How to Build a Swimming Pool

There are some pool companies that handle all phases of pool construction “in house”, but the majority of them use sub contractors for many phases of a pool project.

For vinyl liner pool construction the phases of the job are;

• site prep and pool layout
• digging the pool and pool shelf and trimming the walls of the hopper area
• constructing the pool panels and leveling
• plumbing the main drain/s
• pouring the concrete collar around the panels
• plumbing skimmers and returns to the equiment set
• setting pool lights and electrical bonding the light niche and panels
• finishing pool hopper and floor with concrete or vermiculite
• dropping the liner
• backfilling pool shelf
• forming and pouring the concrete deck
• setting the equipment

In the case of the vinyl liner pool the only part of the job that requires a specialized piece of equipment is the backhoe for digging the pool. If a pool company is only installing a few pools a month it unlikely they want to incur the expense of owning this peice of equipment and hire a backhoe operator full time just to work a few days a month, so most pool builders opt to sub contract this phase of the pool project out.
although skill is involved in the rest of the vinyl pool construction, a resourceful DIyer may be very capable of handling many other phases of this project.

For a gunite pool the phases are;

• site prep and layout
• digging the pool
• setting forms for beam
• plumbing the main drains
• tieing rebar for pool cage
• setting skimmers
• setting return lines
• setting light niches
• electrical bonding the pool cage and light niche
• shooting and finishing the concrete pool shell
• plumbing the pool to the equipment set
• stripping forms and backfilling around pool
• setting tile on water line and skimmer throats
• pouring the concrete for the pool deck
• setting the equipment
• plastering the pool shell

Gunite pool construction is a bit more specialized. Not only does it stil require a backhoe and operator, there is expensive equipment and highly skilled labor involved in shooting and finishing the concrete pool shell. The crew involved in plastering the pool are also highly skilled. Not to mention both phases are extremely labor intensive.Here again there are some phases that can be handled by the competent DIYer but the most expensive phases will have to be sub contracted out. I do not recommend a first timer trying to shoot gunite or plaster a pool even if you have access to the equipment needed for the job.