Created by: Swim Leisure Toronto Team

Historically, contractors for any job were chosen by consumers basically for the price, not quality, or availability.  Now, with the electronic/social media age, there is more criteria to choose from, and more research available at your fingertips.

The first thing when selecting a pool contractor is to get one in your area.  Getting a pool contractor in your area makes a huge difference in completing the job on time, and also whether they can be available at a moment's notice if a problem arises.  

As a consumer, choose a few from your area, and get references.  Talk to the references.  Find out how well-established your contractors are, how long they have been in the business, how good their customer service is--is there always someone available to talk to when you call?  Do they respond to your questions and calls?  Do they discuss the work plan?  Do they have an office, and staff?  

In addition to being in your area, your contractor should be willing and able to discuss your questions and concerns.  They should be direct and forthright with their answers.  Be wary of contractors who cannot be reached by phone, or who don't return phone calls within a reasonable timeframe.  No question is stupid, and a pool is a large purchase requiring much research and thought.  Contractors who are worth their money will be willing to discuss the whole process, and take the time to go over the whole project with you.

The final thing is the price.  Only you know what your budget is, and you should keep that realistic number in the front of your thoughts when shopping for a contractor, but remember that a wise person will ensure that their budget has a figure built in to cover unseen costs.  Good contractors will provide a contract which spells out clearly what the responsibilities are for the homeowner, and what the responsibilities are for the contractor.  There are always things that may or may not be foreseen in the project which add cost to the bottom line.  Some items will be spelled out in the contract that they are not included in the price.  A good contractor should be able to give you at least a ballpark figure of what these costs may be.  Our next blog will get into this a little bit more.