Getting hosed in Texas???
- Thread starter tnicholas
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
Most folks would get several estimates for the install. It would definitely be in your best interest to do the same. Only then can you compare apples to apples.
Most folks would get several estimates for the install. It would definitely be in your best interest to do the same. Only then can you compare apples to apples.
Get multiple bids - were are you located and we can make recommendations if builders to get bids from.
I was concerned the proposal seems "overbuilt" ... Is it common for piers to be recommended in this part of the country? We did have an engineer do a soil sample but I can't understand the Dang thing. Basically there is worse soil in North Texas but it's definitely not good soil. Lots of clay w/ up to 4" of annual movement. That said, it seems like a lot of steel in the proposal. But maybe that's the norm. I have no idea about the equipment that's recommended other than to say I've ready on this forum that Pentair and Jandy make good equipment.
I don't know about the piers. Our pool (and home) do not have them. I still think that you are going to need more estimates.
Do you know anyone in the area that had a pool installed? When we put ours in I spoke with several people who had had a pool installed and found a good installer that wasn't the highest but wasn't the lowest either. Word of mouth is a good resource.
#4at 6" center... Man you aren't building a pool, that's a bomb shelter. Just needs a lid.
I'm in frisco. You are eating hosed. Just got 4 bids. Huge pool 120 perimeter. Fire pit. Avg 56 -65 depending on deck. 900 shaft do deck. All automation, pebble, iPad control, spa. I recommend BMr and clear tech in our area.
We are about to get started with Hauk Custom Pools. We also live in Prosper. They are very familiar with this area so if you haven't already, give them a call. They haven't started yet so I can't speak to our person experience, but we know several people who have been very happy with them.
What kind of neighborhood/subdivision do you live in? It's been my experience that PBs, and pretty much any construction company and even landscapers, will increase their bid to fit the neighborhood or the home. In a tough economy this practice may not be quite as common. In any event, you are doing right by getting several bids. And don't necessarily take the lowest bid.
Well the neighborhood has custom homes so I wouldn't be surprised if you're right about quoting to match the neighborhood. What I just don't understand is the whole "more is better" concept because I'm not an expert. I have no concept of "what's enough". The first guy quoted No 4 at 6" OC which is more steel than anyone else I've talked to uses. I'm told many PBs use less steel & will build a cheap pool because they know most homeowners move in about 5 years. I plan to be here much longer than that. So I'm stuck trying to figure out if a proposed "well built pool" is just a quality job or overbuilt and far too expensive. I'm guessing the first quote I got is overly expensive.
We built with clear tech - we had a good experience but I had a friend that built with them that did not - seems to depend on the foreman you get - insist on getting Jack if you go with them. They were in the middle to low end of the bids.
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gtojohn
0
- Apr 8, 2011
- 79
Lots of structural engineers tend to go overboard with the structural, they don't want failures and they aren't footing the bill on all the extra rebar and concrete. Speaking as a contractor, not a pool contractor, it is a sliding scale, mine's pretty flat until I start going through gates by the country club or worse, guard towers! It seems funny to me that I first check in at a guard tower, drive through the gate into the subdivision of expensive houses to drive through another gate at the property. How bad are your millionaire neighbors you need a gate at the end of your driveway to keep them and their spawn off your property? Getting multiple bids is important, and vetting them from references is cheap insurance. I prefer working with smaller more personal companies myself.
