15 X 32 Rectangle. 3.5 - 5.5 - 3.5 play or sport pool depth. Roughly 8X8 Spa with 6 jets and equal size baja step with umbrella sleeve. Precast concrete coping. Class 3, 6 inch tile. Colored plaster. Pentair whisper flow 2 speed pump. Pentair clean and clear 520 filter. Pentair master temp 500 heater. Automatic cover with recessed tracks and walk on lid with precast coping to match. 150 foot run from gas/electric to equipment. Engineering, drawings and permits included. 1 light in pool and 1 light in spa. Is price of 50 K reasonable for this build? Anything not included that you think would be regretted later on? Input much appreciated.
Southern California New Pool Quote
- Thread starter Lando123
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!!!Costs are greatly variable across the country. You best bet is getting at least 3 different quotes for what you want to do. That said, the price seems reasonable.
How are you planning to add chlorine to your pool? Do not let them sell you any UV or Ozone or mineral systems.
Standard chlorine system is what I assumed but did not specify in proposal. Just curious, What is average profit margin on pool builds as a percentage?
I'm building a pool in So Cal, and have gotten several quotes, and unfortunately, I have not been able to figure out the "norm" for this area. Ice had quotes for the exact same pool from 2 different builders that were 100% apart...
From what I've seen, 50k is pretty reasonable. You may be able to do a little better w/o the automatic cover, not sure how much that adds to the total. Are you doing any sort of decking? If so, material / area will play a major factor in cost as well...
From what I've seen, 50k is pretty reasonable. You may be able to do a little better w/o the automatic cover, not sure how much that adds to the total. Are you doing any sort of decking? If so, material / area will play a major factor in cost as well...
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
Having just had a pool built in So Cal... I'm guessing that auto pool cover adds a lot to the cost, maybe even $6K-$10K. We had 5 builders quote us a basic pool like the one you are posting about. They were all in the 40K range without the auto cover. Of course, once I found this site, I found all the options I really wanted and eventually ran my pool price into the $60K range.
I'm not sure if you are just giving us the cliff notes of what the PB is quoting, but we will need something a little more detailed if you want a better idea of what the pool should cost. Start by giving a city or at least County... then maybe one of the pool design pictures the PB's like to generate. Concrete decking details play a big role in the cost of the pool.
I'm not sure if you are just giving us the cliff notes of what the PB is quoting, but we will need something a little more detailed if you want a better idea of what the pool should cost. Start by giving a city or at least County... then maybe one of the pool design pictures the PB's like to generate. Concrete decking details play a big role in the cost of the pool.
I am in Los Angeles. Cover was about 8,500 of the 50 K. So about 42 K for pool itself
W/ coping. Picture uploaded is the general idea. Pavers will not be done by PB as the price per sq/ft was way above previous paver work I have had done. Fire pit will not be included either. Looking for some ideas of what cool add ons I should consider and what wiring if any I should have laid for future stuff. Still weighing whether to go with the aqua link by Jandy. That was quoted at 2,100. Again, while ground is wide open, what considerations should I think about that are a lot more costly to do after the fact that I might want to consider doing now instead. Have 2 young children (3 yr old and 1 yr old). Thanks.
W/ coping. Picture uploaded is the general idea. Pavers will not be done by PB as the price per sq/ft was way above previous paver work I have had done. Fire pit will not be included either. Looking for some ideas of what cool add ons I should consider and what wiring if any I should have laid for future stuff. Still weighing whether to go with the aqua link by Jandy. That was quoted at 2,100. Again, while ground is wide open, what considerations should I think about that are a lot more costly to do after the fact that I might want to consider doing now instead. Have 2 young children (3 yr old and 1 yr old). Thanks.
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Some of the things that I specifically asked of my pb, that seem like the "norm" to me, but aren't always done:
Running oversized electrical (in my case 4 gauge) to equipment & using a subpanel to wire all equipment off of ( I saw pool w/ individual eq parts wiring going all the way back to main panel - makes it really hard to add stuff)
Having skimmer with a dedicated suction line ( not tied off main drain)
Oversized filter (yours seems plenty big)
Get 'larger' automation panel than what u actually need now (in case of Jandy, RS8/6 vs RS4 - tip, iAqualink upgrade kit costs a little more than regular module and comes w/ a full blown RS8 board)
Run additional conduit... possible need for network cable, speaker wire, landscape wiring... (I'm just dropping 1.5" PVC next to other piping w/ pb's permission)
WRT to cover, is it a safety measure or something else? Fence can be just as effective & cost significantly less...
Just my $0.02
Running oversized electrical (in my case 4 gauge) to equipment & using a subpanel to wire all equipment off of ( I saw pool w/ individual eq parts wiring going all the way back to main panel - makes it really hard to add stuff)
Having skimmer with a dedicated suction line ( not tied off main drain)
Oversized filter (yours seems plenty big)
Get 'larger' automation panel than what u actually need now (in case of Jandy, RS8/6 vs RS4 - tip, iAqualink upgrade kit costs a little more than regular module and comes w/ a full blown RS8 board)
Run additional conduit... possible need for network cable, speaker wire, landscape wiring... (I'm just dropping 1.5" PVC next to other piping w/ pb's permission)
WRT to cover, is it a safety measure or something else? Fence can be just as effective & cost significantly less...
Just my $0.02
Ty gary. Cover is for safety and peace of mind. My kids are at home w babysitter during the day and none of them can swim Including babysitter. my wife is in the house working but in an emergency who,knows how quickly she could respond. I also don't like the look of having any type of fence very close to pool b/c it makes you feel very enclosed. I figure if I were to get wrought iron around the pool I would be in for at least a few thousand so for a little more I can leave the house every morning and not have to worry at all. Plus the convenience of hitting a button to open/close and always having a clean pool is kinda nice.
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
If your pool image is correct, it appears that you have no decking included in the pool price. Our 40K bids in Los Angeles County had at least 700sq ft of decking. If you average that out, that could be $6-10K added to the price. Also, as stated by the experts in other threads, try to keep all your equipment brands the same for the major components... ie, automation system, pumps, and heater.. ect. Most companies extend the warranty if three or more products are purchased / installed together. Ultimately, we chose Pentair, since we found that all the local pool supply stores had plenty of repair parts in stock.
Right now I'm leaning toward thinking your quote is a little over priced, especially leading toward the off season of pool building. Was the quote from CA Pools?
Right now I'm leaning toward thinking your quote is a little over priced, especially leading toward the off season of pool building. Was the quote from CA Pools?
Thanks for the input. Could you provide some names of PBs that came in w/ prices in 40's w decking that you would have worked with or did work with? I have talked to a bunch of guys and this was 2nd lowest. The lowest quote had bare minimum on equipment to show low bid and reputation is poor to say the least. Thx again.
Also, keep in mind that you have a 150' utility run... On mine, I had the option of equipment @50' or @100' and the cost difference between the 2 was about $2k... Does your utility run require cutting concrete? is the equipment going to be close or far away from the pool (far will add $ to cost)?
700sf of decking, assuming stamped concrete should add about $4K to the price, you should be able to do concrete @ about $5-6/sf, not sure about cost of pavers/stone/etc...
700sf of decking, assuming stamped concrete should add about $4K to the price, you should be able to do concrete @ about $5-6/sf, not sure about cost of pavers/stone/etc...
Yep, I knew utility run would add some and they also have to contend with roots from large pine trees that are near where hole will be. Equipment will be on a concrete slab. Not sure if that's standard or not. Equipment won't be far from pool. I had pavers done for about 6/ foot a year ago. PB quoted more than double that so opting to have paver work done separately. If u don't mind sharing, what PB did you use?
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
We originally quoted with 5 pool companies... and one never called us back (Tropical Pools).
All our quotes included quartz type finishes, salt systems with VS pool pump.
- SC Pools... Very thorough quote, but was higher than expected... but it was the most complete.
- CA Pools - Biggest company around... just didn't feel like we were getting the best bang for the buck (nice catalogs cost a lot)
- Mr Carlos - They were our second choice and we almost pulled the trigger with them.
- Blue Fountain - They seem to offer a decent pool package;
- Pool Concepts of CA - After going through all our quotes and seeing the jobs that had been completed, we felt we got the most for our money with them. In the end, they did a great job that only took 5-6 weeks. They handled all inspector issues and set up a payment schedule that made sense.
Personally, I was very happy with my pool build and I'm sure I would have been happy with CA Pools as well (just too pricey for me). We had a friend that had Mr. Carlos build a pool at the same time as ours, and it came out very nice, but they did have a little water leakage issue behind the waterfall grotto. And the placement of the equipment didn't make sense to me.
All our quotes included quartz type finishes, salt systems with VS pool pump.
- SC Pools... Very thorough quote, but was higher than expected... but it was the most complete.
- CA Pools - Biggest company around... just didn't feel like we were getting the best bang for the buck (nice catalogs cost a lot)
- Mr Carlos - They were our second choice and we almost pulled the trigger with them.
- Blue Fountain - They seem to offer a decent pool package;
- Pool Concepts of CA - After going through all our quotes and seeing the jobs that had been completed, we felt we got the most for our money with them. In the end, they did a great job that only took 5-6 weeks. They handled all inspector issues and set up a payment schedule that made sense.
Personally, I was very happy with my pool build and I'm sure I would have been happy with CA Pools as well (just too pricey for me). We had a friend that had Mr. Carlos build a pool at the same time as ours, and it came out very nice, but they did have a little water leakage issue behind the waterfall grotto. And the placement of the equipment didn't make sense to me.
Thx for all this. Would certainly like to give Pool Concepts a call and see what they say. Was there a particular person you worked with there? Where are you located? I am in SFV and wondering if they would come out here. Blue Fountain said I was too far. Mr carlos had some bad reviews on a different forum so was shying away from calling them.
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
You could Pool Concepts a call, but they are in La Verne CA, which is about 50 miles from you. If you do call, you will probably talk to Silvia the Officer manager. The owner and project manager is Ignacio (Nacho for short).
I think you best plan would be to have the different PB's take you to see some of their recent builds. Not just their showpiece builds, but also the regular builds. Maybe even a pool that was built a couple years prior. Its really hard to judge a builder by the 1 or 2 yelp complaints / rants because people usually only seek out the internet when things go wrong. The rest are busy enjoying their pools.
I think you best plan would be to have the different PB's take you to see some of their recent builds. Not just their showpiece builds, but also the regular builds. Maybe even a pool that was built a couple years prior. Its really hard to judge a builder by the 1 or 2 yelp complaints / rants because people usually only seek out the internet when things go wrong. The rest are busy enjoying their pools.