I thought I would put together some thought, comment and lessons learned that might help others thinking or going through a new pool build. I will update as I we finish our build.
Ask questions, ask question, ask question! Try to understand why they are doing what they are doing.
Your yard will be a mess and a big mess if it rains. If you have a dog and dark hardwood floors, all I can say is sorry I fell your pain.
Expect things to move fast some days and slow on others. For us our PB uses external contractors, so they need to fit into their schedules as well. We had a week with nothing being done.
Get to know your project manager and his phone number. He will be your main link to get what you want.
Don’t be afraid to talk to the contractors as they may provide good advice and information that you did not know or even think about. These guys have worked on thousands of pools.
Make sure you check the form of the pool after they mark it before digging, as this is the best time to make changes. What looked good on paper is not always the best. We smoothed out a curve that matched our existing patio and increased the pool size by about 500 gallons. 2 feet of spacing looks a lot larger on paper than in real life.
The painted form of the pool will look small. Luckily our PB warned us of that.
Understand with flagstone it can be the luck of the draw if you get light, dark or both. Let you PB know your preference.
Flagstone will erode; it’s not just with salt. That is the nature of the stone.
Check with your builder of what you will actually get. If you want big full pieces of stone, ask as this may cost extra as the masons will use filler pieces to save material. I did have them change the following out as to not look so chopped up.
Check out the stone you may see a piece you may want in a specific place and them that.
Watch what is being done as it may be different than planned and what you want. Understand that some of the workers are there just to earn money, so things might not be done to your satisfaction. Have them corrected.
My biggest frustration was and is with the mason. Although he can do good work, he would go off and do thing different than what we wanted or just be sloppy
Here’s a sample of the spillway we wanted and provided a photo
Here is a sample of one that he had half way built before I corrected him. He did not have enough chopped stone, so he was going to do it this way.
Here is what we have, big difference and very pleased with it.
More frustration as I will have the stone guy back tomorrow 4/9/13 to fix his latest art work. Broken stone and an ugly corner that is not flush at all.
2 white stones put in when there is not another white stone anywhere.
Decking makes a huge difference, make sure you have enough, larger is better than smaller. It’s expensive, but cheaper and easier to do it all at once than to try and add later. Don’t forget about umbrella holders.
For us working with a landscaper that worked with the PB has been great. The PB, landscaper and irrigation people have all worked together to make sure they work together.
Landscaping’s not cheap, but if you can be patient, buy small plants that will grow into the space. It can be a big jump in price to get grown plants.
AGAIN. Ask questions and do not assume.
It would be common sense to me to avoid placing anything directly in front of a window. Apparently not so for the contractors.
Yes I knew and it was explained that the heater needed to be 5’ from any window that can be opened. Bad assumption that they would place the filer on the far left of the slab and have the pumps in the middle, so as to not be in front of the window.
Ask questions, ask question, ask question! Try to understand why they are doing what they are doing.
Your yard will be a mess and a big mess if it rains. If you have a dog and dark hardwood floors, all I can say is sorry I fell your pain.
Expect things to move fast some days and slow on others. For us our PB uses external contractors, so they need to fit into their schedules as well. We had a week with nothing being done.
Get to know your project manager and his phone number. He will be your main link to get what you want.
Don’t be afraid to talk to the contractors as they may provide good advice and information that you did not know or even think about. These guys have worked on thousands of pools.
Make sure you check the form of the pool after they mark it before digging, as this is the best time to make changes. What looked good on paper is not always the best. We smoothed out a curve that matched our existing patio and increased the pool size by about 500 gallons. 2 feet of spacing looks a lot larger on paper than in real life.
The painted form of the pool will look small. Luckily our PB warned us of that.
Understand with flagstone it can be the luck of the draw if you get light, dark or both. Let you PB know your preference.
Flagstone will erode; it’s not just with salt. That is the nature of the stone.
Check with your builder of what you will actually get. If you want big full pieces of stone, ask as this may cost extra as the masons will use filler pieces to save material. I did have them change the following out as to not look so chopped up.
Check out the stone you may see a piece you may want in a specific place and them that.
Watch what is being done as it may be different than planned and what you want. Understand that some of the workers are there just to earn money, so things might not be done to your satisfaction. Have them corrected.
My biggest frustration was and is with the mason. Although he can do good work, he would go off and do thing different than what we wanted or just be sloppy
Here’s a sample of the spillway we wanted and provided a photo
Here is a sample of one that he had half way built before I corrected him. He did not have enough chopped stone, so he was going to do it this way.
Here is what we have, big difference and very pleased with it.
More frustration as I will have the stone guy back tomorrow 4/9/13 to fix his latest art work. Broken stone and an ugly corner that is not flush at all.
2 white stones put in when there is not another white stone anywhere.
Decking makes a huge difference, make sure you have enough, larger is better than smaller. It’s expensive, but cheaper and easier to do it all at once than to try and add later. Don’t forget about umbrella holders.
For us working with a landscaper that worked with the PB has been great. The PB, landscaper and irrigation people have all worked together to make sure they work together.
Landscaping’s not cheap, but if you can be patient, buy small plants that will grow into the space. It can be a big jump in price to get grown plants.
AGAIN. Ask questions and do not assume.
It would be common sense to me to avoid placing anything directly in front of a window. Apparently not so for the contractors.
Yes I knew and it was explained that the heater needed to be 5’ from any window that can be opened. Bad assumption that they would place the filer on the far left of the slab and have the pumps in the middle, so as to not be in front of the window.
