| Pool Building :: Owner Builder Pros and Cons |
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| Pool Building :: Owner Builder Pros |
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- Cost savings! Estimated between 20-30% by eliminating sales commissions and builder mark-up.
- Scheduling time and project time are much shorter due to lead time. Pool builders often will not
schedule the next phase of the job until payment is received for the previous phase. This results
in many added weeks to the project.
- Wider variety of products and designs. It is common practice for major builders to have direct
suppliers that they deal with exclusively. This limits the variety of materials (tile, rock, pavers,
equipment, etc.) that homeowners have to choose from. Many customers “settle” for something
other than they had originally intended.
- Homeowners are not limited to a single builder’s abilities, skills, and supplies. If a homeowner
wanted to install a patio cover, some pool builders would include this process in the bid, while
others would tell them that they “don’t do patio covers” and encourage you to call a patio cover
company. By this logic the homeowner should simply sub-contract the whole job and save loads
of money.
- Homeowners can do some medial tasks themselves and save heaps of money. When a pool
builder is hired to build a pool, homeowners are paying for site clean up, delivery, and many
other small tasks. Many times they are not aware that they are paying hourly wages plus builder
markup for workers to do thing like sweep the sidewalk, discard “building trash”, or hose down
the muddy driveway.
- Homeowners can use family or friends for construction phases to save big money. Almost everyone
knows somebody in construction. People save money all the time through personal networks.
Why should pool construction be any different?
- Shopping around for the best sub-contractors in the area can be beneficial to the overall quality
and price of the project. Often customers are unknowingly committed through pool builders to use a particular dedicated sub-contractor for phases of the job. If a homeowner knows of a contractor
whose work they like, then they can use that contractor if they desire. Many pool builders will
discourage this or even threaten to void warranties (beyond the pool holding water) if “unapproved” contractors were used on site.
- Homeowners can monitor the progress of the job themselves, paying closer attention to details that are particularly important to them.
- Homeowners can use the saved money to add more to their projects. A pool, spa, and waterfall
combination is virtually impossible to come across in the industry for less than $45,000, and usually
exceed $50,000. Owner-builders use their saved cash to add additional waterfalls, controls,
fiber-optic, etc.
- Homeowners shouldn't pay the minimums if they are not using the minimums. All pool builders have minimum materials included in their base pool price (usually $32-$35k). For example, most pool builders include “up to” 400 square feet of concrete decking, or “up to” 100’ of electrical runs. If a project
requires more than additional charges are incurred. However, if a project requires less there is rarely
ever credits given due to the “minimum cost” the sub-contractors have agreed to work for.
- Many contractors will offer discounts on work directly to homeowners or the price can be negotiated. Construction is a highly competitive industry with mass amounts of contractors to choose from. A
majority of smaller contractors and many of the larger ones know that quite often they have to be
flexible to win bids. Never take a first offer! Ever! They will come down in price unless they are sure
they are the lowest for comparable work.
- Homeowners experience limited “finger pointing” amongst subcontractors. Pool projects with major
builders can get tied up with contractors who claim that they are not responsible or didn't create a
problem during construction. Since the pool builder has ultimate liability for the completion of the job,
sub-contractors know that the pool builder will have to ultimately pay to have the problem corrected
for their customer. It is because of this fact that the pool builders exhaust all efforts to get contractors
to admit fault before they ultimately have to pay that very same contractor, or another contractor to
correct the issue.
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| Pool Building :: Owner Builder Cons |
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- Homeowners do maintain total project liability. The integrity of construction is the responsibility
of the homeowner. The homeowners also have the responsibility to make sure everyone working
on their property is covered under workers compensation. Most contractors will supply evidence of
this or put in a written agreement.
- Homeowners will have to spend small amount of time on calling and scheduling the phases of
construction & inspections. Most county offices have inspection hotlines where if a request is put
in before the end of the workday, they will guarantee inspection the next business day.
- Most people have no idea what is involved with building a pool. Before a homeowner ‘dives’ into pool construction, there are many things that need to be considered.
- Research and shopping can take up some time. There are thousands of materials, rocks, colors, tiles,
and building accessories that are available in the market. Many homeowners really enjoy this process
but it does take some time.
- Information can often be misleading or confusing to the average homeowner. Builders and contractors
are often not very ‘customer friendly’. They can sometimes use ‘building lingo’ and speak vaguely when speaking of construction or progress. This is simply a generalization and is in no way speaking of any
builder or industry in particular.
- You are responsible to make sure the project meets local building code and disclose that you were an
owner builder if you sell your house. Please check with state and local laws regarding this.
 
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