What to ask a pool builder before you pay a deposit

Ask what the full to-swimming price is including fencing, consent fees and the equipment pad; how unexpected ground conditions get priced once excavation starts; who lodges the consent and arranges the barrier sign-off; what warranty applies to the structure and for how long; and what the pool will cost to run each year with the equipment specified. Those five are CheckMyBuilder's own list, and every one of them is where a quote moves.

Check the registers first. They are free.

• NZBN register — the legal name, number and status of the company you are about to pay. A trading name on a truck is not a company.
• Licensed building practitioner register — restricted building work must be done or supervised by a licensed practitioner, and the register is public.
• SPASA NZ find a member — if a builder claims SPASA membership or Master Pool Builder status, it should be findable there.

We list those because they are checks *you* can do, and because we do not do them for you. This site does not vet builders and has no “approved” list.

The questions about the fence

• Is the barrier in this price, and which type — aluminium, semi-frameless or frameless glass? Ultimate Pools publishes aluminium from around $8,000–12,000 and fully frameless reaching $25,000–40,000, so “fencing” is not one number.
• Who lodges the building consent for the barrier? It needs one of its own (Building Act Schedule 1 clause 23(2)).
• Who books the council inspection or an independently qualified pool inspector, and who pays for it?
• Will the finished barrier meet clause F9 of the Building Code — the 1.2 m height, the 100 mm gaps, the non-climbable zone, the self-closing gate and the 1.5 m latch? Run our checker over the plan.

The questions about the hole

CheckMyBuilder prices site access and ground conditions at $10,000–50,000 and lists rock breaking and dewatering as usually extra. Ask how those are priced: a rate per hour, a rate per cubic metre, or a variation you will be told about afterwards. Ask the same about crane hire if a shell has to come over the house.

Deposits and the payment schedule

Ask for the payment schedule in writing before you pay anything, and ask what each payment buys. CheckMyBuilder's framing is worth repeating: a pool is one of the biggest cheques you will write.

What we do, and what we are paid

If you want an introduction we will make one, to a single builder in your region, only if you tick the box that says so, and the builder pays us a referral fee if you go ahead. Your price does not change. We have no partner builder signed in any region today, and the form says so before you fill it in. How we work and earn.