New pool in Tucson

[Theep]

Hi,
I am ready to sign a contract for a pool. My house (recently purchased) is on a ridge with a view of the mountains and overlooking the city. The fenced in yard sits about 10' higher than the drive. I don't have a picture of this change, but we are planning on moving the pool two feet toward the law chairs (see the picture) and putting in a few palms and other oasis-type plants at the end of the pool (near the deep end).

I got bids from Presidential, Patio Pools and Spas, Artistic Pools and Spas and Cimarron Circle. My favorites were Artistic Pools and Cimarron Circle, but while Cimarron is a little more expensive, I have friends who have used them and can't say enough good about them.

The pool design:



Perimeter 89'
Surface Area 471 sq feet
Size 31 x 16'
Depth 3 x 5'
30 linear feet of negative edge

Pentair 1.0 Whisperflow
Robot
7' benches
35' steps in shallow end
530' Pool decking, colored concrete with salt finish
53 linear feet of deco drain


» Engineered Layout & Forming
» Excavation and Dirt Removal from Jobsite
» Heavy-Duty Pressure Tested Plumbing
» 12" X 12" Steel Grid Shell, #3 Steel Reinforcement
» 4000 PSI Pneumatically Applied Concrete Structure with Lifetime Warranty
» Dual Suction Plumbing with 2 1/2" Main Drain Plumbing
» Complete Gunite Curing of Pool Structure (No Watering Needed)
» Pentair 480 Square Foot Cartridge Filter
» Schedule 40 PVC Piping (25 Ft of 2 1/2" X 2" X 2" Plumbing Run)
» Automatic Fill System with 15 Ft Plumbing » Surface Skimmer
» Two (2) Dual Safety Main Drains
» Two (2) Adjustable Surface Returns
» 6" X 6" Porcelain Waterline Tile, Standard Color Selection
» Premium White Marcite Plaster Interior Finish
» Electrical Sub-Panel on All Projects to Give Greater Control and Flexibility
» Pre-Cast Equipment Slab
» 50 Ft Electrical Conduit From Main Disconnect
» 250 Watt Halogen Underwater Pool Light

I decided to forgo a salt generator and pebble tec due to the cost.
There is a deposit, 3 large payments and one final payment due before plaster. No quote that I got had a 10% once satisfied. Is that something to fight for?

Thanks
Theep

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to the forum!

Yes, I think it is something to fight for. It seems odd to me that there is no final draw after project completion. Perhaps they do things differently
out there, but I'm not sure I'd agree to it. I turned down a builder that had a 5% final draw and that was a big part of my decision. Ten percent is usually considered the minimum acceptable.

You might consider a good quartz finish since PT is so high. It's a much better alternative than plain plaster.

 

[Turbothechihuahua]

Look nice! I am actually midway through the build in Oro a Valley with Cimmarron right now. I think you made the right choice!

 

[Theep]

I've considered the quartz finish, which is about an extra $1200. I'm waiting a bit to make that final decision. To some degree, it will depend on if there are too many surprises.

Here is a picture of the dig site

 

[lindsgd]

What hit me on my pricing was that standard tile selection. Most pool owners go for something a little nicer and it quickly adds up. I know my wife did!

Also 15' of plumbing for the auto fill. Perhaps you have a valve real close. I think I had about 60-70ft of pipe and I know how the trades love to hit you with extra charges. I would just verify.

 

[Theep]

Thanks for the warning on tile. I have a valve very close to where the pool is going, so 15' is about right.

I am more concerned about extra digging/engineering costs. The best part of the yard (with the best view) is on dirt that was moved from the back of the house. It's been there for 25 years with grass growing on it and frequent watering. The builder isn't really worried about it, but they did give me an idea of what would have to be done if the soil was too soft.

They would have to dig down a few extra feet, then add the dirt back to an "engineered" level of 95%. That means using compactors ever few inches to ensure the strength of the dirt is sufficient to avoid shifting -- a couple of grand.

 

[Theep]

Pool Dig started

The concerns were valid ... the soil isn't compacted. They are going to have to do some engineering. Right now, they are not sure how deep they have to go

 

[Turbothechihuahua]

That sucks! Hopefully they will find a fairly cost effective solution. I can't wait to see the finished product. CCCC is currently completing the travertive decking on my pool. You are welcome to come and take a look at their work or any of the tile choices we made anytime.

Best of luck!

 

[Theep]

Before (from my roof) --
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pf-productions/12971726215/

 

[Theep]

Let's see if these links embed the pictures directly.

Before (from the roof)


Layout (from the roof)

Crew showed up to start the work

First shovels

Noticing how the dirt isn't compacted, even down to this depth -- not a good sign

 

[Theep]

Well, we hit the water line. Yes, we called blue stake. The water comes into the property from the other side, but I guess they ran it over to the opposite side of the house, under where the pools needs to go.

Now, we need to figure out where to reroute the water line because it goes under the retaining (riprap) wall. It looks like we'll have to trench around about 150', through the driveway.

 

[Readyforapool]

That's going to be beautiful. I feel for ya! There are a lot of us who have had issues in the building process. Just close your eyes and picture yourself on your pool lounger looking at that view with your adult beverage!

 

[Theep]

Thanks for the "happy place" to go to when it gets messy!

The dug out the whole pool and still haven't hit original grade. Apparently, the yard was built up way more than we expected.

The pool company doesn't seem too worried. They're going to dig down an additional 3', process the soil (add water, maybe remove rocks), and compact it down. I picked up some additional stress because the excavator (a sub) appeared worried and pretty concerned about how deep they'd have to go. I found out that they had another dig today, and this would mess up their schedule.

They are going to have to reroute the water line, and it appears that we will have to find it way back at the driveway, then run it around the entire retaining wall. Right now, they are looking at an emergency repair for the 8' of missing pipe so I can get water back.

Quite an exciting day.

Here is what it looks like right now...

- - - Updated - - -

Here is the really fun part....my kids don't know this is going on.

I haven't told them we are getting a pool. I've hidden this from them for all the planning phases. They've helped with clearing stuff out and have been more interested in helping than ask why. When I removed the grass, I told them it was to put in a patio (which is 1/2 true).

I had to close the blinds last night to hide the pool markings. My oldest (13) really wanted to know what was going on outside because I didn't let them go outside. She decided that I was doing something for my youngest's birthday -- like a play set. I didn't tell them anything.

This morning, workers showed up, so the kids know something is up, but not what. I actually expect that they will not suspect a pool because that seems like a "dream too big". I can't wait for them to come home from school and see the big hole!

 

[Northrider23]

Congrats theep. I bet your kids will love it. Our son is the main reason why we are building a pool too. Looking forward to your build and great times ahead.

 

[Theep]

Well, no work on the pool today. The pool company spent most of the day trying to figure out what to do about the soil being too soft. The plan is to dig down to native soil, then add dirt back in 1 foot at a time while compaction. They are going to have an engineering test the compaction of the soil to ensure it is 95%. The estimate is currently 3K, but that is only a ball park.

In terms of the water line, they put in a temporary line while it is rerouted. However, no more digging can go on because there is a line in the way! It looks like I'll have an 80' run of new flex-pipe for the main water line. If I do (or find someone to do) the trenching, it will be about $900. Now to find a cheap way to trench 80' this weekend.

Now, I try to relax and just enjoy what I will end up having -- I think it is going to be an awesome looking pool. As it stands, I am planning on dropping (not getting) any additional decking. I can put some of the bricks back to make a bit of a patio without extra cost. The savings in decking will be used to pay for the extra expenses. I'll add some more decking later -- at least that is my plan right now.

 

[Casey]

Those kids are going to hit the ceiling when they find out they're getting a pool! lol Hope everything goes smoothly for you guys and you can continue on without issues! Good luck!

 

[jro33176]

What a great surprise for your kids! I sympathize with those unexpected costs. We encountered them ourselves. We have to reroute electric and phone lines and some other unexpected costs. In the end, you will remember this as just a stumbling block.... at least that's what I tell myself.

 

[Theep]

It turns out that they also hit the sewer line. It ended up running right along the edge of the pool, and just under the deep end.

I spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday tracing the water and sewer lines from the house to the driveway so I could figure out where to pick them off and tie them back in. I found the end of the water line, and I had someone help me do more digging, and he found the start of the water line and one part of the sewer.

On Wednesday, the pool company brought out a small excavator to dig the 70' trench that went around the pool area (which includes the riprap retaining wall). They hand dug out and found the second part of the sewer line. Down near the driveway, the water was 3 1/2' deep, with the sewer almost 5' down.

They made it much deeper than needed, which just made backfilling it hard to do later.

 

[Theep]

On Thursday, I had a pumbing company reroute the water and sewer. I ended up with 3 new clean outs. Then they did the water line with ABS. Luckily, they were able to put new threads on the old water line where we picked it off (the pipe was a bit rusty, but they found a clean spot). Otherwise, we would have had to go back until we found a fitting that we could use.

Kids helping with back filling the dirt. We screened (ran the dirt through a screen to remove large rocks) the first foot of dirt. After than, we just shoveled it in as fast as we could. I had to finish because they pool excavators were coming the next morning.

 

[Theep]

Friday, early (as everything seems to be), the workers showed up to finish the pool dig. The kids didn't have school, so they were able to watch the whole process -- what a treat for them. Not only can they say they helped put in the pool (I've made them work along side of me), but they got to see the heavy equipment!

They had to dig down through all the fill dirt until they hit native soil. While I was thinking they would have to go down 13 feet in some places, it turned out that they hit native soil at about 8 1/2'. That resulted in about 3' of compacted dirt for the deep end and 5' for the shallow end. They worked from 7 am until 6 pm on this dig. It took only about an hour (likely less) for them to do the actually digging part.

For compacting the soil, once they hit native soil, they put 1 foot of dirt back in, compacted it and sprayed it down with water (the water helps it compact).

After they put down a layer of compacted dirt, and engineer came and tested the dirt to ensure that it was well compacted. I think this was required by the pool company. If they are going to warrantee the pool for not cracking, they are going to be certain that it is done right.

The finished product. Funny thing is that it looks almost the same as when they started! 11 hours of work of a 3-man crew resulted in work that cannot be seen at all. I'm glad that I was here to watch it and know that everything was done correctly. Otherwise, I might really be unhappy with the bill. The cost of rerouting the lines and this compaction is basically going to cost me all of my pool deck. My plan for the pool decking is to put down a brick patio down from bricks I already have and save up until I can afford it.