10 Clauses Every Pool Construction Contract Should Include

This is the first clause, and every other clause rests on it.

At one company 'turnkey' includes landscape repairs and the power line; at another it does not. In our article on the limits of turnkey scope we explain separately which items this difference shows up in. If the contract uses this phrase, it must always be accompanied by an itemised list.

This is the second clause.

Two pumps of the same power can differ considerably in energy consumption, noise level and availability of spare parts. Once the model number is written down, at handover it is enough to walk into the plant room and read the label. If a product cannot be sourced, the word 'equivalent' may be used, but how equivalence will be proven and who will approve it are written into the same clause.

This is the third clause.

Haulage of excavated material, bringing power and water to the site, the paving around the pool, landscape repairs, permit fees and the use of a breaker on rocky ground are the items most often excluded. Leaving them out of scope is not a fault; leaving them unwritten is. A contract without an exclusions list later turns into a list of disputes.

The fourth clause is the work schedule, and the fifth is the payment plan linked to that schedule.

Each project sets the percentages in this table according to its own scale; what matters is that every row is tied to evidence. You can find the on-site counterpart of a stage-based payment structure in our article on the stages of pool construction. Tying the final payment to the acceptance report protects both sides.

This is the sixth clause. A daily penalty is defined for delays caused by the company, and a mutual time extension for obstacles on the owner's side (handover of the site, late approval of colour and model). Excavation is not carried out on rainy days, and concrete is not poured in freezing cold; adding these days to the schedule is a legitimate request, and if it is written into the clause, no dispute arises.

This is the seventh clause, because the single word 'warranty' says nothing.

The equipment warranty rests on the manufacturer's documents; handing the warranty documents and serial numbers over to you at completion is part of the clause. The waterproofing warranty is tied to the watertightness test. The contractor's liability for structural defects is also governed separately by law; the warranty clause in the contract does not replace this legal liability, it is added on top of it. The circumstances in which the warranty lapses (loss of chemical balance, unauthorised intervention, failure to winterise) should also be stated clearly. We give a 2-year warranty on our workmanship.

This is the eighth clause. Damage to a neighbour's wall, a utility line cut during excavation or an accident on site falls back on the owner if the contract leaves it unassigned. An uninsured crew working in your garden is a legal risk for you as well. If subcontractors are to be used, the same clause also states that the main company is responsible for the work as a whole.

This is the ninth clause.

This is the tenth clause. A pool is a relationship that begins at handover, not one that ends there; in the first season, filter adjustment, the settling of the chemical balance and fine-tuning of the automation are always needed. Under a contract with no service clause, every call after handover becomes a new negotiation.

If they do not, stop, however attractive the price, because negotiating on site always costs more than negotiating at the table.

The permit question is often left until last, yet it should be settled before the contract is signed. In our article on the sequence of the permit application we explain which document is needed at which stage. If the project is large, or if you are undecided between several quotes, our pool consultancy service compares the quotes against these 10 clauses and gives you a written assessment. On our own projects we offer these clauses as part of our standard contract, and after the site survey we share a sample contract together with the quote.