I also want to add some info about contractors and the Better
Business Bureau or Dept of Consumer Affairs… Some contractors
cancell their existing license and reapply for a new one. What this
does is it eliminates any claims on record for the contractor and
gives him a clean slate. As you look up his file, anything on
recored is sorted by license number. So, by cancelling an existing
license and getting a new one, he has effectively erased all
grievances.
A good indication that a contractor has done this is if there is any
discrepency between the date of his license and the date he claims to
be in business. For example, on his marketing literature, he may say
he’s been in business since 1952. If his license is dated 1999,
however, that means he probably did what I described in the paragraph
above. My pool builder, California Pools & Spas, has a license dated
in the 1950s, which is about the same time they claim to have started
their business.
You can get all this license info about a contractor on-line at the
California Dept. of Consumer Affairs’ web site.
Question about costs and realistic goals …
March 22nd, 2005 · 3 Comments
Tags: pumps
3 responses so far ↓
1 Neva Marjory // Mar 23, 2005 at 5:57 am
Sorry… I can’t shut up…
James… ask the contractors who are bidding on your pool to give you
references. Some of them may hesitate to do so, others might just
say no problem and hand you a list. When you get it, make sure you
follow-up and call their past customers. Don’t worry about intruding
on other people… everyone I’ve called was more than happy to talk
about their experiences. You can also get some good advice/tips on
what they would have done after having the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.
Some pool builders might even arrange for you to visit recent
customers to see their work. Lots of recent customers are proud of
what they have and are more than willing to show off.
Also… Call your city/county (Riverside, right?) about any
codes/regulations for building residential pools and about the cost
of permits. Make sure you square this away with your builder about
making your property in compliance. Usually, there’s a multi-step
inspection process with your local government as the pool is being
built; e.g., before they can fill your pool with water, they need to
pass an electrical inspection, etc. The builder is supposed to
handle all this, but it won’t hurt to talk about it.
2 Desiree Cassidy // Mar 24, 2005 at 1:06 am
Thank you everyone for all of your information. It really has helped
me to really think about what I want and where I want to go with this
project. I know I will have more questions, but you have answered so
many already that it has been a great help. As far as the desing I
essentially thought about the most ourageous I could, than figured I
would work back down from there. I really like the grotto idea. It
seems romantic and just a cool little feature. I may just anex the
slide idea and several of the other things. I will definetely make
sure to get everythign in writing and check ut my contractor very
extensively.
Thank you for all info it is greatly appreciated
3 janis_40 // Mar 25, 2005 at 10:24 pm
In a message dated 10/3/2003 12:08:50 PM Central Daylight Time,
smoggyday@… writes:
A good indication that a contractor has done this is if there is any
discrepency between the date of his license and the date he claims to
be in business. For example, on his marketing literature, he may say
he’s been in business since 1952. If his license is dated 1999,
however, that means he probably did what I described in the paragraph
above. My pool builder, California Pools & Spas, has a license dated
in the 1950s, which is about the same time they claim to have started
their business.
Been building pools since the “50s.
Oooooooooooooooooooo……………..hold onto them!
Ken
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