How to Excavate for an Inground Pool

Record all details of your swimming pool's construction, including your plans, preferences and a sketch of the pool area. Include a diagram of the pool in relation to your house and to access points for the heavy equipment you'll need on-site.

Buy a pool kit with pre-cut returns and skimmer sections in the wall, unless you're willing to cut these holes yourself using a high-speed grinder with a metal cutting attachment. As a rough guide, your pool kit should include:

- Walls
- X frame supports
- Coping track
- Hardware (screws, nuts and bolts)
- 30mm full print and border vinyl liner
- 1 skimmer (2 for a 20-by-40) and corresponding cut outs in the walls
- 3 return fittings

Lay out your pool area by organizing and checking your pool kit inventory to ensure you have all the supplies and components needed.

Arrange suitable access points for the excavation equipment by taking down any fencing if necessary. The pool contractor will need access from the road onto your property and may need additional space to turn around.

Remember to put up a temporary safety fence to keep your job site safe and avoid accidents.

Use the dig specification sheet included in your pool kit to lay out the orientation of your pool. The specifications detail the size of the pool and the 'over dig' - the extra space around the perimeter of the pool where the wall braces and support brackets are installed. A 2-foot over dig for a 30-by-60 foot pool would increase the dig area to 34-by-64 feet.

Check the elevation by hammering a stake into the ground at one side of the pool. Using a rented transfer, determine the pool's height in relation to ground level and mark it on the stake. It's important that the edges of your pool not sit below the level of the surrounding ground.

Use a can of spray paint to create an outline of the actual pool shape on the ground. If you're excavating for a rectangular pool, it's common for the outline to be parallel to the footprint of your house.

Bring in an excavator to dig the trench for the pool. Shallow and play swimming pools can be excavated using a rented skid loader; a deeper pool requires the use of a larger machine to dig a perimeter hole. Once the perimeter hole is complete, the contractor will dig the deep end from inside the shallow end.

Arrange with the contractor to retain some of the excavated material to use later as back-fill. Request that the machine operator remove the remaining debris from the property.

Replace the safety fence at the end of the workday to ensure your site's safety and to protect you from liability.