Swimming pools blog

4 responses so far ↓

• 1 janis_40 // Nov 23, 2004 at 9:47 am

  In a message dated 7/4/2003 3:11:49 PM Central Daylight Time,
  flaurnt@… writes:
  First thing is do your homework! Look at pools in your area and even outside
  your area to see what it is you like. There are pool and spa magazines fine
  some and read about styles and materials. Look at every pool construction
  contractor who will work in your area. Get references and go look at the pools
  and talk to the owners. Get three or four references from each and do some leg
  work. If the company sounds too good to be true they probably are. If a
  customer had problems but the contractor worked with them and resolved the
  problems without hassle then they may be a good choise.
  Look at your back yard and decide where the pool is to be located. If the
  area is crowded the contractor may have problems getting equipment in so be
  aware of this before hand.
  When talking to the salesman get “EVERYTHING IN WRITING” I mean “EVERYTHING
  IN WRITITNG” and if you failed to hear me get “EVERYTHING IN WRITING”. Work
  
  and payment schedules, cleanup, colors, textures, tiles, decking, repair of
  damaged landscaping, electrical, equipment, EVERYTHING! Leave no stone
  unturned! If they think they are dealing with a novice who knows nothing they
  will
  baffle you with BS. Even to the point of dealing with the unknown. They
  should have some idea of the ground water situation in your area and be
  prepared.
  It should not be a way to suck on your wallet!
  Be nice to your construction crew! I once knew a lady who had a pool built
  in Tucson. She did the nice little old lady trick and brought the crew cookies
  and lemonaid, sandwiches for lunch and stuff like that. The crews wanted to
  work at her house and she had no problems. Another gentilman got into a
  shouting match with the owner of the company in the middle of the street and he
  went ot court. Get the hint here! You are spending $30K to $40K on this project
  so a couple of bucks for some subways and some countrytime could be money well
  spent.
  Fiberglass pools are the one piece preformed inground pools you were thinking
  of and while they are good they limit you on the design by what can be
  trucked and lifted over your house. The IG vinyl liner pools are less
  expensive
  and you can change the look by changing the liner. But liners are going to be
  expensive and somewhat of a hassle to install. Liners carry a warranty but the
  warranty does not cover the thousands of gallons of water needed to fill the
  pool. Gunite pools are the most expensive up front but the least expensive
  in the long run. They are also the most durable! I have seen a plaster/gunite
  pool last 20 years with just an acid wash to brighten the surface. The newer
  surfaces are great in that they have good life but in some cases they may not
  be forgiving of an error in maintenance. I have also seen some all tile
  pools and they were fabulous and durable as well. If you build a gunite pool
  put tile at the waterline because it is easy to clean and should you ever need
  to easy to replace.
  As far as equipment goes sand filters and the bottom of the barrel in
  cleaning but the top in ease of maintenance. DE filters are the very best in
  cleaning (drinking water quality filtration) but the DE is a hazard if not
  handled
  properly. A good middle of the road is the multi cartridge filer. While
  expensive up front they are less hassle than the DE filters and filter almost as
  well. Infloor cleaning systems “forget”, salt water chlorine generating
  systems
  are good but get a self-cleaning system, two skimmers and at least four
  outlets as well as at least one main drain. Forget the high tech stuff and go
  with the biggest systen that will work on your pool. In other words bigger is
  better here!
  LAST but not least! After you have written up the contract for the pool
  STOP! Take several days to think about it. Read it look for errors and
  omitions and be prepared to walk away from the whole thing if it starts to
  stink.
  That sales person is working on commision so he/she will try everything to get
  you to sign maybe up to getting hookers for you and your friends (just
  kidding) . Just hang on and take your time the contract price will be the same
  in
  three or four days as it is today…………..maybe better!
  Ken

• 2 luciana130 // Nov 26, 2004 at 1:46 am

  Out of curiosity does anyone include penalty clauses for failure to complete
  on time. I know I have seen jobs go by with $2000.00 a day penaltys for every
  day past due, and I have seen it cost the company over $10,000 because they
  messed up and failed to put the proper emphasis on the product. I work in
  vehicle manufacturing but it does not seem unreasonable for a building project
  of
  this sort.
  In a message dated 7/4/03 5:27:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
  electricjet@… writes:

• 3 janis_40 // Nov 27, 2004 at 11:09 am

  In a message dated 7/4/2003 11:42:12 PM Central Daylight Time,
  iroadkilli@… writes:
  Not a bad idea guy, not a bad idea but you might wish to run it past a lawyer
  to be sure it will stand up in court and allow for bad weather and failure of
  subcontractors to complete on time as well but not a bad idea. You just
  might start something with that!
  Ken

• 4 janis_40 // Nov 28, 2004 at 6:38 am

  In a message dated 7/4/2003 11:50:25 PM Central Daylight Time,
  lwps16@… writes:
  I would say no to that! Just another way to suck money out of you at the
  expense of someone else and a chance to get a screwed up product!
  Ken

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