I'm having a pool built now in MD and it was my understanding that it's not the style but the square footage that determines the cost.

There's a lot of factors that can up the price, especially water features. You'll just have to get some bids on what you want and see how much it will cost you. You can always cut some things out to stay within your budget if your dream pool comes in too high.

I have a friend who had a pool built, he told me take how much you think it will cost, times it by 2, then add 20% more.

Pools cost a lot of money. You start upgrading, concrete, tile, salt system, pebble upgrade, firepit, RBB, BBQ island, granite spillways, granite top for BBQ island, 2 speed pump, solar heating and your price skyrockets.

Then get into the extra gas and electricity costs.

During the weekend when you are chilling out by the pool, it is all worth it.

Then add in pool toys, robotic cleaner, pool buster, taylor kits,

One thing to consider with a beach entry: as much as you will enjoy it, so will birds, raccoons, mice, rats and other wildlife. They won't consider it your pool as much as their own personal water supply and toilet!

Also, if you have hard water, the calcium will build up a ring where the water edge is and it looks absolutely awful after a few months (presuming you are Pebbletecing the entry) and it really can't be cleaned.

I would stay away from the beach entry; we loved the idea too until we saw a friends "animal toilet". I would go for the negative edge if you have a view to center it on.

Really hard to say as I don't know the cost in MD. out hear (depending on bells and whistles you are going to add about $20 K for a really decent rock job (ie grotto, slide and lots of water falls. Infinite edge can add another 10-15K depending on the size and the builder. these things are market drivin and depend one how many builders can offer it and the economy. things are tighter out here so the price should be going down, but instead some of the builders and concrete guys are jacking the price up even higher to try to make up for the slower year. do shop around and get references. The beach entry can have a tile line at the water line that will help with the calcium ring., I don't build them like that I generally just go down six inches for the tile line and then ramp the entry down into a decent depth (18") before I drop it off like a reef step.

Thanks for all the repies. Won't a fence keep out the critters (except birds)? I'm really intrigued by the beach entry. So Caltropic, you start at a depth of 6 inches, go gradually down to 18 inches, then have a big dropoff? That sounds pretty cool.

Organic, what you are referring to is a swimout shelf, baja shelf, tanning shelf, there are many names to it. We have one that is 18" flat, then steps that go down into the 3' deep area. You can make it as shallow or as deep as you want. We love our 18" flat shelf, we can put two loungers on it and have the water lap at our legs. If the shelf has a slope you might not be able to put chairs in the water.

As for the fence to keep critters out, we have a 7' block fence all around our yard with a gate that goes to the ground but we have found one rat, one mouse and many toads in our skimmer basket. Birds are the worst for using the beach entry though, and they make the most mess. I agree, you can put tile at the waterline, but that would sort of lose the natural lagoon effect you are looking for.

First Good Luck and try to enjoy the process. We are in Maryland and our pool dig began in Oct 2006. Our PB has been great and timely and everything seems expensive. It's an interesting process because we have been constantly upgrading, read more $$. We are in western Howard County and the price quotes that we got every step of the way were a lot more than I see on this forum. We still want to do some time of gunite/concrete slide but have not been able to find someone to do it. We still want to get a waterfall but we have gotten 3 different bids w/ 3 different methods of construction. For now we added extra suction to the pool and have just left them as stub outs. BTW, we did a 3,100 sf stamped concrete patio, and we fenced our entire yard. The fence might help keep some animals out but the deer skip over it, as if it wasn't there and the rabbits have dug underneath it. We got plaster and water on Monday, 5/7/07!! Its a long process and as I had read many times in here, once the water goes in, you begin to forget all the problems.

pooldazed - If you don't mind me asking, who is your PB, and what landscaping companies gave you quotes for the waterfall? I was thinking about the waterfall/groto feature, but it seems that MD is behind the times when it comes to that kind of stuff. We had our 1st estimate this week and the guy seemed like he only wanted to sell me a 400 sq ft pool with no extras. I had to tell him I was interested in a tanning ledge, pepple tec, etc. Kind of weird. We're getting another estimate this coming week.

Organic-My PB was a company called Pleasure Pools. I agree MD is way behind on the features that I see in this forum and the costs are much higher. We had 3 landscape companies quote us a price on a waterfall. 1 was Rowan landscaping, another was Budding Branch and the 3rd, I would have to look up. BTW what part of MD are you in. My PB was great, no gimmicks, but he did say that every extra comes with $ attached. We did one small thing that turned out great and I haven't seen discussed many times. We have friends w/ pools and by the time that your kids step off the last step there isn't much of a shallow end left. We made the entire shallow end 5' longer & then we had a 10'x 10' bumpout added for the steps. Therefore we were able to preserve more of the shallow end. The 10x10 bumpout is like an intimate sitting area. We love it.

Thanks for the info dazed. I live in Catonsville. I like your idea of the bumpout. Assuming we can get anyone to do it, we'd like a side beach entry transitioning into a baja shelf (about 18 inches deep or so). I'd also like either 2 waterfalls or 1 big one with a cove. I have a feeling that it's going to be challenging finding someone who can accomdate what we'd like.

Organic-Let me know how it goes. Good luck with the waterfalls. I had a previous post on here "Waterfall Building" but I didn't really get the questions answered which I had. I was wondering about footings for freezing temperatures so that it doesn't crumble or shift after a few years. For a great waterfall/slide combo look in the gallery section at Huskyriders pool.

Hello all....

Starting the pool search process in Montgomery Co. area. I have seen some interesting recommendations and not so hot references... One thing I cannot seem to figure out is what size pool company "generally" does a good job?? The 50-60 pool a year, the 200 pool a year or like AS the 700 pool ones... Should the landscape designer drive the pool or should the pool designer drive the landscape design.

Confused and struggling....

Well, in MD, pricing may be different. I am in Texas and we are in the stages of finishing up a 106 perimeter freeform pool 36' x 19' with a man made rock waterfall, slide, grotto, over 1,000sqft of peagravel decking, fire pit, landscaping, 44' wrought iron fence, sprinkler system repair, sod replacement, 10' x 5' baja shelf, 6' bench under falls, 9' bench in deep end and 12' wrap around lounging bench from baja shelf to 12" raised 7' x 7' spa and Pebble Sheen category 1, Pentair SWG System, Cartridge Filter, Intelliflow 4 x 160, whisperflow pump for water feature, water and electric and gas run to future outdoor kitchen area, and the list goes on all for under $70,000. Pebble goes in tomorrow. Good luck with your decision...the money is well worth the reward, especially if you have kids or grandkids!

{{!gwi}}

Check out www.naturalingroundpools.com we sell kits and install lagoon style pools kits as low as 3900.00 and installs for under 15,000.00

Here is a link that might be useful: Natural In Ground Pools

This place below sells the lowest priced pools installed in the USA
go to www.naturalingroundpools.com they have turn key pools from 14,000.00-24.000.00 natural look with all the bells and whistles

Here is a link that might be useful: Natural in Ground Pools

Organic ... this is a custom project you're describing so far.

Custom projects REQUIRE custom pricing. Any deviation from that law of nature will cause frustration.

For example ... take an 800 sq. ft. pool. Let's say (hypothetically) it costs $80,000.

Now ... add a waterfall.

Ok ... how big is that waterfall going to be?? What structural considerations need to be made?

How large are the boulders? Can they be hand carried? Or will they require heavy machinery to move them?

Is it a natural fall? Or synthetic/cultured??

so this waterfall might cost $5,000 ... it might cost $30,000. There's just a lot to think about prior to coming up with any kind of pricing.

Many people get hung up on "square footage" and think that everything is based on square footage. It's not. A fraction of the cost is determined by square footage - but there are a dozen other factors that are to be considered.

Take that 800 sq. ft. lagoon. Let's say it's $80,000.

Now ... how is your access?? Can heavy equipment get to your backyard???

What about your yard? is it flat? on a hill? If so ... will there need to be any site work necessary just to begin excavation???

Will a retaining wall be necessary???

So there are MANY little factors that contribute to the overall price

Just realize that purchasing a pool is not like buying something off the shelf. There is so many important details to be considered.

Good luck - let me know if you have any other questions. I like talking about this stuff

nova

Hi Wardsntx, thats a nice slide...what is it made of....is it custom or available through a company? Thanks