You found a semi-inground pool advertised online for $13,999. Then a local builder quoted you more than twice that amount.
Both prices can be honest, and our semi-inground builder page shows how we approach every project. One price buys a kit or a bare pool. The other buys a finished backyard where your family can swim, relax, and gather on summer evenings.
This guide compares real Tulsa prices for both options, explains what each includes, and shows what changes the cost on your lot. You will also learn why a sloped yard can make a semi-inground pool the smarter investment.
Semi-Inground Pool Prices at a Glance
Here are the prices Tulsa families can expect from us in 2027. Our semi-inground pools range from $19,999 for a compact pool to about $65,000 for a finished backyard. Every semi-inground pool we build uses a vinyl liner. Your yard conditions determine the final number.
| What You Are Buying | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| OK Plunge (compact) | Starts at $19,999 | Pool only |
| 14x28 semi-inground pool | Starts at $24,000 | Pool only, with every finish item as an add-on |
| Rectangle or Freeform package (14x28) | About $65,000 | Finished pool with rock surround, waterfall wall, snack bar, and 200 sq ft of deck |
| Fully inground vinyl liner pool | Up to about $65,000, by pool size | Finished pool with 500 sq ft of deck and no rock surround |
Two phrases in that table matter more than any number: "pool only" and "finished."
A pool-only price covers the pool, the liner, and the pool equipment that keeps the water moving and clean. It excludes the stone, the concrete decking, and the features that make your backyard feel complete. A finished price covers the entire project, from excavation through pool school.
The compact OK Plunge is the most affordable way to put a pool in your backyard. Many families start small and add stonework, decking, and features later.
Why Online Prices Look So Low
Search for "semi-inground pool cost," and you will find prices scattered across a huge range. Most of those numbers are national averages for a product that looks nothing like a finished Tulsa backyard.
HomeAdvisor's cost guide lists a national average of about $12,000. Most projects in that guide fall between $7,000 and $20,000. Those figures are national benchmarks, not Tulsa quotes.
Read the details, and the low numbers make sense. The material prices for steel, resin, and aluminum pools exclude labor, which the guide budgets separately at $3,000 to $7,000. A deck adds another $3,000 to $12,000.
In other words, the low national figure usually describes a pool lowered partway into the ground, without decking, stonework, or a finished appearance.
Most semi-inground prices you see online fall into one of three levels.
Level one is the kit. A kit is a box of wall panels and a liner shipped to your door for you or a hired crew to assemble. Nobody takes responsibility for the finished result.
Level two is a basic installed pool. A contractor excavates, sets the walls, and fills the pool. You receive a pool, pump, and filter, but no deck, stonework, or water features.
Level three is the finished backyard. Natural rock covers the raised wall, water spills over a waterfall, and a deck and bar give everyone a comfortable place to relax.
All three levels are called "semi-inground pools." They are still three different purchases for three different budgets.
How a Semi-Inground Pool Is Built
Understanding the construction helps you judge any price you see. A semi-inground pool is a permanent structure set partly into the ground, not an above-ground pool with dirt piled around it.
We set every semi-inground pool at least 18 inches into the ground, and the finished pool is 4 to 6 feet deep. The wall panels come from Hydra Pools, the same manufacturer that makes our liners.
Part of the wall stays above grade, and that exposed section needs a finish. We use natural rock or decorative brick. On sloped lots, we set the pool deeper into the hillside, leaving the downhill side exposed as the rock face.
Behind the walls, we backfill with 3/8 engineered chip stone instead of the clay that came out of the hole. Tulsa clay holds water. The OSU Extension fact sheet shows clay soils can hold about twice as much water as sandy soils at saturation. Clean stone gives that water a path to drain instead of pressing against the pool. Any pool type can perform well in Tulsa clay. How you build it decides how well it holds up.
What Our $65,000 Finished 14x28 Package Includes
The Rectangle and Freeform packages share the same build, just in two shapes. The Rectangle has clean, straight lines. The Freeform uses softer curves that suit a more natural landscape. Both packages are about $65,000, the top of our semi-inground range. Upgrades and the site costs listed below are extra.
That price includes every item on this list:
- A 14x28 semi-inground pool with a 28 mil Hydra vinyl liner
- Excavation of the pool site
- A vermiculite pool floor instead of a shifting sand bottom
- 3/8 engineered stone backfill around the pool walls
- A pump and filter on a level concrete equipment pad
- A natural rock surround, placed by hand
- A 3-foot waterfall wall with two sheer water descents
- A built-in poolside snack bar for family and guests
- 200 square feet of concrete deck with a light broom finish
- Pool startup, a pool school lesson, and a maintenance kit
- Permit application filing and a 3D pool design
The 3D design lets you make decisions before they cost money. Before we dig, you can see your new pool on your lot. You can move the bar, turn the waterfall, or adjust the shape at no cost.
You can see the full list and design images on our rectangle package page.
What Is Not Included
Every builder will hand you a list of what the price includes. The list that protects your budget shows what the price excludes, because those missing items become change orders after construction begins.
Here is our exclusion list, provided in writing before you sign anything.
Permit fees. We prepare and file the permit application at no charge. The city's permit fee is your cost, and it varies by municipality and project size.
Dirt hauling. Excavating a 14x28 pool produces a large pile of soil, and some families keep it to level a low spot elsewhere. Removal costs extra and depends on the volume and how easily trucks can reach your yard.
Electrical panel upgrade. Pool equipment needs power, and many homes have room on the existing panel, though some older Tulsa homes do not. Your electrician handles any upgrade, and we will mention it at the site visit if your panel looks tight.
Bar stools. The snack bar comes built into the package, while you can choose the seating.
Also plan for a safety barrier. The CPSC barrier guidelines recommend a barrier at least 48 inches tall around a home pool. Some communities require 60 inches. If your yard is not fenced, check your city's rules early and add a fence to your budget.
A Note on Price Changes
Once you sign, your quoted price holds, except in one case. If the excavator hits buried rock, removing it adds cost, since nobody can see underground before digging. We explain how we handle buried rock before you sign.
What Moves the Price Up or Down
Two pools in the same Tulsa neighborhood can finish thousands of dollars apart. These factors create most of that difference.
Your Yard's Slope
Slope is the biggest pricing factor on most lots. Many yards in Jenks, Bixby, and South Tulsa fall away from the house. A fully inground pool there often needs a retaining wall and fill dirt before excavation starts.
A semi-inground pool sits partly above the ground. On many sloped lots, the raised side stands exactly where a separate wall would go. We cover that side with natural rock and run the waterfall down its face, turning the slope into the yard's best view.
Because every yard is different, we measure the slope on site before designing anything. On a flat lot, this advantage disappears, and the comparison below covers both situations.
Yard Access
Our crew needs a clear path to your backyard for the excavator and materials. A wide side yard or an open gate keeps the project simple. Narrow paths, fences that must come down, and steep grades can add time and cost, so we check access before finalizing any design.
How Much Deck You Want
The package includes 200 square feet of broom-finish concrete, enough for a walkway and two lounge chairs. Many families want additional space for a dining table, a grill, or a large umbrella.
Extra concrete decking costs about $10 per square foot. Adding another 200 square feet runs about $2,000. You can also upgrade to stamped, colored, or sealed concrete. Ask for that price at your site visit, since it depends on the pattern and finish you choose.
Features and Upgrades
Upgrades turn a standard package into a backyard built around how your family will use it.
| Upgrade | Installed Price |
|---|---|
| Bubbler | Starts at $1,000 each |
| Deck jet | $800 to $1,900 each |
| Heat and chill unit (Jandy VersaTemp) | About $6,000 |
| Salt system | About $3,000 |
| Extra concrete deck | About $10 per sq ft |
A heat/chill pump warms the water during spring and fall. It also cools Tulsa pools in late July, when the water feels like a bath. That single unit can extend your swimming season by several weeks on each end.
Jandy equipment comes standard on our gunite and fiberglass pools. On semi-inground pools, Jandy equipment is an optional upgrade.
Your Liner Choice
The package includes a 28 mil liner from Hydra Pools. Families with a large dog or rough-playing kids can choose the 36 mil pet-friendly liner instead. Hydra rates that liner as puncture-resistant up to 50 pounds.
Here is a detail most builders leave out. The Hydra liner guide says a thicker liner may resist punctures better. It also says a thicker liner doesn't mean it lasts longer. Choose a thicker liner for puncture protection, not for extra years of life.
Hydra's coverage is a 20-year limited, prorated warranty. It fully covers seams in the first year and covers less each year after that.
Not sure which pool fits your family?Find My Perfect PoolAbout 90 seconds. No measurements or photos needed.Sloped Lot vs Flat Lot: Where Semi-Inground Wins
Most cost guides leave out this comparison. It can change your entire decision.
Our fully inground vinyl liner pool tops out at about $65,000, depending on its size. It includes 500 square feet of deck but no rock surround. The 14x28 semi-inground package costs about the same. It includes 200 square feet of deck, plus the rock surround, waterfall wall, and snack bar.
On a flat lot, the choice comes down to style and how your family uses the yard. The fully inground pool gives you more deck and sits level with the ground. The semi-inground pool gives you a raised rock wall, a waterfall, and a built-in bar. Both cost about the same, so choose the layout your family will enjoy more.
On a sloped lot, the math changes. We price a retaining wall and backfill of a fully inground pool at $10,000 to $15,000. That money goes into the ground before pool construction begins.
Our number is higher than many national guides. HomeServe's wall guide puts typical walls at $35 to $65 per square foot of wall face. It adds that walls taller than 3 or 4 feet usually require a structural engineer. A wall supporting a pool and deck carries far more weight than a garden wall and also needs imported fill behind it.
A semi-inground pool on that same slope often skips the separate wall. The raised side of the pool does that job. Natural rock and a waterfall make the design look planned rather than patched.
Consider a hypothetical example. A family in Jenks, OK, has a backyard that drops away from the patio. A fully inground pool there could need $10,000 to $15,000 in retaining wall and fill first. A 14x28 semi-inground pool on the same yard could put that money toward the finished package instead.
| Your Lot | Fully Inground Vinyl | Semi-Inground Package |
|---|---|---|
| Flat lot | Up to about $65,000 with 500 sq ft of deck | About $65,000 with rock, waterfall, bar, and 200 sq ft of deck |
| Sloped lot | Up to about $65,000 plus $10,000 to $15,000 for a wall and fill | About $65,000, and the raised side often does the job of the wall |
A semi-inground pool isn't always the cheaper choice. On a sloped lot, it often is. For a full comparison of looks, upkeep, and lifespan, read our semi-inground vs inground guide.
What It Costs to Own a Semi-Inground Pool
Construction cost is only one part of your investment. Here is what ownership costs after the build.
Liner replacement. The vinyl liner is the one major wear item on this type of pool. We charge $5,900 to $9,200 to replace it, depending on pool size, liner thickness, and floor condition. Older pools built on sand or dirt need a new floor first, which is why our pools start with vermiculite.
Winter closing. We recommend a full winter closing instead of running the pool during teh winter months. Closing starts at $350 and covers blowing out the lines, protecting the pool, and installing your existing cover. New covers cost extra, priced by pool size.
Pump electricity. On most pools, the pump uses more electricity than any other piece of equipment. An ENERGY STAR pump uses about 20 percent less energy than a standard inground pump. That saves roughly $50 a year. The pumps we install can run at low speeds for long periods.
PSO's rate schedule sets the standard residential rate at about 8.9 cents per kilowatt-hour. At low speed, a variable-speed pump can draw about 39 watts. That works out to less than 10 cents of electricity per day, even around the clock. Your actual cost depends on how many hours the pump runs and at which speeds.
Water care. For most families, we recommend Pristine Blue for the first year. If you want a saltwater system, you can add one later for about $3,000+.
How Long the Build Takes
Once excavation begins, a semi-inground pool takes about 26 days to build.
Permits come first and take one to four weeks, depending on your city. Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso, and Bixby each run their own permit process. Approval times also vary by season.
That short timeline is a major advantage of vinyl liner construction. Fiberglass pools take four to six weeks, and custom gunite pools can take three to six months. Sign in early spring, and your family can be swimming before school lets out.
How to Pay for a Semi-Inground Pool
Most families finance a swimming pool the same way they would finance a vehicle or a kitchen remodel.
We work with VistaFi for pool loans. You can pre-qualify and see an estimated monthly payment before committing. Your rate and term depend on your credit and the lender's approval.
Start with our pool financing page to see how pre-qualification works.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign
The price tells you how much you will pay. These questions reveal what you will receive and separate a careful builder from a fast one.
What does the price include, and what does it leave out? Ask for the complete list of exclusions in writing before you sign. When a builder cannot explain what costs extra, those charges tend to appear after the dig starts.
What goes under the pool floor and behind the walls? You want a solid floor instead of loose sand, plus clean stone backfill instead of the excavated clay.
Which liner do you install, and what does the warranty cover? Ask for the brand, the thickness, and the exact warranty terms. Ask whether the warranty is prorated.
Which pump will you install, and how will you program it? A builder who plans pump speeds and run times can estimate your monthly electric bill. That estimate shows whether anyone has thought about your operating costs.
Who will work on my project? Ask whether the same crews return on every build, and ask who answers your questions during construction.
For the complete list, use our free builder checklist . It holds the same questions we would want our own relatives to ask before hiring any pool company.
What Tulsa Families Say
Prices and specifications only go so far. Most families want to know whether the person quoting the job will still be there when the excavator arrives. Phil Tripp, one of Jason’s customers, described it this way in his Google review:
"Jason with Silverado Rock Outdoor Living is absolutely the best! He makes sure everything is done right and is in control of the job"
That promise sits behind every price in this guide. The person who looks at your yard and writes your quote is the same person who runs your build.
What Jason Recommends
Every week, I meet a Tulsa family who found a semi-inground pool online for around $20,000. That number is real, but it's not the price of the backyard in the picture they show me.
That picture almost always shows a rock wall, a waterfall, and a deck with kids running across it, which is a finished backyard. So I walk families through both prices, then let the yard tell us which one makes sense.
If your lot slopes, I want to see it, because most people assume a slope rules out a pool, but it often does the opposite. I set the pool deeper into the high side of the hill and let the low side stand above the ground. That exposed side gets real rock and a waterfall, and the problem spot becomes the place everybody gathers.
If your lot is flat, I'll tell you that too. A fully inground pool with more deck might suit your family better for about the same money. I'd rather build the pool you'll love than sell you my favorite.
Here's what I care about most. A pool is where your kids learn to swim and where their friends show up every weekend. It's where you sit with your feet in the water after a long day and watch them play. Those years pass quickly, so I build every pool to keep working long after your kids have grown.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a semi-inground pool cost in Tulsa?
A semi-inground pool in Tulsa starts at $19,999 for the compact OK Plunge (pool only). A full-size 14x28 pool starts at $24,000, also pool only. The finished Silverado Rock package tops our range at about $65,000. It includes the rock surround, waterfall wall, snack bar, and 200 square feet of concrete deck.
Not ready to call yet? Our cost calculator gives you a ballpark range for your yard in about a minute, without any typing. Jason reviews every estimate before you receive a full quote.
What are semi-inground pool prices installed?
Installed prices depend on what the builder includes. A basic installation covers the pool, pump, and filter. A finished installation adds the deck, stonework, and features. At Silverado Rock, pool-only installations start at $19,999, and finished packages top out at about $65,000.
How much does a semi-inground pool with a deck cost?
The Silverado Rock Rectangle and Freeform packages are about $65,000 and include 200 square feet of broom-finish concrete deck. Extra concrete decking costs about $10 per square foot. Stamped, colored, or sealed concrete costs more and is priced at the site visit.
Is a semi-inground pool cheaper than an inground pool?
On a flat lot, our semi-inground package and our fully inground vinyl pool cost about the same. On a sloped lot, a fully inground pool often needs a retaining wall and fill first. Jason prices that work at $10,000 to $15,000. A semi-inground pool often skips that wall so that it can cost less overall.
What is not included in the price of a semi-inground pool?
Our prices do not include permit fees, dirt hauling, or an electrical panel upgrade if your home needs one. Bar stools also cost extra. We file the permit for you and list every exclusion in writing before you sign.
How much does a stealth semi-inground pool cost?
Stealth pools are panel systems sold through dealers, and advertised prices rarely tell the whole story. One Tulsa-area retailer lists semi-inground pools from $13,999 and Stealth models from $30,999 to $54,999. Its listings do not say whether installation, equipment, or a deck is included. Ask any seller for a finished price in writing.
How deep is a semi-inground pool?
Our semi-inground pools are 4 to 6 feet deep. Jason sets every one at least 18 inches into the ground. The rest of the wall stands above grade and is finished with natural rock or decorative brick.
How long does it take to build a semi-inground pool?
A semi-inground pool takes about 26 days once excavation begins. Permits usually take one to four weeks before that, depending on your city.
Find the Right Pool for Your Yard
The only reliable way to know your final price is to look at your actual lot. Jason checks the slope, access, soil, and electrical panel. Then he gives you a clear price with every exclusion in writing.
Not sure where to start? Take our perfect pool quiz and answer a few quick questions about your yard, your family, and your budget. You will see which pool type and features match your backyard.
Not sure which pool fits your family?Find My Perfect PoolAbout 90 seconds. No measurements or photos needed.