How to Read a Pool Bid? The Line Items Every Arizona Homeowner Should See

Did you just get a bid to build a swimming pool? Do you know what each of these line items mean? You see the total price. What is included for that price and is there anything you are missing?

Shasta Pools has built pools in Arizona since 1966. Unfortunately, most homeowners have no idea what they're looking at the first time they open a pool bid. We want the experience to instill trust with full transparency.

This article goes through what's in a pool bid. We share what you can skip and how to compare two different bids. So, you feel confident that your dream pool is listed line by line in the bid you chose.

Table of Contents

• What Should I Look for When Reading a Pool Bid?
• Why Do Some Pool Bids Have 200 Line Items and Others Have 40?
• What Line Items Should Always be on an Arizona Pool Bid?
• What Are the Line Items in a Shasta Pool Bid?
• Ready to Compare Your Bid Line by Line

What Should I Look for When Reading a Pool Bid?

You don't need to understand every line. You need to know which ones change how your pool is being built.

• You want to understand the equipment specs. "Filter" or "in-floor cleaning system" tells you nothing. You need the brand and model.

• What counts toward the base price. Some builders stuff extras into a bigger base number to make it look like more is included. Others keep the base narrow and price everything separately.

• What happens if something changes after you sign? Look for a flat fee and what triggers it.

• Disclaimers on natural materials. Stone and tile have real variance.

• The pricing is itemized or bundled. A bundled number can hide as much as it saves you from reading.

Quality of the Build

"You have your design category, which is what I call the easiest category... you're not going to really get much price differentiation there. But then you move into what I call the second phase, and that's specifications... this is an area where on paper, companies will write all kinds of numbers there. It doesn't mean that's what that product cost... The third area, which is almost impossible, is what I call your quality of the build. Your construction techniques, how your crews work, the behind-the-scenes stuff that you can't feel or touch with the proposal." — Eric Matalski, Sales, Shasta Pools

Why Do Some Pool Bids Have 200 Line Items and Others Have 40?

Not every company handles their pool builds the same.

Some pool builders' price a pool as a package. One number covers the whole thing. Other builders, Shasta included price everything a la carte. We list perimeter, per linear foot and deck, per square foot. That's why a Shasta bid can run 200 to 250 line items while a competitor's bid covers the same pool in 30 or 40. We assume the same pool.

More line items aren't better or worse on its own. It's just a different way of showing you the same pool. It does mean two things. First, an itemized bid shows you what you're paying for instead of asking you to trust a bundled number. Second, it can feel harder to read. There can be a lot to read creating a feeling like you're missing something.

Contract 200-250 Line Items

"It doesn't matter if you can read a contract. It's still foreign words — like, what's a gasket? What's our — you know, what does that go to? You know, that's not what everybody else says. But Shasta's contract does say that kind of thing. Because you see everything that's in the contract — whether it be a standard contract with ShastaPools, will have about 200 to 250 items listed, versus a competitor, 30, 40, something like that." — Jordan Isaac, Pool Designer, Shasta Pools

What Line Items Should Always be on an Arizona Pool Bid?

Arizona adds a few things to a pool bid that builders in other states don't have to think about.

Has your pool designer been to our house? You can't add permits because you don't know the city. You can't add taxes because you don't know the city. You can't really add your excavation equipment because you don't know what size equipment you need to get into the client's home. You don't know about wall removal.

• Permits, engineering, and inspections.

• Excavation sized for your access. Tight side-yard access can mean different equipment than a wide-open lot.

• A dump fee, if your zone requires one. Some parts of the Valley charge extra for dirt removal.

• An abnormal soil allowance. Caliche and hard soil are common enough that a bid should account for the possibility.

• Taxes and administrative fees.

• A late change order fee.

Pool Bid Lines Items Get Missed

"You should be getting these bids prior to signing a contract... the only thing that can change is an abnormal soil dig. I mean if there's a prior conversation with a customer of saying, hey, you know, your access is pretty tight, but let's wait for our yard survey to come back and see. Or I can have our excavator come out there and do a pre-site." — Jordan Isaac, Pool Designer, Shasta Pools

What Are the Line Items in a Shasta Pool Bid?

Ready to Compare Your Bid Line by Line

A longer bid doesn't mean a worse deal. It usually means the opposite. You're seeing more of what you're paying. You don't have to just trust a bundled number. We hope everything is covered.

Don't just go straight for the total. What's in the base price? Do like the equipment specs? Do you understand the change order clause?

If a line item doesn't make sense, ask about it. That's what it's there for.

We've been building pools in Arizona since 1966. We'd rather spend twenty extra minutes walking you through a bid than have you find out what's missing a year from now. We are happy to go through your pool bid line by line. Full transparency is how we build your pool.