Soon-to-Be Fiberglass Pool Raleigh, NC

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Re: T-17 Days to Start Date in Raleigh, NC

I hear you down here! One thing I would do is clean out your cooler and go buy some water, Gatorade, soda, etc. to put on ice the day of the dig! I would also have some goodies on hand. If they workers feel the love they will go the extra mile most of the time!

Kim:kim:
 
Re: T-17 Days to Start Date in Raleigh, NC

ny2nc said:
Y'all! I am not even from the south originally...but Y'ALL I AM SO EXCITED that I don't even know what to do with myself!:kim: I keep longingly looking out my window imagining the pool to come (picture scene from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation). :cool:

Now, seriously though...all permits have been pulled by the pool builder, utilities are marked, stone picked out, and here we sit with nothing to do! Am I supposed to be doing something that I don't know about or is this the calm before the proverbial storm? :confused:
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Hi there :wave: I signed my contract on 11/17/16 and they finally started digging on 2/3/17! So, I understand the waiting game and the struggle was real! We had an existing patio, so during the "wait" we moved the furniture to the garage, dug up the plants close to the dig site and put them in pots to keep them safe and out of the way. We capped off the sprinklers about a week before the dig. I also did ALOT of lurking here on TFP :lovetfp: I lived vicariously through other people's builds and compared them to mine to make sure I was making the best decisions for my build. The overwhelming advice on this site will steer you towards a saltwater system because its easier to maintain. However, I am a first time pool owner so my advice is not based on experience...only research, so take it with a grain of salt...no pun intended! I am pretty sure some of the guru's will weigh with their advice soon!

I hesitated initially to share my build, but now I am glad i did! Ask any and all questions that you have, because everyone one on here is so helpful and many are super knowledgable on everything that is pool. Post lots of pictures...we love pictures!

Take care!
 
We're also in the Raleigh area! Went with vinyl due to size constraints in fiberglass. We were looking at Trilogy shells, but did meet with a Cool Pool rep about 4 years ago. At that time they were out off 95. Very nice people.

With umbrella holes, make sure they are straight. We have 1 out of 4 that must have shifted during the pour which is a bummer. Wouldn't have been so bad if it tilted toward the south or west, but it leans east. Chasen concrete did ours and he said they do most of the work for CP. They were easy to work with and stand up people.
 
ponygirl said:
We're also in the Raleigh area! Went with vinyl due to size constraints in fiberglass. We were looking at Trilogy shells, but did meet with a Cool Pool rep about 4 years ago. At that time they were out off 95. Very nice people.

With umbrella holes, make sure they are straight. We have 1 out of 4 that must have shifted during the pour which is a bummer. Wouldn't have been so bad if it tilted toward the south or west, but it leans east. Chasen concrete did ours and he said they do most of the work for CP. They were easy to work with and stand up people.
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I concur with Chasen! They did a wonderful job. We are working on sod and mulch right now with NC Sod and Mulch and they commented today about how great our concrete looked and how nice they left the yard (apparently that's not normal). We decided not to do the umbrella sleeves but only because of the position of the sun in relations to the pool. If you end up going with the same concrete contractor you will not be disappointed. The owner came out the day of our prep and he was so wonderful, just like his crew.


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I just did a quick read through and I think I have something for you. Has anyone mentioned buying a testkit? You really need a good one so you start on the right path from the get go. I use and recommend the TF-100 kit that you can purchase here: TFTestkits.net
Also get the speed stir add on. It makes a testing a bit more 'fun'
 
Very exciting. You'll be amazed how fast the install goes. Watching the actual pool removed and installed is crazy. If they haven't told you see if you have enough hoses to run at least a couple of lines to pool to fill it, which starts the same day as they install pool. I had enough to run 3 separate lines, and still took a while because outdoor faucets have restrictors on them per our county.
 
We are actually in Apex, so right next door to Cool Pools...which is super convenient! Nice to hear from someone nearby! I am glad to hear Chasen does most of the concrete for them and that you all have been happy with them! We are a little anxious about the concrete and making sure we have enough to really utilize the space around the pool. Thanks for saying "Hi" :D


ponygirl said:
We're also in the Raleigh area! Went with vinyl due to size constraints in fiberglass. We were looking at Trilogy shells, but did meet with a Cool Pool rep about 4 years ago. At that time they were out off 95. Very nice people.

With umbrella holes, make sure they are straight. We have 1 out of 4 that must have shifted during the pour which is a bummer. Wouldn't have been so bad if it tilted toward the south or west, but it leans east. Chasen concrete did ours and he said they do most of the work for CP. They were easy to work with and stand up people.
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I am so glad to hear this Sunnymosmile! What kind of concrete did you do around your pool? We are doing a stamped colored concrete coping, and brushed colored concrete on the rest. Hopefully we will be happy with that choice! :)


Sunnymosmile said:
I concur with Chasen! They did a wonderful job. We are working on sod and mulch right now with NC Sod and Mulch and they commented today about how great our concrete looked and how nice they left the yard (apparently that's not normal). We decided not to do the umbrella sleeves but only because of the position of the sun in relations to the pool. If you end up going with the same concrete contractor you will not be disappointed. The owner came out the day of our prep and he was so wonderful, just like his crew.


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It sounds like we have similar taste! :) Yes, we are right near downtown Apex...so we are not far away at all! I'll take another look at our sq ft of concrete and see where we stand. Thanks for the info! :)

ponygirl said:
I know exactly where they are in Apex now. You're not far from us as we're in Holly Springs. We did about 1200 sq ft of colored brush finish concrete with stamped, colored border and coping.
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So, hubby set up our go pro on a tripod yesterday and took a 360 of our yard before the pool. Pretty cool to be able to see where we started and (eventually) where we end up! In case you are interested to see the yard we are working with...here is a link to the video:

Backyard Before Pool - YouTube
 

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I am so glad to hear you say that my yard is screaming for a pool! We have been here 7 years as of 3/2 and I have been nudging my husband about getting one since day 1! I think the angle of the lens and the video makes the slope look more severe than it really is. We do have some grading to do as well as a retaining wall that we worked into our plans. According to all parties involved that should take care of it! *fingers crossed* :)

kimkats said:
That was cool! Your yard is just screaming for a pool!

How will they address the rainwater coming down from the back neighbors?

Kim:kim:
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Yes, pabeader! That is exactly what we plan to do!

pabeader said:
Some folks will set it to do time lapse. Really cool to watch the progress from day to day.
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I have had a fiberglass pool since 2004 and have done quite a few updates and upgrades to it over the years. I see that someone referenced an additional skimmer. I would probably not push for this. These fiberglass pools are precast and are designed with the skimmer in a specific spot and the area around it is flattened and reinforced to support it. If you just stick one somewhere else the fiberglass around would not be set up to support it. Might even void the warranty as well. A few items that I like and would recommend on FG pools:

- On the valves. I would get Jandy valves. I went with basic Lowes ball valves and they tighten up over time. One handle actually snapped on one of mine. I would make sure to get a valve on each return and each supply separately. The suction is important because if you want to do a manual vacuuming of the pool and stick the vacuum hose in the skimmer like most folks do, it is nice to be able to shut off the lower supplies to increase suction.

-On the cleaner I would recommend a Polaris 360 pressure side cleaner. I put one on the return closest to the middle of the pool. The separate valves on the returns are useful here to get the right flow through the cleaner and the remaining returns. I leave my 360 in all the time and it does an amazing job on a FG pool. I never have to vacuum. The best part is it takes no additional electricity, no additional pumps and just runs whenever you normal pump cycle kicks in. It is also pretty foolproof.

-On the decking, I would make sure that it is cantilevered. FG pools tend to look like a giant bathtub if the coping is exposed.

-Tiling is a very nice upgrade and can be done at install or later. It is even DIY if you are reasonably handy and is relatively cheap to do. It actually helps the integrity of the deck/coping seal as well if you silicone grout it right up to the underside of the overhang.
 
ny2nc said:
I am so glad to hear this Sunnymosmile! What kind of concrete did you do around your pool? We are doing a stamped colored concrete coping, and brushed colored concrete on the rest. Hopefully we will be happy with that choice! :)
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We just did a coped edge and brushed concrete all the way around. I wanted more concrete so I had to sacrifice the stamped and colored. They did a great job making it look good. We are very happy with it! You will like working with them. Very professional.
 

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