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Cost Comparisons
Cost Comparisons - My Pool: Owner/Builder vs Other Builders
Let me just say first off that it was extremely
difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison. When I dusted off all my
old pool bids from the various builders that I had visited, one thing I didn't
realize was how much I changed things around as I went from builder to
builder. One reason for that was that early on, I had no idea what I was
really after, so I let pool builders make some recommendations for me.
When I saw something I liked, I made sure that particular feature was added when
I went to the next pool builder, but I gave the builder some freedom to add
things at whim. At the end of this whole escapade I had eight different
pools and eight different prices.
CONTINUED BELOW
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I ended up taking four of the "closest" pool builders
(closest meaning that while a direct apples-to-apples comparison couldn't be
made, the pool specification was close enough that with some price adjustments,
it could be apples-to-apples) and putting each of them into their own column
listing out and comparing a set of common features and specs between the four
and the pool that I built.
In order to do an apples-to-apples comparison, I had to go back and
make adjustments to each builder: giving them monetary credit (by either
reducing the price of their pool or increasing the price of the competitors) for upgraded
features and monetary debit (increasing to the price of their pool or reducing
the price of their competitors) for lacking features. It was a
pain in the neck to do, but in order to be fair, I had to do this like a house
appraisal, where adjustments/allowances are made for upgrades/downgrades.
It was the only way to have meaningful and fair comparison. So here are
the rules of the comparison table you will be looking at:
The features/items marked in BLUE are
those items that are significantly greater in quality or quantity
than the other pools and will reflect a price adjustment in the pools.
The adjustment being that either the competing pools will get a price
addition made to its total to compensate for that feature or the pool that
has the feature will get a debit to bring that pool's features (and price
therefore!) down to the level of the others. If a pool had a
significant upgrade, the choice to either subtract from its price or to add
to the other pool's price was somewhat of an arbitrary one. Since they
are equivalent, the choice to do one over the other usually was determined
by convenience. Usually, but not always, a BLUE feature on a pool will
either reduce its overall price or increase the price of its competitor's
without that same feature. I say not always because certain features
can be much better than its competitor's but not much money was involved to
provide it.
The features/items marked in RED are
those items that are significantly lesser in quality or quantity
than the other pools and will reflect a price adjustment in the pools.
The adjustment being that either the competing pools will get a price debit
made to their total to compensate for that feature or the pool that has the
deficiency gets a price addition to make the pool upgrade to the rest of
the. If a pool had a significant deficiency, the choice to either add
to its price or to subtract from the other pool's price was somewhat of an
arbitrary one. Since they are equivalent, the choice to do one over
the other usually was determined by convenience. Usually, but not
always, a RED feature on a pool will either increase its overall price or
reduce the price of its competitor's that has that feature. I say not
always because certain seemingly significant features can be missing but not
much money is needed to provide it.
The price adjustments made for each feature addition/deletion is taken
directly from the price list the builder provided. However, where that
was not possible, I made rough estimates based on what the other pool
builders would charge for that same feature. You may also notice that
adjustments for the same feature is different for different builders.
The main reason why this is is either 1) The builder had an exact price for
this additional feature and it differed with other builders or 2) Sometimes
the adjustment is between what a pool builder would give it to you for
(includes a typical 15% markup) and what it would take for the owner/builder
to get it for.
When making cost adjustments for missing features, I could either add
additional cost to the pool builder who doesn't have it, or subtract cost
from the builder who has it. Either way is acceptable. The way I
decided which way to go was to determine which way results in the least
amount of pool builders affected (e.g. if all the pool builders included
Tile work in their price, but I did not do Tile, then I would increase my
price rather than subtracting out from each of them. This allows me to
adjust only one column - mine, instead of the other four). The main
goal is to make adjustments so that everyone across the board either enjoys the
benefit of not having the cost of a feature that no one else has penalize
his bottom line price, or to penalize the bottom line of those who don't have
that feature. This is the only way to make a consistent and fair
comparison. Its got to be normalized or the comparison is
meaningless.
Ok, with that out of the way, here are a few comments about each of the
builders that I'm comparing my pool to. Each of them have their own
characteristics and qualities:
Pool Builder #1 - this is one of the biggest pool builders in
Arizona. They are the near the top in terms of sheer number of pools built a
year. From what I hear they build thousands of pools a year. They also use all their
own crews now. The only trade they still sub-contract out is for
decking. This was true as of the beginning of 2003.
Pool Builder #2 - a smaller mid-tier pool company. They've been
around for many, many years. This pool actually turned out to be the best deal of all the pool builders after
all the price-comp adjustments were made.
Pool Builder #3 - they are what I consider the BEST
pool builder in the valley. I've heard that they don't even have one
complaint levied against them at the Registrar of Contractors that they didn't
take care of. They have offices in California and Arizona and I'm pretty
sure in other states around the Southwest region. I've rarely heard any bad
comments made about the quality of this pool builder. The question is whether you want pay what they are
asking for a pool.
Pool Builder #4 - this is the builder that I think you will
find the information the most interesting. This pool builder is really not
a pool builder. They don't really build pools. They are one of the
largest Do-It-Yourself builders in the valley. They teach you how to
become an owner/builder (much like this site will). They basically give you a list of approved subcontractors
that you call, you collect bids from, you schedule, you work with, you get the
picture. You do the work. They will design your pool, CAD it up for
you, provide you assistance with questions you have, and do the
inspections. You do the rest. Keep this in mind as you look at the
price for their pools. I think the numbers will surprise you.
With all that said, here is the comparison table you have all been waiting
for:
Builder
#1
Builder
#2
Builder
#3
Builder
#4
Owner/Builder
Pool Design /
Drawing
Pool Perim
79 ft
86 ft
90 ft
88 ft
95 ft
Pool SA
325 sqft
409 sqft
375 sqft
388 sqft
429 sqft
Pool Gals
10774 gallons
11250 gallons
11968 gallons
13000 gallons
Spa Perim
24 ft
25 ft
24 ft
24
28 ft
Spa SA
33 sqft
38 sqft
36 sqft
30
63.5 sqft
Spa Gal
743 gallons
N/A
N/A
N/A
825 gallons
Spa Jets
5
6
6
6
6
Decking
704 sqft Kooldeck
428 sqft Kooldeck
485 sqft Kooldeck
432 sqft Kooldeck
790 sqft Acrylic
Interior
Pebble-Tec - Tahoe
Pebble-Tec - Std
Pebble-Tec - Tahoe
Pebble-Tec - Tahoe
Pebble-Tec - Tahoe
Depth
3.5' - 5' - 4'
3' - 5' - 4'
3' - 5' - 4'
3' - 5' - 4'
3.5' - 5' - 4'
Waterfall
30 sqft
50 sqft
30 sqft
30 sqft
75 sqft
Acc Boulders
5
0
3
8
10
Filter Pump
1.5 HP
3 HP
1.5 HP
2 spd - 2HP
1.5HP
Waterfall Pump
N/A
1.5 HP
N/A
1.5 HP
2 HP
Jet Pump
2 HP
N/A
2 HP
N/A
2 HP
Blower Pump
2 HP
2 HP
2 HP
2 HP
2 HP
Heater
400K BTU
400K BTU
400K BTU
400K BTU
400K BTU
Filter
Cartridge
Sand 6.9
DE 60sqft
Cartridge
Sand 4.9
Cleaning Sys
Infloor
Infloor
Arneson Vac
Infloor
Hayward Ultra
Auto Leveler
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Looped Returns
4
4
4
5
5
Aerator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Skim/Drains
Tied
Tied
Tied
Separated
Tied
Returns PVC
1-1/2"
1-1/2"
1-1/2"
2"
1-1/2"
Spa Jet PVC
2"
2"
2-1/2"
3"
2-1/2"
Blower PVC
2"
2"
1-1/2"
2"
1-1/2"
Skimmer PVC
2"
2"
2"
2"
2"
Main Drain PVC
2"
2"
2"
2"
2"
Aerator PVC
3/4"
3/4"
3/4"
3/4"
3/4"
Plumbing Run
24 ft
18 ft
35 ft
35 ft
Electrical Run
67 ft
70 ft
90 ft
85 ft
190 ft
Brass Run
30 ft
21 ft
38 ft
20 ft
104 ft
Gas Line Run
154 ft
138 ft
80 ft
138 ft
68 ft
Shotcrete
6" Wall / 8" Cove
6" Wall / 8" Cove
6" Wall / 8" Cove
6" Wall / 8" Cove
6" Wall / 8" Cove
Rolled Beam
36'
29'
42'
28'
20'
Pool Light
1 - 250W
1 - 400W
1 - 400W
1 - 400W
2 - 400W
Spa Light
1 - 150W
1 - 100W
1 - 100W
1 - 100W
1 - 100W
Controls
Time Clock
Time Clock
Time Clock
Time Clock
Aqualink RS-8
Steps
21 ft
24 ft included
28 ft
18 ft
Benches
10 ft
6 ft included
5 ft
21 ft
Tile
N/A
Std Waterline
N/A
N/A
N/A
BBQ Island
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Beehive F/P
No
Yes
No
No
No
Bench Seating
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Firepit
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
Umbrla Sleeve
1
4
1
0
4
V/B Sleeve
2
2
2
0
2
B/B Sleeve
0
1
1
0
1
3' Table Top
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
8' RV Gate
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Steel
Std #3@12
Std #3@12
Std #3@12
#3@ 6" on 12"
Down to #3@3"on6"
Extra Steel
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Access/Dig
Bobcat
Bobcat
Bobcat
Bobcat
Bobcat
Chlorinator
Standard
Standard
Salt Chlorinator
Ozone
Salt Chlorinator
Startup
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Comments
Subtotal
$41,725.69
$42,000.00
$40,250.00
$36,154.00
$34,816.51
Adjustments
+ $1295 Salt
+ $1295 Salt
+ $2500 Aqualink
+ $2500 Aqualink
+ $600 Tile
+ $2500 Aqualink
+ $2500 Aqualink
+ $1000 Acrylic
+ $1000 Acrylic
+ $1000 Acrylic
+ $1000 Acrylic
+
$950 Addl Lights
+
$950 Addl Lights
+
$950 Addl Lights
+
$950 Addl Lights
+ $600 Tile
+ $2650 Masonry
+ 4000 Masonry
+ $400 Tahoe Upgd
+ $585 Barriers
+ $585 Barriers
+ $500 8' RV Gate
+ $585 Barriers
+ $400 8' RV Gate
+ $400 8' RV Gate
+ ??? Size Diff
+ $1500 Acct Boulders
+ $800 Accent Boulders
+ ??? Size Diff
+ $585 Barriers
+ $100 Surcharge Steel
+ $ Extra
Steel/Engr
+ $2000 WF Size Diff
+ ??? Extra
Steel/Engr
+ $240
Perim/Size Diff
+ $400 Ex Perimeter
+ $275 Extra Pump
+ $??? WF Size Diff
+ $1500 WF Size Diff
+ $432 Ex Surface Area
+ $4441 10% Fee
+ $275 Extra Pump
+ $275 Extra Pump
+ $3000 WF Size Diff
- $?? PVC diffs
- $2000 Infloor
- $2445 Infloor
+ $275 Extra Pump
- $2000 Infloor
- $800 TableTop
- $754 TableTop
- $150 Skim/Drain
- $3000 Beehive FP
- $700 Table Top
- $150 Upgd 3HP pump
Adjusted Total
$50,245.00
$45,950.00
$50,438.00
$48,105.00
$35,416.51
Owner/Builder Savings
+$14,828.49
+$10,533.49
+$15,021.49
+$12,688.49
$0
Take your time going over this comparison table slowly and carefully because
there is a lot of information there. There are a few things I wanted to
call to your attention.
The thing that should jump out at you right away after just a few minutes
of scanning through the table is that you are getting a much bigger,
beefier, and better pool going the owner/builder route and for about $10K -
$15K less than the professional pool builder. You can see it in the
specs and you can see it in the pool drawings. This should be the most
obvious thing you see right away.
The next biggest thing I wanted to point out is that Builder #4 whose bid came out to $48,105.00 (adjusted). This pool builder is one
of the largest Do-It-Yourself Pool Builders in the state of Arizona.
You pay them a nice 10% consultation fee on the total value of the pool you
want to build and here's what they do:
Draw up a pool design for you
Explain to you
everything you need to know about pool construction
Give you a list of
subcontractors to call
Send you on your way
If you ask me,
looking at the prices across the board doesn't inspire me to really go at it
as an owner/builder if that's the price I have to pay to do it. Granted,
they give you access to their consultants when you have questions and they
will perform inspections on your pool after each phase, but if you are going
to be paying just as much as a full service professional pool builder, why not just hire
one to begin with who will do *ALL* the
work for you?
A quick glance across the table looking at all the items that are marked
in blue will show that the best features and "beefiest"
specs are stacked in the owner/builder's pool. Its amazing what the
savings from doing-it-yourself will allow you to do in terms of
"upgrading" your pool. The items marked
in red show that the deficient features are clustered the pool
builder's pools. The nice thing
about going the owner/builder route is that you can tell the subcontractor
what you want. With pool builder's you have some flexibility, but not
nearly as much as with doing it yourself.
I really wanted to be conservative in my estimations and adjustments to
make sure I was doing a fair comparison. Here are a few things about the comparison table that you
should be aware of:
Some of the adjustments in the pool builders area have a
"???" on them. It means that there should be a price
adjustment for that particular category that is difficult to assign a
dollar value to. For example, in the column for the first builder, there is an
adjustment for "Size Difference". The builder specified
a much smaller size on his pool than I did for mine. If we were
comparing apples-to-apples, this should either raise his final price
(and hence the "+" added to it), or subtract from mine.
But because its difficult to adjust a price on something that is so encompassing
(affects amount of excavation, steel, concrete, interior, decking,
etc.), I left the price blank (to his advantage). Just know that
this significant added cost was not reflected in the final price.
There are many other cases where you will see this "+???"
which benefits the other builders. Again, I wanted to be fair and
conservative in my estimations.
I tried my best to fill in as much information as I could from all the
pool builders. However, some of the information was not provided
from their quotes and I had to leave those spaces blank.