Can a quote be reduced?

[CBinFL]

I've been quoted $53,573 for the proposed pool - can I say to the builder that I will sign a contract with him if he reduces the quote by $4,000?
Or do they start at the quoted figure and then throw in features or equipment to make it easier to swallow?


POOL:

v 29’ x 15’ Free form Design 379 square feet of surface area
v 4000 PSI Shot Crete concrete pool shell.
v 3 extended Steps in the shallow end
v Swim out or bench in the deep end
v 3’ x 5’ Pool Depth
v Pebble Tec interior surface, Lifetime warranty
v Decorative water line tile.
v Over flow pipe to automatically vent excess water from the pool
v Three adjustable return inlets for maximum circulation
v 2 Main drains to code
v Schedule 40 PVC piping used on all plumbing and pressure tested
v Skimmer
v Stabilization rock under shell (up to 5 yards for dewatering)

EQUIPMENT:
v Hayward Tri Star variable speed pump with magnetic drive motor
v Hayward Star-Clear Plus 175 SQ FT Cartridge filter
v Hayward Aqua Rite 40,000 Gallon (Oversized) Salt Chlorine Generator
v Hayward Heat Pro 110K BTU titanium heat pump including required electric hook up, dual digital thermostats
v Paramount Paraglow blue or white LED light
v Concrete equipment pad poured to house equipment
Builder will "throw in" a robot (probably Hayward) because I removed the in-floor cleaning system from the quote


DECK:
v Three 6" Raised Areas, tile face (deco tile included)
v 3' wide Sheer Descent waterfall
v 655 SF. of Deck (tile on Lanai remains)
v 2" deco drain
v 12" x 12" footings installed into "virgin" soil
v Termite treatment applied prior to installing any decking
v Deck and Lanai installed with Brick Pavers. Color and pattern choice (I have to check this)
v 3 process soil water jetting and compaction system
v Pavers are set on a 6"-8" road base or morrow. (crushed limestone rock/crushed shell/ clay)
v Bull nose coping

SCREEN ENCLOSURE
v Mansard screen enclosure, Bronze, 1 door (replace existing screen wall on lanai side)
v The screen enclosure is under separate permit from the pool. All permits, installation and warranty is honored and performed by pool builder.
v Nylo-ProTec Screws/Caps installed on the entire screen enclosure with a 10 year warranty against rust and corrosion. (compared to powder coated zinc screws that rust and corrode in short order)
v 7" Super Gutter

NO HIDDEN COST/ ALSO INCLUDED:
v REQUIRED Battery alarms to code
v All permitting costs
v All state and local taxes
v All Labor cost
v All electrical cost
v Pool school and maintenance lessons
v Maintenance kit including vacuum head, vacuum hose, 18” brush, telescoping utility pole, skimmer net and chemical test kit
v Pool maintenance for 1 month
v Final grade and total clean up
v Repair of track left after removing screening from lanai

 

[JamieP]

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your questions, but from experience, you may get more replies by posting in the "Under Construction" forum. Your post would fit there, and it seems to get more action over there.

Good luck with your build. The design looks beautiful!

 

[chinatti]

Re: Can a quoted price be reduced?

I would say that everything is negotiable. We ended up paying a much different amount than our initial quote(s), and went through several revisions / back-and-forth as far as both adjusting the list of work items we wanted, and also the costs for those items (for instance, our PB ended up finding a better supplier for the decking that helped him get the price down where he was more competitive with the other bids we had).

It's always a somewhat delicate balance as far as making sure that you are getting a good value, and not driving the cost down so much that a contractor will cut corners, or not finish the work. Hopefully most contractors will not bid so low that they put themselves in that position, but it can happen. I think the best ammunition you have is to get multiple quotes, try to keep them as comparable as possible (with itemized breakdowns), and then pick the guy you are most comfortable with - which may or may not be the cheapest quote.

 

[bdrums]

Re: Can a quoted price be reduced?

In general, yes. Just consider - this guy will be working with you over the course of 6 - 8 weeks. Your yard will be a disaster area for much of that. He will have crews coming and going and you may or may not have many questions and/or changes as the project proceeds. Not to mention, you may have to call him for warranty work.

When we found THE guy we trusted in our yard we didn't really negotiate. We made one slightly adjusted counter offer. He accepted and off we went.

To me finding the right guy was more important than the price and 4 weeks into our build I'm glad we did.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Gail/Dave]

Re: Can a quoted price be reduced?

As a contractor the answer is Yes. But from my standpoint, which is a contractor we give the customers our best #'s we don't bid a job based on how busy we are. so most of the time our # don't come down but because we are at a job site we will add extras. your best negotiating point is more bids. Just remember its not always about price. you need to trust the contractor your working with. Remember References references references!!!

 

[doobs41378]

We did not negotiate. We found the builder we were comfortable with and went with it. I figured they would find a way to make that money up if they took it out of the front end. Overall we were very happy with the price and the work so everybody wins.

 

[Daxton]

Just like buying a new car. Either buy at sticker, negotiate, or walk. All have their merits. Research and be knowledgable about where and what to push on.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ummgood]

Just like buying a new car. Either buy at sticker, negotiate, or walk. All have their merits. Research and be knowledgable about where and what to push on.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

To me it isn't quite the same. With a car no matter what dealership you get the car from you are getting basically the same product. That creates an environment for the dealers to compete since it is easy to comparison shop. With PB some might compete on price but the product or quality might not be the same. You might have to pay more and not negotiate to get the same size/style of pool to get better quality/reputation/peace of mind. My thought on the negotiation is see if you can go lower on price but do not use that as a make or break in your decision making process. We chose our builder because the design was above and beyond our other quotes. Some builders offered to try to match the design but after what they told me I didn't trust them to pull it off. Plus if there is a complication will they honor the price or try to charge more because it wasn't their design.

Each person has different priorities and if cost is your main priority and you want the absolute best deal then by all means pit the builders against each other like a dealership situation.

 

[Helen203]

Hi CB, one thing you can certainly negotiate is the parameters in the contract. For instance, a quartz plaster finish could save you even more than the $4k you are looking for.

 

[IntegrityPoolCare]

Need more returns at list four on each Conner to move surface water to skimmer. If no Infloor system main drains are not needed. Salt system is not that good. Would go jandy for automation system and equipment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk