Vegasmom's Pool Build

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Vegasmom,
You must have the patience of a SAINT!!! If it was me, I'd be in jail, with that DA from Law and Order telling my lawyer "20 to life with NO chance of parole". LOL :-D
 
Plankton said:
Vegasmom,
You must have the patience of a SAINT!!! If it was me, I'd be in jail, with that DA from Law and Order telling my lawyer "20 to life with NO chance of parole". LOL :-D
Click to expand...
No kidding. I went ballistic on a minor (compared to this PB) dirt issue. Vegasmom, you are certainly the model to follow. It's looking great though! Beautiful finished (well almost) product. It was worth the hassle.

John
 
Thanks, guys :) Things are starting to come together. I've got my gate now, it's installed but they need to come back out for a couple things. They had the frame set for an outside mount and it's inside, so they cut off and rewelded it, needs touch up. The clear coat is high gloss and it's supposed to be satin. I went on a small rant but I'm better now. :slidehalo:

Concrete guy had stopped by to go over a few things and he was within earshot. I think he thought he was next!

PB had to install 3 more of those lovely door alarms but said the inspector should show up tomorrow. I hope he doesn't come between 3 and 4, I'll miss him when I go get the kids. He says they don't make appts. so keeping my fingers crossed!

Plaster people are backed up because of the winds we've had, so I'm not sure exactly when we'll be scheduled. Provided all goes well with inspection, maybe a week.

Not saying anything else to jinx us, LOL!
 
Well, the inspector just left. We failed. :x PB didn't seal the lights with silicone. This is required (basic pool building 101) so that water doesn't get in there and electrocute us. They also stucco'ed over my shut off gas valve on the firepots. Needs to be dug out.

My husband, who has not been part of the daily process, other than me obviously filling him in, and has not had contact with the pool people because he's at work all day, has finally had enough. When I called the super to let him know we failed and said my husband wanted to talk to him to hang on, he hung up. :? Nice.

Then the lady at the PB office called me and I told her exactly what he said needed to be fixed. They'll get someone out here (hopefully today!) and will try to recall the inspection for tomorrow. It's just stupid that they didn't have it right. After all this time, there is no excuse.

And I've got a final punch list with 10 items on it that we're insisting a completion date be given for. Waiting for the owner to call me back.
 
I don't have intimate knowledge of pool lights, but I find it surprising that a PB would have to add silicone to one. I would think the light is a self-contained fixture that is designed by the manufacturer to seal correctly. Obviously you need to be able to open it and change bulbs which is why I'd think it would be designed with it's own water tight features... if you caulk it how will you be able to open it down the road? Unless the inspector is wanting to caulk the back side of the light to the pool wall but what does that matter? There's not exposed wiring behind the light is there?

On the subject of failing an inspection in general, everybody I know who's had a pool built has failed their final inspection... I get the impression that the inspectors are just making sure they have job security and can ALWAYS find something no matter how thorough a PB you have.

I had an inspection fail prior to backfilling my trenches because the inspector found a plastic soda bottle in one of the trenches. Instead of just picking it up or saying the PB needed to pick it up, he just failed the whole inspection. My PB said it was very typical.
 
I agree, that doesn't sound right. In a typical light installation these days, the conduit runs back to a j-box that is installed above ground (and therefore above the waterline). The light is a sealed unit with a long whip that runs through the conduit to the j-box and the termination is made there. That way the water can get into the niche behind the light and into the conduit, but not into the wiring. The light is not sealed to the wall in this type of installation. But maybe your lights are different? What kind of lights do you have?

That's not funny about the super hanging up on your husband. You've put up with too much cr** from their lack of coordination throughout this job to be treated like this at the end!
 
Geez, EP, they failed you for a soda bottle?! That's insane.

I dunno this guy seemed pretty cool but he said it was a grounding issue with the electrical and could not let it go. He was referring to the niche lights. They're recessed fiber optic, above waterline. I think they unscrew from the top cap so sealing it would not interfere with that.

Hubby had a conversation with the owner and we basically learned we were put on the 'bad' list, that is why they take their time getting out here. Way back when I lost my temper with my salesman after they tried to take material off the job site that belonged to us. That turned into an argument over who actually owned it. We have since settled that and I thought were on good terms. The owner feels he lost money on this job (which is his own fault..remember the mismeasure of the tile and the water wall re-do? and nevermind the fact we've given them 3 referrals, one of which is completed, the other right behind) so he's just going to take his sweet time. And it's not like we've ever held back payment. They have their money on schedule.

My husband mentioned 'lawyer and suit' so we'll see how fast these things get done now. They've played their little BS game long enough.
 
They sent someone over and he showed me where the 'niche' was referring to. It's inside where the main pool light goes (Pentair Sams) and it's the hole where the long conduit comes in. They need to seal that up.
 
So your boy makes a bad estimate, tries to steal your stuff, and then not only besmirches your sterling reputation in the community over it, but forces you to endure ongoing hardship and frustration?

I think hubby should mention lawyer again, and it should include mentioning libel, slander, and defamation.

Your PB should read this thread.
 
Thanks, Ohm. It's really a shame that it came to this. I was so surprised to hear the owner say that because I really thought all that was water under the bridge. We had a disagreement, but we settled it. I didn't realize we were going to be punished for expressing anger and frustration when finally pushed too far. To play these 'good list, bad list' games is beyond being unprofessional.

He also flat out lied to my husband when he denied saying something to me in a previous conversation. The owner told me the tile guy said he was going to put a lien on our house for payment. PB owes him this money. I don't know whether or not he was ever paid. Ironically, part of the delay back in Dec. on our tile was that the PB was beefing with this guy over a previous job's payment. Suffice it to say, they are no longer using him. He was being hotheaded in his conv. with the owner. He can't come after us, we didn't contract with him! At any rate, the owner told my husband "No one ever said that". He's basically calling me a liar. This is trivial stuff, but this is what we're dealing with.

My husband told them the sooner they finish this stuff, the sooner we can both be done with each other. We just want our pool finished, and they'll get paid. We're not trying to get out of that. Without a new completion date on this stuff, they'll drag it out another 3 months!
 

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Wow! bad list huh? You are right, Its a shame a business would stoop so low as to play these games. Its your decision but I think it really is time to go over the contract with a fine tooth come and hold him to every single thing in it, with a lawyer. Get that punch list out and get every single item that you find fault with fixed. Its more money, but this guy needs to know that you can play hardball just as well as he can, if not better. That is just ridiculous!!!
 
Vegasmom said:
They sent someone over and he showed me where the 'niche' was referring to. It's inside where the main pool light goes (Pentair Sams) and it's the hole where the long conduit comes in. They need to seal that up.
Click to expand...

The conduit probably leads to an above waterline j-box as I mentioned before so technically the water cannot get into the box, but some codes do require a plug of silicon be installed in the conduit behind the niche. That's a 15 second job, no biggie.

I don't know what surprises me more- that they have a "bad list" or that they told you guys about it! :shock: I think the fact that your PB even has a "bad list" speaks volumes about them. I don't care how great their pools are, life is too short to deal with people that have a bad list that clients end up on just because of a disagreement. Now a "non-payer" list, that I could understand! Problems happen in construction and the measure of how they are dealt with is also the measure of the contractor you're working with. Some builders are problem-solvers and some are finger-pointers. Both types can get the job done, but it's sure a lot smoother to get through it with a problem-solver.
 
Apparantly, my husbands conversation with the owner had the desired effect. All of a sudden, everyone is here finishing things. :-D I don't think they want to fight with us and vice versa, so we should be fine from here on out.

I'm not sure if the inspector came back by but they took care of those 2 things so we should pass now. Still no schedule on the plaster. It will actually work out better if they wait til the end of next week but I'm not going to hold it up if it's sooner.

I had a co. come over to talk about grinding our new slabs. We'll most likely have him do it and although there isn't alot of airborne dust because they use a vacuum with it, if it's windy we'll get some in the pool. Now is a perfect time to do it if it fits in the schedule.

I'm itching to start setting furniture out but I'll have to wait a little longer. BBQ is done, and I'm blown away. So beautiful.
Final pics of everything sooooon!!
 
Don't get excited, it's still not done! Just updating...we finally passed inspection. 3rd times the charm, right? :roll: Luckily, we had a very compassionate, understanding inspector. He actually did the work that needed to be done himself. Yeah, really. Lucky, too, that I had a tube of silicone in my garage. PB plugged the hole for the conduit, but didn't put any around the copper wiring thing. I dunno, it's code. It's there for a reason, and PB blatanly ignores it and thinks it's no big deal. We're not the first pool to have lights. It's not a new code. WTH? Anyway, we're good now.

Final walk thru before plaster is tomorrow. Plaster guys are backed up still because of the wind. If we had passed inspection last week we'd be that much further up on the list. *sigh*. What do they care? They don't. Plain and simple. Oh, that's right, I forgot. We're bad. :twisted:

Forgive my sarcasm but I am no longer feeling the love for Smart Pools. Everyone has a breaking point and they've blown it with us. I could go on but I'm just leaving it at "We'll be done with this soon". And when we are, the BBB and NV Contractor's Board will be hearing from us.

I'll update with pics as soon as we have water 8)

PS. Hubby and kids totally surprised me on Mother's Day with a very shiny and beautiful Margarita Machine. Party's at my house in about 2 weeks! BYOPF
 
I think I like the sarcastic Vegasmom better :lol: :twisted:

A margarita machine? Drooooooooool! Hey, here's a bit of trivia. The margarita machine was invented by Mariano Martinez, owner of Mariano's Hacienda here in Dallas. The first machine (a modified soft-serve ice cream machine) was in use for many years at his restaurant, then was put on display in the entryway. I passed by it many times going to eat lunch there. Anyway, it's in the Smithsonian Museum now and he has a plaque in the restaurant instead of the machine. I hardly ever drink, but stick a strawberry margarita in front of me and all resistance crumbles :p
 
mechanics liens

Vegasmom wrote

"The owner told me the tile guy said he was going to put a lien on our house for payment. PB owes him this money. I don't know whether or not he was ever paid. Ironically, part of the delay back in Dec. on our tile was that the PB was beefing with this guy over a previous job's payment. Suffice it to say, they are no longer using him. He was being hotheaded in his conv. with the owner. He can't come after us, we didn't contract with him!"

This is a classic contractor move to scare a customer with the threat of a mechanics lien from a sub. I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on tv, but before you make final payment to the GC I suggest talking to your lawyer about this topic. I don't know any Nevada law but in Texas it works something like this. A sub can file a mechanics lien against your property at any time for non-payment from the GC. It is irrelevant that you did not contract with the sub directly! Since the work was done on your property it is filed against your property. When the contract is fully paid, all subs lose their right to file liens. However, any liens filed before this time would need to be addressed. So typically, we would require the GC to provide lien waivers from each sub as they roll off the project. This indicates that they have been paid and that they are relinquishing the right to file a lien. I can't even be sure this is 100% accurate for Texas, so it could be very different in Nevada. There are a zillion laws/regulations about how liens are filed, notice requirements to property owners, etc, etc. I also have no idea what your contract states or how that meshes with Nevada law.

I am only telling you this to encourage you to make sure you are in the clear before making your final GC payment. A brief conversation with an attorney may be wise considering the difficulties you have experienced.
 
What carlos31 describes is essentially the same as how it works here. If you do it up front you can sometimes get the contract amended to say either that the release from the sub is required before you pay the builder or that the builder indemnifies against liens from the subs. A good builder will usually agree to that, but questionable ones don't tend to want to do that.

If the builder wants to stay in business they will take care of it. Of course they aren't motivated to do so very quickly unless you have appropriate wording in the contract.

In any case, once the lien is filled, it is best to consult a lawyer and talk to them about how to withhold enough of your payments to pay off the lien without violating the contract.
 

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