User guide · Homeowners
How to buy a pool the PoolBid way
One RFP. Vetted contractors. Comparable bids. An optional reverse auction. Then you award and start permitting with the company you choose.
PoolBid serves South Florida — now serving Palm Beach County, with Broward and Miami-Dade coming soon. We are the marketplace, not the builder. You stay the contracting party.
The path
01
Start with pictures — then the RFP
Do the seven-picture look session if you do not know gunite from glass pebble. That writes preference language. It is not a design. Then pick a Palm Beach family 15×30, a tight-lot 14×28, or an estate freeform, and edit anything.
02
Tell the truth about the yard
Street address stays hidden. ZIP, city, and county are enough to match. Only check site conditions you know. We will not invent soil, access, or demolition.
03
Publish. We write the RFP.
Included, excluded, assumptions, and items the contractor still has to verify. Same document goes to every invited company.
04
Watch the response queue
Invited, accepted, bid in. Some local companies are queued for outreach from public records — they are not members until they complete setup and PoolBid reviews credentials.
05
Compare, then decide how to finish
If you opted in, a reverse auction can start after two or more bids. Or skip to review and award. Lowest number does not win by default.
06
Award, permit, build
Names are visible on the review page. Award in writing. The selected company files the permit and starts construction. Change orders need your written approval.
Auction rules (if you opted in)
- — A reverse auction starts only after two or more contractors have submitted bids — and only if the homeowner opted in.
- — Contractors may only bid down. Raising a number is rejected.
- — Auctions run on a clock the homeowner or an admin sets — default 30 minutes, adjustable in admin settings (5–120).
- — A bid in the last two minutes extends the clock (anti-snipe).
- — Firm names stay anonymous during the live round. Everyone sees rank, not the competitor’s name.
- — Lowest bid does not automatically win. The homeowner awards after review.
- — PoolBid is the marketplace, not the contractor. The construction contract is between the homeowner and the selected company.
What we will not do
- — Invent site conditions you did not select
- — Auto-verify a license number
- — Show your street, phone, or email until you authorize contact
- — Treat the lowest bid as the winner
- — Act as the contractor or a party to the construction contract
Start with the wizard.
Ten minutes. Same questions builders ask. Street stays hidden.