New owner build in North Texas

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texasgal78

texasgal78

0
Bronze Supporter
Feb 17, 2016
87
Prosper, TX
Let me start by saying HELLO!! I have learned soooo much already from this forum!! My husband and I are about to start our journey with building our own pool. Thankfully, he has a lot of experience in dealing with building and subcontracting, just not pools! We just picked up our design and will let the designer know it's all good today, and he's going to get it ready for us to send to the city for the permit. Question...Will they require us to have a general contractor's license? Thanks so much, I know I will probably have many questions along the way!!
 
Howdy Loriw8! Sounds like you have things all figured out. Please share with us your entire build process as it advances. We love pics too.
Have you had a pool before? Do you know what equipment you want to use? Will this be a cement or vinyl lined pool?

Enquiring Minds Want to Know! (sic) <Who else here is old enough to remember that line??> :geek:
 
Not me! :p

Welcome to TFP!

License requirements vary by city. Some require all and some only require certain trades to licensed and registered with the city and some don't.
 
loriw8 said:
Let me start by saying HELLO!! I have learned soooo much already from this forum!! My husband and I are about to start our journey with building our own pool. Thankfully, he has a lot of experience in dealing with building and subcontracting, just not pools! We just picked up our design and will let the designer know it's all good today, and he's going to get it ready for us to send to the city for the permit. Question...Will they require us to have a general contractor's license? Thanks so much, I know I will probably have many questions along the way!!
Click to expand...

99% chance that you do not need any sort of general contractors license on your homestead in Texas. The homestead is sacrosanct in Texas, and you can usually even do the plumbing and electrical yourself without a license (except gas). For example, here's Austins documentation: https://austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Planning/Applications_Forms/homeowners-permit.pdf
 
YippeeSkippy said:
Howdy Loriw8! Sounds like you have things all figured out. Please share with us your entire build process as it advances. We love pics too.
Have you had a pool before? Do you know what equipment you want to use? Will this be a cement or vinyl lined pool?

Enquiring Minds Want to Know! (sic) <Who else here is old enough to remember that line??> :geek:
Click to expand...

No, we have never had a pool before and ours will be cement...I will definitely post pics! :p

It's been a while since I've been on a forum and I can't remember how to use multiple quotes in a single post...:confused:
duh...just saw it...

- - - Updated - - -

And5555 said:
99% chance that you do not need any sort of general contractors license on your homestead in Texas. The homestead is sacrosanct in Texas, and you can usually even do the plumbing and electrical yourself without a license (except gas). For example, here's Austins documentation: https://austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Planning/Applications_Forms/homeowners-permit.pdf
Click to expand...

pooldv said:
Not me! :p

Welcome to TFP!

License requirements vary by city. Some require all and some only require certain trades to licensed and registered with the city and some don't.
Click to expand...
Thank you both for that information!

kimkats said:
Oh yeah! Another pool pool to build! And we are OFF!

PLEASE take and share a picture of where it is going and any info you already have!

Kim
Click to expand...
Will do!!
 

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Texas Splash said:
Welcome to TFP! :wave:
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Thank you!!

JamieP said:
Sorry, no suggestions right now, but I wanted to say welcome to the Texas O/B club! It looks like your pool is going to be great!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I've been watching your thread, but I haven't gotten too far yet. It's so fun watching everyone's pool come to life on here and so informative! I have already printed out stuff from yours and I'm sure will continue to do so!
 
It was finally GO TIME yesterday and the excavators came and did their thing! It looks like we are going to have a pool!! The excavator and his crew couldn't have been any better!! Such a great guy! I tried buttering them up a bit with some sandwiches, chips, cookies, and gatorade :) We tried to get plumbing and steel scheduled in for today and tomorrow, but this company is obviously really busy and hard to keep communication with. We are crossing our fingers for Monday, i guess that's all we can do for now. I kinda shrieked when they sent over the price for the pool equipment! A little over 12K was a lot more pricier than the online prices i have been looking at! That brings me to my question, with all that markup, wouldn't it be best to buy online? Are all online equipment purchases with less or no warranty? What's the best place to buy?
We are planning on getting the following equipment:
Jandy pro series 2HP VS pump
Jandy stealth 1.5HP pump
Jandy CL580 cartridge filter
Jandy LXR 399 BTU NG heater
Pentair rainbow chlorinator
Dolphin cleaner
How many valves do we need?

Mommamia88's Story | Photobucket

Thanks!
 
Valves I can help you with------you need GOOD valves (jandy neverlube is one good kind) do not get the ones from Lowes or such as they will fail at some point and have to be cut out. The good ones can be rebuilt if needed.

You should have a valve on every line-----skimmer and main drain (bottom of pool) should be on separate lines with their own valve so you have max control. Water fall and such features should have their own valve. Returns can share but........if you want max control (each one having it's own valve may be over kill hehe)

You know what?? You can call the equipment people and see what THEY say about their warranty.......if you buy online BUT have a "licensed" person install it? Kind of questions.

Kim
 
Happy to hear about the build starting. Exciting times. Folks buy equipment on-line all the time from places like Pool Supplies, Spa Supplies and Parts, Poolstore.com , Pool Supplies Superstore - Pool Pumps, Cleaners, Liners, Covers , and Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs more just to name a few. Each comes with its typical factory warranty I'm sure. What may be different is the warranty of the part or labor provided by your builder. So before purchasing something on-line, you may want to clarify what the builder will honor. For example, when my pool was build, my Waterway pump probably had a 1-year warranty,, but my builder honored a 3-year free replacement as part of their promotion package.

As for valves (i.e 3-way valve), it depends on your pool set-up and equipment. You can bet you'll need at least two - on just before the pump, and one after the filter that directs water to either the pool returns, water feature, or both. Depending on how your builder routes the plumbing, there may be more valves for a spa or other features.

Hope that helps a little. Have a great weekend.
 
In my build thread (in my signature) I lost out all of the places online where I got mine. Most of my stuff I got from polytecpools. The warranty thing, most will warranty 1 year if installed by a professional (vs like 60 days without). Lots of local places will do the 3 year warranty thing but they will charge a lot more. The likelihood of things going out in 3 years (from my understanding) is not that great, considering a. Things usually either don't work straight from the factory or they last a while, b. Every warranty I've ever had provided a warranty for a time period that it's unlikely to fail. At the end of the day, it seems like you should look at that extra money as going towards a 2 year warranty extension, which you should just weigh out how much you're willing to pay for that. Also, you can sometimes get extended warranties elsewhere, even with the manufacturer directly.

Finally, don't forget to factor in sales tax savings (unless you're one of those people that voluntarily pay sales tax for online purchases).
 
Thanks for that info!! Looks like we'll just purchase the equipment online!

Plumbing and steel are supposed to go in today. They were supposed to be here at 11...Im hoping they show up! Is there anything in particular I need to know or where I should direct my attention? My husband tried explaining everything to me before he left for work and I don't want to miss anything important! My husband's grandmother passed away and he is leaving me ON MY OWN with everything on Thursday. Hoping to be able to get gunite in BEFORE he leaves!!

OH, and does anyone have a picture of their spa with two levels of seating? My husband is tall and I am short and wanted to see how to go about doing this. Thanks!

One other thing, i was reading the Waxahachie thread, and she asked about adding the line for the polaris if she needs one in the future, since she was getting the dolphin. It was suggested that it would be better for them to put in a dedicated line for suction instead so there's the option to manually vacuum. We are getting the dolphin robot cleaner too and is that the best suggestion?
 
DSC_6863.jpgDSC_6862.jpg
Well, this is how our day started...the steel guy ran into it with his truck. The good news is they are both here and hopefully will be finished up early tomorrow!
Looks like rain may be coming so hoping to get gunite in by Friday!
 

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