Town & Country Pools is providing this free checklist to help you through the inground pool construction process. This checklist has been created for an example client from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Zoning ordinances etc. will vary depending upon where you live.
Planning for an Inground Pool Installation
- Schedule a free backyard consult – Complete the request form. An expert in inground pool installation from Town & Country Pools will review your request and set up an appointment with you.
- Complete questionnaire before consult – Complete the pool survey. Please use this questionnaire as a guide to help you consider the different aspects of what you’d like from your project. A representative from our design department will review your survey results before coming out to your house for a free backyard consult.
- Get Inspired – Before your consult, take a few minutes to check our some past pool projects in our Pool Gallery. Another great site for inspirational photos of inground pools is Houzz.com.
- Free Backyard Consult – An expert in inground swimming pool design and installation will meet with you at your home and provide a free backyard consultation.
- Consider your desired timeline and know when you need to get on the schedule – Town & Country Pools is focused on quality. We only build about 15-25 pools a season. That’s why it is important for you to make sure you get on our pool installation schedule early enough so that we are to meet your desired timeline.
Financing Your Inground Swimming Pool
- Quote – We will write up a one page quote that will include the Pool Size, Pool Shape, Type of Filter, Type of Pump as well as any add-on options that will be included in the pool project. Add-ons include walk-in step with handrail, pool light, sliding board, diving board, winter cover, gas heater, electric heat pump, concrete deck, stampcrete deck and more.
- Contract – Once you have had a chance to review your quote and approve it, then we will meet with you and go over the written Swimming Pool Contract. A down payment will be made at that meeting and your project will be put on the pool construction schedule.
- Pool Financing – Next, arrange your financing. Town & Country Pools does not offer financing but we can tell you that after having installed hundreds of pools over the past 35 years, our customers have paid for their inground swimming pools in a variety of ways including Home Equity Line, Second Mortgage, Unsecured Loan, Out of Pocket (cash), Credit Cards etc.
Acquire Permits
- Read and Understand Any Ordinances – For this Lewisburg example, you want to read the township ordinance to fully understand what the rules and regulations are for fencing, setbacks etc. For East Buffalo Township, you can call Ralph Hess, the Zoning Officer, at 570-768-4981 for more information. Understand how far your pool (water’s edge) needs to be from the property line on the sides, front and rear, understand how are the concrete deck needs to be from the property line on the sides, front and rear, understand how far “accessory structures” such as patios etc need to be from the property lines on the sides, front and rear etc.
- Know Where Your Property Lines Are – It is important to know where your property lines are so that you can comply with township ordinances for setbacks etc.
- Draw a Rough Map – Use a 8.5″ X 11″ piece of paper and pencil in order to sketch out a rough map of where the pool will go in relation to your house, the front, rear and side property lines. This drawing will be submitted with your zoning permit application and your building permit. Be sure to measure and indicate how far the pool is from the house, distance from the property lines on all sides etc.
- Housing Development Guidelines – If you live in a housing development, understand any rules for fences, pool sheds/structures, swimming pools etc.
- Zoning Permit – In this Lewisburg PA example, with a resident living in East Buffalo Township, you would need to apply for a Zoning Permit. You would go to the East Buffalo Township office at 589 Fairground Road, Lewisburg, PA 17837 and visit Ralph Hess, Zoning Officer for East Buffalo Township. Bring along your drawing and your pool information. Bring along your checkbook to pay the application fee. The application does not usually take very long to complete and obtain. Once approved, you will receive a paper “Zoning Permit” with your Permit Number. You will tape that permit to the inside of your house window.
- Building Permit – In this Lewisburg PA example, with a resident living in East Buffalo Township, you need to complete an application for a Building Permit. You can either complete the application online or print it out and complete it. For this example, the resident would obtain a permit through CK-COG. You can read more about the requirements here. If you prefer to complete the online application, then go here to complete the form. You will need to pay an application fee for the permit and just as with a Zoning Permit, it typically does not take long at all for them to review/approve your permit. Tape the paper UCC Building Permit to the inside window of your home. There will be two inspections by CK-COG. One will occur after your pool has been bonded and the second will occur upon project completion. If your pool fence is not connected to your home, you will most likely not need to be home during the second inspection.
Homeowner’s Insurance
- Homeowner’s Insurance Policy – Be sure to contact your homeowner’s insurance representative and tell them about your plans to build an inground pool. They should review your current policy to make sure you have the appropriate coverage.
Line Up Other Contractors
- Electrical Contractor – You will want to meet with an electrician to get an estimate for handling the pool bonding and electrical hook up to your pool pump as well as your heat pump if you are purchasing an electric heat pump to heat your pool water.
- Gas Contractor – Get an estimate from a certified plumber or gas contractor if you are purchasing a natural gas pool water heater. If you call your natural gas company, they can provide you with a list of gas contractors in your area.
Construction Phase
- Town & Country Pools Staff – During the construction phase (assuming that the project is pretty typical) our staff will be excavating, installing the pool, installing the pool pump (and pool heater if you ordered one), installing the pool deck (i.e. concrete, stampcrete, pavers etc.) and installing the fencing.
Post-Construction Phase
- Hands-On Demonstration – Once your pool project has been completed, our staff will give you a hands-on demonstration on how to use the pump, the vacuum and more.
- Free Water Sample Test – Once you pool has been filled with water and your pool chemicals have been added, you will want to wait for about a week then bring a water sample in to our store so that we can do a free water analysis in our BioGuard SmartLab. Our technicians will analyze the water and print out a multipage report with your recommendations. To collect a water sample, you can just empty out a 12 or 16 oz plastic water bottle, dunk it into the pool water, fill and empty it several times then fill it one final time and bring it to the store.
- Notify Zoning and Building Permit Officers – Once the project is complete, you will want to notify the zoning officer and the building permit staff to make them aware that the project is done.
- Plant Grass Seed – You will probably want to reseed your backyard grass in the areas that were effected during the construction process. It typically only takes about a week to 10 days for the grass to begin growing again.