Pool Plan Info for Quoting

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kingstar

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Aug 14, 2018
45
Mesa, AZ
Hello, my wife and I are starting to look at getting a pool. The pool will be approximately 14'x25'x7'(deep). We have gotten a few quotes from builders and were a little sticker shocked at about $50k. Now this was with a few colored deck jets, a raised wall in the deep section w/ sheer decent waterfall, a SWG, LED pool lights, a variable speed pump, in-floor cleaning system, and automation. We talked to our neighbors who did an OB using a company here in AZ called Owner Grown Pool Plans. Owner Grown Pool Plans does the design of the pool, provides a detailed guide to subs needed and timelines, a list of preferred subs, and will answer support questions during the process all for about $1500. My problem is that I would really like to be able to know exactly how much the pool would cost before committing. I would need to pay them 1/2 the fee to have them come out and start the process. I'm not afraid of doing things myself and have some AutoCAD experience. If I were to do my own pool design, what is needed in that design to be able to send to subs for quoting? Is it just a 2D layout of the pool in the yard? Any help or examples of what is needed would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
I'm in the same situation as you. We are looking for a small play pool with a baja step, sheer waterfall and nice tile (wife's gotta have). I was going to do an infloor, but after reading the posts I'm going with a robot. We've been quoted $29 - 40k from 5 different PBs.

Anyway, most people say the average savings of an OB is about 25-30% of the big boys. If you have time and your wife is onboard I would do it. I would call Owner Grown Pool Plans, BYOP and others. BYOP was very helpful and gave a lot of great info.
 
We’re in the same situation as well. We’re in great idea stage of our project. And my bride has many great ideas. I am the gate keeper of the budget. We will see how That goes.

As far as the OB route, I have an ace in the hole. I just happen to be a project superintendent for a very large general contractor. I build hospitals. So the owner builder thing doesn’t scare me at all. It’s what I do for a living.
Our goal is to start in January. Still researching designers. Have a few in mind but haven’t really kicked into gear yet.

2D drawings will be just fine for subs to bid on. The more details the better such as water, gas, and electrical point of connection. Bench mark for grading and drainage. Equipment access and HOA Regs, are a few that come to mind. As a contractor, 3D drawings are a really neat sales tool. It’s the wow factor. Once boots hit the dirt we don’t care to much about 3D drawings. Most can “see” the end result from 2D drawings. If they can’t I would cut bait..

we sincerely hope all goes well. Interested in who you decide to go with as a designer. Keep us posted. There are a few of us in the Phoenix area who are getting ready to build. We can lean on each other for what went right or wrong. Some people’s famine is others fortune.
 
Yes save ur $$ and use a robot the in floor only work well in basic pool designs. For OP i would rethink the 7' depth in a 25' pool. It a not bad but if ur not diving ur gonna lose shallow area and have lots of slope to get down to 7 ft that fast. Be sure what depth u want go visit some pools if unsure juat a suggestion
 
Thanks for the replies. One of the PB’s we are talking to offered to give me the plot plan to get my own quotes if I wanted to. I really appreciate his openness.

We decided to nix the in floor system for a robot. I want to reduce complexity and opportunities for failure. We also removed LED deck jets for the same reason.

As as for the depth, we may cut that back to 6’ or 6’6”. We like a deeper pool and want to have a short ledge for the kids to jump from.
 
mslaman said:
We’re in the same situation as well. We’re in great idea stage of our project. And my bride has many great ideas. I am the gate keeper of the budget. We will see how That goes.

As far as the OB route, I have an ace in the hole. I just happen to be a project superintendent for a very large general contractor. I build hospitals. So the owner builder thing doesn’t scare me at all. It’s what I do for a living.
Our goal is to start in January. Still researching designers. Have a few in mind but haven’t really kicked into gear yet.

2D drawings will be just fine for subs to bid on. The more details the better such as water, gas, and electrical point of connection. Bench mark for grading and drainage. Equipment access and HOA Regs, are a few that come to mind. As a contractor, 3D drawings are a really neat sales tool. It’s the wow factor. Once boots hit the dirt we don’t care to much about 3D drawings. Most can “see” the end result from 2D drawings. If they can’t I would cut bait..

we sincerely hope all goes well. Interested in who you decide to go with as a designer. Keep us posted. There are a few of us in the Phoenix area who are getting ready to build. We can lean on each other for what went right or wrong. Some people’s famine is others fortune.
Click to expand...

I have a customer who does what you do to the same magnitude.
Since I am in Connecticut, it’s easy to figure out his firm.

I will quote him “ I complete 8 and 9 figure projects, across state lines & cant get this pool project finished at my own house.”

I finished the work & he stepped aside.

He later commented,
He has the connections & relationships and his employers resources to build hospitals, shopping centers, power facilities etc. when it came to his own project his PM skill set & professional capital just didn’t carry over to this venue..

I’m not discouraging you.
 
10-4 Poolguy.
I understand what you are saying completely. Commercial subs do not interchange with residential builds, unless I need a tower crane......Don't think the HOA will go for that.
With that said I will be using all residential pool contractors. I'm not going to try to have any of the guys do "side jobs". They are just to busy and it will never get completed.
However I am hoping that my knowledge of the industry and scheduling will transfer well. Hopefully I don't run into a buzz saw.

Thanks for the heads up, It is a valid point.
 
Hello fellow Arizonans :D.

I'm just about finished up with the planning/bidding phase of my OB pool project. I am shooting for a permit in the next month and ground break shortly after.
I have received several quotes from subcontractors on the major components. I'm working with a couple key subs to get my design fine tuned.

Here are some notes from the process thus far:
  1. AZ construction market is hot. Subcontractors are busy, but you'll find that the good ones will take the time to explain things to you and answer your questions.
  2. At the beginning of the process, I sat down with a PB and had him put together a full quote for my project. This was several months ago. Since that time, I have done a lot of research (mainly through TFP) and have found out what I want for my pool. With that being said, the original quote that was given to me is not comparable with what I have in my design/equipment list now. If your PB is willing to be open with you as you stated, it might be a good route to have the initial consult with them and learn as much as you can. Then you can always take that information and decide what you want to incorporate into your project and what you don't. They usually give you a package of documents after the consult that you can use in your project planning/budgeting. Now that the design/equipment is finalized, I'm going to give it to the PB for a last quote. If he can do it for close to what I I can do it for by managing it myself, I will just sign up with him.
  3. I did the design and layout mostly myself. I borrowed ideas from this site and others. My plumbing and electrical subs are assisting with that portion of the design. As stated earlier by mslaman, 2D is really all you need. Most subs bid so many of these things that if the plan you give them doesn't have the information they need, they'll ask you for it.
  4. I ordered up structural engineering from a company that specializes in pool structure design.
  5. Check your subcontractors on google, BBB, yelp, bonded, insured, etc...
  6. Check with city/HOA on permit checklist items for your permit submittal.
  7. There are some really good build threads on here. Really good. Check those out.
  8. When it comes down to it, it's really only a handful of subcontractors to manage and the support on this website will get you through it.

That's off of the top of my head so far. Good luck in whatever route you choose.
Josh
 
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