Hi all. My wife and I live in the Austin, TX area. We have been planning to build a pool for a couple of years and we are getting more serious. We are planning for an IGP approx 35x20 with a spa. We are getting several bids and learning about the process (this forum is helping a lot!). We have a few questions that we haven't found answers to yet.
Will we save money if we wait until fall or winter to start the build? We are debating on whether we want to sign a contract soon or wait and see how negotiable the PB's will get after summer?
What about negotiating? Any tips on how to negotiate w/ these PBs? I've created a spreadsheet so I can compare each builder 'apples to apples' as much as possible and I guess I'll just leverage them against each other, but if anyone has any other tips or recommendations, I'd appreciate it.
And we have a question about the deck. We are asking the PB's to bid with and without decking. We considering all the options. Kool Cote, stamped/textured concrete, flagstone (our favorite choice), and pavers. It seems the PB's charge a real premium for the decking as compared to non-PB contractors. When we mention to the PB's we are considering doing our own deck, we get mixed reactions. Some PB's seem totally open to the idea, some say we may have problems with the coping if the deck was done incorrectly, and they mention that if they do the deck, their warranty will cover it all. I know it's a realistic possibility because my parents in law recently had their 35 year old pool resurfaced and had the deck/coping redone. The deck contractor did not do a good job with the expansion joint and their coping started to crack. So - has anybody done a deck separately from the PB? Is there a way to manage the deck separately without causing problems?
Also a question on warranties. Some of the PB's have a lifetime warranty on the plaster/pebble finish and others have a 15 year warranty. The PB w/ the 15 year warranty claims that PB's who have lifetime warranties only warranty the pebble material, not the plaster itself. Any thoughts or experience with this?
Any thoughts or help on are appreciated.
Will we save money if we wait until fall or winter to start the build? We are debating on whether we want to sign a contract soon or wait and see how negotiable the PB's will get after summer?
What about negotiating? Any tips on how to negotiate w/ these PBs? I've created a spreadsheet so I can compare each builder 'apples to apples' as much as possible and I guess I'll just leverage them against each other, but if anyone has any other tips or recommendations, I'd appreciate it.
And we have a question about the deck. We are asking the PB's to bid with and without decking. We considering all the options. Kool Cote, stamped/textured concrete, flagstone (our favorite choice), and pavers. It seems the PB's charge a real premium for the decking as compared to non-PB contractors. When we mention to the PB's we are considering doing our own deck, we get mixed reactions. Some PB's seem totally open to the idea, some say we may have problems with the coping if the deck was done incorrectly, and they mention that if they do the deck, their warranty will cover it all. I know it's a realistic possibility because my parents in law recently had their 35 year old pool resurfaced and had the deck/coping redone. The deck contractor did not do a good job with the expansion joint and their coping started to crack. So - has anybody done a deck separately from the PB? Is there a way to manage the deck separately without causing problems?
Also a question on warranties. Some of the PB's have a lifetime warranty on the plaster/pebble finish and others have a 15 year warranty. The PB w/ the 15 year warranty claims that PB's who have lifetime warranties only warranty the pebble material, not the plaster itself. Any thoughts or experience with this?
Any thoughts or help on are appreciated.