WHY SHOULD I HIRE A POOL DESIGNER?

If you’re shopping for a new in-ground pool, you’re currently trying to learn as much as you can about the costs of building a pool. This guide explains in detail the value and the benefits of hiring an independent pool designer and compares it to the hidden costs and downsides of using a builder’s designer and settling for their “free” design (which isn’t actually free--we'll get to that).

If your goal is to build a pool, then you’re about to make one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make. For the average homeowner, installing an in-ground pool will be the second-largest purchase they make in their lifetime, second only to the home itself. We’re talking about spending anywhere between $80,000 - $300,000 (or more). That’s not something you just roll the dice on.

It matters that you find an experienced and reliable pool builder, but it matters even more that you pay for something that you actually love. If you settle for something mediocre and end up spending 6 figures on it, I promise you’ll feel buyer’s remorse. Every time you go outside to get into your pool, you’ll feel the dull, nagging resentment of knowing that you could have and should have done things a little differently.

Instead, I want you to feel excited every time you step out into your backyard on a hot Summer day. I want you to take it all in and breathe out a sigh of relief from the satisfaction of knowing that you got exactly what you and your family needed for the price you wanted to pay.

THE FIRST STEP TOWARD BUILDING A POOL

The most common first step that people take in the pool buying process is to reach out to a builder. This isn’t necessarily a bad move. After all, most builders are great educators. They can typically explain the process, set expectations and even give you price ranges and typical costs that they see in your local area for the features you want.

Another thing a builder is going to do is offer you a free design. I’m not going to tell you that this is a bad idea either. Dallas alone has somewhere around 400 pool builders. We’re saturated, and competition is extremely high. But I’ve noticed that many of in-house designers at pool construction companies in this area seem to be better than the nationwide average. My hunch says this probably has something to do with the fact that they get an above-average amount of practice at this job compared to builder designers in other states and localized markets.

THE DOWNSIDE OF DESIGNING WITH A POOL BUILDER

But I want to explain the mindset of the pool builder (and thus, the designer who works for a pool builder). And I’ll start by sharing this well known saying that everyone in the pool industry has heard countless times by now:

Question: “What’s the best kind of pool?”

Answer: “A sold pool!”

This is their drive. This is their priority. If a pool builder isn’t selling construction projects to homeowners, then they’re slowly going out of business. Selling projects is what keeps their lights on and keeps their teams paid. And that’s okay. We all specialize in something. We all want to do a good job and get paid for our efforts.

However, your priority is figuring out what kind of swimming pool is going to be perfect for you and your family and then finding out who can give you the best price on achieving that dream. What you need is an experienced designer who can actively listen to all of your wants and needs and creatively convert all of that into a compelling design that you fall in love with.

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST: WHY THE FREE POOL DESIGN FALLS SHORT

Good design takes time. Creating the kind of pool designs that elicit an emotional reaction requires moving slowly and being careful and thorough. It requires a huge time investment, as well as the space and the breathing room to focus on that without juggling a bunch of other tasks.

But the longer it takes for a builder/designer to create a design, the longer they have to wait between sales. If they only spend 2-4 hours on a design, they can sell a lot of pools. If they spend 20 hours on each design, those designs will be amazing, but they won’t sell as many pools. This is why most pool builders (and their in-house designers) are more or less only incentivized to move quickly and produce designs that are only… okay.

I don’t want to say that this is necessarily a problem, but it does highlight the point at which their priorities begin to deviate from your best interest. Do you see the conflict? They need to sell you something–anything. But what you deserve is something outstanding and meaningful. They want speed and volume. You want consideration and perfection. They want to close a deal quickly and get to the next lead waiting in line. But you want to know you're being listened to and not over-sold.

So, what’s the solution?

THE BENEFITS OF HIRING AN INDEPENDENT POOL DESIGNER

An independent pool designer’s whole world is design, and design only, because this is what they’re getting paid to do. Thus, they have the time and the space to produce careful, thoughtful design that revolves precisely around you and your family, giving you exactly what you need. Nothing more and nothing less.

In addition to that, they’re typically seasoned experts when it comes to materials, timeless design principles, architectural aesthetics, proportion, scale, balance–all of the things that elevate design from the average to the exceptional. They can create stunning visuals and videos, conceptual plans, and eventually full construction plans. This is why their body of work tends to be incredibly unique and visually striking.

Not only that, but here is another thing that makes their services invaluable:

Because an independent designer is not beholden to any one builder, they will organize a bid package to send out to builders. They’ll solicit competitive bids on your behalf from multiple builders and ensure that each one is bidding on the same design, “apples to apples” as they say, so that there’s no deviation. This way, you get several construction estimates from several builders. Now you’re able to get a real sense for who is giving you the very best price. 

Now the independent pool designer is not only providing exceptional design, they’re saving you time and money too!

For some of you, your first reaction is, “Yeah, but that sounds expensive. Most pool builders provide free designs. Why would I pay someone to do that?”

And you’re right. Most pool builders typically offer free designs. But it’s important to understand that those “free” designs aren’t actually free. They’re only free up front. You’re still paying for them on the back end.

Let me explain:

THE TRUE COST OF A FREE POOL DESIGN

When you meet with a pool builder, you end up talking to a design/sales associate who provides a design for you with zero obligation to pay anything (usually). The free design is meant to pull you into the process, give you a sense of awareness for how everything could look and feel once it’s done, and really, to just get you excited and invested in the idea of having a pool in your backyard.

It also serves as a baseline for a conversation about pricing. That free pool design is usually presented to you along with a construction estimate that outlines what is involved in the project and how much everything costs. That same designer will work with you to revise the design and provide revised estimates as well. And every bit of this is useful and productive because you’re becoming more and more informed along the way.

But here’s the thing: that designer/sales associate is working for free in the beginning with the hope that you’re eventually going to buy from them, because most of them don’t get paid anything at all until they finally sell a project. And I bet you’re wondering how that works as well. Well, I’ll tell you:

SALES COMMISSIONS: HOW THE POOL BUILDER’S DESIGNER GETS PAID

Let’s talk averages. The average pool construction project in Dallas is quickly creeping up to around $150,000. Some are less, and some are significantly more. But on average, $150,000 is what most people end up paying for a generously sized swimming pool, a spa, a raised wall with a water feature, and some surrounding decking to walk around on.

Since we’re still talking averages here, it’s good to know that most pool builders are averaging somewhere between 25% - 40% profit margins on their projects. This has more to do with size, project scope and also what kind of project volume a builder’s business is oriented to provide in a given year. But most are going to be somewhere in this range.

So, if we take the average project cost of $150,000, and apply the average profit margin of 25%-40%, that means that most pool builders are making somewhere around $37,500 - $60,000 in profit when it’s all over with.

And before you scream out loud that this is highway robbery, take a breath, and take a moment to consider what all goes into a construction project of that size, how long these projects last, and also, what it takes to operate a company that is constantly doing something as complicated as building pools.

There’s a lot of overhead, a lot of risk, a lot of liability, and a lot of people involved in making sure it all gets done correctly. It’s an expensive business to be in. And after all, someone has to exist to do it. This isn’t something you want to manage yourself.

But let’s circle back to those profit margins and the free designs. The average designer gets somewhere between a 6%-8% commission based on the total sales price of the project and also the profit margin. If the average project nets $37,500 - $60,000 in profit, then designers are getting paid somewhere between $2,250 - $4,800 per sale. The design was never free. They were just delaying the fee.

INDEPENDENT POOL DESIGNER COST VS. POOL BUILDER COSTS

The truth is, hiring an independent pool designer probably isn’t going to cost much more than what you’ll eventually pay the builder’s in-house designer later (maybe even the same amount). The biggest difference is that you’ll instead be paying the independent designer up-front, before construction takes place. But then again, did you also know that when working with a company like The UnDesign, you might even have the option of negotiating for part of that fee to be paid by the builder that you select later?

It’s true. You might be able to pay a small retainer amount to get the design process going with an independent designer and then make arrangements for your (future) builder to absorb the remainder of the fee into their contract, thereby reducing your out-of-pocket cost and allowing you to finance the rest of it in your construction loan.

How does that work? Remember how the builder’s designer is typically responsible for all of those tasks we talked about? Well, when the builder (or their sales associate) is no longer responsible for that work, they’re no longer wasting their time on it. And that means that some of the sales commission can now be exchanged and earmarked for paying the independent designer who is now doing that work instead. And if the independent designer is going to be responsible for creating the construction plans, the builder can arrange to pay their fee for that as well.

Ultimately, what you get from the independent pool designer is someone who is going to do much more thorough work and is beholden only to you and your project. This always results in better, more thoughtful, more detail-oriented work, and it means that the chances of you regretting or resenting what you paid for after construction is completed are significantly reduced.

Independent designers provide better results. Period. If this sounds compelling to you, I want you to contact me at The UnDesign today. Let’s talk about your project, what would make you happy, what you’d like to spend, and how I can help you get there while providing peace of mind at the same time!

CONTACT ME TODAY