Using component systems to build caves and grottos

Considering the client’s budget

When selling these features, as with any construction project, budget is always a consideration. Therefore, it is important to show a number of finish options to consumers to allow them to pick one within their budget.

“Most of our water features include caves/grottos which can cost between $5,000 and $30,000,” says MacGillivray. “Once you start adding additional options like slides and misters, costs can escalate quickly. In fact, we’ve completed some projects in the range of $150,000 for the entire system.”

Most builders will agree the cost of a custom cave/grotto feature, built using real rock, averages around $40,000; however, by using a component system, builders can offer the homeowner the same size feature (approximately 1.8 m [6 ft] wide by 3.6 m [12 ft] tall—from the deck to the top of the highest rock) at a cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

Landscaping is also integral to these water features, as it is important they fit naturally into the backyard landscape. When Aqua-Tech Pool, Spa and Bath first started offering these features, the company realized consumers were going to landscapers to have them built; however, without knowledge of pool construction and hydraulics an untrained installer may unintentionally create a water feature that can compromise the pool.

Constructing cave/grotto water features

Unlike MacGillivray, who is an experienced pool builder and landscaper, other potential contractors, such as deck builders, are also being introduced to the world of poolside caves/grottos.

Keefe Duhon, president of Concrete Revolution, a company specializing in decorative concrete construction, is one of them. When one of Duhon’s high-profile clients, Jacob Landry of History Channel’s Swamp People, approached him with the idea of adding a cave/grotto, waterfall, and waterslide feature to his pool, he presented Landry with the idea of constructing a component system he had seen at a trade show, despite never building one of these features.

“I was excited by the concept as I wanted to offer something that was guaranteed to be structurally sound, functional, and esthetically pleasing,” said Duhon. “It was also important for me to try something that didn’t involve a lot of labour-intensive, time-consuming work.”

As Landry wanted a slide integrated into the poolside feature, Concrete Revolution incorporated a modular unit designed to fit into the component cave/grotto system that was installed on his pool.