A pool project in the back garden
A childhood dream of a pool in the garden turned into a real building site – with excavation, a crane, tonnes of concrete and, in the end, a salt-water pool framed by a wooden deck. Here is the whole story, all the photos and the honest bill.
The project in brief
It started with a French pool brand spotted on a home-exchange holiday – and ended with a sunken, concrete-set pool in our own garden just outside Copenhagen.
The day it all became real
On a grey March day, the yellow fibreglass pool floated into the garden on a crane. Below it waited a freshly dug hole and a newly cast concrete foundation. That was the moment when months of planning, measuring and digging finally made sense.
The road there was long: home-exchange holidays in Spain and France, research into chlorine versus salt water, permits, a felled thuja hedge and a great deal of mud.
The whole journey →Explore
From my dad's old quip, "if you dig the hole yourself", to a finished pool. The idea, the choices and the build, step by step.
Read the story →
What does a project like this actually cost? The honest accounts – broken down into the pool, the digging, the deck and the garden.
See the budget →
A gallery from building site to swimming season. Click your way through the journey from mud to clear, blue water.
See the gallery →
Thinking about a pool yourself? Do get in touch – we're happy to share experiences, mistakes and good advice from the project.
Get in touch →Considering one yourself?
We've gathered the whole budget and all our lessons in one place, so you can form a realistic picture before you start.