OT Pool Owners- Questions

Haven't heard of that finish. Sounds like pebble-tec to me. You can haggle to a point. Best thing to do is get them to itemize everything and include model numbers on everything. That way you can compare apples to apples on the bids and see where you have wiggle room to negotiate.

I'll give you some advice that you didn't ask for:
- read your contract clearly before signing, make sure the design they showed you is the exact thing they bid. Pool contractors are notorious for giving you a pretty CAD design with a bunch of options. Except, they don't tell you they are options until after you signed the contract. If it isn't written in words, they don't consider it part of the contract.

- get them to clearly define the payment schedule... For example, they will want money up front, money after excavation, money after they complete gunite, again after coping, and then a final payment when there is water in the pool, leaving 5% outstanding to cover the final 20 - 40% of the work.

Here's the catch, they will throw the coping around the pool before they do any decking. They will have water in the pool before any decking. Basically, you may get yourself in a position where you have to pay out 95% of the project, but you won't be able to swim for 2 more months. Once they get to that point, you will see the crews working very sporadically because they will move focus to the next project to get its 95%.

I made sure the final 30% payment would not be paid until the final punch list was complete. You will get a lot of, "that's not how we do things"- but if they want your business, then make them work for it.

Also, they will tell you that you have a warranty. What they won't tell you is that the plumbing was subbed out and the sub will warranty that component. Gunite is a different sub and different warranty, plaster is a different sub and different warranty. The actual pool builder will be responsible for very little of the warranty. Some builders are a bit more helpful than others when it comes to putting you in contact with the correct sub for warranty work. My suggestion, have the builder identify I the contract what components his employees are doing, and what components is he subbing out and to whom. You will be surprised at how little the pool builder is actual responsible for.

I have friends that have pools. I piss in their pools when they invite me over

Floating change up gave good advice, I started a 35K pool remodel in early April and still haven't made the final payment because there are still things that need to be fixed. I held 10% until project completion, not water in the pool, project completion.

Make sure your contract spells out everything and put in writing in the contract that anything they expect as a change order must be given to you and signed before the work takes place or you aren't paying for it. My guy tried to add 2K in change orders after all the work was done. The kicker was they were things his foreman told me not to worry about because his guys would just take care of it when they were there without extra charge.

He threatened to sue me for final payment and the change orders, so I had an attorney send him a letter asking him to produce signed changed orders and spelling out the things that still need to be fixed for the project to be complete. It also told him I was having another company give me a quote to finish the job and I would take it out of the final 10% payment if he didn't address it in 2 weeks. That was a week ago and no word since he got the letter.

Just prepare yourself, you project manager won't ever show up to check peoples work, so take pictures every day of the contractors work. I did this and had the pictures to prove that his subcontractors had charged him for things that never even were done, and he had already paid them and was charging me.

I'm bookmarking this thread, i live with of Arlington and would be interested in the quotes you are getting and from where.