Is my pool quote complete?

Key facts

• DBPR's pool/spa servicing category includes repair and equipment replacement or necessary additions.

  Source: CP/RP construction, servicing and specialty limits, read 14 October 2026.

• DBPR distinguishes pool specialty subcontractors from contractors who contract directly with homeowners.

  Source: CP/RP construction, servicing and specialty limits, read 14 October 2026.

• FTC estimate guidance names work, materials, completion date and price.

  Source: FTC estimate and insurance checklist, read 14 October 2026.

• Section 489.126(2)(a) provides the initial-payment trigger, conditional permit/start deadlines and exceptions.

  Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.

• Section 489.126(1) includes anyone performing, contracting or promising the work described in s. 489.105(3), without regard to licensure.

  Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.

• Palm Beach advises permit closeout before final payment where a permit applies.

  Source: Palm Beach contractor directory, read 14 October 2026.

What should a written pool quote list?

Ask for a component-by-component written scope covering the pool work proposed, with retained equipment and changed surfaces clearly distinguished. DBPR's servicing description includes repairs, replacement equipment and necessary additions; use those distinctions to avoid treating every pool request as the same operation.

Source: CP/RP construction, servicing and specialty limits, read 14 October 2026.

The FTC's estimate guidance calls for the work, materials and completion date. Apply those headings to equipment, interior finish or construction as appropriate; ask the bidder to explain how those details apply to your particular pool project.

Source: FTC estimate and insurance checklist, read 14 October 2026.

For a resurfacing request, ask for an explicit answer about tile and coping instead of assuming a new-surface line includes them. For an equipment change, attach the existing model information and ask the bidder to identify any assessment needed before selecting a replacement.

For equipment work, assemble a retained-component map before comparing proposals. Ask the bidder to identify the pump, filter, controls and associated components that will remain. Record the proposed replacement by model and ask what connections or adjustments are part of the operation.

For an interior finish project, ask for an annotated description of the vessel surfaces, steps and areas around fittings. Identify the tile and coping you intend to retain and ask how the proposed work meets them. If an extra repair is recommended, request its location and description separately from the finish choice.

For new construction, ask the contractor to explain how the pool, deck, equipment area and access route appear in the design. Keep changes to the drawing linked to a dated revision. If you change a feature, request an explanation of the resulting work rather than assuming the original construction sequence still describes the project.

Separate product choices from operations. Selecting a finish does not answer who prepares the surface, just as selecting a pump does not describe all proposed connections. Ask the contractor to supply the missing operation details before you treat two responses as answers to the same request.

Which items are often left out?

Check the boundaries between pool equipment, interior finish, deck and separate electrical work. Treat these as questions to answer rather than a measured ranking of omissions; ask whether each component is included, excluded or still awaiting assessment in your written scope.

For equipment replacement, ask whether connections, controls and startup are part of the described work. Identify the components the bidder intends to retain. If a proposed addition changes the project, request a separate description rather than allowing it to disappear into a general equipment line.

For an interior project, ask who handles preparation, the transition around fittings and any damaged area discovered during the work. Request a process for documenting a proposed extra repair and obtaining your decision before it changes the accepted scope.

For construction, ask who supplies the design, what excavation and access arrangements are proposed, and how work near the deck or landscaping is assigned. Write down who returns the site to the agreed condition and who provides instructions when the equipment is handed over.

For a new pool, request a layout reconciliation before accepting the proposal. Ask the contractor to walk through the drawing with you and identify the vessel outline, steps, equipment location and deck boundary included in the offer. Record a feature you want to discuss as a question until the contractor has incorporated it into the design and work description.

Ask which drawing revision the quotation uses. If you move the equipment area or change the deck outline, request an updated description of the installation and surrounding work. Retain the superseded drawing separately so the earlier arrangement cannot be confused with the version you accept.

DBPR says pool specialty subcontractors may not contract directly with the public. If a proposal introduces specialists for excavation, finishes or another stage, ask the contracting business to identify their roles and explain who remains responsible for your agreement. Put that contracting arrangement beside the stage descriptions rather than collecting unrelated promises from each team.

Source: CP/RP construction, servicing and specialty limits, read 14 October 2026.

Ask for a list of decisions still awaiting your selection, such as the proposed finish or coping choice. Give each decision an agreed next step and request a written update when the selection is incorporated into the proposal.

Ask who provides operating instructions for changed equipment and what the contractor intends to demonstrate at handover. Keep the control information attached to the model actually installed, especially if the proposed equipment changes during the work.

For a staged construction or finish project, request a list of unfinished tasks when a stage is handed over. Identify the person responsible for each remaining operation and the document that will record completion. Keep your own requested changes separate from unfinished items already included in the agreement.

What should the payment terms say?

Compare the pool payment schedule with the work stages actually described, separating design, excavation, equipment installation or finish work as relevant. Ask what completed task or document supports each payment, and how a requested component change will alter the written agreement.

Source: FTC estimate and insurance checklist, read 14 October 2026.

Pool stage payments should identify an operation, such as excavation, equipment installation or interior finish. F.S. 489.126(2)(a) addresses an earlier trigger: receiving, “as initial payment, money totaling more than 10 percent of the contract price”. For residential work it covers, the contractor must “Apply for permits necessary to do work within 30 days after the date payment is made” and “Start the work within 90 days after the date all necessary permits for work, if any, are issued”. Its exceptions include “just cause” and a payer who “agreed, in writing, to a longer period”; a stage label does not explain that timing.

Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.

Section 489.126(1) says “contractor” “includes all definitions as set forth in s. 489.105(3), and any person performing or contracting or promising to perform work described therein, without regard to the licensure of the person.”

Source: Florida Statutes section 489.126, read 14 October 2026.

Avoid using a construction-stage schedule for a small equipment replacement without asking the bidder to explain it. Conversely, ask a construction bidder to identify the intended completion of each stage rather than leaving the whole job under one vague progress milestone.

Does the quote say who pulls the permit?

Ask the pool bidder to name the permit applicant and the person arranging inspections and closeout. Keep the equipment, surface or construction description beside that answer; request a jurisdiction-specific explanation if the written scope is presented as not requiring a permit.

Palm Beach's contractor guidance advises obtaining a permit where applicable and withholding final payment until closeout. Use the conditional wording when asking about your project; it does not establish identical permit treatment for a Broward equipment repair and a Palm Beach pool build.

Source: Palm Beach contractor directory, read 14 October 2026.

Ask whether separate electrical work is included in the permit discussion and who contracts for it. If the design or equipment list changes after the initial proposal, request an explanation of any corresponding application change and who is responsible for submitting it.

Florida's owner-builder disclosure in s. 489.103(7) says: “I may protect myself from potential financial risk by hiring a licensed contractor and having the permit filed in his or her name instead of my own name.” Ask for the permit to name the contracting business.

Source: Florida owner-builder disclosure, section 489.103(7), read 14 October 2026.

How does InstaBids work, in one paragraph?

Homeowners pay InstaBids nothing. Contractors who take part estimate from your photos and a written scope card, so nobody visits before you see any prices. The contractor you pick may visit once before settling the final price against the percentage the bid stated.

Source: How InstaBids works, read 14 October 2026.

Contractors in your trade see the scope card, your photos and your 5-digit ZIP code.

Source: How InstaBids works, read 14 October 2026.

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. The contact-detail filter can miss disguised contact details.

Source: Pilot FAQ, read 14 October 2026.

How can I compare it with other written quotes?

Compare pool proposals by component and operation, starting with what remains and what changes in the written scope. Ask each bidder to distinguish equipment replacement, interior preparation and related deck work before comparing responses that use the same broad project name.

Source: FTC estimate and insurance checklist, read 14 October 2026.
Source: CP/RP construction, servicing and specialty limits, read 14 October 2026.

Create a column for each response and a row for each affected component. Record the proposed model or finish, installation boundary and unresolved question. Ask why a bidder recommends retaining or replacing a part rather than silently making its alternative the standard for every other response.

Review the handover as carefully as the installation: request operating instructions, completion documents and the agreed condition of the surrounding work area. If your decision changes the project from repair to replacement or adds a deck area, update the component list on your request.

Compare the pool drawing revision with the component schedule before reading a construction offer against a repair proposal. A different equipment location can change the described connections and surrounding work; ask the bidder to identify those changes rather than carrying a previous pump line forward unchanged. Keep the vessel, equipment pad and deck limits on the same accepted revision.

For a finish-only request, compare preparation and transitions separately from the finish name. Ask what happens around retained fittings, tile and coping, and who records a proposed additional repair. For equipment replacement, focus instead on the retained circulation components, connections and startup handover. These are different comparison questions: do not make a construction-stage list the default for a small component job or treat a short equipment description as a complete new-pool proposal.

Next: How InstaBids works, Florida hiring checklist.

Home jobs in Broward and Palm Beach counties. InstaBids is new in your area, so finding contractors can take longer, and a request may get no bids.

Source: Pilot FAQ, read 14 October 2026.

Sources for the facts on this page

Read DBPR's pool servicing and construction categories as background for the component list, using FTC guidance for the estimate itself; section 489.126 and Palm Beach's consumer checklist supply the payment and conditional permit facts cited here.

Sources checked: 14 October 2026.

• CP/RP construction, servicing and specialty limits.
• FTC estimate and insurance checklist.
• Pilot FAQ, checked 14 October 2026.
• Florida Statutes section 489.126.
• Palm Beach contractor directory.
• How InstaBids works, checked 14 October 2026.
• Florida owner-builder disclosure, section 489.103(7).

Parent: InstaBids home.