Question about pool builder bid process

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Cyclist7531

Bronze Supporter
Jun 27, 2019
142
Central Valley California
So, we met with the first of 4 builders regarding construction of an IG pool. He came over and looked over the yard (which will require some demo which we would have done be someone else) noted what would have to come out, electrical run, etc. We the. Went inside to discuss our ideas on what we wanted in a pool, equipment, etc. he offered some suggestions as well. Anyway, sounded good and then asked when we wanted it built. We said early fall which seemed ok with him. Anyway, at the end I asked about design and cost. His response was if we went with them he would come out and measure and do a design drawing. I asked well how could I make a decision on using them if I didn’t have something on paper. The response was would it be fair to have them spend 8 hrs doing drawing etc for no return if we elected to not use them? Is this the typical process? My belief was that they would come out, do a rendering and cost/bid proposal such that I could make a decision upon company a,b and c. Am I off base?
 
Yeah sounds like a jerk. Sadly with as busy as pool builders are, they can set the rules. Put him on the bottom of your list and call the others in. Usually they do a full proposal and let you decide who to choose. I had 4 bids all of them did a full bid with drawings, measurements, materials list, prices, etc.
 
You never "go with them" (i.e., sign a contract) without knowing the details first. Don't care if it is a pool or a car or fast food.

PBs in my area either charged for the design and would credit it back if you signed with them or they did the estimate for free.

A pool is the most expensive item you will buy besides your home. PBs know this and should be willing to answer questions and provide details to make you comfortable before signing the actual contract
 
Thanks for the responses and confirming my belief. I definitely have no intention of going with this company. For one in no way would I agree to this process and secondly after this meeting I don’t believe I would work well with this person. Anyway, have two more builders coming by this week so will press on.
 
Never heard of a PB charging for drawings. All of the quotes we received last year included digital renderings at zero cost. I wonder how that PB gets any jobs.
 
When I was shopping around, I met with 3 PBs. One came to do full measurements and then invited us into their showroom to see a digital design. He went through a complete breakdown and what was included with the build. He would not share the digital designs unless we signed.

Second one came, measured, and offered a bid via email with all the details. No drawings.

Third, came, measured, gave me a rough ball park in person that day, and followed up with a bid via email, but no drawings.
 
When I was selecting a pool builder for my pool, it was different for pretty much all of them. One company came, measured everything and sent me a proposal, they never followed up. Another heard my budget over the phone (65k) and they where not interested. The only one that was top notch for us was Anthony and Sylvan, they where able to create a design in less than 1 day and gave me an estimate on my first day.
 
Jbrillo said:
Never heard of a PB charging for drawings. All of the quotes we received last year included digital renderings at zero cost. I wonder how that PB gets any jobs.
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Maybe it is a new trend or simply regional differences (not everyone in silicon valley is a tech billionaire but prices keep rising)

One PB in my area charges 1k for consultation and design. They are a high end luxury builder. Yelp reviews complaining about that up front fee but actual customers love him.

The PB i ended up selecting had a $500 design fee if you wanted the digital pool studio thing and made lots of changes to it but gave regular estimates, initial digital version and bids for free (this is why i didnt update a digital design for final version in my build thread)

Then there were others everything free

My impression as a novice is that the PB industry is a wild wild place with no standard way of doing things. As a person with a patent law background it makes me uncomfortable. My job is arguing what every word means and how it defines an invention. Precision is very important.

i have had many jokes with my contractors about how i view the process versus how they operate on the fly
 

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Several PB's here requested our land survey and included our house and yard in the pool rendering complete with day, night, and underwater views. They posted their videos on a private Youtube link and sent us the link in addition to a written contract detailing everything. All free.
 
My guess is he didn’t want the job. We’re in the Central Valley and lots of new homes going in. Figured he could probably do better there than dealing with a yard that needed demo and a pool that was t going to be that large. We’ll see what the other comes back with today. Definitely will get a detailed breakdown including equipment model numbers
 
SkeeterK said:
Several PB's here requested our land survey and included our house and yard in the pool rendering complete with day, night, and underwater views. They posted their videos on a private Youtube link and sent us the link in addition to a written contract detailing everything. All free.
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Same here.
With pool design software and technology so cheap and easy to use, theres really no excuse for not offering a basic animated design rendering within a relatively short time after the initial meeting.

I believe that if any of the PB's I invited to bid on our pool told me I would have to pay them to do an initial design rendering, I would have politely shown them the door. You would think they would surely have enough clients of which they can spread that small cost.
 
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how about you hire all the subs yourself? Thats all the pool builder does, they subcontract all the jobs (excavation, steel, plumbing, gunite, electrical, tile/coping/deck, plaster & landscaping). I bet you would save at least 20-30%.... You can even hire someone like DIY pool plans to design in 3D and 2D your construction & engineering diagram. You would need to however request the permit (pool location, fence barrier, planning and zoning review, etc) through your county, electrical and plumbing should be ran by your subs.
 
I guess my PB got an easy one from me. I did all the design and layout of everything myself. Going through this process now, I’m pretty sure I could have done an owner build and hired all my own subs with a little more research. Maybe I should become a PB myself? ?
 
The hiring of your own subs could save you money but it could also cost you a LOT of time and frustrations. They are going to put your one time job behind the PB who gives them work year round. You also HAVE to be there when they are there to address any questions, problems, concerns.
 
We met with the other PB yesterday. He spent a couple of hours here. Will have a preliminary design and proposal by next week. There are a couple of concerns I have with this builder. One is for plaster finish all they do is white. Apprently they were having a lot of warranty call backs for non-white plaster. We may still consider a pebble finish (they use NPT products) but will need to visit their showroom to check them out. The other is they don’t do SWG. You can get one if you like but they make you sign a waiver against any issues they deem are caused by salt (a lot of those claims have been discussed in the forum). What they promote is an ozone system (Dell AOP 50). So, once I get the proposals back I’ll post them.
 

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