You asked for it
Platipus's Patented Pleadings for all Professional Pool Purveyors and Projects
1. Years in business?
2. Who are the owner(s) if not you?
3. Number of employees?
4. What services do you provide directly and what will be sub'd out?
5. Who will be in charge of the job?
6. How often will they be on-site? Is there a backup?
7. Will they be on-site to meet every sub the very first time they show up?
8. Will they do an on-site review at completion of work with every sub before they leave?
9. Are you in the process of selling the business or transitioning any key responsibilities to someone else?
10. Jobs per year last 3 years?
11. Can you provide a copy of your current and valid Contracting License?
12. Do you carry general liability insurance? How much? Will you provide proof of coverage prior to any contract signing?
13. Do you carry workers’ compensation insurance and can you provide proof?
14. How are your subs insured? Can you provide proof?
15. Will you provide a written Lien Releases for yourself and all sub's prior to final payment?
16. Will you include a subcontractor/vendor Proof of Payment clause in the contract?
17. Can you provide a sample contract with your bid submittal?
18. Do you pull all required Building Permits?
19. Will you be present for all inspections?
20. Are you a member of any professional pool builder organizations?
21. What is your BBB Rating? Any recent complaints? Have they been resolved?
22. How is your Credit and/or Dunn & Bradstreet rating?
23. Any lawsuits in the last 5 years?
24. Can you provide references? Can we see their pools in person?
25. Have you done a job with a swim jet similar to what we are looking for?
26. How much work in Kingwood have you done? Anything in Kings Point?
27. Are you familiar with our specific sub-division HOA rules?
28. Who will be representing us to the HOA? Is there any direct involvement that will be needed from us?
29. How many times have you been through Kings Point HOA approval process in the last 3 years?
30. How many other concurrent jobs do you typically run?
31. How do you handle change orders? Will you commit in the contract to following an in-writing change order process?
32. Who will be doing the final plans/drawings?
33. How and when do we meet with them?
34. How many plan/drawing revisions do we get?
35. Can you provide a 3D render? Cost?
36. Will you itemize your bid?
37. Will you work with a contract deadline with a penalty for missing it?
38. Will you let us review your sub-contractor selection?
39. If we have a different vendor or sub we want to use for a specific item like gunite or surface finish, how is that handled?
40. Do you provide a port-a-john during construction?
41. Will you protect the house, windows and patio from all concrete/plaster overspray with plastic sheeting or tarps?
42. How often will you clean-up debris?
43. Will you guarantee that the front yard is always free of trash and debris at the end of the day?
44. Will you do a thorough clean-up at the end of the job, including a magnetic sweep?
45. If wider access is needed through the fence/gate, will you provide temporary fencing?
46. Will you repair any changes the fence to its original condition?
47. Who is responsible for damaged lawn from construction traffic?
48. Will you repair any broken irrigation outside of the dig zone (path leading to jobsite)?
49. Will you repair or replace any broken or damaged existing incidentals such as windows or gutters?
50. Will you repair or replace any broken or damaged new incidentals such as tile, lighting or plumbing & electrical fixtures?
51. Will you repair any broken concrete on sidewalks or driveways that result from construction traffic?
52. Will you handle all utility marking?
53. Who is responsible for the repair costs of any cut or broken service lines (Cable/Phone/Gas/Power)?
54. What hours will subs be on-site? Any weekends?
55. Will you agree to have all sub's completed, cleaned up and off-site by 6pm each Weekday, 5pm on Saturdays and not scheduled for Sundays?
56. Will access to the interior or the house and/or garage be needed? When? To whom?
57. What kind of payment schedule will you be requesting?
58. Will you work with a 5% final payment that is payable upon completion of the punchlist?
59. Are there any situations where you will be asking for earlier payment than what is agreed upon up front?
60. What guaranties and warranties do you provide and for how long?
61. What soil concerns are for our area and is there anything you do to address it?
62. Are there any conditions or issues that could be found as part of the dig that could change the price or impact the project?
63. Do you handle Landscaping as well and/or do you have a Landscaper that you like to work with?
64. What Hardscape/Site Improvements are included as part of the core bid? (ie Grading, Drainage, Pathways, Raised Planting Areas, etc…)
65. Is there any part of the job that you are un-sure of or have reservations about?
66. Is there anything jumping out at you that we could change or do differently as a money saver?
67. Run us through your process/steps:
I developed this list originally for our patio project and it was quite useful so I just tweaked it to fit a pool project as best as I could. A few of of these are specific to our project but they could be of use if just changed to meet your specific needs.
-plat