Our First Setback

April 19, 2007

OK - so when we started this process we really didn't know how much this whole thing was going to cost.

We have had the side yard concrete bid a couple times and it has always been way too expensive in our mind for the utilitarian purpose and there is always a "short load" fee because it doesn't involve a huge load of concrete - so basically you are paying more for less.

so we are not sure how much that part is going to be

and we don't know how much the landscaping and the cover, etc, etc.

so I make some guesstimates add it all up and come up with 75,000 - neither one of us have any idea how realistic this is (or how we are going to pay for it, but hey we always seem to find a way)

Now I also forgot the whole pool cover issue. Back in the beginning I mentioned the automatic pool cover, and how much that was a central part of our entire project. One of the problems we ran into on our first appointment is that I wanted the pool cover, but Karen did not want a rectangle pool - and unfortunately those are not compatible issues - or so we thought.

However on our first few appointments we had the contractors give us bids for rectangular pools with auto-covers. Karen was not ecstatic about it and frankly it wasn't my first choice esthetically either - but it seemed to be our only option and then...

I found this picture online:

It was gorgeous and it was perfect - it allowed us to have the cover, but also allowed for a free-form and we really liked the way it looked. We were both very happy and I sent it off to the contractors we had already talked to and printed out multiple copies to show our coming appointments - this was a design we were both very excited about. We came to find out this is called a "pool in a pool"

So -we were all set to get our first bid.

Mark and Jorge came over on a Thursday night and we sat down to look at the bid. Now the first time they came over and subsequent conversations with them - everything was very jovial and fun and they were easy to talk to. On this night Mark was really quiet and it seemed as if something was wrong. We finally asked him Mark, what is wrong with you tonight. Well, he said, its the pool in a pool, it is really expensive. OK, well lets look at it and see what we got. So he started showing us the blueprints and describing all the things. One of our first impressions is this pool is a lot smaller then the one we envisioned.

So we get through all the design and he brings out the bid - it is roughly 83,000 - which is not too bad and not far off from our estimate. the problem is that is just for the pool and the cover - no landscaping, no side concrete, no patio cover, no BBQ, nothing. Once we get into Jorge's landscaping bid and the bid for the patio cover - the whole thing was going to add up to well over $125,000 - and that was just not going to be realistic.

OK, so the thoughts are racing through our heads - have we simply tried to do too much, are the other bids going to be cheaper, are we even going to be able to do anything?

So I ask him - what is making it so high. It is the pool in a pool he tells me. Basically we need to build 2 pools, not so much in the excavation, equipment, gunite and all that. But in the craftsmanship, the steel and the cover itself, Bottom line the pool in a pool and auto cover are driving the cost up around $25,000.

They leave and we are all depressed - I go to bed wondering if we are going to be able to build a pool at all.