New Pool Quote in SoCal-Bit Excessive

[popo]

Just got my first pool quote from one of the biggest pool builders in SoCal, seems a bit excessive to me but maybe more knowledgable folks can give me some feedback. I attached the quote and scope of work:

Total Square Footage of Pool & Spa: 438
Total Perimeter Footage of Pool & Spa: 97 - approximately 30 linear feet of 18" raised bond beam. Stack stone spa spillway into pool. House electrical pannel is approx 50ft from equipment. Gas run is approx. 120' from equipment.


Pool Spa
Size:16’x30’ spa Size: 7’x7’
Depth: 3’6 to 5’6 spa Depth: 3’6
Base Pool/ Spa Inclusions:
Permits and Engineering:
All required civil engineering to meet or exceed city building department requirements.
All applicable city building permits and taxes.
Soils reports are not included in this bid unless otherwise noted.
Bonds are not included in this proposal unless otherwise noted.

Demolition:
By home owner.

Excavation:
Bobcat tractor excavation of pool and spa, and removal of all dirt on day of excavation.
Street to be swept clean upon completion of excavation.
In place of the removed fence, gate, or wall, California Pools will put up a temporary orange
plastic barrier until the permanent pool compliant barrier is installed. Any additional barrier
measures will be the responsibility of the homeowner.
A pre-construction meeting will be held prior to excavation. Also, the pool and spa will be
painted on the ground for homeowner’s approval and sign-off prior to excavation.

Steel Placement:
Installation of HIGH GRADE steel in accordance with structural engineer’s report. Pool,
spa walls, and floors, to be 6” thick minimum, with 3- #4 re-bars in the bond beam for 50%
more strength. Bond beam to be 12” wide.
Spa wall will be a minimum of 12” wide, and have a double curtain of steel for added
strength.
All pool/ spa steel to be bonded continuously with the deck steel, and with the electrical
components of the pool equipment.



Pool/ spa plumbing and circulation system:
Installation of non-corrosive piping, schedule 40 PVC, up to 3” in diameter. Circulation
system designed for maximum efficiency using unique low friction plumbing system.
Dual-port, deck mounted skimmer installed for surface water cleaning. Skimmer includes a
leaf-trapper basket and suction diverter valve.
Installation of dedicated suction line to be used for automatic vacuum including ASTM
approved vacuum lock. This safety feature is for anti-entrapment.
Dual suction main drains in pool and spa for anti-entrapment.
Spa plumbing designed for maximum hydraulic performance and includes (6) hydrotherapy
jets set at varying elevations. A Hartford Loop will be installed to ensure proper air
line function.
Installation of 1.5” polyethylene gas line from gas meter to new pool heater location. Gas
line will be upsized to 2” as needed at no charge to homeowner.
A p-trap must be installed for the discharge of pool water into a minimum 3” sewer-clean
out. If clean out location is unknown, California Pools will coordinate a sewer locator
service unless homeowner has their own resource. Cost for this service is $275.00. Not
included are any potential saw cuts needed for accessibility to found clean out.
Complete installation of pool/ spa equipment set. All above ground plumbing to be painted
gray to match Jandy equipment, and for protection from the sun.

Electrical: (service panel may need to be upgraded which is not part of this proposal)
Underground electrical conduit run from home service panel to new sub panel located at
pool/ spa equipment area.
Sub panel is a standard Intermatic 2-speed time clock.
Underground conduit runs to junction box, and to pool and spa light included.
Underground conduit runs to all required outlets (10-20 code compliance).
All existing outlets in the yard in violation of the 10-20 code will be blanked off.
All above ground electrical conduit to be schedule 80 for solar resistance.

Pool and Spa Equipment:
(1) Californian (Jandy) 2 H.P.-3/4 hp dual speed energy efficient pump. 3 Year Warranty


(2) Californian (Jandy) water feature pumps for sheer descents & tiered dam wall. 3 Year
Warranty
(1) Californian (Jandy) 2 H.P. booster pump for 5 extra spa jets. 3 Year Warranty
(1) Californian (Jandy) 400,000 BTU High Efficiency Gas Heater. 3 Year Warranty
(1) Californian (Jandy) 60 sq. ft. D.E. Filter. 3 Year Warranty
Jandy Aqua Pure Salt System w/ RS8 Remote System. 3 Year Warranty
(1) Jandy color LED spa light 3 Year Warranty
(2) Jandy color LED pool lights. 3 Year Warranty
(2) 24” sheer descents w/ fiber bars.
Del Zone Eclipse Ozone System.
Shotcrete structure:
Pneumatically placed (minimum 4500psi) pool shell to exceed city codes. On site Deputy
Inspector used where required. Lifetime Transferable Warranty on pool/spa shell.
28 day compression break test performed where required.
Spa bench elevations will be custom formed.
Spa raised 18” w/ tiered dam wall.
(2) Rope cups installed in side walls of pool and (1) in spa.
Reef Step Entry w/ umbrella sleeve.
(1) Standard deep end bench.
12” & 18” raised bond beams.
Plaster: (plaster will take 7 days to cure during which time swimming should not be
permitted, and the spa should not be heated for 14 days after plastering. Salt will not be
added to the water for a total of 30 days if you have a salt system)
Pool and spa to have Quartscapes interiors.
Pool and spa main drain covers will be anti-vortex type for anti-entrapment. Color to match
plaster.
All pool returns and spa jets to have directional eyeball fittings for customized water flow.

Start up & maintenance:
Maintenance kit which includes manual vacuum head, leaf trapper pool net, telescoping
pool pole, vacuum hose, (2) thermometers, CPR signs, and water test kit.
Start up will include turning on of equipment, programming of time clock, instructions on
how to run the system, and 30 days of free service.
30 days of service equates to (1) visit per week for (4) weeks to balance, and maintain chemicals.
Final clean up of job site to collect any debris from start up.

Base pool/ spa investment: $57,395.00

Masonry items included: 3 Year Warranty On All Masonry
1. Water line tile (groups 1-3 from National Pool Tile) $1,200.00
2. Poured in place concrete coping $3,000.00
3. Group 1-3 tile veneer on 12” RBB $600.00
4. Stacked stone veneer $3,220.00
5. 831 sq. ft of gray concrete w/ 3’x3’ scoring $5,110.00
6. Mastic Joint $375.00
7. 250’ of drains $1,500.00
8. Concrete ribbons $240.00
9. Poured in place step $200.00
10. 12” & 18” wing walls w/ poured in place caps $1,120.00
11. Fire- pit $1,400.00

Masonry Totals: $17,965.00

Total Investment: $75,360.00


Items not included:
Soils report, if required
Re-routing of sewer or other underground utilities.
This estimate includes at least 58” of access.
Door Alarms per code by owner.
Demo.
All gates shall be self-closing, self latching, and swinging out.
Fences must be at least 5’ high and non climbable.
California Pools Sales Proposal, Page 5 of 6

Electrical panel may need upgrading and is not included.
No Landscaping (softscape) included in this proposal.
No repairing of sprinkler lines included in this proposal.
If water table is hit during excavation, there will be a one time rock-pack and pump charge of $1500 (includes possible use of back hoe)
This estimate is valid for 30 days after preparation date.

 

[AquaDoctorLLC]

HOLY COW!! I need to start building pools. $75k Does seem a bit excessive to me too.

 

[MattM]

For whatever reason, Southern California pool pricing is on the very high side of the scale recently (at least based on what I've seen posted here) -- when we went to quote out our pool build, we were told that the cost would be a minimum of $50K and could easily get close to $100K. We spoke to 7-8 pool builders occasionally over 3 years, and finally settled on a $79.5K design that includes an automatic safety cover (expensive), pebble sheen, extensive decking/landscaping, intellitouch automation, pool shed, heat pump, and solar heating system. We couldn't justify the cost of adding a spa. Perhaps we gave in too easily, but the pricing we received from trustworthy builders seemed to match up relatively closely with each other and none would make a significant reduction to win the business. I had half a mind to try to build myself, but then...I'd like to have a pool to swim in before the kids grow up....

 

[popo]

Building my own pool is looking more attractive by the day. I have another two builders coming over this week to provide their estimates. Hopefully they can sharpen their pencils a bit better than the first co.

 

[DBfan187]

your base price will get you everything you listed and more here in the SE lol

 

[shcuck]

WOW, 75K is A LOT higher than our quotes here in TX. To DBFan's point, your base is the high end of a fully loaded pool here.

 

[bobby1017]

My pool was approx 72k + decking 17k + ret walls 10k + all the landscape stuff so far, need more 4k + plus my free labor.

 

[fyton2v]

I'm in SoCal and can attest that pools just cost more here. My pool is around 670 sq feet with a 118' perimeter, and seems as if it's similar in construction to the one you're going to build, and the PB quotes were all in a $53K to $60K price range. But just because your pool is X% smaller doesn't mean that it should cost X% less. It costs a certain amount of money just to get the sub contractors to show up and the prices tend to increase in smaller increments as the pool get bigger. I guess you get a bit better value out of the construction process if you go bigger. That certainly doesn't tell the whole story though.

Anyhow, your quote seems high. Perhaps you have a slope to work with that will require more engineering and material? I just looked it up and my bid from California Pools came in at $53K. I doubt they're all on the same page though and there is probably a lot of variation from one CP to another.

 

[popo]

Good points fyton, but there is no slope and soil is pretty normal. Access to the yard is excellent with no dificulties getting in and out of the yard. Waiting for a couple of more quotes then will decide which way to go, to include OB route.

 

[Nightmare]

There is only 1 company in CA that sells the "Californian (Jandy)"