New Pool build --- Northern California **4/12/21 start date**

[JC707]

Also I had 2 builders tell me that they look up your home address before giving a quote, I assume to see how expensive a house is and base their quote accordingly. Good luck!

I think this may be 100% correct and I tell you what....I am going to test it out real soon. An acquaintance who lives across town just had a pool installed 2 months ago for $56k and it has the same shape/features I want. I plan to meet with that builder who did her pool shortly. I do live in a nicer area compared to her but I am going to go right for it and level with the person who comes out to quote us. I will say something like "hey you did my friends pool for $56k, has the features I want, can we make it happen??? Heck I will say I want an exact replica of hers for $56k ( tho a few things will be different of course).

The more I think about it, makes me a little upset. The first builder I met with I'm sure he knows the pool is mid $55k. Heck I know this pool should be mid $55s because the person I know across town had the same pool installed 2 months ago. Granted it was with a different builder but I didn't expect a darn near $20 grand difference?!

 

[JC707]

On a side note, if this first builder emails me to check in....can I say well my budget is $60k and I have another quote for $56k. Can you beat that price?

I am in the middle of a refi and have multiple lenders beating each others Loan Estimates so I am wondering if pool construction is the same way? A little wheeling and dealing?

 

[Sollace]

How should I best go about this? Am i allowed to counter offer or question the price?

You can take things out of the bid. We're still working on ours *grin*. What we took out is all bubblers/water falls/fountain things. No pool light. Ask them to itemize everything so you can look up and compare what they recommend and if what they list is the higher end items. On our bid we could choose between the 'white' mini pebble finishes -- Going with any other type will cost more. Same with their tile. They tacked on a budget for tile in the bid but I haven't seen the tile. I'm told there's a lot of change and availability with supply.

 

[Sollace]

Supply and demand as well as availability is affecting pool builds. It's especially true with pool equipment. If you've read up on some of the builds lately, some have encountered delays. So I'm sure that's why some of the costs have gone up. Maybe it's crews taking a hit with this covid-19. Who knows.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Truthfully given those details, I would go save a few bucks by going with for plain silky plaster finish and keep the pool light for safety and pleasure in night swimming.

Maddie

 

[ckinchen]

@JC707 I would think if you know what your friend paid for their pool you have a lot of leverage. Also if they say the pricing went up it did. My husband is a civil/construction engineer and said pvc and concrete did go up in price. The pool builder we went with increases their prices 2x a year to adjust for costs. I thought I would be able to negotiate that part since they increased in July and I signed at the end of August but I couldn't. It was 2K more. I felt that was high but my husband felt it was reasonable. But if I knew what someone paid 2 months ago that would definitely help with negotiating I would think.

 

[JC707]

@JC707 I would think if you know what your friend paid for their pool you have a lot of leverage. Also if they say the pricing went up it did. My husband is a civil/construction engineer and said pvc and concrete did go up in price. The pool builder we went with increases their prices 2x a year to adjust for costs. I thought I would be able to negotiate that part since they increased in July and I signed at the end of August but I couldn't. It was 2K more. I felt that was high but my husband felt it was reasonable. But if I knew what someone paid 2 months ago that would definitely help with negotiating I would think.

Thanks I will report back after I meet with this other builder. I will GLADLY play a $2k difference from her price of $56k, but a $20k difference.......

well you know what my dad was an Operating Engineer (heavy equipment operator) for 30 years I will contract him (for free) to dig up the area for my pool then do what I need to do to build my own dang pool! Lol

 

[Desert Dog]

well you know what my dad was an Operating Engineer (heavy equipment operator) for 30 years I will contract him (for free) to dig up the area for my pool then do what I need to do to build my own dang pool! Lol

Many people act as their own contractor when building a pool. It's called owner builder. I personally have done it twice. First time was very stressful. Second time was a breeze. I knew exactly what to expect and found someone to do the permit/plan process for me.

 

[JC707]

Not much of an update but I reached out to my friend this morning and told her I cannot get a hold of her pool builder. She contacted him and said they are super behind due to COVID and the busy season, everyone installing pools. She said hang in there and wait for him he will be in touch.

Also I was mistaken, she lives about 2 minutes from me in a nice neighborhood so my experiment of seeing if this builder will up the price for living in a pricey area won't go exactly like planned. But I am still going to call it out and mention he built the pool I like for $56k and that is around our budget.

Crossing fingers!

 

[JC707]

We've had none stop fires here and ash has been crazyyyyy bad. I am thinking a cover is needed for sure but I don't have the funds for an auto cover. We have 7/6/3 year olds so I am thinking safety cover like loop lock or something. Are those pretty good?

 

[JC707]

Also off topic but I am waiting for my pizza and had no idea this type of store was right down the street from me.....a little I spy to kill time while waiting for my food.

 

[JC707]

Hmmm whats this sign...single speed pool pumps now outlawed. Is it a california only thing?

I need to read up and study big time.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hmmm whats this sign...single speed pool pumps now outlawed. Is it a california only thing?

I need to read up and study big time.

Federal energy saving law all over come 2021 for all pumps >.7hp

 

[JC707]

If you have a rectangular shaped pool, is it possible to get the bottom area of floor where it meets the walls to curve up and not squared off so the a robot can easily climb walls to clean and not just clean the floor of pool? Or would PB just make it the bottom have 90° angles at bottom?

 

[Sollace]

We've had none stop fires here and ash has been crazyyyyy bad. I am thinking a cover is needed for sure but I don't have the funds for an auto cover. We have 7/6/3 year olds so I am thinking safety cover like loop lock or something. Are those pretty good?

We had a quote from our PB on an automatic cover. This is the type that has stainless steel rails and takes up 5' of the pool length for it's housing. -- around $14K. We decided to skip that.

 

[Sollace]

On the robot and cleaning - They're even more efficient than they used to be. I'm sure it works in any type pool, freeform or geometric. They have brushes on the body to scrub the walls as they climb. I've rarely heard anyone complaining about the newer models. And yes even the sqare pools have rounded corners -- They're not quite square. Watch some underwater videos on Youtube or look at those new builds of geometric pools that have fresh gunite.

 

[Sollace]

Safety for your kids -- The main thing is making sure they know how to swim. That and get a fence around your pool and make sure opening it is too high for the oldest. Our youngest was 8 when we had a pool. He was swimming and diving off the diving board at 4 years old. So he was a pro, we never had to worry about him. His friends, on the other hand, were slap dash swimmers and the youngest didn't know how to swim. It's important to have that spot where you can sit and watch them, they're always in sight when they're playing. That and close the gate!

 

[JC707]

For sure...gate is going to be put in. We are in the process of teaching our 3 year old how to swim, our 7 and 6 year olds are good to go.

The main thing for a cover is to protect from fire ash. I've come to realize now every fire season here in Cali I will be cleaning ash in our yard every...single...year. So if we get a pool I was thinking of limiting the cleaning in the pool with use of a a cover....unless it's not needed and I can let the filter take care of all that. I've never owned a pool so clueless on that. All I know is my next door neighbor is swearing curse words daily trying to clean out ash from his uncovered pool lol.

 

[Sollace]

Sorry I'm spamming your thread ) I just read a bit more on your first page. *grin*
We're also working with our pool builder. What ours told us is everything dealing with the pool means no sales tax. Now I don't know if that's true in CA. But it Texas it is. Decking is included in the pool build but they won't replace the grass they tore up.

Ways we cut back on costs -- No pool lights. I figure we can uplight bushes and trees, put a spot light on the house, but honest -- We have so many flying bugs and our HOA doesn't spray for mosquitos. So. I don't want to turn on the pool light(s) and have bugs hovering above the water, dying in the water, and clogging my drains. There's nothing worse than swimming at night and having a mouthful of floating bugs. Ours will be a day pool, no midnight dipping.

We didn't have a spa. We only want a pool. The spa prices I've seen are $18K+.
We added a chiller and a heater so we did add more on the ticket than we subtracted.
We're also going for a salt water pool (which wasn't in the bid) and upgrading the pool finish.

Anyway, maybe some of those ideas will get you thinking about your line items and what you really need vs what you want. What it comes down to is all this adds up to more than buying a new car. Maybe equal to a new loaded truck.

 

[JC707]

On the robot and cleaning - They're even more efficient than they used to be. I'm sure it works in any type pool, freeform or geometric. They have brushes on the body to scrub the walls as they climb. I've rarely heard anyone complaining about the newer models. And yes even the sqare pools have rounded corners -- They're not quite square. Watch some underwater videos on Youtube or look at those new builds of geometric pools that have fresh gunite.

Ohhh great idea. I was here on my phone looking to find pics without much luck. Didn't think of youtube thanks!