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I checked out the site howibuiltmyownpool.com and was pretty impressed with it at first. That is until I realized the author wants 100 dollars to tell you about the entire experience.
Seems fishy.
My sister met with Bella yesterday. I guess they want $5,000 to be your consultant.
After seeing my pool being built, I really think she could sub the job out herself.
I don't think you spent enough time on Ben's website, howibuiltmyownpool.com
He gives TONS of info out without paying the $100.
I read every "free" word on that site, and it convinced me I could build my own pool. I would never have thought so without that site. Once I made that decision, I decided to pay the $100 - more out of gratitutde to Ben for spending all the time he did putting all his experiences on the web than for the extra information. I went back to that site over and over again while building my pool. I won't say that those extra pages are worth the $100 I paid .... but I'll definately state that his site was worth the $100 to me because without it I would not have gone on my own and I know I saved at least $15 grand building it myself.
Look again. The amount of info, research, etc. put into it, and Ben's ability to present it in a way so someone totally ignorant of all things "construction" can understand is amazing. And that's the free stuff. Dang - I feel like I should send Ben another hundred ... not going to though. That would come out of my "contractor's" profit! :D
Valerie
I thought about building my own pool without the help of Bella Pools before I saw their web site. I have seen so many horror stories though and did not want to be one of them. I also did not want to have to quit my job just to oversee the construction! The prices that Bella was able to get for me was much lower than the estimates I was getting to do the project alone. I also was having a hard time getting sub contractors to work with me since I only have one pool for them to work on. My pool is not just a plain pool, I have a lagoon style pool with rock waterfalls, pavers and screen enclosure so I wanted to make sure the quality was what it was supposed to be. I would reccommend you do what I did before I made my decision, check how well you are able to locate all the sub contractors, you do not want to get halfway through the project to find out you cant find someone for a paticular step or that the wait to get them is a long time. Also, before you start construction check thre price with pool contractors, hiring it yourself and Bella Pools. We just could not find some of the trades wanting to work with us and the ones that did where to high of a price. Please keep us posted and goog luck! I wish I knew how to put up a photo of my pool on here to show you!
What did your sister end up doing?
I see this post has been resurrected, but it caught my eyes because my wife and I recently signed on with Bella Pools here in Orlando. I've been lurking on this forum for a while now and it has nudged me in the direction of using a "consultant/project manager" approach.
I want to be more involved in the process and be able to make some decisions regarding options, without feeling like they're being pushed on me - as it seems many regular pool builders like to do. However, I don't quite have the time, patience, or expertise to develop the optimal pool layout and research and oversee subcontractors, so that's where I can rely on Bella Pools.
The company itself is very small, but everyone I have met so far appears competent and easy to work with. And, as others have mentioned, you don't have to worry about them going out of business and sticking you with a half-finished pool. I'm still finalizing the design with them and will post pictures and schematics once they are complete - as I will be seeking advice for ways to trim costs or upgrade where it makes the most sense.
Thanks,
Todd