How to Dig Your Own Swimming Pool

Here's how I built my own swimming pool from scratch.

If you can make sure you place the pool in an unshaded area and out of the wind, it makes a big difference when in use later. Find the best spot on your property before you start digging.

Next, mark the area with lime paint or with stakes and string lines. Plan on marking out the pool and also the space surrounding it if you are building a concrete deck.

You're going to need some earth moving equipment to properly finish the job. Mini excavators and wheel loaders will help you dig your hole and move the dirt away from the pool site.

You may need to cut down trees if you are tight on space. Look for a stump grinder rental provider if you need equipment to help you grind away tree stumps.

Before you dig the hole, remove the grass and topsoil using a skidsteer loader or flat shovels and scrapers.

For this project, here are the measurements I used:

Excavation Hole Size: 2m deep x 9m long x 5m wide

Finished Pool Size: 1.6m x 8m x 4m

Approximate the right angles using string and pegs. It will be squared later when we drop in some reinforced mesh.

Fill the bottom with gravel to level the base.

Drop the steel reinforcement in the base to give flexial strength to the concrete base. The mesh has to be lifted on little concrete pillars to ensure it is in the middle of the poured concrete. My base ended up 10 to 12 inches thick. Only 8 inches is required.

You'll need to add drains for the filtering system. Two drains are required to avoid someone getting sucked onto a single drain - the second drain provides suction release.

Pressure test it to check for leaks on the joints prior to pouring the base.

The concrete should have a specific water content to give the correct strength. To get mine to flow we had to add more water - 5 years with water in the pool and no leaks yet.

The drains are covered with pieces of wood cut to size and silicone to avoid concrete getting into the pipe system.

Start adding blocks to build the wall. Between each layer of blocks, a horizontal steel rod reinforcement was added to give lateral strength to the walls.

Backfill behind the wall with gravel to allow for some expansion of the surrounding soil .

Leave a block out for the skimmer and have holes cut for jet delivery pipe.

Backfill the blocks with concrete to a specific mix. The reinforcing rods up the center of the blocks have been extended by wiring a straight length on. You can avoid this but then every block has to lifted the height of the pool.

A 10mm thick (approx) render coat was added. I battened off sections then plastered between the battens. The sides and the base. The white fluid is the waterproofer in the render mix.

One drain has a one-way valve in it to allow escape of groundwater into the pool when the pool is empty to equalize pressure.

Concrete block put on top to stop groundwater coming in whilst rendering

The drains were profiled when the concrete base was poured to allow debris to flow to the suctions

Painted with chlorinated rubberised paint. Lasts about 2 / 3 years then starts to bubble.

Install the filters and pump somewhere preferably out of sight. Add a trip switch for safety.

Filling the pool will likely take a few days. Add chemicals to ensure your new pool does not attract bugs and algae growth.

Here's the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49RciVEKj-8