Las Vegas Owner Builder (OB) - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Needed

[Kj78unlv]

We are in Las Vegas and trying to decide if we want to go with a pool company (received two quotes so far) or do owner build (OB). We have no experience with building a pool or anything to do with construction. We are currently working with a designer so we can request bids from the necessary subs. Our plan is to compare the bids with the pool company quotes and go OB if we can save at least 20%.

So, we need to rely heavily on other people who have done OB in Las Vegas to make sure we are getting bids from high quality subs. Please message me your Las Vegas recommended sub lists and who we should avoid!

Thanks!!!

 

[OrlandoBull]

Hi, I am not in LV, but am on my second OB pool. I would say that you likely CAN save 20%, but you also likely wont. I never got to a full quote with everything I wanted, but the closest quote I had for this pool was probably about 12-15% more than I will be spending. Having said that, I don't necessarily think that it was inclusive of everything I am doing on the pool. I have upgraded things along the way. I also know that in the crazy pool building market right now, I am not getting the same prices as builders. For my last pool, my pricing was good and I felt like competitive with what builders would get.

I would also say that construction experience isn't entirely necessary, but project management skills are if you want to hit a specific schedule. You'll need to stay on top of the subs and communicate up and down the chain. I have been fortunate to have an amazing plumbing/tile sub in the middle of my project, so it has helped me along the way. They actually set a schedule and beat it. Every other part of my pool has been a bit of a delay at this point, which I totally expect since pool builders here are telling people they will start their pool in the fall at this point. For my purposes, I fully believe that I will beat any timeline a builder could have given me.

Good luck! I would say that even if you go with a builder, you still need to stay on top of things.

 

[Kj78unlv]

Hi, I am not in LV, but am on my second OB pool. I would say that you likely CAN save 20%, but you also likely wont. I never got to a full quote with everything I wanted, but the closest quote I had for this pool was probably about 12-15% more than I will be spending. Having said that, I don't necessarily think that it was inclusive of everything I am doing on the pool. I have upgraded things along the way. I also know that in the crazy pool building market right now, I am not getting the same prices as builders. For my last pool, my pricing was good and I felt like competitive with what builders would get.

I would also say that construction experience isn't entirely necessary, but project management skills are if you want to hit a specific schedule. You'll need to stay on top of the subs and communicate up and down the chain. I have been fortunate to have an amazing plumbing/tile sub in the middle of my project, so it has helped me along the way. They actually set a schedule and beat it. Every other part of my pool has been a bit of a delay at this point, which I totally expect since pool builders here are telling people they will start their pool in the fall at this point. For my purposes, I fully believe that I will beat any timeline a builder could have given me.

Good luck! I would say that even if you go with a builder, you still need to stay on top of things.

Thanks for the info on your experience. I really appreciate it!