1. What Chesapeake Backyard is — and is not
Chesapeake Backyard is operated by Lee Orders as a sole proprietorship based in Baltimore, Maryland. We are a backyard project advisory and referral service. We collect your project details and introduce you to independent Maryland pool builders who may quote the work.
We are not a pool contractor. We do not design, build, install, renovate, excavate, or service pools. We do not hold a Maryland Home Improvement Commission contractor license, and we do not employ or control the builders we introduce you to. We do not supervise their work, set their prices, negotiate their contracts, or participate in any agreement you sign with them.
2. How we are paid
Our service is free to homeowners. Pool builders pay us a fee for each qualified quote request we send them. We disclose this openly because it is relevant to how you read our recommendations: we have a financial interest in matching you with a builder in our network, and our network is not a complete list of every qualified builder in Maryland. Our fee is paid by the builder regardless of whether you hire anyone, and we do not receive a share of your project price.
3. Who may use this site
You must be at least 18 years old and have the authority to request work on the property in question. Our service covers residential property in Maryland.
4. Your submission
When you submit a quote request, you agree that the information you give us is accurate and that the phone number you provide is your own or one you are authorized to give. You agree that we may share that information with up to three pool builders as described in our Privacy Policy, and that those builders may contact you at the number and email address you provide.
The consent you give on our form covers calls, text messages, and emails from us and from the specific builders we match you with, including by automatic dialing system and prerecorded or artificial voice. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. You may revoke it at any time by replying STOP to a text, telling a caller to stop, or emailing hello@chesapeakebackyard.com.
5. What we do and do not verify about builders
Before adding a builder to our network, we check that the company holds a current Maryland Home Improvement Commission license in good standing, and we require the builder to confirm in writing that it carries general liability insurance and any required workers' compensation coverage.
That is the extent of it. We do not inspect builders' job sites, audit their finances, verify their insurance certificates with the carrier, review their contracts, or independently confirm the quality, timeliness, or safety of their work. "Vetted" on this site means what this section says it means and nothing more. Checking a license is not a warranty of workmanship, and you should still ask for references, proof of insurance, and a written contract before hiring anyone.
6. Your relationship with the builder is yours alone
Any quote, contract, payment, warranty, dispute, delay, defect, property damage, or injury arising from work performed by a builder is between you and that builder. We are not a party to your contract. We are not responsible for a builder's acts or omissions, and we make no promise that a builder will quote your project, respond to you, honor a quoted price, show up, finish, or do good work.
If a builder in our network treats you badly, we want to know — email us and we will look into it and may remove the builder from our network. That is a business decision we make, not a remedy we owe you.
7. What we do promise
We will confirm your request and tell you which builders we are contacting within one business day. We will send your request to no more than three builders. If we do not meet either of those commitments, call us and we will make it right, up to and including withdrawing your request from every builder we sent it to. These commitments are service promises, not financial guarantees, and they are the only guarantees we make.
8. Our content is general information, not advice
Our cost guides, comparison articles, and price ranges are general educational content based on public information and our own research. They are not quotes, appraisals, engineering advice, or legal advice, and actual pricing for your project will depend on your site, design, permits, and market conditions at the time. Do not make a financial decision based on a range you read on this site.
9. Acceptable use
Do not submit false information, submit someone else's contact details without their permission, scrape or copy our content for a competing service, attempt to interfere with the site, or use the site for any unlawful purpose.
10. Intellectual property
The Chesapeake Backyard name, logo, site design, and written content are our property. You may read and share links to our content. You may not republish it as your own.
11. Disclaimer of warranties
The site and our matching service are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any information on it is complete or current.
12. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent Maryland law allows, Chesapeake Backyard and Lee Orders will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, or property damage, arising out of your use of this site or your dealings with any builder. Our total liability for any claim relating to this site or our service will not exceed one hundred dollars ($100).
Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under Maryland law, including liability for fraud.
13. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Chesapeake Backyard and Lee Orders from any claim arising out of your breach of these terms, your submission of information you were not authorized to submit, or your violation of any law.
14. Third-party sites
We link to builders' websites and other third-party resources. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content, products, or practices.
15. Governing law and disputes
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute between you and us will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Maryland, and you and we consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.
16. Changes
We may update these terms. The updated version will be posted here with a new "Last updated" date, and it applies to your use of the site from that point forward.
17. Contact
Chesapeake Backyard
Lee Orders, sole proprietor
Baltimore, Maryland
hello@chesapeakebackyard.com
(202) 445-7298