How to read a swimming pool quotation in Dubai
A pool quotation for a Dubai villa is a long document about things you never see once the water is in: steel, waterproofing, pipework, a plant room and approvals. Two quotations for the same garden can describe two different pools. This guide explains what a complete quotation itemises, where the gaps that become variations sit, how to line two offers up like for like, and what to ask before you sign.
Free site visit · Approvals handled by us · Designed in 3D
Why a pool quotation needs reading, not just totalling
Most of a pool is underground. Once the tiles are on and the water is in, the excavation, steel, shell, waterproofing and pipework have disappeared, and the quotation is the only record of what you bought. In a Dubai garden the ground is often sand over a hard layer with groundwater not far down, the excavator may have to come through a side gate, and the community's rules decide how close to the wall the water can sit. A quotation that ignores those things has priced a pool in a general garden, not yours. Our guide to what drives swimming pool cost explains why the figures move and our renovation quotes guide covers the house as a whole; this page is about the pool document itself.
What a complete pool quotation itemises
A quotation for a new pool should follow the order the pool is built in. Our post on the pool construction stages describes that order on site; these are the lines that belong on paper, each with a quantity, a specification or both.
Design, drawings and approvals handling
A plan with the pool's position, size and depth profile, a section through the shell, a plant room layout and a 3D view with the deck and garden, with a line saying whether design is charged or included. Then who prepares the applications, who deals with the community management's no-objection certificate where one is required and the authority's permit, and who attends inspections. The line should name the party, not just the task.
Excavation, disposal, shell type and steel
The volume to be dug, how the machine reaches the garden, whether any of the dig is by hand, and where the sand goes; disposal to an approved site is a separate line. Then whether the pool is a reinforced concrete shell cast on site or a factory-made fibreglass shell on a prepared base: for concrete, the floor and wall thickness and the reinforcement; for fibreglass, the shell model and size and the bedding and backfill around it.
Waterproofing, plumbing and plant room
The system applied inside the shell and whether a water test comes before tiling; a line that says only "waterproofing" cannot be checked later, and our waterproofing for villa pools page explains why. Then the pipe runs, the number and position of inlets, skimmers or overflow channel and main drain, and where the plant room or pit sits. For an overflow pool the balance tank is a separate structure and its own line.
Filtration, pump and chiller provision
The filter type and size, the pump and its flow rate, the valves and any dosing or control equipment; "filtration system" on its own is not a specification. In a Dubai summer the water in an open pool warms past comfort, so the quotation should also say whether a chiller is included, offered as an option, or only provided for with space, power and pipework for later.
Lighting, electrical, finishes and tiles
Underwater lights by number and position, the transformer, the cabling to the plant room, the earth bonding and any garden lighting around the pool. Then the interior finish by type and area, the waterline tile, grout and adhesive suitable for immersion, and steps or a bench if tiled differently. Finishes move the price more than most items above ground, so the quote should name an allowance or a chosen product.
Coping, deck, fill, commissioning and handover
The coping by material and length, the paving by area, the falls and drains that take water away from the house, and the making good where the deck meets lawn or planting. Finally, filling and balancing the water, testing the equipment, and a handover with a plant room walk-through and written operating instructions. If early service visits are included, the line says so.
The gaps that turn into variations later
What is usually missing from a pool quotation in Dubai
Most pool variations come from the ground and the site, not the design. Sand digs easily until the excavator meets a hard layer or groundwater, and both change the shoring, the dewatering and the base of the shell, so the quotation should say what ground it assumes and what happens if the dig finds something else. Access is the next gap: a machine that fits through the side gate of a villa in The Villa or Al Furjan may not fit behind a townhouse at all, and a dig by hand is a different price. Then the electrical supply: a pump, lights and a chiller need a dedicated supply from the villa's distribution board, and an upgrade is an extra unless it is priced.
Look too for drainage of backwash water and of the deck, because a soakaway in sand assumes the ground will take it. Setback distances come from the community's rules, and a pool drawn too close to the wall is redrawn at your cost unless the quotation says the position has been checked. Removing a tree, moving irrigation lines, and making good the lawn, paving and boundary wall after the machine has crossed them are easy to leave out and costly to add. The finished garden at Project Majestic in Al Twar shows why: the pool sits among stepping slabs, lawn, globe lights, a gazebo and palms, and a quotation for a pool like that has to say how the garden is put back.
How to compare two pool quotations like for like
Two quotations only compare when they describe the same pool in the same garden. These steps get them there.
- Send every firm the same briefWrite the pool size, depth, type and edge you want, the finishes you have chosen, whether a chiller is wanted and what else the garden has to keep. One document, one reply date.
- Insist on a site visit before any figureNo one can price a Dubai pool from a plot plan. Access, levels, the distance to the house and the wall and the existing services only show on site.
- Rebuild each quotation under the same headingsPut both offers into one table under the headings above. Where one has a line and the other does not, ask the second firm in writing whether the item is included, excluded or forgotten.
- Compare specifications, not namesA concrete and a fibreglass shell, a sand and a cartridge filter, a plaster and a glass mosaic finish are different products under similar words. Match the specification line by line before the totals.
- Add the design and the approvals to bothA firm that designs, applies for the approvals and builds shows them inside its figure. A contractor pricing someone else's drawings does not, so add the designer's fee and the application work before comparing.
- Check what the deck and garden lines coverCoping, paving, lighting, a fence or gate, shade and the reinstated lawn are often outside the pool figure. Our landscape design page explains why planning pool and garden as one scheme avoids a second set of quotations later.
Exclusions, provisional sums, payment stages and programme
The last pages of a quotation decide how the project runs and deserve as much attention as the itemised list.
Exclusions and provisional sums
An exclusion is work the firm will not do under this price: typically the electrical supply to the plant room, the fence, tree removal, dewatering and garden repairs. Each becomes your job or a later extra, so read the list as part of the price. A provisional sum is an allowance for an item not yet chosen or known, such as the interior tile or the excavation before the ground is tested, and is adjusted once the item is settled. Ask what each allowance assumes.
Payment stages and variations
Stages should follow visible progress: a payment on signing for mobilisation and materials, payments as the shell is cast, waterproofed, tiled and equipped, and a final payment after the pool is filled, commissioned and handed over. A quotation that asks for most of the money before the dig has shifted the risk to you. It should also state how a change is priced, who approves it and that nothing is built before you agree it in writing; ask for the rates that ground, access and finish variations would be priced at.
Programme and who is on site
A programme should be a sequence with durations, including curing time for a concrete shell, the water test, the approvals stage and the inspections, not just an end date. Summer heat and community working hours stretch it, and a programme written before a site visit is a guess. Ask too whether the shell, plumbing and tiling are done by the firm's own people or by subcontractors, and who the single point of contact is, because the joins between trades are where pool defects start.
Red flags, and the aftercare questions to ask
Signs a quotation is not ready to compare
The first red flag is a quotation with no drawings. If the firm has not drawn the pool's position, depth profile and plant room, you and the builder are each imagining a different pool, and the drawing you eventually get carries a price change with it. The second is no mention of approvals: a quotation for a villa in a managed community that says nothing about the no-objection certificate, the permit or the inspections has left them all to you. The third is no shell specification: "swimming pool" with no shell type, thickness or reinforcement is not a structure you can check, and the shell is the part that cannot be fixed later. Add a price given before anyone has seen the garden, a total with no breakdown, and pressure to sign before the design exists.
Then ask what happens after the water is in. What written cover does the firm offer on the shell, the waterproofing and the finishes, for how long, and what does the equipment maker give on the pump, filter and lights? Who do you call when a light fails or the water turns, and how quickly do they come? Does the handover include instructions for the plant room and the chemical balance, and is there a service plan afterwards? Our pool maintenance service page describes what a regular visit covers. Dust, heat and evaporation work a Dubai pool hard, and the answers tell you whether the firm plans to see it again.
How OutMazed quotes a pool
Every quotation we give for a new swimming pool follows a free site visit, where we measure the garden, check access for digging, look at the ground and the distance to the house and the wall, and hear what you want from the water. The pool, deck and garden are then designed in 3D, so you see the shape, edge and finish from the house before anything is built, and the size, depth, finish and equipment are fixed with you. We apply for the approvals the pool needs ourselves; which ones apply depends on your community and the scope. You receive a programme after the site visit. We build both concrete and fibreglass pools and confirm on the site visit which suits your garden, and a skimmer pool for a villa garden is quoted with the same detail as an overflow edge. For an existing pool, our pool renovation page covers how we decide what stays first.
Pools from our projects
Project Miracle
The Villa, Dubai · 1500 sqm · December 2022 - May 2023A skimmer pool with a glass corner overlooking the seating area, part of a full indoor and outdoor makeover in The Villa. The outdoor scope included a gazebo, a pergola, a redesigned boundary wall, date palms and relocating the water pump, the kind of item a quotation should list rather than leave to be found on site.
View project →
Project Majestic
Al Twar, Dubai · Q4 of FY2024The finished pool at Al Twar, with a raised wall at its far end, stepping slabs in white pebbles, a sunken structure beside the water and the gazebo beyond. The pool with its cascading water feature, the sunken structure, the gazebo and a custom-built parking area were one transformation and one scope.
View project →More of our work: YouTube · Instagram · our Google reviews
Questions and answers
What should a swimming pool quotation in Dubai include?
Why are two pool quotations for the same garden so different?
Can a pool be priced without a site visit?
What is a provisional sum in a pool quotation?
Should the quotation cover the approvals?
What should the payment stages look like?
Does the quotation need to mention a chiller?
More guides
Our related services
Contact Us
Ready to bring
your vision to life?
Get in Touch
We appreciate your interest in OutMazed ® Design and would be delighted to assist you with your design requirements. Our team of professionals are committed to providing you with the highest standard of service and satisfaction possible.
Please feel free to contact us and let us know what you're interested in or looking for. We are here to assist you whether you need help with a new project, renovation, or just some design advice. Fill out the contact form below, and one of our staff will contact you as soon as possible.
Alternatively, you can also reach us via phone or email, and our friendly staff will be happy to help you. We encourage you to take the first step towards transforming your space with OutMazed ® Design by contacting us today.
