Georgia Pool Build.... FIRED PB need advice please!!!

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Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

I really like the latest plans! With the sun shelf closest to the house and where the slide is located, the steps make the most sense there. I have no first-hand knowledge, but I wouldn't think an extra 4 feet would add much to the total. I wanted to add some length to mine, but since I have an existing pool, they would have had to demolish a whole end plus decking, put in new rebar and the whole shebang....definitely not worth it for me. At this stage I wouldn't think it would add that much to your cost.
 
Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

sheree202 said:
This is our latest plans. I know it's a little weird putting the steps opposite to the house in the shallow end...but, it seems like the best use of space considering the slide location. We decided to go with 3'9" for the shallow end.

We are also thinking about going from 18x36' to 18x40' to gain more shallow end. With the original 18x36' pool we only have a small 6' of shallow end based on the designer's slope location. We'd like to extend that to have a 10' long shallow end. The designer tells me that this won't cost much more since it's an owner build. She said had we gone with a pool builder it would be about $2k more for the additional pool length. Can anyone confirm that this change won't cause a big increase in construction price?
Click to expand...

I increased my pool length today with the PB, from 32 to 34. It cost about $700, incl extra decking, tile, pebble sheen, etc. And this is in AZ with I think a rather well-priced builder. So yeah, I can imagine a larger increase elsewhere would easily run you close to 2k.

Also, since you're not doing a diving pool and do not need to adhere to diving envelope restrictions, you could change the slope and size of the shallow without adding length to the pool. Just make sure to stay within shallow code (1 foot deep for every 7 feet length ratio).

With a 3'6" shallow, you would only need 24.5 feet of slope to your 7ft deep end. At 36 ft long, I think that would leave you 11.5 of 3'6" shallows, more if you include 4' as part of your shallow?
I'm pretty new to this though, so don't take my napkin math as law, lol. I just know 1:7 is the typical shallow slope ratio used. Can never go wrong with a bigger pool though :)

Edit: Oh, and the deep end ratio is 1:3, so if you use deep end ratio from the 5' to 7' slope, it would give you even more shallow area! My brain is frying attempting to calculate this though.:confused:
 
Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

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I'd love some advice from anyone experienced with pool plans. I've been getting extremely high estimates based on my plumbing and engineering plans. Multiple subs have told me they wouldn't even touch my backyard because of the details on pipes and rebar, etc... The bids that I have gotten for just excavating/plumbing/rebar/gunite are around $30k+. I don't know if I should be reaching out to my designer about this. UGH :(
 

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Owner Build in Georgia :)

I can't blow up the images as they are attached (they lose resolution). But I will say you definitely have a very complicated plumbing layout. You have four deck jets, three bubblers and a water slide. Right there is A LOT of plumbing work. You might want to call the plumbers you submitted the plans to and ask them why their costs are so high. They may give you a more detailed response and that can guide your decisions a little better.

Honestly, while I know people like the look of deck jets shooting water into a pool and it does make a backyard pool party look "fancy", I see no practical purpose for them even when playing in a pool. A lot of times people add their "wish list" of stuff onto a pool build and the stuff they add on mostly stays turned off 99% of time. For my pool, while the attached spa is a nice thing to have, I would trade it in for more pool area and larger Baja shelf with bubblers if I could do it all over again because the spa, as it is, doesn't get nearly enough use in my opinion. That may change in the future, but possibly not.

Just my opinion, FWIW. Definitely call the plumbing contractors and others (like the excavators) to find out what they are thinking. Being an owner-build, they have no feel for who you are and what you want and they might be thinking, "Just high-bid it because I don't know if I really want this job or not." A phone call, or sit down meting, might make all the difference...
 
Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

I agree with Joy, sometimes less is more, I would even go as far as also considering not getting the bubblers...I know joy loves his :) but for the most part are they a "need"? I think those two items would greatly simplify the design and still be the same pool. If I had to cut my budget I'd look into those extras...


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Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

If I had to eliminate things, I'd start first with removing the deck jets, followed by maybe just reducing down to 1-2 bubblers. Not sure where bids like that should fall in GA. Have you searched for other owner builds in GA on this forum? Also have you spoken to a professional pool builder and received any quotes for comparison to your owner build? It's a really big pool, with fancy features and plumbings, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it cost 60k+

Another route would to change over to a vinyl pool (should be much cheaper than gunite in GA).
 
Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

I'm REALLY considering those ideas. The deck jets were just to make it more fun for my 7 year old, but who am I kidding he's going to be thrilled without them. I added them since they weren't expensive. I didn't realize they would change the installation price much. Going down to two bubblers is a great idea. I don't want to cut them altogether since that's my little 8 x 12' special place. The one sub that I spoke to was specifically bothered by the pipe sizes on the plans.

 
Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

JoyfulNoise said:
I can't blow up the images as they are attached (they lose resolution). But I will say you definitely have a very complicated plumbing layout. You have four deck jets, three bubblers and a water slide. Right there is A LOT of plumbing work. You might want to call the plumbers you submitted the plans to and ask them why their costs are so high. They may give you a more detailed response and that can guide your decisions a little better.

Honestly, while I know people like the look of deck jets shooting water into a pool and it does make a backyard pool party look "fancy", I see no practical purpose for them even when playing in a pool. A lot of times people add their "wish list" of stuff onto a pool build and the stuff they add on mostly stays turned off 99% of time. For my pool, while the attached spa is a nice thing to have, I would trade it in for more pool area and larger Baja shelf with bubblers if I could do it all over again because the spa, as it is, doesn't get nearly enough use in my opinion. That may change in the future, but possibly not.

Just my opinion, FWIW. Definitely call the plumbing contractors and others (like the excavators) to find out what they are thinking. Being an owner-build, they have no feel for who you are and what you want and they might be thinking, "Just high-bid it because I don't know if I really want this job or not." A phone call, or sit down meting, might make all the difference...
Click to expand...

Sorry for the resolution. I reposted them using photobucket. I'm pretty sure you're right on with how the subs are probably feeling. My father is actually a sub for a pool contractor in PA and he won't even accept jobs from homeowners. If my plans seem complicated it's probably more of a reason to not accept the job during their busy season.
 
Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

Curious why your shallow area is only 10ft worth of space when you have 40ft worth of pool.

Here's the diving standards for pool depths: http://srsmith.com/media/47241/06-052ansi-standard.pdf You only need to follow a 3/1 ratio for the slope (3 feet length for every 1 foot of drop). I would think that would garner you more space? From your drawings, your pool looks overly slope-y (23 ft of slope). Yes, I made that a word.
 
Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

I liked the idea of shopping that pool design around to local PBs. You'd get a really good feeling for what it would cost in your local market and you can subtract 20-25% to see what it would roughly cost you to build. A couple of thoughts -

That's a BIG pool! At over 700 sq ft of surface area and 28,000 gallons, that's well above the point where most PBs would start up-charging from their base price.

I'm not sure what about the pipe diameter has the plumber concerned but, as discussed, that's A LOT of plumbing and pipe to layout. Imagine all the glue joints and pressure testing that has to be done...you definitely do not want a novice plumber building this pool !

At 28,000 gallons, I don't think the IC40 is going to cut it. It's not that much more expensive (a few hundred bucks) to get the IC60 which generates 2lbs of chlorine gas per day as opposed to 1.4lbs by the IC40. You don't want to have to run your pumps 24/7 just to get the chlorine you need and SWGs only generate chlorine when the pump is running.

I say bubblers or deck jets, not both...

Perhaps some of our plumbing/hydraulics gurus can analyze your plumbing setup and determine if it is feasible.
 
Re: Owner Build in Georgia :)

Also, I would suggest trying to keep 3 stairs instead of 4 to preserve more shallow room, but that's just a personal preference. You can keep 3'6" of water at the stairs and then grade it down to 3'9 and 4' after (that's what I'm doing with my pool).
 

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