Hidden Costs!!

[dubele]

Hello everyone,

I have two concrete bids in and they are different (and soon, two fiberglass bids). My plan is to create a list of the items listed as included from each builder and talk to both. Some of the language is broad and unspecific. I feel it is this way to "protect" them so they can charge me later. Things like "permit"....what does that mean?....are you paying for it or just applying for it? I also found out today that my township requires topographical drawings and a vinyl install company wants to charge me $900 for this. This is not mentioned in either concrete bid and I will be asking them if this is included.

What is the typical nonsense that I am going to face when I sign and construction starts?...What questions do I need to ask now regarding what's included and not included....what are they going to try and "pull" on me later to complete the project?..."Oh, you want water?...that's a $1,000." I want to include these items on my list and ask them if it is included or not.

Thanks again,
Doug

 

[pool mum]

I imagine it varies according to localities, but when we had to get a permit to do some major renovations to our house, we had to pay for a permit. It was close to $200; I went to the courthouse and applied for it myself. Also had to get an electrical permit as well since we were rerouting electrical lines, which meant more $. They needed detailed plans of the house, before and after, in order to issue the permit. After the permit is issued, you scheduled inspections when you were ready, after the inspection, it will pass or not pass. If they do not have enough info to issue the permit, they will call and let you know. At one point we had to resubmit plans - I think we hadn't listed the height of the walls or something.

I have no idea if pool permits are the same, but that is how a house permit works here.

 

[woodyp]

I'd sure ask them what is acceptable as a drawing before shelling out 900 bucks! A pencil and piece of graph paper might just do it. They probably just want to see how far you are from your house, other property lines and such. Ask them for an example and such.

 

[4knights]

There are many ways for them to hide costs, some do it on purpose to make the upfront number look better(it's this way in almost all types of construction, not just pools) remember change during construction is a great way to increase the price fast!
I found this article helpful when I considered paying someone to do my pool(saved way too much doing it myself)
http://www.riverpoolsandspas.com/blog/b ... ol-Project

You need to know almost exactly what you want and get everything in writing. My first quote was less than 1 page, when I asked about concrete, electric, backfill, water, equipment rental, permits and even jokingly asked about crew lunches. I found out they were not part of the contract and if I wanted the crew to stay on site that was extra. When I asked how big the crew would be they said 9 guys. I asked if all 9 would be actively working on items they said no only when needed, but expected me to pay for them to stand around. NOT,, built my own.