Pool Builder Rec

[95Ag]

Great info here TFP! We are in the process of getting bids and wanted to see if anyone has experience with these builders. I see a lot of Texans on the board and thought it might be worthwhile (We are in China Spring -outside of Waco)

Does anyone have experience with King Pools (Midlothian) or Ocean Quest (Georgetown)?

I'll post the 3D designs and info on what we are planning soon. Thanks!

 

[JamieP]

We just interviewed and received a bid from King Pools. We thought Ron's presentation was very thorough and professional, and the bid seems to be in line with the others that are coming in, but we haven't done a complete comparison though. We did really like how everything was itemized so you could tweak things here and there and know exactly how it would affect the price. He is the biggest builder we've interviewed. We are still not sure who we'll go with, but our friends who live in Midlothian used them a few years ago and seem quite happy.

Have you met with King Pools yet? What did you think?

 

[95Ag]

Yes. I met with him this week and went through the design and presentation, etc. I was also impressed with how he designed the pool in front of me, as well as offered the pricing on the spot. I also really like how his spreadsheet allows me the option to easily add/delete features with a specific price point attached. Incidentally- his bid was 13k cheaper on the same size pool and decking than we received from other companies....

We were referred by a friend in Malakoff who also received a bid from him on a new pool (they haven't started building yet)

It's good to hear of your experience and friends in Midlothian with positive feedback. It is hard to gleam input with a builder that is "out of town".

I have one more bid coming from a small Waco builder, but I'm really leaning towards King.

 

[JamieP]

It sounds like you had a similar experience to us. Our trouble is that none of our pool designs coming in are exactly alike in perimeter and area, so it's a little harder to compare. I don't know why, but I was surprised that a bigger company would be cheaper, but that seems like what we may be finding. He mentioned that with the volume of sales, they can afford to have a lower profit margin. He mentioned theirs was around 12%. We liked his insurance, and the fact that since they've been around for awhile they should still be around if anything comes up that needs fixing in the future. I guess we are leaning towards using them too, but not all the bids are in yet. We also need to make the pool a little smaller or something, because as beautiful as he's designed it, with our added options, it's a little more than we want to spend.

Just courious, what did he put in the "owners discount" box on your spreadsheet? He's got 8% down for us and that was after he asked us when we wanted to build and we said it would be in the fall or later. It seemed like it might have helped us out a little, but I don't know what he had been intending to put there!

Keep us posted on what you decide. I'll enjoy keeping up with your progress.

 

[95Ag]

Compared to our other two bids, he is a "smaller" company and I attributed his cheaper bid to "lower overhead" Ha- Guess it is all about perspective.

I actually made all the companies bid a similar design with same perimeter and deck sq ft so I could make an apples-apples comparison. I can always tweak, or redesign if needed once I find the best company.

I believe our bid had the same discount.

 

[JamieP]

Great idea about having the companies bid the similar designs with matching dimensions. Unfortunately we didn't go that route so it will take a little bit more effort to compare.

Funny about perspective! We are still waiting on our "small" PB bids to come in, so we will have to see how it plays out for us.

 

[wiredog]

Jumping in here. In Midlothian I have one bid and two others coming. My problem is I really dont have a defined scope of work. I was really hoping for a builder that could "sell it". So far nothing.

 

[tedujam]

OceanQuest was my number 2 PB choice. Their rep worked really hard to get my business and I would have gone with them if my primary choice had fallen through. In the end, I liked the design and price of my first choice better.