Upcharge To Hook Up 3HP VS Pump

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sheree202

sheree202

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Jan 15, 2016
249
Lawrenceville, GA
My pool build nightmare continues......

My builder is now trying to charge me $200 to hook up my pump because the contract called for a 2HP VS and I bought a 3HP VS instead. Is there any reason that my pump would cost more money to hook up?

They are also trying to charge up for setting the jump rock. If the rock weighs over 1200 and just a couple edges will be over the side would I even need to set it in concrete?

They also just informed me that they "can't hook the heater up to the gas meter so I'll need to find someone that can do that". :mad:

So frustrated and upset that I took a chance with these people. Every day it gets worse. Our inspector came this morning to do the electrical inspection and instead left a tag of non-compliance because the building permit was not posted. 30 minutes after he left the pool builder drives up and gets out of his truck holding the permit. Why it was removed from my property to begin with I have no idea. We were suppose to have pebble done today and now I don't even know if we can. This was the 5th day that we were told pebble would be done over the past month.
 
Been there, done that. My experience was a beating also. The upcharge on the pump sound ridiculous. Was a jump rock in the original contract? Did you change that part of the bid? I could see if that was changed, and they didn't have the beam designed to handle that big of a rock they might want/need to pier it?

I was left on my own with the plumbing to my heater as well. I had to have it installed by a local plumber. Be prepared for sticker shock there. Hopefully your meter is relatively close to your equip? My meter was on the opposite side of the house. I had to have a bigger meter installed(which the gas company did for free), gas line run through the attic, back out the house, to another regulator, and then into the heater. I had bids anywhere from $2000 - $4000. I still don't even know if it works since with new plaster I didn't want to turn it on yet.

That should have been spelled out in the contract for sure, that they weren't responsible, or that they were.
 
Technobuyer said:
Been there, done that. My experience was a beating also. The upcharge on the pump sound ridiculous. Was a jump rock in the original contract? Did you change that part of the bid? I could see if that was changed, and they didn't have the beam designed to handle that big of a rock they might want/need to pier it?

I was left on my own with the plumbing to my heater as well. I had to have it installed by a local plumber. Be prepared for sticker shock there. Hopefully your meter is relatively close to your equip? My meter was on the opposite side of the house. I had to have a bigger meter installed(which the gas company did for free), gas line run through the attic, back out the house, to another regulator, and then into the heater. I had bids anywhere from $2000 - $4000. I still don't even know if it works since with new plaster I didn't want to turn it on yet.

That should have been spelled out in the contract for sure, that they weren't responsible, or that they were.
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Wow, I'm sorry you had a similar experience!

The rock was in the plans (I hired someone separate to draw the plans). The builder agreed to them, but the rock isn't mentioned in the contract that he wrote. I actually picked the rock and bought it myself. It was set down a few inches from where we want it.

We also had a bigger meter installed last week. I was told by the builder's wife that he ran the line to the meter, but can't hook it up. Not sure why. We no longer speak to the builder himself since he was very verbally aggressive towards my husband when we politely questioned being 6 weeks past the "completion date".
 
I'll be the first to admit I'm not smart on such matters, but my guess as to why he didn't hook it up is because he is not licensed to do so. I was told here in Texas, you can't even buy the type pipe I had running through my house without being licensed. Don't know if that's true or not, but that's what I was told, and by more than one person. If the line is there from the heater to by the meter, it shouldn't be a big deal to have a plumber hook it up. I definitely want him to pressure check it. Is the line he ran all outside?

Did your contract say build as per plan or something like that? I have friends that have tried to go back in on remodels and add waterfalls, and such, and been told that they couldn't do it without adding piers to support the rock, as the beam wasn't really stressed properly to support that. I don't know if something similar is the case with your rock or not. But, it might be reasonable if they are going to pour concrete to support it, it might not be. Without it being called out in the contract, it's kinda tough to say.

Why is he saying he's going to charge more? Just to actually move it? Or is there more to it than that?

sheree202 said:
Wow, I'm sorry you had a similar experience!

The rock was in the plans (I hired someone separate to draw the plans). The builder agreed to them, but the rock isn't mentioned in the contract that he wrote. I actually picked the rock and bought it myself. It was set down a few inches from where we want it.

We also had a bigger meter installed last week. I was told by the builder's wife that he ran the line to the meter, but can't hook it up. Not sure why. We no longer speak to the builder himself since he was very verbally aggressive towards my husband when we politely questioned being 6 weeks past the "completion date".
Click to expand...
 
It seems like your PB doesn't intend to comply with some of the things that were in your contract. The very best thing you can do is keep financial leverage on him.....always owe him money and never pay in full until you are satisfied.

(He's right about the electrical and gas hook-up......that pretty common.)

Why did you change from a 2 hp pump to a 3 hp? 2 hp is gracious plenty for your size pool.
 
It is hard to answer your question about hooking up the 3HP pump without knowing details of the installation, if it means running larger wire a long distance it could add that much, however if you already have a reasonably sized electrical service to your pool plumbing pad then the difference should be minimal, we are looking at the difference between a 20 amp 2 pole breaker and a 15 amp 2 pole breaker, plus 1 size larger wire in the whip from the panel to the pump. For a typical pool install the cost difference should be less than $20. My only thought here is he may be charging you full retail for the 20 amp 2 pole GFCI breaker and not giving you credit for the the 15 amp breaker or something like that.
 
duraleigh said:
It seems like your PB doesn't intend to comply with some of the things that were in your contract. The very best thing you can do is keep financial leverage on him.....always owe him money and never pay in full until you are satisfied.

(He's right about the electrical and gas hook-up......that pretty common.)

Why did you change from a 2 hp pump to a 3 hp? 2 hp is gracious plenty for your size pool.
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He told me that there wasn't a 2 HP VS so he wanted to use a 1.5 HP that would be for the pool and 2 bubblers. I preferred to spend a little more and go bigger instead of smaller. At the time he never mentioned it would also cost more to install. Do you think 1.5 HP would have been enough?

Unfortunately, I only owe him about $1500 more now. He previously spoke to me about his financial situation and told me if I could give him the $4k due upon completion of pebble ahead of time we could have the pebble done that weekend - that was 28 days ago. It's still not done. I also ordered my own equipment and deducted it from the balance owed because he suggested it instead of waiting for him to get paid from another job. It seems like he was in debt when he signed on to do my build.

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Technobuyer said:
I'll be the first to admit I'm not smart on such matters, but my guess as to why he didn't hook it up is because he is not licensed to do so. I was told here in Texas, you can't even buy the type pipe I had running through my house without being licensed. Don't know if that's true or not, but that's what I was told, and by more than one person. If the line is there from the heater to by the meter, it shouldn't be a big deal to have a plumber hook it up. I definitely want him to pressure check it. Is the line he ran all outside?

Did your contract say build as per plan or something like that? I have friends that have tried to go back in on remodels and add waterfalls, and such, and been told that they couldn't do it without adding piers to support the rock, as the beam wasn't really stressed properly to support that. I don't know if something similar is the case with your rock or not. But, it might be reasonable if they are going to pour concrete to support it, it might not be. Without it being called out in the contract, it's kinda tough to say.

Why is he saying he's going to charge more? Just to actually move it? Or is there more to it than that?
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The gas line is just outside. The equipment pad is on one side of the fence and the meter on the other side.

- - - Updated - - -

Would the electrical inspection have to come before plastering the pool?
 

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Wow. I've learned a lot from your experience.

If I ever move and have a pool installed, every thing will be in writing or I just won't do it.

Seems the only safe way.

It truly is a shame there are business owners that don't keep their word / honesty.
 
Sounds like it's about time to have a conversation with your state contracting board to me. A call from them can straighten him out quick as they have the power to not renew his license.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
duraleigh said:
Absolutely. You'll save up front, you'll save on electricity and you won't overpower your filter.
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Yikes, I wish I would've asked your opinion earlier. My pool designer suggested a 2HP for the pool, bubblers and deck jets...so I worried 1.5HP wasn't enough. :(

We have a 1.5HP for the slide. The builder wanted to use 0.75HP, but the slide company insisted that I use 2HP. Do you think that's also too much power?
 
Some modern slides need a LOT of water, however since you have a BIG variable speed pump now, you could probably eliminate the dedicated slide pump and just use the intelliflo with a diverter valve. One of the great things about using variable speed pump is that in combination with valves they can do the job of multiple dedicated smaller pumps.
 
I suggest you keep the Intelliflo. Yes, it is a 3 HP pump, but it is also a 1/10 of a HP pump and anything in-between. If this were a standard 3 HP pump, it would be way too big for your pool. but, since it is a Variable Speed pump, you simply make it whatever HP you want by setting the RPM or flow rate. The only downside to this pump is that it is run by a built in computer/controller which is somewhat susceptible to lightning strikes or power surges. Suggest you, or your PB, add a surge protector in your poolside power panel.

Jim R.
 
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