How to Save Money on a Concrete Pool in Sydney
Completed concrete pool build by Cronulla Pools, Sydney pool builders.
One of the most common conversations we have after a quote goes out is some version of "we love it, but can we bring it down a bit?" Deadset, it happens most weeks, and it's a completely fair question.
The good news is there are real ways to save money on a concrete pool without ending up with something you regret. The trick is knowing which decisions save thousands and which ones just move the cost to later. Here's what I'd look at first, and the few things I'd never cut.
Pick your interior wisely
The interior finish is one of the biggest levers. A fully tiled pool looks incredible, but it's a lot of material and a lot of labour.
Beadcrete (a render made from glass beads and mineral quartz) is quicker to install and more cost effective than fully tiling, and it comes in heaps of colours that change how your water looks. On one recent project, tiling only the benches and doing Beadcrete everywhere else saved the client around $20,000 compared to fully tiling.
Ask about the grout
Not the sexiest topic, I know. But if you're tiling, the type of grout matters. Epoxy grout is very hard wearing and more expensive. Cementitious grout costs less. On that same project, switching from epoxy to cementitious grout saved around $10,000. Ask your builder to explain the trade-off for your pool.
Keep the shape and size sensible
Every extra corner, curve, step and bench adds formwork, steel and labour. A simple rectangle with a good bench and wide step is often the best value per swim. Shaving half a metre off the length can make a difference too, and you'll rarely notice it once you're in the water.
Think about the paving and surrounds
Extra paving, retaining and landscaping around the pool add up fast. A few ways people bring it down:
Start with a standard coping width and add more surround later
Stage the landscaping, so the pool goes in now and the garden follows
If you've got a builder or landscaper already doing concreting or paving elsewhere on the property, ask if they can do that part too
Covers: pick the right one for your budget
An automatic or concealed pool cover is lovely, especially with kids and for keeping heat in. On one recent job, a concealed Aussie Undercover cover was around $9,500 because of the redesign it needed.
Have your documents ready
If you already have a recent survey and a 10.7 planning certificate, you'll save yourself the cost of getting them again. Small savings, but they count.
Build when builders have capacity
The lead-up to Christmas is chaos in the construction industry. Starting your design in autumn or winter usually means calmer approvals, better trade availability and less pressure on everyone, and it's often when builders run promotions too.
What I'd never cut
These are the things where saving money now tends to cost you more later:
Heating. If you build a concrete pool and don't put a heater in, you're doing it wrong, darls. Without one, you'll spend a lot on a backyard you mostly look at from May to September.
Good filtration and an acoustic box for the pump. Your neighbours will thank you.
Proper approvals. Shortcuts here can come back to bite you when you sell.
Excavation done properly, with rock risk understood upfront.
Talk about budget before design
This is the big one. Nobody should get to the end of a design and be blindsided by the cost. That's why when our landscape designer Luke builds your first concept design, it comes with a revised price attached. You see the design and the price together, so you can add things or pull things back while it's still easy to change. We call it our open book promise.
Wrap up
If you've got a quote that's a bit over where you'd like it to be, give me a call on 1300 373 706 and let's go through it line by line together, because there's almost always a smarter way to get the pool you want without cutting the bits you'll miss once you're actually swimming in it.
