DIY Pool Kit or Professional Installation? Choose the Right Epic Pool Experience

Epic offers three ways to get a pool: Epic Start (buy the kit, install it yourself or use your own contractor), Epic Build (Epic assembles the pool once your site is ready, you handle excavation and other trades), and Epic Experience (Epic helps coordinate more of the project, including permit guidance and trade scheduling). The right choice depends on your pool type, your site, your contractor network, and how much coordination you want to keep. Compare full quote scope, not just the starting price.

If you’re weighing a DIY pool kit against professional installation, you’ve probably run into two very different numbers: the price of the pool kit, and what it actually costs to get that pool built and running in your backyard. Those aren’t the same number, and mixing them up can create an expensive surprise partway through a project.

Epic Swimming Pools breaks this decision into three service levels instead of a plain do-it-yourself-or-hire-a-pro choice. Epic Start gets you the pool kit and lets you handle installation. Epic Build adds professional assembly once your site is ready. Epic Experience adds coordination across more of the project, from permit guidance to trade scheduling.

None of the three is automatically the right pick. The best fit depends on your yard, your pool type, your contractor connections, and how much coordination you want to take on. Here’s what each tier covers, how responsibilities change between the options, and how the pricing works.

Start by deciding how much of the project you want to manage

Before you compare price tags, it helps to ask a different question: how much of this project do you want to run yourself?

A lower starting price on one tier doesn’t mean less total work. It usually means more of that work lands on you: lining up an excavator, scheduling an electrician, pulling permits, and keeping everyone’s calendar straight. A higher starting price on another tier means Epic takes on more coordination, but it doesn’t mean every homeowner responsibility disappears.

Think of the three Epic tiers as a sliding scale of involvement, not a good-better-best ladder. A homeowner who already has a trusted excavation contractor and a flexible schedule might get more value from Epic Start than from Epic Experience. A first-time buyer who has never managed a construction project might find the coordination worth the higher starting investment.

It can help to compare current pool models before you settle on a tier, since your product choice and your service level are separate decisions.

What each Epic pool experience includes

Epic offers three service levels. Epic Start is the pool kit only, for buyers who will install it themselves or hire their own contractor. Epic Build adds professional pool assembly once the site is ready, while the homeowner manages excavation and other trades. Epic Experience adds coordination across more of the project, including permit guidance and trade scheduling.

Epic Start: pool kit only

Epic Start covers the pool kit itself. Under Epic’s current offer, this includes the manufacturer’s warranty and a choice of delivery options: factory-direct curbside delivery, or local delivery with kit placement within 20 miles of an Epic showroom, which starts at $500. Epic’s current offer says pool kits typically arrive within 1 to 3 weeks. Ask Epic to confirm the current lead time for your model, configuration, delivery address, and order.

With Epic Start, you or your own contractor handle the actual installation. That means following the exact manufacturer instructions for your specific model, since a pool kit isn’t a one-size-fits-all product. Doughboy’s installation resources walk through product-specific setup. Following the exact instructions matters for correct assembly and may affect warranty eligibility under the manufacturer’s terms.

This route gives you the most control and the most responsibility. It tends to fit buyers who already have a contractor relationship, some construction experience, or a clear reason to manage the schedule themselves.

Epic Build: professional pool assembly

Epic Build adds professional assembly. Once your site is prepared, Epic’s team assembles the pool. You’re still responsible for excavation and lining up any other contractors named in your project scope: things like grading, concrete work, or electrical.

Current starting service investments listed in Epic’s offer sheet:

• Above-ground pools: starting at $4,990
• Semi-inground and flat-bottom in-ground pools: starting at $9,990
• In-ground pools with a deep end: starting at $15,990

These are starting amounts for the assembly service itself. They don’t include the pool kit price, and they aren’t the same as a total completed backyard project. Ask for a written scope that spells out exactly what’s covered before comparing tiers on price alone.

Epic Experience: project coordination

Epic Experience is the most hands-off of the three. Epic’s current offer describes permit guidance, excavation coordination, project scheduling, professional pool installation, dedicated project management, and coordination with an electrician, concrete supplier, and water delivery company.

Coordination isn’t the same thing as “everything is included in one price.” Epic helping schedule your electrician is different from Epic paying your electrician. Before you sign anything, ask which costs are bundled into the starting amount and which ones get billed separately by the trade doing the work.

Current starting service investments:

• Above-ground pools: starting at $9,990
• Semi-inground and flat-bottom in-ground pools: starting at $15,990
• In-ground pools with a deep end: starting at $19,990

Compare the three Epic pool experiences

Starting service investment by pool type

Exact tier eligibility depends on the pool model and installation plan, so confirm the available service paths before ordering. Browse Epic’s above-ground, semi-inground, and in-ground pool options to see which models fit your project.

Starting prices reflect Epic’s offer as of this writing and are subject to change based on your product, property, and location. Ask for a current, project-specific quote before you decide.

Pool Planning Tip: Compare the work, not only the starting amount. Ask which quote covers the pool kit, delivery, site preparation, excavation, assembly, electrical work, concrete, permits, water, barriers, and final restoration.

Which responsibilities can remain with the homeowner?

Every project still needs clear responsibility assignments for property documents, site preparation, excavation, permits, inspections, electrical work, concrete or base work, water delivery, barriers, and final restoration. Epic Start leaves most project management with the homeowner. Epic Build transfers pool assembly to Epic while the homeowner manages site preparation and additional contractors. Epic Experience adds coordination, but the written quote must still identify what Epic performs, what Epic coordinates, what third parties perform, and what the homeowner provides or pays for.

A DIY pool kit doesn’t remove your permit, inspection, electrical, or barrier requirements. Those depend on where you live and what you’re building, not on which Epic tier you choose.

The City of Raleigh’s official guidance, for example, requires permits and inspections for any pool holding more than 24 inches of water. That can include building and electrical permits, sometimes a plumbing permit, and considerations around easements, septic systems, and barrier height.

Mecklenburg County says that most above-ground installations require some type of electrical permit. It also states that permanently installed pools require permits and inspections.

These are two local examples, not a statewide rule. Your city or county may handle things differently, so check with your local permitting office before you order a kit or start digging.

If the project involves excavation, contact NC 811 three working days before planned digging so participating utility operators can mark their underground facilities. This reduces the risk of utility damage. Ask NC 811 or the excavator whether private facilities on the property require a separate locate.

If you’re hiring your own contractor under Epic Start, North Carolina requires a general contractor to be licensed when a contract is valued at $40,000 or more, according to the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors. That’s a starting point for vetting a contractor, not a full legal answer, so check current licensing rules for your specific project.

Whichever tier you choose, plan for real safety layers around the finished pool: active supervision, a compliant barrier, and a self-closing, self-latching gate. The Consumer Product Safety Commission notes that barriers and covers support supervision, they don’t replace it.

Who handles each project component?

North Carolina Project Tip: Permit and electrical requirements depend on the pool type, installation, and project address, not simply on whether the work is DIY or professionally assembled. Check with the authority responsible for your address before ordering a kit or scheduling construction.

How price, delivery, and project timing work

Epic’s current offer states that the pool kit and the construction or coordination work receive separate quotes. The pool product and the property-specific work depend on different variables. The typical 1 to 3 week kit lead time is also separate from the time needed for site preparation, assembly, and required inspections.

Why the pool kit and construction receive separate quotes

One practical reason to separate the quotes is that the pool product and the property-specific construction work depend on different variables. The product quote reflects the model, size, configuration, equipment, accessories, and delivery you choose. The construction quote reflects your property: access, slope, soil, drainage, excavation, site preparation, permits, trades, and finishing work.

Keeping the two separate lets you see what you’re paying for the product versus what you’re paying for site work and labor. For more on what typically drives total pool cost, see Epic’s cost of a swimming pool guide.

Epic Swimming Pools Note: The current Epic offer requires a $199 site evaluation before project-specific excavation pricing. It says the fee is applied to the project if the customer moves forward with Epic. Confirm the current credit terms and what the evaluation covers before booking.

Delivery and kit lead time are not the whole schedule

A 1 to 3 week kit lead time tells you when the pool itself is likely to show up. It doesn’t tell you when your pool will be ready to swim in.

Permitting, weather, site conditions, inspections, and the final project scope can all affect how long the full project takes beyond product delivery. If you’re on Epic Build or Epic Experience, ask for a realistic range for each phase separately: delivery, site preparation, assembly, and any required inspections.

Questions to answer before you choose a tier

Before comparing tier prices, answer a few questions about your skills, your property, your budget, and how much coordination you want to keep. The answers usually point toward one tier more clearly than the price list alone.

Your skills and contractor network

• Do you plan to install the pool yourself, or do you already have a contractor you trust?
• Have you confirmed your exact model’s installation requirements?
• Do you know which parts of the job require a licensed or qualified contractor?

Your property and pool type

• Is your site level, accessible, and ready for assembly, or does it need grading and excavation first?
• Does your yard have slope, drainage, septic, well, easement, or narrow-access issues?
• Is the pool type you want available under the tier you’re leaning toward?

Your budget and quote scope

• Do you understand what’s included in the kit quote versus the construction quote?
• Have you gotten a project-specific excavation estimate, or are you still working off a general starting price?
• Who’s responsible for permits, fees, inspections, barriers, and final cleanup in your written scope?

Your coordination tolerance

• How many separate schedules and vendors are you willing to manage?
• Is a lower starting price worth more of your own time and risk?

Whatever you choose, compare the full scope of work, not just the starting number. Two quotes at different prices might cover very different lists of tasks.

Choose the next step for your pool project

None of these three paths is automatically the right one. Epic Start gives you the most control and leaves you with the greatest share of installation and contractor-management responsibility. Epic Build hands off assembly while you manage the site and trades. Epic Experience takes on the most coordination, for homeowners who’d rather have Epic manage more of the moving parts.

Share your project address, preferred pool type, timeline, and a few yard photos, and Epic Swimming Pools can help confirm which tier is available for your project and what should be included in your quote. Request pricing to get started.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pricing, lead times, and tier eligibility reflect Epic Swimming Pools’ offer as of this writing and are subject to change. Confirm current prices, included work, and site-specific requirements with Epic before ordering a pool kit or signing a construction agreement.