Own agenda? Like he is set on this and your really want that?
Remember YOU are the one that has to live with what HE does so...........make sure it is what you want!
Kim
For two days, I've been thinking about the meeting I had with the paver/landscaper. He did a great job with our neighbor's place up the street. I know his paver work is good, so that's why I selected him without getting bids from others. As far as I can tell, our area doesn't have a reputable all-around landscaper whom people praise. After searching for a PB, I didn't want to go through the hassle and stress of selecting a landscaper/paver.
Also, I'm finding using a different pool builder from a deck company is more complicated than I expected. The PB tells me the landscaper should do the drainage to the street. Then... well you know what came from the landscaper. So Monday, I'm going to call our PB and ask him to get me a quote from the guy he uses to do paving. I've spent yesterday and today searching online for some local landscapers to call tomorrow.
Here are the things bugging me about the meeting with the landscaper:
1. I made a BIG boo-boo a week or so ago when he stopped by. He was going on about how expensive it all was going to be, and I blurted out, "It won't be more than $__K, will it?"
(really hard to admit on a forum how stupid I was, but maybe it will save someone else from the same mistake.) So coincidentally, his bid came just under what I blurted out. Now, never in my dreams did I expect it to be that much - it was a wild blurt - won't tell you how much - far too embarrassing. But it was more than the pool is costing!
2. When he handed the bid to me, he told me not to worry, that he had put in many optional items that could be removed to save money. So, when we were finished going over the 3 pages line by line, that's what I began to do. With each item, he told me one reason or another why he couldn't do that. And if he didn't have a reason, he explained that he had given me a discount on the pavers, so if I removed something, I would have to be charged back that discount. Seems outrageous to me, but is that how business is done?
Example of optional items I wanted to cut: a. Three custom built decorative cedar trellises for $3,000.00. b. He wants to redo the front yard sprinkler system that I just had done 3 years ago, and it's working fine. No discount for taking that out. c. $800 charge for landscape design - I already paid $500 for that to the designer/architect he sent me to. Well, you get the idea.
3. He wants to use Bull Rock to separate the flower beds from the foundation. We did that ourselves 26 years ago. It's in good condition since I had new granite rock added 3 years ago. He's charging for the new Bull Rock. The kah-kah landscaper I used 3 years ago used Bull Rock (I hate that stuff - I call it Bull #$@& Rock) on both sides of the house and a huge bed of it behind the garage. Now the new guy says he doesn't like Bull Rock either, so he wants to replace it in those 3 places with degenerated (?) granite. I'm not a big fan of DG, either - sticks to your shoes, etc - I would still want to put stepping stones on top of the DG.
So I asked the guy, if he had to move the Bull Rock anyway, why not use it along the foundations. He said it was too much work, because he would have to clean it, etc. And then he said, "Oh, I forgot to charge you for hauling off all your old Bull Rock, so that will be extra."
4. At the beginning of the meeting - sorry, I'm not remembering details in order - his first price on the bid sheet put the pavers and installation at $16.00 a sf. I had told him the week before (yes, I'm a very, very stupid person) that my PB could do the paver work for between $8-10 a sf. So as I started doing the math to see what this guy's per sf charge was, he told me that he had made a mistake. He did some fiddling on his calculator and gave me a new number. Yes, you're right - it was now exactly $10 a sf. But.... as we worked through the bid several things from my typed list of all I wanted included in his bid (I gave him the week before) had been left out. Yep, by the end of all that, I was back to where we started from. So you know what I'm thinking...... that he manipulated everything to get his usual price for pavers and installation.
That's all I can think of for now. And as I type this stuff out, I cannot believe how stupid I am. So, I'm starting over tomorrow.
I need a deck and do want a pavers. But I can live without plants until later.
I sure hope this helps someone else avoid the same mistakes I've made. Thanks for your support on this journey that I'm not sure I should have started. Yeah, yeah, yeah, as soon as I'm floating in the pool and sipping on a strong Texas tea, it will all be fine. It just doesn't feel that way now. I do know it could all be worse in many different ways, so I'm grateful for that. Thanks. Suz.