Interested in any referrals for excavation, gunite & plumbing. Also any ideas on cost? We are building a 20 x40 with 9 ft spa, Baja shelf, pool with raised spa.
New to owner builder in corona
- Thread starter Tvdavis2
- Start date
You can PM me and I would be happy to help. I am in Riverside. You can see my thread in this forum for more information. I have very good folks I can recommend and tell you who to avoid..
Do you have quotes from some of the local PBs? I can get you the contact information for my PB. He can give you a quote and render a 3D image of the project.
My Pool and Spa including the decking and upgrades (pump, filter, LED lights, PDA Remote, etc) was right about $60,000. Our complete project (landscape, Patio, Firepit, trees, etc etc etc) was much more than that...
My Pool and Spa including the decking and upgrades (pump, filter, LED lights, PDA Remote, etc) was right about $60,000. Our complete project (landscape, Patio, Firepit, trees, etc etc etc) was much more than that...
As an owner builder myself, one of the principal reasons for doing it is to save money. All pool builders that came in wanted 40% more than it will cost me by GCing it myself. Having a pool builder does let you move faster and possibly (depending on builder) provide some additional benefit. I can't think of it right now however.
Your project is just a little bigger than the standard pool Spillmar 
I think it is like most "Do it Yourself" projects. You either spend money and have someone else do it, or you spend time and do it yourself. It takes a lot of time to track down all the Sub-Contractors and the materials. If you can save save 20% on a $200,000 project that is a good chunk of cash, if you save 20% on a $60,000 project then you better calculate how long it would take you to make $12,000 at your job.
Either way (PB or self-build), you are going to spend at least a couple hours every day on the project: picking materials, watching work, answering questions, having them fix stuff, etc.
I think it is like most "Do it Yourself" projects. You either spend money and have someone else do it, or you spend time and do it yourself. It takes a lot of time to track down all the Sub-Contractors and the materials. If you can save save 20% on a $200,000 project that is a good chunk of cash, if you save 20% on a $60,000 project then you better calculate how long it would take you to make $12,000 at your job.
Either way (PB or self-build), you are going to spend at least a couple hours every day on the project: picking materials, watching work, answering questions, having them fix stuff, etc.
Good points Nightmare.
Except for the 20% figure; that sounds like something the pool builder would say. It was said to me when I was getting bids and I am now at least 40% under what they quoted with a ton of more features to boot.
I think in the end if you have all the money saved up, you're wanting it done quickly, and you're willing to give up a bit of quality control and less bang-for-your buck go with the pool builder.
If you're a hands-on person willing to get your hands dirty and spend a lot of time at the expense of your job but for better quality, more features and better customization, DIY.
The other thing is if you want to be creative with engineering - my pool has special reinforced columns near the swim up bar for a roof that will cover over a third of the pool. Many pool builders walked away right away because they knew the build would take longer. That may be another consideration if you're trying to pursue your dream design.
Except for the 20% figure; that sounds like something the pool builder would say. It was said to me when I was getting bids and I am now at least 40% under what they quoted with a ton of more features to boot.
I think in the end if you have all the money saved up, you're wanting it done quickly, and you're willing to give up a bit of quality control and less bang-for-your buck go with the pool builder.
If you're a hands-on person willing to get your hands dirty and spend a lot of time at the expense of your job but for better quality, more features and better customization, DIY.
The other thing is if you want to be creative with engineering - my pool has special reinforced columns near the swim up bar for a roof that will cover over a third of the pool. Many pool builders walked away right away because they knew the build would take longer. That may be another consideration if you're trying to pursue your dream design.
Tvdavis2
You can see my pool specs in my profile and in the forum. It's not done yet but when complete, it will have cost me about $72K - but with a lot of features I otherwise could not afford. It did however come at some cost such as time and obsession.
Keep in mind, mine is a larger pool (about 65 x 25' with a 12' spa) as Nightmare has attested. He knows as he's seen it.
Let me know if you need referrals.
You can see my pool specs in my profile and in the forum. It's not done yet but when complete, it will have cost me about $72K - but with a lot of features I otherwise could not afford. It did however come at some cost such as time and obsession.
Keep in mind, mine is a larger pool (about 65 x 25' with a 12' spa) as Nightmare has attested. He knows as he's seen it.
Let me know if you need referrals.
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