(The Woodlands, TX) Area Contemporary Build - Jan 2023

[Bijju]

Hello Yall. My wife and I are in the North Houston area. We are family of 4 with 2 kids (7 and 10). We are looking to build a pool by summer 2023. We met with a few PB's around the area & after getting few designs/bids, we selected a PB that we liked. Attached are the renders and proposed bid from PB. Project cost 197k. Cost was a little higher than what we wanted to spend, but decided to get all items we wanted. Below are some of the Pool specs

Dimensions: 45 x 30 (45 x 18 excluding SPA/Ledge area)
12" Raised 360 overspill SPA and Tanning Ledges
Rain Curtain Water feature: 6ft tall, 16 ft wide
Sunken Firepit with Cantilever Pergola

This is our first time building a pool and this forum has been tremendously helpful. I would love to hear any advice, suggestions, thoughts and criticisms for the design or the proposed bid. Thank you

 

[Gladius Nova]

Very nice.

 

[Texas Splash]

Looks very nice. Welcome to TFP!

 

[W.J.Christy]

Very nice, i see that there is a standard inline chlorinator included, have you thought about a salt water chlorine generator? It will pay for itself in cost of reduced maintenance and the ever increasing cost of tabs and liquid chlorine.

I also don't see where they are going to resod and fix your irrigation system. Those can be huge additional costs depending on how much is damaged during the build.

 

[agjr85]

Like the pool design.
I would go with a salt water cell and I see no robotic cleaner.

I do appreciate how everything is itemized.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Bijju and Welcome !!!!

Even if it only turns out 10% as nice as the concept........





Have I got a friend for YOU. @kimkats will be along shortly.

 

[Bijju]

Very nice, i see that there is a standard inline chlorinator included, have you thought about a salt water chlorine generator? It will pay for itself in cost of reduced maintenance and the ever increasing cost of tabs and liquid chlorine.

I also don't see where they are going to resod and fix your irrigation system. Those can be huge additional costs depending on how much is damaged during the build.

Thank you. Our PB dint suggest that, I can check with them. Regarding Sod and Irrigation replacement, our plan was to Turf the rest of the backyard when pool project is complete

 

[Bijju]

Like the pool design.
I would go with a salt water cell and I see no robotic cleaner.

I do appreciate how everything is itemized.

Thank you. We were debating between salt water and chlorine, but ended up choosing chlorine as most of the PB's we contacted advised against it due to corrosion and other impacts of Salt water pool.

Regarding Robot cleaner, our PB was charging 2k for it, when I checked online, I was able to get the same model for a little over 1k, so asked them to remove it and planned to buy it myself

 

[Bijju]

Hey Bijju and Welcome !!!!

Even if it only turns out 10% as nice as the concept........


View attachment 468771


Have I got a friend for YOU. @kimkats will be along shortly.

Thank you so much! Expecting the PB to deliver more like 90% same on the render lol

 

[Newdude]

ended up choosing chlorine as most of the PB's we contacted advised against it due to corrosion and other impacts of Salt water pool.

It's total and utter GARBAGE from folks who don't know the first thing about water chemistry. Every manufacturer makes a SWG, or even multiple SWGs and they wouldn't if any iota of the nay-sayer's nonsense was true.

What happens is instead of mismanaging a chlorine pool, they mismanage a salt pool and then blame the equipment.

 

[agjr85]

Thank you. We were debating between salt water and chlorine, but ended up choosing chlorine as most of the PB's we contacted advised against it due to corrosion and other impacts of Salt water pool.

Regarding Robot cleaner, our PB was charging 2k for it, when I checked online, I was able to get the same model for a little over 1k, so asked them to remove it and planned to buy it myself

Hmmm... a bit suspect. PB should give you a credit towards it as it is less plumbing work and minus the booster pump for the suction side cleaner.
I've had 10 quotes from PB's in the Spring area within the last couple of months and I think the robotic cleaner was coming out to $500-$600 in most cases. The PB you choose tends to be a bit proud of their prices.

I had mixed feelings from the PB's that quoted the job. About half said whatever I wanted was fine and others said we recommend avoiding salt water.
The most transparent one said instead of replacing valves at year 10, with salt you will be around year 8. They do have to slightly adjust their approach knowing it will be a salt pool.

Having done our first pool with an inline chlorinator, the CYA becomes a pain to manage. With your size pool I would hate to play that balance game and doing drain / refills.

 

[pjt]

We were debating between salt water and chlorine

A saltwater pool is a chlorine sanitized pool. Similarly, a non-SWG chlorinated pool will accrue a significant amount of salt in the water over time.

corrosion and other impacts of Salt water pool

Can they show you examples attributable to salt (and only salt)? Bad chemistry will corrode your pool and equipment, not the small amount of salt dissolved in the water. Likewise, poor quality materials will fail regardless of chlorination method.

There are tens of thousands of SWG owners on this forum. You'd have to search very hard to find a single one that regrets getting a SWG.

 

[tgrinchy]

This was my builder too - they made a lot of big mistakes but they did get things addressed to how I wanted them. That said, keep a close eye on their plumbers and electricians. They have a couple of crews, one was way better than the other while the other was just sloppy and caused our issues. That said, they definitely one of the better builders around here.
To your design, don’t discount the noise that water feature makes. I have a similar rain descent not quite as long but about as high and it’s surprising loud which I did not expect. Definitely louder than our bowls and sheer descent so I have it off most times.

If the green patches are grass around loungers and coping, I would just deck it - will be annoying to mow. If it’s astroturf than no problem (though I’d still just deck it)
Funny - when I built a few years ago with them, they were the only builder that didn’t give me grief about wanting an SWG - not that their opinion matters; guess they recently switch to the status quo response.

 

[Bijju]

I've had 10 quotes from PB's in the Spring area within the last couple of months and I think the robotic cleaner was coming out to $500-$600 in most cases. The PB you choose tends to be a bit proud of their prices.

Based on the quotes that you are seeing, do you think our current bid is priced fairly ? I know the price to build a pool over the last 2 years have shot up like crazy, but tryna make sure we are within a decent range for what they give

 

[Bijju]

To your design, don’t discount the noise that water feature makes. I have a similar rain descent not quite as long but about as high and it’s surprising loud which I did not expect. Definitely louder than our bowls and sheer descent so I have it off most times.

If the green patches are grass around loungers and coping, I would just deck it - will be annoying to mow. If it’s astroturf than no problem (though I’d still just deck it)
Funny - when I built a few years ago with them, they were the only builder that didn’t give me grief about wanting an SWG - not that their opinion matters; guess they recently switch to the status quo response.

Thanks a lot for the inputs. Defintely will watch them closely when the project begins.

As far as the rain descents, I keep hearing people saying that its noisy, but not sure if its to an unbearable extent. We just like the look of the rain curtain
Any pics of yours that you can share ?

The patches are turf, so no mowing needed

 

[kimkats]

Well hello there!! This is going to be a NICE pool and area when it is done! LOVE it all!!!

I would move to SWG. There is nothing wrong with leaving the tablet tube in BUT there is a LOT wrong with using it. Each table has something added to it to bind it together. Most have added CYA. Here is a chart to show you how CYA causes the need for more FC go up as it goes up FC/CYA Levels Here is link that shows you how to PROPERLY care for a pool. Most of the stuff needed to care for your pool can be found at Lowes, Wal-mart, etc!!! How neat is that!!! TFPC for Beginners

 

[.ben]

Wow that pool will be so beautiful, especially the sheer decent! Unsure about the noise, but it won't run 24/7, so likely not a big deal.

Clarify what constitutes "Pebble Level 1" (brand, product, color(s)). There can be a significant cost difference between PebbleTec and PebbleSheen (for example).

As a fellow Houstonian, please reconsider the SWG. If not, you might be looking at close to 1 gal of liquid chlorine ($5/gal at walmart) per day during peak summer. Houston summer is no joke.

The only way to know if the quote is fair is to get multiple quotes.

 

[davecraze]

I am also in Texas and that seems like a very reasonable price to me - somewhat inexpensive even - for what it shown in those renders. That is a very nice outdoor area.

 

[HermanTX]

@Bijju Welcome to TFP. Very nice pool design. Several items that I would review

As others have stated - you need to seriously consider a SWCG. you have Jandy automation and the maximum SWCG they make is 40k gal (AP1400). So the AP1400 should be suitable for your 26k gal pool. I have this unit and it works well. It makes life so much easier, especially in the Houston area.

Speaking of automation, it shows the Jandy AquaLink which is fine but it is the PDA version. If you want full remote accessibility via your phone app or computer, you need to get the RS version. And since you have 3 pumps, I recommend you get the RS8 version. It seems the PB is not giving you flexibility on how your automation system Functions. If you wish to local control (for use by your kids), you can still have the PDA connected in addition to your full remote capability.

There are many capabilities that automation can provide and picking the right system is important now before everything is installed. For example, do you want your lights to be controlled as a single unit, they all come on at once, or do you wish to be selective in which light comes on. How it is wired to your automation system will be determined.

Similarly, your plumbing design is important now before they do the installation. Do you want your bubbler to come on while you are in Spa Mode. How they plumb that will determine if that is capable. Since you have 2 water feature pumps, ask the PB for plumbing design now and ensure that is what you want.

I know this is a lot, but many people just assume the PB is giving them the right equipment however, you have to live with it every day so it is best to understand what capability you want so it can be designed and set up properly.

 

[Uhhello]

Looks fantastic. Go with a salt cell like everyone else (especially the smart ones) are saying. Being in the military we move ALOT. I have a lot of friends going on their 3rd or 4th house with a pool now and ALL would go salt if they were building their own. With my pool, I don't touch the chlorine aspect almost all year round here in AZ.