as opposed to sand which is the industry standard. There are many reasons for this which you can read about here.
24. If concrete or asphalt driveways will be used for access, be aware that they may incur damage. Use an alternative access lane if available. Grass is cheaper to replace than concrete.
25. Any reputable pool contractor will secure a building permit with local authorities as well as call in to have the utilities in your yard located.
26. The average fiberglass pool holds 10,000 gallons of water. There is a lesson for you contained in each and every gallon: have fun!
Thanks for being here,
Jason Hughes
Comments and questions welcome and appreciated.