So, the PB wasn't interested in bidding for the concrete floor for the shed. His price was his price and it was way too high as far as we're concerned. I have a local contractor coming on Tuesday to pour a concrete foundation for the shed -- not as involved as the PB had specified (no rebar but steel mesh which sounds fine), and the shed gets moved a week from Wednesday.
New Pool Build in MA!
- Thread starter bonnieboop
- Start date
In the meantime, they laid out the fieldstone for the coping and I HATED it! Thank goodness they hadn't cemented it in (thank goodness I was at home to see it before they cemented it in). I had thought the stone coping was going to be flat fieldstone and they laid out round stones. I am posting a picture. One of my neighbors loved it -- so taste is clearly in the eyes of the beholder. The PB was not happy when I called him to tell him that I had specified FLAT fieldstone when the pool was designed. I'm finding my PB to lack communication big time. Maybe a lot of his customers let him choose things of them, but I'm not that type. I like to choose everything myself, which is the reason we went with a custom pool. Anyway, here is a pic of the round stone coping that I hated.
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Here are pics of the flat stone coping that I wanted and that is now installed.
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The waterfall was started today. Here's a picture, but it's not finished.
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Here are pics of the flat stone coping that I wanted and that is now installed.
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The waterfall was started today. Here's a picture, but it's not finished.
Yet another reason to be there when they start or do big jobs like that..........He would have been even more unhappy if they had "glued" them down and had to take them off!
I like the rounded stones BUT NOT for coping! They would look neat on the water fall or as a small "mountain" by the pool.
Are those Ridges I see helping with the pool? That one could be captioned "You better get back here and fix our pool!" LOL
Kim:cat:
I like the rounded stones BUT NOT for coping! They would look neat on the water fall or as a small "mountain" by the pool.
Are those Ridges I see helping with the pool? That one could be captioned "You better get back here and fix our pool!" LOL
Kim:cat:
He had to be joking with those bigger coping stones? How the heck were you suppose to walk around the pool edge when vacuuming, skimming leaves or adding chemicals and not trip? Good thing you caught it but you have to feel bad for the poor guy that unloaded all that stone and had to load it back up!
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,211
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Kim said exactly what I was thinking. Nice stones but definitely NOT appropriate for coping. The flat ones look beautiful! And your dog is beautiful, too!
Yes! Those are my two Rhodesian Ridgebacks -- Johari, age 5 (female), and Kobe, age 12-weeks (male). We've had RRs for 25-years now and we obviously love the breed. We think they're the best kept secret around.
I didn't even think of the fact that the round coping stones would make it difficult to access the pool -- but they would. Then again, there will be flat granite on the part without the New England Fieldstone coping -- to match the granite of the decking. Still, I hated the look of the round stones for the coping. Hated! So glad I was able to catch it before they were cemented in.
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I agree tcrote. We will have flat granite coping where the decking is going to go, but I'm finding my pool builder to be completely lacking as far as communication goes. Then again, I understand this is par for the course. I'm lucky in that I work at home. If I actually had to go to an office, who knows what my pool would like by now. Scary thought!
I didn't even think of the fact that the round coping stones would make it difficult to access the pool -- but they would. Then again, there will be flat granite on the part without the New England Fieldstone coping -- to match the granite of the decking. Still, I hated the look of the round stones for the coping. Hated! So glad I was able to catch it before they were cemented in.
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I agree tcrote. We will have flat granite coping where the decking is going to go, but I'm finding my pool builder to be completely lacking as far as communication goes. Then again, I understand this is par for the course. I'm lucky in that I work at home. If I actually had to go to an office, who knows what my pool would like by now. Scary thought!
You know, even though we're probably about halfway through our pool project, it seems to me that pool contractors are a different breed. Is it me or is it wrong to expect them to check with the customer before they do things? For instance, choosing round coping stones instead of checking with me to see whether I wanted round or flat? (contract says "New England Fieldstone," for the coping and that's as far as it goes). I've been asking for a month now what kind of water testing kit I'm going to get with the pool and haven't received an answer -- not from the PB, the salesman, or the front office. What's so difficult about answering the question? My PB is doing a good job on constructing the pool -- I have no complaints there I guess that's what's important. However, only 1 load of fill was specified in the contract and we had asked if there were any hidden costs before we signed on the bottom line. The salesman told us there were no hidden costs. Surprise! A truckload of extra gravel was needed (I'm not holding that against them -- they couldn't have predicted they'd hit water during the pool dig), and at least 5-8 loads of extra fill @ $350 per, plus grading time for the bobcat. They said this was all needed because they "flipped," the pool right before the dig -- which was fine -- but they never mentioned that flipping it was going to cost me thousands in cost overruns. I'm annoyed, to say the least. There seem to be "teams," of subs who come to do each part of the project and each team has a supervisor who is also not the best communicator.
We've basically rebuilt our entire house over the past 20-years, using different carpenters and contractors along the way. I've never had a problem communicating with any of them -- so why am I having a problem with the PB? It's as though my PB is running a kamikaze organization and they don't feel they have to report in to me -- regarding what they want to do or potential cost overruns (I don't hear about overruns until a couple of weeks after the fact).
I went with my PB because of someone on this list who loved, loved, loved them for a pool remodel. I do think my PB is doing a good job. I simply can't believe the lack of communication on a project that is close to $100K. Who pays that kind of money for a custom job, only to be mostly cut out of the decision making process????
Do I have unrealistic expectations or am I right on the mark?
Don't get me wrong -- I love the way my pool looks, so far. Still, if I weren't home for a good portion of the project, it would look a lot different than it does and I would not be a happy camper.
Just my 2 cents. Sorry for the rant.
Bonnie
We've basically rebuilt our entire house over the past 20-years, using different carpenters and contractors along the way. I've never had a problem communicating with any of them -- so why am I having a problem with the PB? It's as though my PB is running a kamikaze organization and they don't feel they have to report in to me -- regarding what they want to do or potential cost overruns (I don't hear about overruns until a couple of weeks after the fact).
I went with my PB because of someone on this list who loved, loved, loved them for a pool remodel. I do think my PB is doing a good job. I simply can't believe the lack of communication on a project that is close to $100K. Who pays that kind of money for a custom job, only to be mostly cut out of the decision making process????
Do I have unrealistic expectations or am I right on the mark?
Don't get me wrong -- I love the way my pool looks, so far. Still, if I weren't home for a good portion of the project, it would look a lot different than it does and I would not be a happy camper.
Just my 2 cents. Sorry for the rant.
Bonnie
My money, My way...............that is how it SHOULD be!
I would walk into their office and ask to SEE the test kits they give out. I would LOVE to see the looks on their face when you do this! Then when you take a picture to show us LOL CLASSIC!
Kim:cat:
I would walk into their office and ask to SEE the test kits they give out. I would LOVE to see the looks on their face when you do this! Then when you take a picture to show us LOL CLASSIC!
Kim:cat:
OK -- so the waterfall is done. I had told the stone mason that I wanted a waterfall that would make a really loud "water falling," noise and he promised me that my waterfall will do just that. It's hard to imagine from the pictures, but with landscaping (lots of shrubs and small trees, with a smattering of perennials), the waterfall area is going to look gorgeous. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the "naked," waterfall.
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Looks great!
And with that steeper drop off instead of the more traditional step down- it looks like your stone mason listened.
And with that steeper drop off instead of the more traditional step down- it looks like your stone mason listened.
I love how they did not fill in the areas with lots of stuff. It looks very natural. I bet it does make a good noise when the water is falling with the drop!
Kim:cat:
Kim:cat:
I will post new pics -- over the weekend. Got the concrete pad poured (for $1,200 instead of the $5,600 the PB was quoting for the job). Got the shed moved over to the pool area. The pool equipment was delivered today and we're getting electrical first thing next week. The PB is installing a 3HP variable speed pump and says it's plenty to run both the waterfall and the pool -- sound OK to you guys? Also, the test kit I'm getting is a "Taylor Test Kit," with calcium, alkalinity, PH, and Chlorine/Salt. What else do I need to buy in terms of a test kit?
The project has been a bit delayed because the (unpolished), granite for the remainder of the coping and for the deck was backordered -- but they expect it to be in by Monday -- so we're hopefully on a roll here.
Bonnie
So long as you have separate valves to control the different parts it will work. What KIND of valves are they putting in?
I bet the test kit you are getting is the Taylor 2005. It does not have the FC test we like because it is more precise. Here is a link to it.
TFTestkits.net
Check with him to make sure of the number of the test kit.
Kim:cat:
I bet the test kit you are getting is the Taylor 2005. It does not have the FC test we like because it is more precise. Here is a link to it.
TFTestkits.net
Check with him to make sure of the number of the test kit.
Kim:cat:
So, the shed mover did his thing and it was pretty amazing. Here are some pics. I need to take a spray bottle full of 1/2 clorox and 1/2 water to the mold (algae), and I'm told it will work well to remove it and make the shed look new again. Total cost of moving the shed = $800 versus $7,000 for buying a new shed the same size and materials (cedar, wood floor, etc.). Yay! Only bummer is we wanted to put glass or glass mullioned doors on the front of the shed to dress it up and just found out they don't make 6 foot tall glass doors -- 7 foot is the minimum height for ready made. So, we'll live with the steel doors -- not the worst thing in the world.
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The pool equipment was delivered on Friday and set on the concrete pad behind the pool.
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The stone yard took their sweet time cutting the granite for the coping and for the pool deck. It was finally delivered yesterday (3-week delay!). Here are pictures of the granite coping. Today, they're starting the deck -- yay! Diving rock will be put in today as well. Plumber coming later this afternoon, electrician coming tomorrow. Things are moving quickly now.
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Also, the guys @ movemyshed.com said that a solution in a spray bottle of 1/2 clorox to 1/2 water sprayed on the mold on the front of the shed would take it right off without fading the paint. It took some elbow grease, but it came right off. Shed looks brand new if I say so myself. Saved at least $6,000 by having the shed moved, instead of buying a new one.
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Also, the guys @ movemyshed.com said that a solution in a spray bottle of 1/2 clorox to 1/2 water sprayed on the mold on the front of the shed would take it right off without fading the paint. It took some elbow grease, but it came right off. Shed looks brand new if I say so myself. Saved at least $6,000 by having the shed moved, instead of buying a new one.
I know the delay was a pain BUT it looks AWESOME! WOW! They cut it at the shop and brought it there? How did they know how to cut it? I bet that ate up some saw blades!
GOOD job on the shed! Nice! It does look new!
Kim:cat:
GOOD job on the shed! Nice! It does look new!
Kim:cat:
Just a quick question, where did you buy that shed for $800? I am actually looking for shed and would love to buy it at that price.