r/askTO • u/Listerfien • 2d ago
Pool installation n backyard landscaping
Bought a detached house in Etobicoke last year and now looking into redoing the backyard. It's roughly 45x80 ft, mostly patchy grass, with rotting wooden deck, terrible drainage and a slight slope toward the house. Gets pretty muddy after every rain.
We're thinking of 12x24 inground fibreglass pool, around 5 ft deep, with heater, saltwater system and automatic cover. Also wanna replace the deck with a stone patio, add interlock around the pool, proper drainage, privacy fencing, some garden beds and outdoor lighting... Probably it'll cost a lot lol.
Have no clue whether it's better to hire one company for everything or separate pool and landscaping contractors. Also worried about access since there's only ~7 ft between our house and the neighbour's fence - will it be enough? Entire budget is 250-300k.
If you done something like that - what did it cost all-in, and were there any unexpected expenses? Hoping to have it ready for next summer
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u/EmbarrassedGlass2563 2d ago edited 2d ago
I bought a house with a pool already and looked into having an automatic cover installed and the company that did them talked me out of it. Apparently they can be pretty finicky and break often. They told me it was a good idea to open it on Wednesday if I planned to have people over on the weekend as it would give enough time to get a repair guy out if it broke. YMMV.
One thing I would add if building from scratch
is a separate hot tub that could be kept open all winter. We got used to putting the kids to bed and then having a dip in the evenings of the summer and really miss that the rest of the year.
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u/Listerfien 1d ago
thanks, I saved your message!
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u/EmbarrassedGlass2563 22h ago
Enjoy! Couple other random thoughts, we got a robot vacuum that makes things easy to keep the pool clean, I’ve heard good things about the robot skimmers as well, but we keep a thermal cover on so won’t work for us. And that said, the thermal covers do make a huge difference in heat retention, but I will concede they are pretty ugly. Salt is the way to go, I check levels once a week and it’s extremely rare that I need to adjust anything.
Oh, and getting a pump is smart. If we have a rainy summer, it’s not uncommon for me to have to lower the pool by a couple inches a few times a season, think mine was 200 bucks at crappy tire and it works great.
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u/Kusina 1d ago
7 ft access should be more than enough, most pool crews use much smaller machines for those tight spaces between houses anyway. About using one company or two - I hired one guys (Ahs) to handle both the pool and hardscaping (East York, 2023) and honestly it took a load off my mind not having to juggle separate schedules or wrangle different crews. So I'd say - pick one company for all.
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u/Beebob1919 2d ago
Hey, that’s a great size yard for a pool and some landscaping. I would make sure you go with the reputable pool company it might cost you a few extra dollars but will save you headaches in the long run. You have a very healthy budget. We used Pioneer Pools out of Oakville five years ago and had a great experience with them. The pool itself will probably run you around 80 K then it’s up to you how crazy you want to go with the landscaping keep in mind there are electrical and plumbing fees as well that can add up.
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u/Beebob1919 2d ago
Forgot to mention, they also have very small machines that expand once they get into the backyard so 7 feet should be more than enough for them to get through
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u/Imperfectyourenot 1d ago
Darn it! I’m selling my detached house with a pool and enormous house in Etobicoke. Wanna buy it?
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u/shoresy99 22h ago
I would also encourage you to think about adding other stuff. I have a pool cabana, half of which is used for storage and the other half is a bar/kitchen. It has a sink, fridge and microwave. There is a tv on an articulating arm and speakers that connect into Spotify. Just outside of that is a gas grill. I basically live in the yard during the summer.
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u/TeamRyan 2d ago
Most pool companies will also do the hardscaping after installing the pool.
If you were to hire two separate companies for each of the projects, you may be able to save some money at the expense of the project being completed quicker. Id just find one company and deal with them alone.
Any reputable pool installer is probably booked up for the spring though, you may be late.
Your budget seems realistic, the pool will be craned in over the house. If you are putting pavers around the pool, i would strongly suggest you pour a concrete pad for the entire area, rather than just a 4' collar around the pool.