Need some input on two bids and builders

[Starsky]

First, let me say HI! I am new to the forum and have been reading it for a bit before registering and posting. I wish I knew of this place when I had my last pool! Anyhoo, I am deciding on 2 PB's and need some input. Some background on the PB is that both companies are reputable and have a good referral from some members of this forum. Cody Pools and Summit Pools in the Austin area. I got both bids in and they are very close to each other so the money isn't a factor at all. Cody is a larger company and build more pools each year, and use sub contractors. Summit is "mom and pop", use an in house crew, and do at least 100 pools a year but about a third of the volume of Cody. Summit has a "swim in 29 days" clause and built a members pool in 24 not counting sundays. Although having it done by the 29th day also is not a factor.

Here are the bids as well as I can translate them..


Summit Pool depth 3'6" to 7' 34' at widest length, 24 ft at widest width Estimated 22K gal

100 Plans, Engineering & Permit

1.00 EA Pool Design Plans

1.00 Permit - City Of Leander

Total Plans, Engineering & Permit 854.00


210 Summit Excavation

1.00 s.f. Rock Excavation to 6 ft. Depth 451' - 500'

1.00 ea Depth Over 6' - 8' / Rock Excavation

1.00 ea Excavate Plumbing Trunk Line

102.00 p.f. Pool Forming to 12"

1.00 EA Paint Pool Layout Before Excavation

Total Summit Excavation 5,715.70


300 Summit Steel

102.00 EA 1/2" Rebar @ 9" O. C. With 4 1/2" Alternates

1.00 FT 1/2" Continuous 4 Bar Box Beam

1.00 EA 20 Ft. Grounding Bars

1.00 EA Love Seats, Benches & Swim Outs

1.00 EA Tanning / Sport Ledge

20.00 EA 3 Ft. Deck Dowels

1.00 EA All Deck Dowels To Be Grounded With Deck Steel

1.00 EA All Rebar, 3/8" x 1/2" is 40 grade

1.00 EA All Steel Tied with # 16 Gauge Anealed Wire

Total Summit Steel 2,657.16


400 Summit Plumbing

1.00 EA Pool Plumbing Run Up To 40'

6.00 EA Pool Returns

1.00 SET Dual Skimmers Tied Together For Equal Suction

1.00 SET Dual Safety Drains

1.00 EA Set Equipment After Pool Deck

1.00 EA Manual Fill Line Connected To Nearest Hosebib

1.00 EA Paint Equipment Plumbing For U V Protection

1.00 EA All Plumbing 8" Deep For Freeze Protection

1.00 EA All Plumbing To Consist Of Sch 40 P V C Piping

1.00 EA Plumbing To Remain On 40 Psi To Insure No Leaks

1.00 EA Jandy Neverlube 3 Way Valves (lifetime Guarantee)

Total Summit Plumbing 1,964.20


600 Pool Equipment

1.00 EA 2 H P Stealth Pump Motor

1.00 EA C L 460 Sq. Ft. Cartridge Filter

1.00 EA All Jandy Pool Equipment comes with 3 Year Warranty

Total Pool Equipment 1,359.08

625 Pool Cleaners

1.00 Polaris 3/4 HP Booster Pump

1.00 EA Polaris 280 - Black Max

1.00 EA 1 Year Warranty on Pool Cleaning System

Total Pool Cleaners 808.86


650 Sanitizing Systems

1.00 EA Aqua Pure Salt System

10.00 EA 40lb Bags Of Salt

1.00 EA Connect Aqua Pure Salt System

1.00 EA Chlorinator Check Valve

Total Sanitizing Systems 1,328.58


800 Gunite

43.00 YDS Gunite Yardage For Pool

1.00 YDS Gunite Bench

2.00 YDS Gunite Set Of Steps

6.00 EA Form Board

1.00 EA Gunite To Consist Of A 6 Sack Mix / Mix on Site

1.00 EA Gunite To Be Shot Monolithically

1.00 EA All Walls & Floors To Be Minimum 8" - 12" Thick

1.00 EA Pool Bond Beam To Be 12" X 12"

Total Gunite 7,237.04


900 Summit Tile & Coping

110.00 FT Standard Tile

102.00 FT Flagstone Coping

1.00 EA Over Flow Line Installation

Total Summit Tile & Coping 3,114.66


1010 Electric Installation - Infinity

1.00 EA Standard 50 Amp Pool System to 50 ft.

1.00 EA Connect Aqua Pure Chlorine Generator

1.00 EA Connect Pool Light to GFCI

Total Electric Installation - Infinity 1,549.40


1050 Electrical Equipment / Components

1.00 EA #8 Ground Wire / Pool Bonding Per Electric Code

8.00 EA Brass Ground Clamps

1.00 EA Pool Colored Lighting - 300 Watt

1.00 EA Double Timeclock W / Freeze Gaurd

Total Electrical Equipment / Components 1,174.86

1200 Summit Pool Decks / Flat Work

399.00 EA Spray Deck

20.00 FT Deck - O - Drain

1.00 EA Load Of Road Base / Grading

125.00 EA 1/2" Colored Mastic

1.00 EA 3/8" Rebar @ 16" O. C.

1.00 EA All Deck Dowels To Grounded with Deck Steel

Total Summit Pool Decks / Flat Work 4,285.56

1300 Clean & Grade

1.00 EA Clean Up Pool Debris

1.00 EA Plaster Prep Interior Of Pool

1.00 EA Acid Wash Deck, Coping & Tile

1.00 EA Load of Chocolate / Sandy Loam

2.00 EA Fence Replacement Per Panel

1.00 EA Complete A Final Grade Of A Minimum 3:1 Ratio Slope

Total Clean & Grade 1,494.50


1700 Irrigation - New / Repairs

1.00 EA No Irrigation Repairs

1.00 EA Manual Watering By Customer Will Be Necessary

Total Irrigation - New / Repairs .00


1750 Landscape

1.00 EA No Landscape Or Sod Replacement

Total Landscape .00

1800 Plaster

1.00 EA Benches / Swim Outs

1.00 EA Tanning / Sport Benches

1,026.00 EA Pebble Sheen Aggregate Plaster

9.00 EA Gray Wall Fittings - 1 1/2"

2.00 EA Gray Anti Vortec Drain Covers

Total Plaster 6,334.85


1900 Pool Start Up

1.00 EA Standard Three Day Start Up

1.00 EA Brush Vacuum All Plaster Dust

1.00 EA Filter Service After Brush Vacuuming

1.00 EA Pool Instruction After Completion Of Start Up

1.00 EA Label All Plumbing Pipes

1.00 EA Pool Cleaner Installed After Completion Of Plaster Brushing

1.00 EA Provide Instruction Manual

Total Pool Start Up 1,010.31

1950 Start Up Equipment

2.00 EA White Threaded Grate F / Equilizer

6.00 EA Gray 3/8" Eyeballs

1.00 EA 8' - 16' Telescoping Pole

1.00 EA Leaf Skimmer / Rake

1.00 EA 18" Bristle Brush

1.00 EA 4 - N - 1 Chlorine Test Kit

1.00 EA Stabilizer Test Kit

1.00 EA Floating Thermometer

6.00 EA Muriatic Acid

1.00 EA Jack's Magic Salt Water Treatment

Total Start Up Equipment 241.56

2050 Warranties

1.00 EA Lifetime Structural Warranty

1.00 EA Lifetime Warranty On " All " Jandy Neverlube Valves

1.00 EA 3 Year Warranty On All Pool Equipment

1.00 EA 3 Year Warranty On Pool Plumbing

1.00 EA 3 Year Warranty On Pool Electric

1.00 EA 3 Year Warranty On Tile & Coping

1.00 EA All Warranties Performed By Summit Pools

Total Warranties .00

Estimate Total... 41,130.31

Cody Pool Same depth, 30 ft lenght, 22 ft at widest width Estimated 17K gal


Pump Hayward 1.5 HP
Filter Hayward 60 sq ft DE
Polaris 280 with booster
Lights LED Colorlogic
Maintenance equip included
Start up chem included

Excavation

Steel 1/2 rebar tied on 10" cneters with four bar beam and addtional bars at all high stress areas if required
All plumbing with schedule 40 PVC
2 pool main drains anti vortex
4 adjustable return inlets
2 skimmers

High pressure Dry Gunit, water and quality controlled at job site.
Minimum floor and wall thickness 8" to 12"

Electric included, timers, water lights pool pump circuit breakers..

580 sq ft Sundek
26' decko drain

4-6 weeks construction time

Aquarite SWG



Input?

 

[Starsky]

Or not..

 

[SeanB]

That's too much information. Try listing just the basics - size, equipment and any unusual differences between the two. You are asking a lot for someone else to do an A/B comparison of all that.

You'll get more replies with a shorter list.

 

[Starsky]

Thanks! I will edit the post later today

 

[TresW]

Wow, that is a VERY detailed price quote. That's actually good because you know exactly what they have and have not included. It's kind of hard to sort through all that info to see what the basic design is though (as Sean said). Do you have any water features? Spa? If no spa and no features the price seems high for TX. Post a scan of the drawing if you have it.

For your area make sure that whoever you sign with guarantees their excavation quote and get it in writing. There's lots of rock in the Austin area and if they quote you a minimal excavation with a clause that it may go higher depending on what they encounter, then you can expect a whopper of a cost add (could be as high as 10k).

Good luck!

 

[lovingHDTV]

I've got a Cody built pool, my neighbors a Summit built pool. They are both fine pools.

Summit pushes his cartridge filters, I hate cartridge filters so I would not go with one, but that is my personal preference.

I called Cody for some repair work on my spillway this week and they gave me the name of a guy to call. He has not called back. I then called Summit and they will have their guy coming out the end of next week. Who knows.

I don't think you can go wrong with either of them, but my feeling is that you will get a more personal experience with Summit. Doesn't he double the manufacturer warranty on his Jandy equipment?

 

[Troy2007]

I actually kthink that the information that you have given is extremely important in order to compare apples to apples.

 

[Troy2007]

The first pool company has gone out of their way to give you a very detailed set of specifications. They do not appear to be trying to hide anything. All of the prices seem right in line with mine. I personally would use them.

 

[Starsky]

Thanks for the input fellas. I have decided to go with Summit at this point. I have since talked to them and gotten some extra sundek, Polaris PRO480 cleaner to help make up for the price difference. They live and breath SWCG and thats what I want. Cody seemed reluctant to handle it but would if thats what I wanted. I don't think I could go wrong with either company and it appears I am getting a significantly larger pool from Summit for the money. I'll certainly be asking questions as this progresses.

 

[Starsky]

I went with Cody at the last minute but wouldn't hesitate to use Summit. I'm getting a freeform 34' by 24' pool that goes from 3.5' to 7' with 2 LED colorlogic lights and Aquarite SWG and DE Filter.

They have already excavated and put in the rebar and are doing the plumbing as we speak. They moved fast! Got my permits last Tuesday and they were digging by Friday. I'll attach pictures if I can figure it out