A swimming pool is a great addition to your home and a great place to relax with your loved ones during summer.
You should consider the costs of installing a pool before diving into such a project because it can get expensive. Some professionals also request extra charges for additional accessories and machinery, float charges, transportation costs, penalty charges etc. If you want to install a pool in your home, you might want to save at least $2500 for the excavation to ensure that all the costs are covered. Pool excavation takes up a high percentage of the installation costs. The cost and pricing of pool excavation depends on certain factors such as:
Excavation.
Presence of trees or shrubs.
Rocky soil.
Size of the pool.
Accessibility of the equipment into your property.
Bobcat or small excavator - $95 per hour on average.
A 6-tonne excavator - $100 - $105 per hour on average.
An excavator and a tip truck - $140 per hour on average.
After taking the measurements and inspecting the pool site a tradesperson draw a construction plan or layout to show how the pool should look.
Using the sketched plan, the professionals physically lay out the plan and use strings, stakes and marking paints to set up the layout and mark the area.
The first step is digging small holes to determine the soil layers below the ground.
After the digging process, the excavated soil is hauled away from the site by truck. If backfilling of the hole is required, a certain amount of the soil will be left at the site without being hauled.
After the pool excavation, it is time to start the actual setting up of your pool. This involves installing water lines, power, building the pool skeleton or walls and the surface decks before finally filling the swimming pool with water and chemicals.The primary factor as to what size excavator you need is the ease of access to the construction area. Using a large excavator will make the process faster, more effective and less costly. The kind of terrain present at the site also determines the size and type of equipment used. Tracked excavators, for instance, can perform excellently on soft and hilly soil, while wheeled excavators require a hard ground. There are several types of excavators commonly used for pool excavation.
This equipment has weights less than 6 to 7 tons. They are the smallest category of excavators and are suitable for areas with tight access. Unfortunately, they are more time-consuming than the large excavators, and they require higher expenses.
They are powerful and weigh more than mini excavators. These excavators can also be used in tight access areas.
These machines weigh more than 45 tons. They are the most efficient, accessible and time-saving equipment.
Pool excavation should take 1 or 2 days on average, but some factors can extend the number of days required. The factors that can cause the extension of the excavation period include:
A large access area permits large equipment which makes the work faster and less stressful. In a situation where the access area is restricted, there might be a delay in the excavation and eventually, a longer completion time.
Digging a pool in muddy soil can be complicated and time-consuming.
Restrictions on where to dig or how deep can delay the excavation process.
Unfavourable climatic conditions like heavy rain can can lengthen the time to dig.
Large stones, tree branches and water are highly common.
A small access width area is not impossible to work with - the minimum width required is the width of a doorway. As long as the access to the pool area has at least the width of a standard door, or at least 800mm, the site's excavation is possible. The sizes of the access area and the suitable equipment are below.
Open area: This has a minimum width and height of 14ft. This area allows the use of many and large equipment.
Less open area: This has a minimum width of 9ft and a height of 14ft. It allows the use of a large excavator and a small loader.
Tight area: This has a width of 6ft and a height of 10ft. It requires the use of a bobcat or mini-excavator and a small loader. It is more time-consuming.
Very tight area: This has a width of fewer than 6ft, so it requires a special kind of equipment.