Guide · Choosing your team One team, or a designer and a builder?
There are two common ways to get a pool and landscape built. Each can produce good work. Here is how they differ, and how to decide which one suits your project.
How each model works
With a separate designer and builder, you hire a designer first, who produces a plan. That plan then goes out to contractors, often several of them: a pool builder, a mason, a landscaper, an electrician. You or a general contractor coordinate the work.
With design/build, one firm does both. The people who draw the plan also build it, so design and construction are a single, continuous job. That is how we have worked since 1987.
Where a separate designer makes sense
We will be honest: the traditional route has real strengths. If you already have a designer you love, or you want drawings first so that you can compare bids from several contractors, this approach gives you that. On a very simple job, it may also be all you need. It can work well, especially when someone experienced is coordinating the trades on your behalf.
Where design/build makes sense
Design/build earns its keep on complicated projects, where the pool, walls, structures and planting all depend on one another. That describes most Hill Country hillside sites. There is one point of accountability, so there is no argument between designer and contractor about whose fault a problem is. Because the builders are in the room during design, cost and buildability are part of the conversation from the first sketch, which helps keep the budget in view.
It also keeps the design intact. Every project is built to the plan by the same team that drew it, without hand-offs. For a client who is busy or who owns a second home, a single contact can make the process far simpler.
Questions to ask any firm
Whichever route you choose, a few questions will tell you a lot. Who will actually draw the plans? Who is on site every day, and are they the firm’s own crews? Who does the structural engineering? What happens when a decision adds cost, and how will you hear about it? Can you see finished work of a similar scale, and talk to the clients who own it?
A good firm of either kind will welcome those questions. Look at our projects and awards, then ask us.
See it in our work
Common questions
01 Is design/build more expensive?
Not necessarily. Competitive bidding on a fixed design can lower the price of a specific scope, while design/build can save money by catching problems early and avoiding redesign and change orders. Compare the complete scope, not only the headline price.
02 Can I bring my own architect to a design/build firm?
Yes. We often work alongside a home’s architect and builder. See our page for builders and architects.
03 What does design/build mean for a pool project?
It means one firm is responsible for the design, the engineering and the construction of the pool and, ideally, everything around it.
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