How Long Does It Take To Install An Inground Pool?

how long does it take to install an inground pool

Planning and Permits

The actual building and installation of the pool itself might only take 4-5 weeks.

However, the reason an inground pool takes so dang long to get done is that there are preliminary tasks to finish before contractors can even break ground.

First, there’s the design process. Installing a pool from scratch is a costly venture, so you want it to be absolutely perfect.

You’ll need to collaborate with a professional pool architect who can steer your ideas into a realistic design that works for both you and the lay of your land. 

As this process is the foundation of the whole pool project, getting it just right can take between 1 and 6 weeks.

Ideally, sourcing the proper permits for building an outdoor structure will be done alongside the design process, and the documentation may come through in less than a week, but this depends on the procedures and efficiency of your local permit office.

The truth is, it’s anyone’s guess how long this aspect of the project will run on, and if your dream pool includes accessory buildings, it could take a while.

Excavation

Once your contractors have the proper authority to break ground, excavation can take upwards of a week depending on the size, depth, and complexity of the finalized design, as well as ease of access to the building site.

The speed at which the foundation of your pool can be excavated is also heavily dependent on the weather.

If the earth is frozen, say, in late autumn, or there is heavy rainfall forecast, breaking ground may be put on hold indefinitely.

Building the Pool - Plumbing and Electrics

People tend to forget that pools have electrical components, but without electricity, you’d have no water pump, no chlorinator, no pool heater, no pool lights, and no automated pool cover.

Some of these things are certainly optional, but avoiding electrical installation altogether is out of the question.

long does it take to install an inground pool

The good news is that the electrical and plumbing side of things doesn’t actually take that long to complete.

If your contractors are worth their salt, they should be able to get it done in a few days; however, if there are any extra water features or specialist appointments such as a hot tub, it can take upwards of a week.

Building the Pool - The Shell

This assembly and installation of your pool shell can be the quickest or most drawn-out part of the project depending on the materials you ended up choosing.

Vinyl-lined shells may seem like they’d be a breeze to install, and they’re certainly the most affordable option, but this kind of design can take a while to get done.

Before the final vinyl layer is fitted, steel walls must be crafted onsite, then a concrete flooring must be poured and left to dry.

Depending on the complexity of the pool, this could take between a couple of days and a couple of weeks.

Fiberglass shells are the fastest of the bunch. Arriving pre-assembled from the manufacturer, once the pool foundation is primed, they can slot right in, usually within 24 hours of their arrival.

However, it’s important that you don’t rush your contractors through this stage.

The shell will have to be crane-hoisted over your home and into place. Along this journey, there are plenty of ways the shell could take on damage, so don’t sweat it if you’re told it’s going to take a few days.

It means they’re doing their job properly.

Concrete (gunite) shells take the longest to install, as it takes a significant amount of time to fully cure. You can expect to be waiting 5 or more weeks.

Finishing Touches

Smoothing out the kinks and finishing the custom landscaping can take between 1 and 4 weeks, and then you have to fill your pool. 

Verdict

All things considered, you might be in for a 3 to 4-month wait, so don’t get your hopes up for a dip this summer. 

How Long Does a Pool Need to Cure?

If you’ve chosen a concrete pool shell, you’ll have to have the patience of a saint, as the curing process usually takes 30 days.

It can rest the day it’s poured and shaped, but the very next day, it needs to be hosed down. It should be wetted at least twice a day for the first 10 days, otherwise, it won’t fully cure.

Once those ten days have passed, it can be left to its own devices for a further 20 days. During this period, the gunite will reach its hardest state, ensuring it will last for years to come.

Are Inground Pool Kits Worth It?

If you install it just right, an inground pool kit is definitely worth it from a financial standpoint.

If you’re a handy person who knows their way around a construction site, you could end up saving something to the tune of $10,000 - a nice bit of pocket change, eh?

However, even though a lot of these kits are marketed as DIY products, it’s still a good idea to have them professionally fitted, and there are always certain materials that aren’t included in the kit that need to be sourced before construction can commence.

Can You Install an Inground Pool Yourself?

If you have the know-how and the physicality for it, you can absolutely design, build, and install your own inground pool, but a more pertinent question is: should you install an inground pool yourself?

Remember earlier when we ran through the phases of inground pool construction and how long each would take? Picture doing all that yourself.

Considering contractors will have teams of maybe 4 people working on the project day by day, you can expect to quadruple construction time.

That means you could be working on this single project for a minimum of a year. And that’s not taking into account you probably have to work a 9 to 5 as well.

You could make things easier on yourself by keeping the design as simple and compact as possible, but you’re still looking at an incredibly tough year of labor.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t also reiterate that pool installation is a multidisciplinary project.

Design is one part of the process, plumbing is another, then there are electrics, and of course construction. It’s a lot of ground to cover for one person.

How Hard Is it to Install an Inground Pool?

If you’re confident in your skills and have experience in the disciplines listed above, then installing your pool shouldn’t be all that difficult, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be insanely hard work.

You’ll have to put in a huge amount of labor hours, so dedication is key. Giving up halfway through isn’t an option as your garden, patio, poolroom will be completely defaced.

That said, if you succeed, you’ll get an immense sense of satisfaction once the project is complete, and you can go for a dip in a pool you built by hand from scratch.