Swimming Pool Excavation for DIY Pool Builders
Penguin Pools is now offering excavation services to DIY Pool Builders. Many customers have been asking for excavation help on their “do it yourself” inground swimming pool builds. Once homeowners purchase their pool kit online, they need help excavating the actual hole for the pool.
The difference between an easy pool build and a disaster is in the pool dig itself. If you over dig you will have a lot of stone or vermiculite to fill in, but on the other hand if you under dig you will have hours of hand carving to do.
Penguin Pools has been digging swimming pools for years throughout WI, MN, and nothern IL. We have three different machines that we can use to dig your pool.
Our Big Machine :: 
Penguin Pools Medium Sized Machine ::
Penguin Pools Small Excavator ::
Prices to dig a pool range from $900 – $2,000 to dig a swimming pool. Most of the time we can dig a pool in under 6 hours, but there are times when that can’t happen. The size & shape of the pool along with the location and amount of access around the site can vary greatly. If you are keeping the dirt on site then the dig goes much quicker, but 95% of our digs get the dirt hauled out . . . we recommend back filling with washed rock instead of the excavated dirt.
Generally most digs are $1,300 for the first 6 hours and $100 each hour after that.
Penguin Pools also digs for other pool companies throughout WI & MN, however most have their own digging equipment. If you are a pool builder looking for a reliable excavation, please contact us for contractor rates.
The Minneapolis market has great soil for digging, unlike many of the areas in the Milwaukee & Madison, WI markets that have rock. I guess we have the glaciers to thank for that. When you dig on rock, you are playing with a completely different set of rules. The rock isn’t solid enough to hold the pool in place without moving, let alone pour vermiculite on it to form the bottom of the pool.
The following process is the correct way to build a vinyl liner swimming pool in rocky soil.
- Excavate your pool plus 18″ just like it was clean soil.
- Order roughly 10 – 15 full dump trucks of Traffic Bond (TB) to be put in your newly excavated hole.
- Add the TB in 12″ – 15″ layers while spraying with a hose and compacting each layer with a compactor (depends on the compactors rating).
- Once the hole is compacted all the way back up to the dig shelf, let it sit so the TB can dry . . . usually over night.
- When the TB is dry and hard, should feel like concrete when you jump on it, re dig your pool.
The TB will dig and fell just like virgin soil, unlike the rock that you had previously. The pool will now sit strong and not move due to “un-virgin” soil.
Penguin Pools also has our own dump trucks for dirt removal. There are many ways that we can work with you to haul your dirt out, flat contract rate or per hour. Rates vary on the state and the distance from the site to the dump location.
If you need help finding a dump site, we should be able to help you in that regard also. An appealing option for many do it yourself’ers is to have a flat rate for the dig and the hauling of the dirt. That way most of the guess work is taken out and easier for you to budget the cost of your pool.
Many DIY people like having us dig the pool as we can then help them out if they become to over whelmed with the inground swimming pool build process, which can happen very quickly if you don’t know what you are doing.
Please contact any of our three locations for a quote on excavation, trucking (hauling), or building.
