Our price, and what's in it
Our pools so far are coming in around $150,000. Smaller pools cost less, and a large shell with a spa, a slide and a lot of deck costs more. That number includes the equipment, deck and automatic safety cover, plus the drawings, the permit, the crane, the stone base and backfill, and the plumbing. With the landscaping around the pool (lawn, planting, lighting, patios), projects come to about $200,000.
You get one written price for all of it after Jason has walked your yard. We don't price over the phone, because the things that move the number can't be seen from there.
What other Utah companies publish
| Source | Fiberglass | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| River Pools of Salt Lake City | Most projects $90,000–$140,000; $85,000–$200,000+ overall | Fiberglass installer; says access can add $5,000–$10,000 |
| Palmetto Pools (South Jordan) | $60,000–$100,000 | Concrete builder; puts concrete at $80,000–$150,000+ |
| Latham (the shell maker) | "Starts at $50,000" at the low end | Manufacturer's Utah page |
| National cost guides | $55,000–$100,000 (HomeAdvisor); $20,000–$85,000 (NerdWallet) | National mixes, including warm-state installs; often without deck, cover or fence |
Each company counts different things in its number. Ours includes the deck and an automatic safety cover on every pool, so compare what's in each number, not just the total.
What moves the price
- The shell. Size, and whether it has a built-in spa or tanning ledge.
- Access. How the crane and the digger reach the yard. One Salt Lake installer says tight access can add $5,000–$10,000, and trade press puts crane rental anywhere from about $500 to $5,000.
- What's under the lawn. Rock, groundwater and expansive clay change the dig, the base and sometimes the engineering.
- How much deck. Owners more often regret too little deck than too much.
- The add-ons below.
Add-ons, with published prices
| Add-on | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic safety cover | Included on every MP pool. Typically starts at $10,000–$20,000 | Latham cover guide |
| Built-in spa | Comes molded into some shells (Latham Astoria, and the Deluxe versions of Axiom, Bermuda and Cayman) | Latham |
| Waterfall | $3,000–$10,000 | Palmetto Pools |
| Heater | $3,000–$6,000 | Palmetto Pools |
| LED lighting | $1,000–$3,000 | Palmetto Pools |
| Slide | One popular S.R. Smith model lists at about $4,300 before installation | Retail listing |
| Yearly upkeep | $800–$1,800 a year | Palmetto Pools |
Paying for it
Home equity (a loan or a line of credit) is the usual route, because a complete pool usually runs past the $100,000 cap on unsecured pool loans. Talk to your bank or credit union before the design is final.
And be clear-eyed about resale: a national realtor survey puts the cost recovered at sale at around half, and it's less in cold climates. Owners still rate a pool as the outdoor project that brings the most joy. Build it for your family.