Cost of Labor - HTX

[MJLF]

Maybe this is a silly question, but we are in the proposal stage of building and I am a bit taken aback by the cost of labor to build our pool. I assume this is where the PB makes their money because the depth of our proposal's pricing is only outlined as Labor and Materials for Pool & Spa, Plumbing & Electrical, and Decking. Labor is 73% of the cost of our project - does this wow anyone else, or just me

For example: Should the PB outline the specific costs for gunite, steel, excavation, masonry, plaster & cleanup? What we currently have is all of those things outlined under "Pool & Spa" and the labor for that is 92% and the material is 8%.

Thank you for any input - just trying to navigate this project with clarity and fairness. I know the PB is a business and they are providing us a service and product.

 

[tommelton]

Many pool builders have subcontractors for a majority of the work - they don't do the work themselves. For example, on my build, the dig was likely done by pool builder employees. The rebar, plumbing, electrical, shotcrete, tile, deck concrete sub layer, travertine deck crew and finally pebble plaster were all sub contractors. The pool builder supplied the subs with the materials they used (tile, travertine, PVC pipe, Hayward equipment).

 

[Jimrahbe]

MJLF,

Not sure why it matters... You get three or four bids and compare pools and total cost..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[kimkats]

What Jim said...........so long as you get several quotes you are good. Labor is high but it is what it is.............

 

[Carlos22]

Maybe this is a silly question, but we are in the proposal stage of building and I am a bit taken aback by the cost of labor to build our pool. I assume this is where the PB makes their money because the depth of our proposal's pricing is only outlined as Labor and Materials for Pool & Spa, Plumbing & Electrical, and Decking. Labor is 73% of the cost of our project - does this wow anyone else, or just me

For example: Should the PB outline the specific costs for gunite, steel, excavation, masonry, plaster & cleanup? What we currently have is all of those things outlined under "Pool & Spa" and the labor for that is 92% and the material is 8%.

Thank you for any input - just trying to navigate this project with clarity and fairness. I know the PB is a business and they are providing us a service and product.

I understand how you feel. I recently had a pool that was finished a few months ago. I am a little north of you in Conroe. The sticker shock in general was a killer, at least to me. I had a few quotes and they varied a bit. I did not take the most expensive and I did not take the least expensive. I agree with others and just get the quotes and see as much as you can how they compare. Try to get them to be apples to apples as much as possible so that you are making a fair assessment. The equipment is key too. You want to get appropriate and quality equipment. From this site, I was able to get an okay on my equipment. I requested an itemization for my whole project. Interestingly, at least what they put on paper to me, my equipment was fairly priced and many things cheaper than if I were to buy it. The plumbers, masons, electricians and other trades were costly but I did not know how much went to the PB and how much went to the actual tradesman. However, what I did like was when they had to come sometimes three for or five times, I paid only one price. The other thing about the trades is that I have found many of them around here quite unreliable. You may find that they will come once and not do the job right and you can’t get them back for a while if at all and you have paid them. I never had any problem such as that. The PB has a relationship with these guys who want continuous work, they don’t want to lose future revenue. Your PB should be making sure that everything is provided for in your build.

Also, look at some of their past projects. That will also give you an idea of their workmanship and process.

Send me a PM of your PB. We may have the same one that you are considering.