Oh yeah, nobody ever includes how much they paid. Well I will, because potential pool buyers want to know what their $$$ will look like.

The pool builder is Texas Pools & Patios in Austin, TX. Total cost for everything above except that in "coming soon", with some good negotiating, including a gas line from another contractor, was $53K.

The one thing I will tell you is I MADE SURE to get "Rock Excavation" included (they pay). Reason being, this is Austin, and most of my ground was pure rock. Seriously. It took 7 long days of excavation, and they probably hauled off about 2000 cubic feet of rock. The contract shows how much I would have been charged if I did not negotiate that up front... $20/cubic foot x 2000 = $40,000 extra. SO CHECK YOUR CONTRACT BEFORE SIGNING IF YOU HAVE ROCK IN YOUR BACKYARD!

The palapa is being made by Texas Palapas. It's all hand-made and consists of 6" Juniper Ashe Cedar Posts at 8x10 spacing, and Woven Thatch roofing. They quoted me a little under $3000 installed. This is a deal considering most Palapa kits (would have to install myself) I've seen are screw-together, cost almost as much, and since they are not in or near Austin, are asking $1000+ for shipping due to the weight. NO THANKS! I'll take TexasPalapas.com anyday! Don, the owner, is a great guy and has hundreds of his Palapas installed all over the place.

The outdoor kitchen will probably have me headed for the poor house so I might just stick with a Weber Jr. for now.. :)

Palm trees and assorted plants, not to mention another 2000 sq ft of sod, will probably run me another $5K..

So overall, this backyard will run me like $65K when it's all said and done. But that's a small price to pay for a HOME IMPROVEMENT which I will get YEARS OF ENJOYMENT from. 3 short vacations in Cancun, Hawaii, & The Bahamas will probably cost my family of 3 the same, so I figure I might as well get this every day of the year right in my own backyard!

Hello! I was just looking at your pool pics and it looks awesome. I have a couple of questions for you. :) Is your coping the "white" or "tan/brown" leuder? And, what color is your kool deck? I think it is a great color and looks so natural with the limestone house.
okay, now my husband has questions! how do you like the jandy aqualink pda? Do you program the schedules through the pda? AND if the pda is missing, will the existing program still work? Thanks in advance!

Just moved to Austin. Just found your site. Like the pic. Can't wait to see the total bill! We want a pool too, but other family members think it is too expensive and not worth the $$ they think we will spend.

Hi, i just recently had a pool built and have a concrete deck. I am considering getting "kool deck" put over it. I know it will be much cooler than concrete. But just curious if you are happy with it and the finish. How does it look?

Sure wish they would have hauled your rock to my house. I live in Louisiana and they will be hauling clay from my back yard and charging me to bring in rock. Lol

Texas Pools and Patios did mine in Austin as well and have been overly happy with the end result. They exceeded my expectations and would highly recommend them to anyone who asked. Love what they did.