@mellybean1, Hubby and I have installed an indoor pool into the home we are currently building but fortunately we were able to do everything ourselves, including all the foundations, pool excavation, plumbing and concreting. Could't begin to work out how much you would have to pay to have a pool installed on a slope too and totally by others but I'll give you a bit of an idea of what I know: Engineers plans for pool construction - $3,000 Fibreglass pool - $20,000 Excavation costs including removal of soil with trucks, if you cant use it elsewhere in the build: $10,000 Excavation if you had rocks: $20,000 Foundations a bit of an unknown but a concrete pool about 15m x 3m x 1.5m would include several loads of concrete at approx $1,000 a load and each truck load would hold about 5 mtrs. I'm guessing about 3 loads for the pool alone, however concrete used in pools is differend and sprayed on and not installed like ordinary concrete that can slump, so it's probably allot more than $1,000 a load. Concrete pump to use to construct concrete pool: $2,000 to come to your door before it begins forming up the pool. Pool fencing, a guess $5,000 You won't have much change out of about $80,000 My figures could be a bit wrong but they will be fairly close. Labour nowadays constitutes approx.60-70% of the value of the works to be performed. Best of luck. Cheers, Barbara

We used to have a swim spa, but found that it wasn't all that they are cracked up to be. Despite the heating, if you live somewhere cold and/or windy (eg Canberra), it is still very cold getting in and out in the winter - indeed we could slip on the ice on the ramp up to the spa! And even if you have it indoors or the weather is good - swimming against the jets isn't as good as real swimming. We used a snorkel to deal with the jets in your face and that worked well, but I had difficulty getting a good setting on the jets for my stroke. I'm now pretty sure that was due to a crooked stroke as my husband had a lot less trouble but it wasn't fun being pushed constantly out of the stream of water and finding myself at the side of the spa. Another thing is that you can only really have one person actually swimming at a time. I reckon kids can actually have a reasonable amount of fun in the spa - they do love the jets! There isn't as much room for a proper game of water polo etc.

Hi Donna - Look for a company that offer a 10-year warranty and a product that complies with Australian Standards. There are some companies that provide a 'kit' for your builder to install to make it a little bit cheaper again. There are also products that have a 'rack and pinion' design which minimises maintenance and eliminates the need for a motor pit - just do a google search for "dumbwaiter rack and pinion' . Good Luck!

this is one of those jobs that must be done properly but you may be able to help with the final price by asking for plumbers' quotes to include a discount for your labour to dig out all the tree roots and prepare trenches and backfill after the new pipes are installed, especially if you're lucky enough to have 12 months to do the work and start saving..there's not much else that can alter the cost of the plumbers' time and materials but also decide if you're planning any changes to the plumbing as this is the time to make them