Yikes yall! I wasn't planning on doing much at all during the process, what exactly do I need to be looking for? Like are they messing things up from the design plan and you're having them correct them? I know everyone says building a pool is stressful but I figured the design part and shelling out the $$$ was the stressful part!!!
Well it's builder specific, but in my case as well as many that I know, it's a combination of things, expect to stress a lot. In no particular order, these are things to prepare for:
1) Just scheduling. You'll be told something will be done, then nobody comes. Pool Builders don't own the subs they contract, so they're often unreliable and flaky and/or prioritize other jobs.
2) A sub won't follow the directions of your PB or the design and needs correction
3) A surprise or two will come up and you'll have to figure out, negotiate, spend more to get it fixed (could be a mystery utility line in your yard)
4) Your site will be left a disaster, debris, trash, cigarettes, you name it all over the place. You'll have to whine and complain to your PB about that. Often that trash/debris impacts your neighbors as well.
5) Expect a lot more out of pocket than that huge number you sign on. You'll certainly want more tile/glass than they put in the quote. You'll want upgraded tile/glass and/or other features. You'll stress over those selections and google tirelessly to find pictures of the tiles you're considering only to find out that every pool and picture looks radically different. You'll lose sleep at night over these selections. Then when you're done, you'll definitely realize you need to spend a lot more on landscaping, some to clean up the mess left by all the work and then others to realize you want landscape lighting or want to improve the access from the side of your house to the pool. Then you'll want patio furniture, floats, etc.
6) If it rains, expect a 4 day delay for every day of rain
7) One crew will damage or mess up the work of another crew, requiring a third party crew to fix that damage (broken tiles, fences, etc.)
In my case, my builder just isn't present enough. He does a good job behind the scenes and fixes things, but I'm basically having to go out and text/email him pictures of stuff that's damaged. I've also got issues where the plumber and HVAC teams aren't working in sync and both assumed they'd install the tankless water heater and mini-split in the same location, but by code they need to several feet apart for fire hazard reasons. I wrote this entire post in a foul mood as I'm actually having an on-site meeting in an hour with the plumber and pool builder about this HVAC/heater fiasco which is entirely on my PB. Of course he texts and says he’s running behind so my work schedule is impacted.
The best thing you can do is just don't set super high expectations and hope to be pleased. Any comment like, "Oh yeah, no problem, you'll be swimming in this pool this Summer.", just don't put faith in that. Long story short, I was told my entire project would be done by Christmas 2019, then I felt like maybe I could have a Super Bowl party in my hot tub and watch the game out there, then I was hopeful for April 1st, then May 1st, then Memorial Day, and now I'm hoping for 4th of July. I do have a fully functional pool (heater is getting hooked up today), so at least I've got that, but my kitchen, bathroom and other stuff is still a ways away. We enjoy the pool, so I'm grateful especially considering the stay-at-home stuff, but everyday I have to clean up my site because there's trash everywhere, dust/debris, mud from the rain since my drainage stuff hasn't been completed yet.
Not sure how I made it to this thread, but I believe it was a Pebble Sheen search that landed me here on a thread, coincidentally amongst neighbors. I wish I had seen more of these threads regarding saltwater, which is what I have ALWAYS wanted, and which my builder abhors, because he managed to finally talk me out of it after holding strong for weeks. The crew finished excavating today (thank goodness- they started a week late, and then the week they began was the rainy week- as I'd been telling them it would be that whole week before when they did not start, and a little drizzle = no work even if it stops soon afterward, those guys are long gone), FINALLY, after two off and on weeks of grinding into solid rock the entire way, and before the dust had cleared from their last dump this afternoon into the bobcat's bucket, a swarm of busy bees descended upon my backyard (and all of my tile samples I'd just laid out into various angles of the sun), carrying loads of lumber and machines, and framing and the rock coating (I don't know what that is called) was seemingly complete before they left today. I wish every day was so productive! We'd have been swimming by now (aside from the 30 day minimum of Austin pool permitting).
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