Double charging?

[SunnywBlueskies]

My pool contractor is charging for a couple mosaic designs to go in and then says that the plaster company is going to charge another fee to go around it? We feel we have been nickeled and dimed throughout this process. Does this seem right? Our tile store said that most companies install the mosaics for free and don’t charge extra “to go around it”.

This is the same company that is charging the same price for pebbletec as pebble sheen when everywhere else I read that pebble sheen is an upgrade.

Your thoughts?

 

[Bperry]

My pool contractor is charging for a couple mosaic designs to go in and then says that the plaster company is going to charge another fee to go around it? We feel we have been nickeled and dimed throughout this process. Does this seem right? Our tile store said that most companies install the mosaics for free and don’t charge extra “to go around it”.

This is the same company that is charging the same price for pebbletec as pebble sheen when everywhere else I read that pebble sheen is an upgrade.

Your thoughts?

Not much you can do about it other than cancel the mosaic. I can imagine there’s some additional work on the plaster side since they have to protect that tile while they’re walking around the pool in their spiked shoes and they have to manage the plaster thickness more closely around the tile so it matches up. But that doesn’t really matter, adding changes after the bid almost always makes the price go up.

I had a contractor quote me $65k to replaster my pool which should normally be about $12k. The $65k wasn’t a real quote, they just didn’t want to do the job, but of course would do if for an insane amount of money. Depending on how much extra they are asking, it may be some of that as well.

 

[.ben]

The GC should only charge you what’s in the contract. If mosaic is in the contract they should have already included the extra $ that goes to the plaster sub, and I would refuse to pay more.

If the mosaic was added after contract execution (change order) then they can essentially charge whatever they want.

A good contractor will charge a fair price, but some will use change orders to “make up” lost money on another part of the project. It’s important to have everything in your contact before signing.

The PB should have told you the total price to add mosaics and you agree or disagree. You don’t care what % of money goes to whom.

 

[SunnywBlueskies]

The GC should only charge you what’s in the contract. If mosaic is in the contract they should have already included the extra $ that goes to the plaster sub, and I would refuse to pay more.

If the mosaic was added after contract execution (change order) then they can essentially charge whatever they want.

A good contractor will charge a fair price, but some will use change orders to “make up” lost money on another part of the project. It’s important to have everything in your contact before signing.

The PB should have told you the total price to add mosaics and you agree or disagree. You don’t care what % of money goes to whom.

Unfortunately we didn’t have great communication or organization in our pool design. We had a broad contract (mistake #1) and didn’t know of different options and all the different things that go into a pool build until we were in the thick of it and trying to figure it out on our own since builder isn’t really helpful. So yes, I believe you’re correct, they are charging crazy mark ups on these “extras” or change orders. I’m not sure if all pool builds are stressful but this has been one of the worst experiences.

 

[tommelton]

We wanted 3 small turtle mosaics (think 5" diameter) on our tanning ledge. We discussed with the pool builder at contract time, and the price quoted seemed extremely high. When I questioned it - we wound up negotiating downward (some). The builder's response was, yes, the install is not complicated, the cost of the small turtles might have been $75, but it is the time/visits for the two person tile crew to come out, set the turtles, etc. Plus a small amount of profit. Same for the step/bench markers, seemed expensive for what it is, but the plaster crew that installed the tile just at time of plaster install, took a decent amount of time to do what we wanted and did an excellent job.

So - I hope you get a quality job done, and enjoy the pool.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

How far into the process are you?