Does it cost more to install a fiberglass pool out of town?

That's a great question. The answer is it doesn't have that much bearing on the installation cost. Three reasons.

1. Efficiency

   For some weird reason our efficacy increases out of town. I think our guys simply have a heightened awareness for a project that is out of town, and they work more efficiently because they want to get done and go home. They also don't forget much, if anything. When we are "at home" it's not as big of deal to "get it tomorrow." The team as a whole tends not be quite as diligent during the morning pack up if we are just driving across town.

2. Production Cost

   Equipment and raw materials cost less out of town. In town (Central Ohio to be more specific) the cost of gravel, concrete, and equipment rental are substantially more. Gravel is nearly double the cost than in more rural areas. That single difference in gravel cost is enough to offset the travel expenses associated with installing out of town.

3. Air Plane

   
   GQin' with the Mike Charlie
   That's right! We bought a Cirrus SR20 – N527MC. Up until last season our business plan called for an additional location opening in Cincinnati that would serve the tri-state area, south Indiana, and Northern Kentucky.
   We had been traveling back and forth with "rental" airplanes and that has worked well for us. After final costing on the new office it became clear that the additional location was going to cost MORE than owning a plane. In addition, the airplane would allow us to serve more clients, more efficiently, better, and across the entire state of Ohio and surroundings rather than just one region. That realization made it a pretty easy decision. The airplane also allows me and my team to be on multiple jobs sites in a single day that would have never been possible via car.

The items that ARE effected by distance include freight and landscaping / concrete. The freight cost of the fiberglass pool is a "static variable" if you will. The cost to haul a fiberglass pool from the distribution yard to a given job site is done by the mile. That said the farther you are from the factory or a distribution yard the more that cost goes up regardless of the team installing it. While the cost to install the in-ground pool is relatively unaffected by the travel the concrete and landscaping can be. The reason is simple. We only need to come out one or two days to install the swimming pool and the systems for it. The concrete and hardscaping often can take several weeks depending on the complexity, and we can quickly become less competitive than a local firm. It is for this reason that we often will help with the designing and layout of the project as well as assist in guiding a local firm to complete the surrounding areas with our client. It ultimately makes the job more affordable for our customers, and we get to install more pools, which is what we really excel at.

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