for homeowners.
When I started researching a pool build for my home in Bay Shore, Long Island, I ran into a consistent problem: almost every resource I found was produced by someone trying to sell me something. Contractor sites told me pools were straightforward. Manufacturer sites told me their material was the obvious choice. Financing platforms led with monthly payment calculators that made large loans feel manageable.
The information I actually needed (what permits would be required, what the realistic 20-year cost difference between pool types was, which lenders had the most favorable terms for my credit profile) was scattered across forums, research papers, and the occasional honest contractor who happened to be in a good mood.
The tool I wished had existed when I started is the tool I built.
planningapool.com is not affiliated with any pool contractor, manufacturer, lender, or real estate platform. Every recommendation in the checklist is there because the research supports it, not because anyone paid for placement.
The questionnaire asks 9–11 questions about your property, timeline, budget, and financing situation. Based on your answers, it generates a personalized checklist of the specific tools, resources, and steps that apply to your situation, in the order they matter.
The checklist covers four phases: confirming whether you can build at all (permits, setbacks, flood zones, HOA approval), understanding the realistic costs, identifying financing options matched to your profile, and finding and vetting contractors.
Facts, not recommendations
The tool surfaces what the evidence suggests: rates, timelines, cost differences. It leaves the decision with you. It doesn't tell you what to do.
Alerts without alarm
When something is genuinely time-sensitive (permit processing windows, HOA approval timelines, budget gaps), the checklist flags it and tells you what to do about it. It doesn't dramatize or gloss over.
Specific, not vague
The checklist names actual tools, actual websites, actual rate ranges, and actual timelines. Vague guidance is not useful when you're about to spend $50,000–$150,000.
No stake in your outcome
planningapool.com has no financial relationship with any of the tools, lenders, or contractors it mentions. When that changes, this page will say so before it happens.
planningapool.com is currently free and generates no revenue. No affiliate fees, no referral commissions, no advertising. Every tool, lender, and resource mentioned in the checklist is there because the research supports it.
That may change. The site may eventually add disclosed affiliate referral links. Clicking through to a lender or tool and completing an action would earn a referral fee. If and when that happens, two things will be true:
First: this page will be updated to reflect it clearly, before it goes live, not after.
Second: the standard that determines what appears in the checklist will not change. A tool that belongs there will be there regardless of whether a referral relationship exists. A tool that doesn't belong there will not appear regardless of what it pays.
The test that governs every recommendation: could this have been written by someone with a financial stake in your decision? If yes, it gets rewritten.
| Category | Current status | If added in future |
|---|---|---|
| Checklist tool links | No fees currently | Disclosed on this page and in the checklist |
| Lender referrals | No fees currently | Disclosed per lender, with fee amount where known |
| Contractor leads | No fees currently | Opt-in only; clearly distinguished from organic recommendations |
| Display advertising | None | No current plans |
| Sponsored checklist placement | Never | Not offered. Directly conflicts with the tool's purpose. |
The questionnaire asks about your property location, financing situation, credit profile, and timeline. Here is exactly what happens with those answers:
If this changes (if server-side storage, accounts, or analytics are added), this page will be updated before those changes go live.
Questions about the tool, inaccuracies in the checklist, or anything else: hello@planningapool.com
Feedback is especially welcome. If a step was wrong, out of date, or missing entirely, that's worth knowing. If the tool helped you catch something you would have missed, that's worth knowing too. The checklist is only as good as the research behind it, and real homeowners going through this process are the strongest source of corrections.
If you're a contractor, lender, or tool provider and want to discuss whether your product belongs in the checklist: same address. The answer to paid placement is no. The answer to "is this genuinely the strongest option for homeowners and does it belong in the checklist" is always worth considering.