CA owner builder
- Thread starter spearwarrior
- Start date
I've been getting bids for excavation and leaning towards a contractor that not only lowest bidder so far but has 30+ years experience digging pools, waiting for last excavator to submit his bid. I was shocked and amazed by the size of the bids from 2 other contractors that don't have as much experience. It seems they pull up to the house, see the expensive neighborhood and cars and figure i have more money than sense. The highest bidder was more than 3 times higher than the contractor i'm leaning towards. I am going to need a lot of help. I just recently found this site and spend my free time searching and learning. I knew that i wanted to go the owner builder route after i scared away a pb 6 months ago when i asked for a detail estimate, one that included equipment model numbers and manufactureers, would he be able to provide lien waivers from all subcontractors he used and few other things that escape me at the moment. Any who initially thought i would need to use a commercial heater to heat the pool. Rancho Cucamonga Building and safety would not allow me to put it where the equipment pad is shown in the design because its more than 150' gas run to the meter. I need to call them and find out under what conditions they would allow 2 400k BTU residential heaters. I got 2 bids for the rebar that were almost identical and the contractor that has more experience(and recommended by the excavator) was only couple hundred lower. I guess i'd better ask my questions before i forget:
how many skimmers/lights and where should i put them(for both pool and pond)?
any fire appliences that look like firepits that you recommened? We wanted to put 3 fire pots but cant because of new regulations for our high fire zone.
fiberglass slide vs epoxy covered cement slide? i've never been on cement slide but was told that they are slower than the cement ones. the cost of a fiberglass slide vs having to tear out and redo a cement slide make it feasible?
How many pumps to make the slide(about 30' long and 12' drop) and experience?
we dont want the grotto to be visible from the outside and i was told that it would take 2 4x160 pumps to get enough water coming down to accomplish this. does that sound right or make any sense?
how many skimmers/lights and where should i put them(for both pool and pond)?
any fire appliences that look like firepits that you recommened? We wanted to put 3 fire pots but cant because of new regulations for our high fire zone.
fiberglass slide vs epoxy covered cement slide? i've never been on cement slide but was told that they are slower than the cement ones. the cost of a fiberglass slide vs having to tear out and redo a cement slide make it feasible?
How many pumps to make the slide(about 30' long and 12' drop) and experience?
we dont want the grotto to be visible from the outside and i was told that it would take 2 4x160 pumps to get enough water coming down to accomplish this. does that sound right or make any sense?
Ill be honest and say your builder has more years exp. then i have years alive so... He probably knows better then i but Im thinking 4 skimmers, and also 3 or 4 lights. Id put one skimmer just about where the length line is measuring 42' near the spa, and actually another on the width line on the other side of spa. Then id put one on both sides of reef steps. A few feet out from the step on both sides.
PLEASE keep this page updated with pics, thats an insane pool bro, good luck with everything
PLEASE keep this page updated with pics, thats an insane pool bro, good luck with everything
http://www.dolphinwaterslides.net/RB32_39_3D.pdf
http://waterslides.biz/products/SS-41.pdf
I found few other sites that do slides. I'm working on a detailed email. This is going to push my dig back another two weeks as the hill side will need to be preped according to the slide I get.
http://waterslides.biz/products/SS-41.pdf
I found few other sites that do slides. I'm working on a detailed email. This is going to push my dig back another two weeks as the hill side will need to be preped according to the slide I get.
I got a quick response about the slide would need ~400gpm!! Might also have to shorten and lower the slide
Wow, quite the project. All your question are beyond my scope, but good luck. Keep up the pics on your progress.
Wow! Gotta say, that sounds really high. Visually, how much water are you expecting?
The slides you posted links to require 150-200 gpm.
The slides you posted links to require 150-200 gpm.
I bought our slide from SlideScapes and they were terrific to work with. Fiberglass is definitely the way to go, much faster than a cement slide will ever be.
Melt In The Sun said:
Both companies custom design a slide at no extra cost and i'm just going by what one of them stated. I'm not sure how much water visually. Just really want the slide to be an experience but at the same time be safe for my family and friends.
crabboy said:
I have to agree with you Dave at slidescapes is johnny on the spot with responses to my emails.
Heckpools said:
I am the builder!! the excavator is the one with the experience. I'll update as progress is made.
I've mentioned this in a few other threads, but it's worth repeating here.
Since you live out there in Cucamonga, I'm betting you get some fierce winds at times. Pay attention to the exact direction, and put a skimmer as far downwind as possible.
Since you live out there in Cucamonga, I'm betting you get some fierce winds at times. Pay attention to the exact direction, and put a skimmer as far downwind as possible.
One thing I forgot to mention, the min depth for the slides suggest 3 1/2 feet. Ours dumps in the deep end and I'm glad. We can go down head first on your back or stomach and go straight into a head down dive and not hit the bottom. This would not be safe at all in 4' of water. The kids (and adults) come up with come crazy moves down the slide. Toughest to date is going down on your hands and knees and doing a full aerial flip off the end of the slide.
This might turn out to be one of the sickest pools on here to date. I can't wait to see it take shape.
You should look at adding the plumbing for solar, so if in the future you want to put in a solar array, it won't be a big deal. A friend who moved to the San Deigo area has one that runs off it's own small pump that kicks on automaticly when the temperature reaches a certain point in the array.
Is it possible feasible to excavate to pool then put a very thinlayer of shotcrete or the like to prevent a cave-in? I'd like to make some sort of progress but can quite afford to go from excavation to shotcrete.
Yes, I believe it's pretty common for them to flash the walls with gunite to help keep them from caving in while construction is going on.spearwarrior said:
I am sure the dirt is different from Georgia to Cali , but even with "flashin" the excavation I would not want the "hole" open for an extended period of time before shot goes in. Not only will you have to clean out whatever "sluffs" off but you will have more overbreak to fill in the holes costing more money for shot.
Just mailed 1/8 scale site plan to slide company's. Called and got dig alert number. Waiting on excavator bids/start date, hopping to start within the next two weeks
