How to Work Out How Much a Pool and Backyard Will Cost You?

Considering Pool Landscaping in Your Project

At Compass Pools Melbourne we decided to team-up relevant businesses to assist our customers to learn about the full costs involved for a swimming pool. Many customers have told us that the swimming pool is just one part of a budget that needs to consider the entire back yard.

Not only is the question ‘how much does a pool cost‘ (see also ‘how much does an infinity pool cost‘)a very important concern to our customers but this is only the first part of a much bigger question: How much does the whole project cost? They can find out the cost of the swimming pool and the matching components but then they often ask:

• ‘How much does paving cost?
• How much does pool fencing cost?
• If I need to build a retaining wall how much does that cost?’.

The decision to purchase a swimming pool in Melbourne is only part of a back yard puzzle. Learn more about pool landscaping and how it affects your pool project along with price estimates for different compounds of the pool landscaping in Melbourne. And when it comes to the whole project, plunge pools will be less costly than lap pools despite the fact that the difference in the pool shell price is not so significant.

If our customers then ask a landscaper ‘how much does paving cost’ they would get an answer like ‘well how much paving do you want and what type of pavers’. It can be compared to a question about how much furniture would I need for my future new house when it hasn’t been designed yet’. More often than not, customers are left with ‘ballpark figures’ and landscapers say ‘call me once the pool is in’.

Not Just a Pool: See It All in Mill Park

All-in-one Location for Pool Landscaping

So we decided to put a display pool into Innovated Landscape Supplies & Just Spas at 155 Centenary Drive (off Plenty Road) in Mill Park (see map) to assist with the entire back yard. When customers come to view our 7.2m X-trainer (Cross trainer) in Sapphire with infloor cleaning they can also see many different types of paving as well. We chose this location & business due to the excellent range of landscaping options. They are predominantly suppliers however they have many local contacts for people to do the paving, turf and build retaining walls.

We also chose this location as it is very easy to get to along Plenty Road.  Where such suburbs as Reservoir, Bundoora & Greensborough has been such a big area for swimming pools, the growth corridor for many of our customers are heading north.  There are many customers who are about to build their second house and are now looking at building the house to move in for the next 10 years plus and that must include a swimming pool. Mill Park, Epping, South Morang, Whittlesea & Doreen are some of our most popular suburbs in the northern parts of Melbourne.

At Innovative Landscapes Supplies in Mill Park, you can see artificial turf, paving options in stones and concrete plus retaining wall options (for example concrete sleeper retaining walls that are made to look like bluestone or sandstone).

By seeing, touching and walking around, it allows a clearer picture for clients to understand what they want.  They can also get costs between different paving options for example concrete pavers versus bluestone pavers.

When we build your Compass Pool we include an engineered structural concrete beam that surrounds the pool (we can usually design this concrete beam to suit the paving you choose). To finish off the concrete surround you will then engage a landscaper or paver to lay the coping paver.  Though this coping paving does not need to be done immediately, most people do like to consider this cost when they are working out the budget of a swimming pool for their backyard.

Coping Paver

Coping pavers are sold by the piece and range from $35 – $60 per piece.  Each piece depending on its type will be in lengths (more common sizes 300mm, 450mm or 500mm or sometimes longer).  You need to work out the lineal meter of your swimming pool. The 7.2m X-trainer at Mill Park has 26 lineal meters of coping paving required.  Using this example and assuming you are looking at a paver that is 450mm long then you will need around 58 pieces (for example 26000mm divide by 450mm = 57.8 plus our pool needed 5 extra pieces for the Sunpod water feature). To then have it laid you it can cost $1,000 to $1,500.

A realistic budget for paving around a swimming pool.

Dean from Innovative Landscape Supplies says that ‘a realistic paving allowance for a popular 7m swimming pool would be to allow a budget between $6,000 and $10,000 for the coping paving and some additional paving for the deck chairs and a place to sit ….. most people want a bit extra for that ideal sunlounge’!

Some people also like to lay artificial turf outside the swimming pool beam and to do that you can get some great products supplied and laid for $70 – $90 per square meter.

How Much Does Pool Fencing Cost

This is the other question that many people ask when considering a pool. Anything can be a pool fence (i.e. existing house wall / boundary fence / feature wall) but that part of the ‘barrier’ that you will nominate as part of the pool fence must comply with the fencing regulations. Usually pool fencing is required on every pool even if it is only a small section.

The most common fence types are  glass and aluminium. The pricing below allows customers to plan for a realistic line item in the backyard budget.

Glass fencing will range from $300 – $450 per meter installed, sometimes the  smaller the jobs the more per meter it can cost. Factors that can increase the cost of glass fencing per meter are obstacles such as retaining walls, trees, steps, planter boxes etc that the fence needs to go over or around.

Aluminium fencing pricing ranges from $130 – $150 per meter installed and can increase per meter with similar factors as the just mentioned above.

The Pool House

The other quite popular question many of our customer ask us after ‘how much does a pool cost’ & ‘how much does paving cost’ is ‘how much does a pool house or patio cost?’.  At Innovative Landscape Supplies at Centenary Drive Mill Park you can also see a pergola by  ‘For Life Patios’.  You can have a Pergola, Poolhouse or Patio (either DIY or built for you) around your pool providing shade and protection whilst you are enjoying your new outdoor oasis. They range from $5,000 to $30,000.

The Trades

Compass Pools Melbourne commission your swimming pool with the pool equipment when they build it. Our trained pool installers are not licensed plumbers and so one of the final areas that you do need to allow for in your budget is to engage a licensed plumber.  They will be needed to connect your backwash line from your filter to your legal point of discharge (for most properties this is the sewer line).  Some customers also engage a licensed plumber to do their drainage on site however your landscaper may take care of this (or you might do this yourself).  If you have a gas heater you will also need to engage the plumber to run and connect the gas to your heater & where applicable any flu requirements.

You will also need to have a licensed electrician provide enough power to service your pool equipment. In many cases this will mean an independent circuit to the pool equipment. Some items also need to be hard wired (i.e. control systems & heat pumps).

We always recommend bringing in the trades after the pool installation (not before) as the pool equipment location can be set out very differently on each job and the power source is usually much neater after the installation.  We also provide very detailed power supply and technical information that assists you through this process.

The feedback we get from our customers is predominantly ‘always use a local plumber or electrician (unless you have someone in the family) as they are always reliable’.

So How Much Does a Backyard Cost with a Pool?

Talk to one our very experienced Sales team from Compass Pools (Max, Ferdi, John or Nick) who can also introduce you to our network at Innovative Landscape Supplies (Grant, Renzo or Dean) and you can then arrange your budget to not only consider the price of the pool but also ‘all the rest’!