Our pool builder has been around 40 years and never offered a drawing or anything of the like to us and the pool came out great. All I am saying is just because his drawing isnt what you expected does not mean he cannot build a good pool.
Very Nervous Newbie Needing Advice!
- Thread starter vpace74
- Start date
I do see what you are saying. I agree with you now that I think about it.
It is going to come down to the details and follow through.
I hope we are helping you to think it all through. This is such a wonderful place that shares ideas and thoughts to help everyone get what they want.
Kim
Its not the drawing that would scare me as much as the dishonesty.
If he has really built anywhere near 2000 pools he is probably very old school and not up to date on new ideas and technology.
If he has really built anywhere near 2000 pools he is probably very old school and not up to date on new ideas and technology.
I notice you are from Arkansas. You are probably going to have a little bit of a different experience than people from states where pools are more popular. I would not let the lack of computer drawings or a contractors license throw me off too much. The vast majority of pools here are run of the mill vinyl lined pools and very few are gunite or shotcrete. The best thing you can do here is go look at someone's work and talk to references. If you are in central Arkansas I can give you my poolbuilders number. He is a hands on builder who has a very good reputation. I also will add that the contract was basically a very simple statement of what he was doing and the draw schedule. It might as well have been a napkin. The fact is I went with a very skilled, low tech, highly recommended builder after meeting with the larger companies whose salesmen could not get their story straight. Just because someone can design a pool on a computer doesn't mean they can build one.
Also, don't be deterred by the horror stories on this forum if you are going vinyl. Most of the pools on here are very custom gunite or shotcrete with extensive outdoor living areas as well. They are very complicated builds which involve a much larger number of subcontractors than a vinyl pool.
Best wishes and if you want his phone number pm me. Also if I can answer any questions feel free to ask.
Also, don't be deterred by the horror stories on this forum if you are going vinyl. Most of the pools on here are very custom gunite or shotcrete with extensive outdoor living areas as well. They are very complicated builds which involve a much larger number of subcontractors than a vinyl pool.
Best wishes and if you want his phone number pm me. Also if I can answer any questions feel free to ask.
Couldn't agree more with this. My builder was awesome with pools, not so much with a computer. All of my drawings were hand drawn with a pencil and sometimes a ruler. Receipts for my draws were hand written notes. Invoices were hand written. But he has been in business for 25 years.
It has been rather hectic lately so I have not had a chance to update. My husband works overseas and left today and even though the pool is "mine," I wanted everything finalized before he left so that we are in agreement on price, placement, shape, depths, features, etc.
I took all the advice to heart and the one that stuck out was the one who stated that due to location, my experience would probably be very different from most on here. In AR, you don't find inground pools to be common and there isn't a plethora of pool builders. The few there are have been here awhile (not fly by night) and it is a small community so word gets around. Reputation is huge in this community and anyone with their own business knows that.
With that said, we did sign on Friday.
The first pool builder we spoke to we nixed almost immediately. Horrible reputation, some open lawsuits pending, and questionable recent events at the business. (I never even mentioned him in my original post.)
The second pool builder is who I really thought we would go with. However, I was uncomfortable with his exaggeration of how many pools he has put in (over 2000 is impossible with the hands on he promised). I had a friend who used him and said while the pool is nice, the PB nickel and dimed them to death. Basically, things were agreed on but not put in the contract and became an extra cost. Friend said this wasn't just on one or two things. Another friend hired this same PB to clean their pool weekly and quickly discovered they were being charged but their pool was getting "skipped." He gave me the impression that he wasn't really taking what I wanted or my concerns into consideration - he had an "I've done this many times, just let me do it" feel. I never felt he really wanted to take the time for us to be completely on the same page. I have a bottom line on financing and needed to know. For example, when I told him how much extra decking I wanted and asked how much that would be, he told me that was easy enough to figure out myself. No, sir, you are the PB and I want to know a price for the dimensions of decking I gave. The thing that bothered me the most was that we have a 3' slope difference where we want to put the pool. He was just going to dig it down on the high end and build it up (with excavated dirt) on the low end. I remarked that I didn't think you were supposed to do that because the excavated built up dirt would shift. "It will be fine, I do it all the time." And he kept saying we wouldn't need a retaining wall for drainage down that 3' slope, he would "taper" the decking. That immediately made me picture a pool with drainage issues that was in a position to shift and would have a slope you had to walk up to get to it. Perhaps I was being picky or expecting too much, but one too many things just didn't feel "quite" right.
We chose the third PB. He came out several days and answered all of my questions, from where to put the pool equipment to drainage to connecting to our existing 20x20 slab of concrete. I drew the pool out myself (don't laugh - both he and my husband were quite impressed even though it was not to scale) in how I envisioned it. He and a worked came and flagged the entire thing out. We went through his contract several times, went through all of the warranties and how they work should I have an issue, etc. We talked to a few people who had nothing but good things to say about him and my husband went and looked at a pool he is currently putting in. He did say I knew more about a pool than any customer he had ever had and was surprised at how much I knew, but he literally spent hours out here walking me through pros and cons. He was very straightforward that he didn't make his money on equipment but on installation, and gave us other alternatives to save money (some we took and some we didn't).
If nothing goes wrong,we will have a 20x40 free form vinyl liner Fox pool with a retaining wall around two sides and partially a third for drainage and slope. 1/4 of the pool is 3', 1/2 the pool is 4' and the last 1/4 is 6' - this is an old fart pool so no diving. Just volleyball and hanging out listening to music with some cold ones. There will be rock around the edge and an 8'x12' rock tanning ledge with bubblers. Decking is 4' x 6' x 10' x 4'. The 4' by the stairs will connect to the 20x20 already there and we have added an additional 20x15' of concrete to square it out. We plan to put a hot tub and pergola on this next year. We couldn't afford to stain/stamp the concrete so we hope the rock work and the retaining wall will break it up so it doesn't look like a parking lot. All Pentair equipment with a heat pump and smart control system with remote control. All 2" piping. We went with the energy efficient eco-pump so I hope it lasts as long and saves as much as it is purported to. Contract has a "hold harmless" clause for me and lien wavers.
A few good vibes my way that all goes as planned would be appreciated. He starts in a few weeks and with the hubby gone, it is all on my shoulders.
I took all the advice to heart and the one that stuck out was the one who stated that due to location, my experience would probably be very different from most on here. In AR, you don't find inground pools to be common and there isn't a plethora of pool builders. The few there are have been here awhile (not fly by night) and it is a small community so word gets around. Reputation is huge in this community and anyone with their own business knows that.
With that said, we did sign on Friday.
The first pool builder we spoke to we nixed almost immediately. Horrible reputation, some open lawsuits pending, and questionable recent events at the business. (I never even mentioned him in my original post.)
The second pool builder is who I really thought we would go with. However, I was uncomfortable with his exaggeration of how many pools he has put in (over 2000 is impossible with the hands on he promised). I had a friend who used him and said while the pool is nice, the PB nickel and dimed them to death. Basically, things were agreed on but not put in the contract and became an extra cost. Friend said this wasn't just on one or two things. Another friend hired this same PB to clean their pool weekly and quickly discovered they were being charged but their pool was getting "skipped." He gave me the impression that he wasn't really taking what I wanted or my concerns into consideration - he had an "I've done this many times, just let me do it" feel. I never felt he really wanted to take the time for us to be completely on the same page. I have a bottom line on financing and needed to know. For example, when I told him how much extra decking I wanted and asked how much that would be, he told me that was easy enough to figure out myself. No, sir, you are the PB and I want to know a price for the dimensions of decking I gave. The thing that bothered me the most was that we have a 3' slope difference where we want to put the pool. He was just going to dig it down on the high end and build it up (with excavated dirt) on the low end. I remarked that I didn't think you were supposed to do that because the excavated built up dirt would shift. "It will be fine, I do it all the time." And he kept saying we wouldn't need a retaining wall for drainage down that 3' slope, he would "taper" the decking. That immediately made me picture a pool with drainage issues that was in a position to shift and would have a slope you had to walk up to get to it. Perhaps I was being picky or expecting too much, but one too many things just didn't feel "quite" right.
We chose the third PB. He came out several days and answered all of my questions, from where to put the pool equipment to drainage to connecting to our existing 20x20 slab of concrete. I drew the pool out myself (don't laugh - both he and my husband were quite impressed even though it was not to scale) in how I envisioned it. He and a worked came and flagged the entire thing out. We went through his contract several times, went through all of the warranties and how they work should I have an issue, etc. We talked to a few people who had nothing but good things to say about him and my husband went and looked at a pool he is currently putting in. He did say I knew more about a pool than any customer he had ever had and was surprised at how much I knew, but he literally spent hours out here walking me through pros and cons. He was very straightforward that he didn't make his money on equipment but on installation, and gave us other alternatives to save money (some we took and some we didn't).
If nothing goes wrong,we will have a 20x40 free form vinyl liner Fox pool with a retaining wall around two sides and partially a third for drainage and slope. 1/4 of the pool is 3', 1/2 the pool is 4' and the last 1/4 is 6' - this is an old fart pool so no diving. Just volleyball and hanging out listening to music with some cold ones. There will be rock around the edge and an 8'x12' rock tanning ledge with bubblers. Decking is 4' x 6' x 10' x 4'. The 4' by the stairs will connect to the 20x20 already there and we have added an additional 20x15' of concrete to square it out. We plan to put a hot tub and pergola on this next year. We couldn't afford to stain/stamp the concrete so we hope the rock work and the retaining wall will break it up so it doesn't look like a parking lot. All Pentair equipment with a heat pump and smart control system with remote control. All 2" piping. We went with the energy efficient eco-pump so I hope it lasts as long and saves as much as it is purported to. Contract has a "hold harmless" clause for me and lien wavers.
A few good vibes my way that all goes as planned would be appreciated. He starts in a few weeks and with the hubby gone, it is all on my shoulders.
Congrats on your signing ! Sounds like you made a good choice.
Good Luck and don't forget to post pic's of the journey !
Good Luck and don't forget to post pic's of the journey !
Sounds nice!
You will NOT be alone! WE will be here for you. If you have ANY questions about anything someone on here should be able to answer. Just pick and choose the best answer for YOU.
Go ahead with the pics. Take one of the area you are putting the pool and of your drawing.
HUGS!
Kim
You will NOT be alone! WE will be here for you. If you have ANY questions about anything someone on here should be able to answer. Just pick and choose the best answer for YOU.
Go ahead with the pics. Take one of the area you are putting the pool and of your drawing.
HUGS!
Kim