I just thought I would come back around and update this thread with my thoughts and learnings from this experience.
I would absolutely do it again, if I had it to do over again. We love the pool and spa and use one or both daily! We couldn’t have done it without the help of TFP!
We had so many problems along the way, including waiting our 30 days after the build to use the heater, only to discover it didn’t work...grrrrr. Turns out it was wired incorrectly, we had to have the Pentair warranty people come out to fix it.
Here’s what I would have done differently:
1) I would have hired the excavation/steel/plumber/electrical separately. I think this was our critical error. We had an excavation company who claimed they could do all these things and they failed at every turn. They were also very difficult to deal with.
2) I should have had the person who drew the plans be more specific with the placement and dimensions of things. He left it very general and did not specify things like the depth of the Cabo shelf. At the time, he said “you will work with your OB on these specifics”. This turned out to be a big problem and one that would have made the process much smoother.
3) I would have done more research on the spa. I am bummed out that we only have one foot jet in the whole spa. I would have added them all the way around if I had known.
4) I would not have let my husband talk me into hiring someone to “start up” the pool. That was such a waste of $600! They charged over $20 per bag of salt, jeez!
5) I have been able to care for the pool easily on my own, well, with the help of the Pool Math app and the great people on here.
I hope I can help you enjoy the pool and yard you do have! Every pool is special!
I'm glad! You are huge on TFP for sure. Currently "we" (aka my grandparents we help and live with) have a redneck, not-so-level half buried Intex, but I've really enjoyed learning about how to tend to it. Not to mention saving them so much money from the dreaded pool stores.
