At The Design Stage

[Sollace]

For years hubby and I have wanted a pool and here we are. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.
I called one pool builder and said I want to start the process. Because of Covid-19 no one came out to the house and evaluated the yard. Instead it's send in our survey and work with a designer.

It's been about a month, 2 face to face (masks on) meetings along with a lot of emails. The design is almost set. Pricing was mentioned twice but I pushed it back until the design is finalized. No bids, which is something I saw on a thread which should happen.

If I drop this place and go to another pool builder, do I owe anything for all the design work? I wondered if I pay her for her time or if this is part of the bid consult process. My thanks in advance.

 

[Tegguy]

In my opinion no you don't owe them anything if this is a pool builder. We went through multiple companies and each one did at least 1 design if not more before quoting. It's just an upfront investment they make to try to earn your business. If this was a private design company for an owner build this might be a different answer.

 

[mlggator]

That said, I don't think it's fair to take their design and get bids on it from other places. If you go to another builder and ask them to do their own design (another design) that's one thing, but taking this design to another builder isn't fair to the original builder. Most builders will try to do things to prevent you from doing just that. If you pay them for the design, then the design is yours to take to whomever you want.

 

[Sollace]

It is a pool company and I did ask about paying her on our last visit. She just scoffed at my inquiry. This is a family business where her in-laws own the business and build homes, too. So it's all in the family.

I wasn't sure of the procedure so your feedback is welcome. I feel more comfortable paying her.
I don't know if it's this covid virus stuff or what but the design process is very frustrating, the lack of communication. It took 2 weeks for her to call the city to ask about setback restrictions and how that'll impact our build. Why she didn't know as the lead designer there. . . .

 

[JJ_Tex]

So you have a couple of red flags with this builder: lack of communications, slow, and they didnt know the setback requirements.

I would simply move on and not think twice about this builder. I would get real bids from at least 3 companies before you finalize, and I'm not sure this company really counts as a "bid".

 

[Sollace]

Thanks JJ_Tex. Yes, too many red flags and good advice. The first was when I gave her the size (12 X 24) and she made it 12 X 28 without saying a word.

 

[kimkats]

Time to move on at a very brisk pace from this builder!