BMOP

[Rich D]

Haha! Looks good. Keep the chainsaw handy. Some people's love side of the love/hate relationship with trees does win out. Not many, but some.

+1...

You can see and enjoy a 40' tree from 150' away. The only tree that should be used as shade for a pool is one that has been through the mill... I would definitely plan on some type of shade structure even if you do not do it right away. Perhaps you can have a overhang off the new garagemahal with a outside shower and inside bathroom..

 

[JJ_Tex]

+1 on what Maddie said. Unless you really want to be able to walk 360 degrees around your pool, you could pull the wall up to the edge of the pool (and maybe add a water feature), then use that decking sqft to enlarge the seating areas.

 

[foo.c]

We're getting what we asked for actually. We wanted decking all the way around and we have room for 2 sets of table and chairs on the deck. We're also going to extend our patio quite a bit, so we should have plenty of areas to hang out when we have gatherings.

The side of my future garage facing the pool is going to be a tiki bar with a faux thatch roof that I can extend as far out as I want so there will be even more room eventually.

 

[foo.c]

That is awesome Foo. We just got signed with BYOP in Arizona about two weeks ago. They just finished up our design and sent it out to contractors to bid. How is yours coming along?

I'm in about the same stage. We're finalizing up the design. I can't wait to see some actuall progress on the ground.

 

[foo.c]

Design "finished" and sent out to the subs. Supposedly I should have some bids in a week.

 

[foo.c]

I have bids for the equipment and plumbing.

Equipment came in at about 7.5k, but it's missing a light and has ozone and UV systems that I don't want. (I didn't think lights would cost so much.) I don't have a spa and the only "fancy" stuff is 2 lights and 2 bubblers on the baja shelf. 700 for the controller and 400+ for the wireless interface, being the nerd that I am, I think I could build my own controller for a lot less than 1.1K.

Plumbing will be 3.7K after I delete the ozone and UV.

Not sure I'm saving anything so far ...

 

[kimkats]

With a PB they buy the equipment in bulk so may get it for cheaper than a person that buys it on their own.

The trades might be a little cheaper but will be harder to get to work for you. They will put you behind the "everyday payday" .

Where you may save money is not having to pay for the PB's cut. They have to upcharge to make their paycheck so.....

Kim

 

[foo.c]

I guess I got sticker shock when it came to actually start writing checks (or almost time), even though I knew I was going to spend a lot going into this.

I'm probably not actually going to save a penny, but will hopefully get more for the same money and get exactly what we want.

 

[Newdude]

You'll probanly end up spending whatever your max was regardless. But if you DIY you will get more for that same amount.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I guess I got sticker shock when it came to actually start writing checks.

You get that with a PB too.... trust me

Good luck.

 

[kimkats]

I'm probably not actually going to save a penny, but will hopefully get more for the same money and get exactly what we want.

There ya go!! THAT is what makes it all worth it in the end!

 

[foo.c]

Got a bid for the excavation, forming, and steel, also includes the retaining wall: ~ 12.5K. For some reason I'm at ease with that price. It also includes rock excavation, which I know there will be.

Running total is about 23K and change.

 

[kimkats]

It also includes rock excavation, which I know there will be.

Is there any kind of time limit for the rock excavation?

 

[foo.c]

Is there any kind of time limit for the rock excavation?

Doesn't mention any length of time in the bid. Everywhere around here is rock though, so it shouldn't be a surprise to them. I told him we should just plan on the rock excavation.

 

[kimkats]

Sounds like the best way for them to write it up then. They know what they are facing so know what to charge for it from past experience.

 

[foo.c]

Today's bids:

Deck coating: 1.5K
Plaster: 8.3K

Bringing the running total to ~33.3K.

Maybe I'm finally seeing some savings. The plaster quote seems pretty good for Primera Stone Azure Treasure, assuming they do a good job.

 

[kimkats]

IT is all in their skills! See if they will share there last couple of jobs with you.

 

[foo.c]

So I got the gunite bid last night. 15.5K or $213 per yard. This seemed too high to me and ended up in a call from my BYOP guy. My price is inflated by $3 over what the big guys pay. Doesn't seem right to me, so I'm going to get some other bids.

We're also going to raise the pool and slope the yard instead of having a retaining wall, which will knock at least 5K out of the total price. I'm not really on a budget, but I'm watching every dollar and I want function out of my spend.

 

[d_red1]

Your gunite price doesn't seem that out of line. The big guys get a bit of a discount as they are returning customers. Up here in the Metroplex, my average gunite quote was $205/cy + $16/sf for any pegboard used + $100-400 for spa labor. Good thing is that they only charge for what they use, bad thing is I went about 10cy yards over my estimate but I was anticipating some of it as I had some wall cave-ins and added a large bench.

Try to get 3 quotes on every trade and you will realize a savings. Disclaimer, I self-performed A LOT of my owner work (excavation, plumbing, rebar, decking) and I am projecting a 50% savings over PB quotes and I sprung for many upgrades. YMMV but I would think you should be in the 10-20% savings neighborhood.

 

[foo.c]

I've been waiting for 1 final bid now for the deck and coping for almost a week. Frustrating.