One other thing should be noted about having a set of plans. It shows the contractor that you are quite serious, know exactly what you want, and all they need to do is build it. When you don't have a solid plan, you are essentially telling the contractor that (s)he has to invest in an effort at designing the pool which you unwilling to do. That is not a strong pre-qualifier for a viable client (this is confirmed by the fact that 6 contractors have been interviewed and none have been hired). That does not make you a bad person, just naive. Instead of an all out effort to land your job, you get what is essentially an equal effort back from the contractor - a quickie design to see if you bite or a recycled plan from someone elses back yard. It is very rare that a contractor, or a designer for that matter, will be comfortable making a bigger effort, prior to getting paid, at getting the priveledge to work on your project than you will make to have the priveledge of them working for you. I don't charge for initial consultations, but I will not work for people who say "go by the house, look at it, and give me a proposal". If I have to show up, you have to show up. It is not a matter of respect, it is a matter of showing that you are committed. Without that, those contractors know from experience that it is more likely a waste of time - that you might be doing the same with 5 other contractors and no one gets the job ...... and the proof is in the pudding because that is exactly what happened. Take control. Hire a designer, whether it is a landscape architect, a very experienced designer, or a design/build contractor and pay for just the design. Everyone else will take you very seriously and put a lot more effort in landing your job because they know you are committed. No slam on you here. You just did not know what the people you are trying to work with go through, what they learned from experience, and how they protect themselves from wasted effort. Now you know and can take control.

Thanks Miriam, that makes a lot of sense. We are going to tackle the guest bath ourselves when life isn't so hectic. My 9 1/2 month old just started walking and DH just started his PhD and cant commit to tiling on a timeline. I do feel better though about pulling my own permits. I talked to our "contractor" and he said he would put on the Hydroban at no additional costs, and typically he just goes with the homeowner to purchase the construction items so they don't miss anything. ceezeecz thank you for the pocket door and permit info. I am going to check out Johnson hardware. Yes we do need threshholds I completely forgot about that. 8pmg I definitely think the TX market is different. We have a little of a language barrier, but he definitely doesn't seem like a hack. When I told him we wanted two showerheads one rainshower and one sliding bar, he asked if I wanted it like the last bathroom he did and showed me the attached pic. Uhhh no, too fancy for us *lol*. I am going to continue to agonize about this for the next couple day's and drive DH crazy. It's hard to put it off, because DH used it as his paint room and didn't clean up. Previous owner smoked in the house for 20 years, we had to prime and paint every single surface. Ripped out all the laminate and carpet and put in hardwood throughout. Here is a link that might be useful:

I'd have to take your pool builders side on this if it happened to me. If you chose an outside entity over mine to perform your decks you'd have to deal with them on any after the fact problems that are decking related. quote" Are they just trying to get out of honoring their warranty? quote" Absolutely not. They've got nothing to warranty on this job description because they were no part of that aspect of the job. You took them out when you chose a separate concrete company to provide the work and cut them off from there ability to make their markup on that portion of the job. quote" However, we need to get that joint caulked. -and- The deck company says if the tile falls off after this winter, they will pay to have it replaced. "quote I'd suggest having them handle the job. After all they poured the deck and got paid for it. I'm certain they'll come through for you. quote" Do I just caulk the joint myself at this point "quote Most definitely no, your the customer and have paid your money to have the work handled correctly. quote" Please help! "quote The only help I can offer is to stand your ground and make your decker come back and handle the job, then stand behind the work he performed. There's no need to repour anything, and no need to do anything yourself or force the pool builder to do anything to the cold joint between the beam and the concrete decking. This has, was, and always will be the concrete contractors responsibility. I'm forced into your builders position every now and then. I always make it a point to tell the buyer prior to conceding that portion of the job that situations like yours are the reason I discourage them from using their own subs on my jobs. Unless the sub is willing to pay me my markup out of the buyers payment I don't warranty the jobs done by subs other than mine. That warranty is extended and supported by the contractor they payed. This is not a personal decision it's a business decision. I, and your builder, make our living off of marking up the trades invoices. I hope this assists you, and sincerely hope it didn't offend you. It's just my .02 See ya, Kelly

here are a few details since a pandora's box of speculation is all over the map. started the process of finding contractors at the end of april with the idea of a fall/winter build. house is 1 story, 30x40, on piers, 2 bdr, 2 bth. so my 'lavish' lifestyle will be housed basically in a trailer in the sky. ( to pigeon hole the style, would be mid-century-ish). i would wait 2-3 weeks, between phone calls, mainly because of the amount of rain pouring down from the sky and i was well aware of weather delays and the havoc that creates for building. my wonderful septic guy Carl was a peach. returned my calls, let me know of delays, showed up when he said he would, did a fantastic job & i am for ever in his debt. the flip side of carl tho? evidently he was a spoiler for my expectations in contractors. i was my own GC for my yankee house and also for an elderly neighbor's home. and most of all. i do not hate the south. southern's are the most kind, polite, gentle, most friendly people i have ever met..... always a wave hello, always a smile. they just hate to use the phone? if at any time anyone would have said- 'job is to small, not worth my time, your plans suck, you are crazy, don't ever call me again, kicked my dog or called my children ugly.' i would say thanks and move on to find someone else. not a problem. the reply's to my feeble attempt at a rant, and humor have been enjoyable. if i lived under your skin, i take it as a kind of a zen thing, accept my apology for inadvertently pushing a button, but i probably saved someone else. to those who sympathized and offered help, advice and patience, i thank you. and the wise sage who wrote rude behavior would be turning a job down, and it is not rude to never return phone calls- you gave me a light-bulb moment. i now know how to start the conversation. so...... let's all lighten up, just saying.