DFW Texas Pool & Spa Build (Round 2)

This was the response I got from the PB in regards to a SWG vs the nature/ozone setup:

"I also wanted to let you know and try and rest your mind at ease that it is trace amounts of copper and silver. Here is the science behind that, copper attacks bacteria and silver attaches algae. Also I just confirmed my original thought with my construction manager, if we do just the salt system by itself you will have to supplement the chlorine content in the dead heat of summer (July and August) because no matter what type or size salt generator you have it will not be enough to generate enough chlorine to maintain proper water chemistry. This is another reason we try and add as much “help” as we can to balance the water chemistry out"

Have you replied yet? I would kindly tell her, "thank you for the information. I have thought about it and done some research and decided that I would rather not have the trace metals and prefer to supplement the chlorine, if needed."
 
Have you replied yet? I would kindly tell her, "thank you for the information. I have thought about it and done some research and decided that I would rather not have the trace metals and prefer to supplement the chlorine, if needed."

I haven't replied yet but I like your response!

Seems to me a lot of the builders around here are pushing the nature II and ozone. Not sure why as I haven't read anything positive on going this route.
 
They are full of bs. My SWG has no problem in the Tucson summer, no supplement ever needed and I am only running about 9 hours with the SWG output around 60%.

Likely they do not understand the FC/CYA relationship and now the CYA protects the FC from the sun.

Size the SWG for 2-3 times the size of the pool.
 
The TFP way is science based as well as studied and used in daily life of THOUSANDS of pools. SO just tell your PB what nini said and order what YOU want (based on TFP) in YOUR pool that YOU are paying for and will have to live with.

HUGS! We got you covered!

Kim
 
Just came back to say I'm really liking this pool design :)

...and I second what everyone is saying, get what YOU want! I see this over and over again, PBs convincing people to do what say is "the norm" or "best" ... But is it? This process is very time consuming and EXPENSIVE so tell THEM what you want! Hahaha I'm starting to sound like Kim lol


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They are full of bs. My SWG has no problem in the Tucson summer, no supplement ever needed and I am only running about 9 hours with the SWG output around 60%.

Likely they do not understand the FC/CYA relationship and now the CYA protects the FC from the sun.

Size the SWG for 2-3 times the size of the pool.

Yeah I'm sure as the sales rep she is trying to push what they get paid more on. But when I ask 3 times now and imply I don't want to go that route and want to go with the SWG she isn't getting it! But this builders work is one of the best in the business in my area.

The TFP way is science based as well as studied and used in daily life of THOUSANDS of pools. SO just tell your PB what nini said and order what YOU want (based on TFP) in YOUR pool that YOU are paying for and will have to live with.

HUGS! We got you covered!

Kim

Yes! Seriously without this site I would be totally lost and go off the PB word alone!

Just came back to say I'm really liking this pool design :)

...and I second what everyone is saying, get what YOU want! I see this over and over again, PBs convincing people to do what say is "the norm" or "best" ... But is it? This process is very time consuming and EXPENSIVE so tell THEM what you want! Hahaha I'm starting to sound like Kim lol


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Thanks! I really like it and I really want to go with this builder but I really need them to focus on my wants. They're probably just used to clients accepting whatever equipment they say is best and calling it a day.

Hopefully they'll agree to what I'm requesting. I did send the design over to 2 other companies to bid with the exact equipment I want just in case this doesn't work out.
 
My thought is that, at a high level, the large majority of the 10M plus US residential pool owners are very hands off with the maintenance of their pools.

Folks here are the 'enthusiasts' of the pool world and tend to catch PB's off guard and they don't all know how to, or can't adjust to dealing with an educated customer. They just aren't used to it, not really their fault given the standard customer so to speak.
 
My thought is that, at a high level, the large majority of the 10M plus US residential pool owners are very hands off with the maintenance of their pools.

Folks here are the 'enthusiasts' of the pool world and tend to catch PB's off guard and they don't all know how to, or can't adjust to dealing with an educated customer. They just aren't used to it, not really their fault given the standard customer so to speak.

You're absolutely right. However anytime I'm going to spend a good amount of money on a product I'm going to do at least some research and make sure I do my due diligence so at the end of the day I have nobody else to blame but myself if something doesn't work the way I want it to. (assuming it's not an error by the builder) I myself was intrigued by the sales brochures with the nature II and ozone products as they talked it up but as with anything that is all marketing and you really need to research the facts of each piece of equipment you buy so you don't have any surprises down the road.
 
I do feel sorry for the people who have not found TFP yet. They do not have the understanding of the basics to make the best decision about their pool.

Smile and keep saying "I want this" repeat as necessary. Make eye contact when you say it so you KNOW they are hearing you.

Kim
 
I wish I had stumbled upon this website before I went and sat down with the pool builder. I knew nothing about pools.... I agreed to most everything the PB told me I needed. While I did research, it was not on this site and it seemed more sales brochures etc.

My biggest regret was not having my total package itemized. That was I would have known EXACTLY what I was paying for the ozone. On my build which I am currently in, my builder wanted me to add (2) LED lights. Well we didn't want to go over budget so we had to cut something. That was the ozone. I told the builder the ozone needs to go and he said that it's $1,500. I did look online and see they sell for $1,500. But.... I don't know what my original contract price had it for. Maybe $2,500? I don't know. At the end of the day I said take it off and he did. But then again he got me for 2 more lights. So he still probably made the same amount of money as before. But not as much as he could have had I kept the ozone & added more lights.

Bottom line, in my opinion I would have a hard time proceeding if they wouldn't take it of. Great builder or not, if the customer says they do not want it they should take it off. This isn't a $65,000 2016 Chevy Tahoe sitting on the parking lot with leather seats and sunroof and you tell the dealer you want to take out the sunroof and leather seats. This is a fully CUSTOM POOL. They can take those off. I would balk at it or look elsewhere all together.

Best of luck!

You're absolutely right. However anytime I'm going to spend a good amount of money on a product I'm going to do at least some research and make sure I do my due diligence so at the end of the day I have nobody else to blame but myself if something doesn't work the way I want it to. (assuming it's not an error by the builder) I myself was intrigued by the sales brochures with the nature II and ozone products as they talked it up but as with anything that is all marketing and you really need to research the facts of each piece of equipment you buy so you don't have any surprises down the road.
 

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So due to the PB not wanting to move off of their nature/ozone system we decided to touch base with another PB we've previously spoke with. We were able to get the same design except this builder uses stonescapes instead of pebbletec. This builder listened quoted me a SWG system. His quote included a 10x16 pergola w/ electrical and a fan put in and were still about 8700$ cheaper than the other quote. However his quote didn't include the 3k for soil injections. He said there is really no proof that it works as he's done pools and did the soil injections and the pool still shifted and he's done some in the same neighborhoods where they did no injection and there has been no shifting.

Does any other DFW members have any experience with the soil injections? I did a search and found some mixed reviews. Don't want to spend 3k if it's going to shift anyway or if it's not proven to work. I'm thinking do I get it for piece of mind? Not sure what to do on this part?
 
We had issues with plaster cracking and pool moving. We installed a micro irrigation system with a timer and it resolved all of the issues. The key to managing movement is to maintain consistent soil moisture. Our issues occurred when the soil dried out and contracted.
 
We had issues with plaster cracking and pool moving. We installed a micro irrigation system with a timer and it resolved all of the issues. The key to managing movement is to maintain consistent soil moisture. Our issues occurred when the soil dried out and contracted.

They're digging up an irrigation system now and are going to be capping it so the remainder of the system still works correctly. When you say micro irrigation system, are you talking about running drip lines around the pool area and running those?

I assume it would work like the house, if you don't water the lawn and foundation it's going to shift and crack ect ect....
 
Yep, pretty much the same deal. It is a system Lowes sells. Connect timer to hose and run a main hose and connect various types of sprinklers, drippers, etc. They work great, we have 3 systems set up around the place for beds, gardens and about to set up another.
 
Just a quick update. Going to close on the pool loan next Thursday when I get back from a little Vegas vacation! I was trying to close before then however since we decided to go with another builder now the lender now has to draw docs up again so we wont be able to close before we leave Sunday. Below is the new bid we've got from another builder. Much more reasonable and they listened when we advised we want to go with the SWG system. This quote also includes a 10x16 pergola with electrical so an added option and saving less money. This PB said they really don't recommend the soil injections and will install a drop line system to tie into my currently sprinkler system since they're having to tear up the one that is there now. Basically if we water it like we do our foundation we shouldn't have any major issues. They did say they will do the injections for 3k if we wanted to but it was up to us.

Also they advised not to cap the current patio due to the weep holes at the bottom would be covered up. So thinking of doing a concrete overlay with spray deck and doing some sort of rectangular patterns over it. That way all of our decking can match. Other than that everything is pretty identical.

If anyone can take a look at the equipment and see if there are any changes you may think of?


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Congratulations! What an exciting time!
You might want to ditch the Polaris in favor of a robot cleaner. Robots use less energy and don't require a separate booster pump- you just plug them in to an outlet. We had the Polaris in our bid as well but after reading all the information on here and getting real world advice from the pool owner experts on this forum, we have opted to buy a robot.

Enjoy your vacation!!
 
Congratulations! What an exciting time!
You might want to ditch the Polaris in favor of a robot cleaner. Robots use less energy and don't require a separate booster pump- you just plug them in to an outlet. We had the Polaris in our bid as well but after reading all the information on here and getting real world advice from the pool owner experts on this forum, we have opted to buy a robot.

Enjoy your vacation!!

Ahhh yes! Robot cleaners....I've been exploring this option as well. Thank you for reminding me it almost slipped my mind (so many options). I did have my eye on the Dolphin m5/500. Based upon the forum opinion it seems Dolphins are favored w/ the better warranties. My pool honestly shouldn't get to dirty as its a new lot with zero trees. Probably would get mostly dust and what being blown from them building all the houses around me. I could probably use the Robot 2 times a week and be okay and save energy vs running the booster pump and having to have take that thing in and out of the pool all the time.

What Robot did you go with?

And yes I hope I can win some money to pay for this overbudget project while I'm in Vegas! lol
 
DFW Texas Pool & Spa Build (Round 2)

Also a few more questions: Debating to go with the Jandy Nichless LEDs. PB said he liked the regular LEDs as they give more light, but I'm wondering if they're going to look "old". Wonder if I should just do 3 nichless 30w LEDs vs 2 standard LEDs. I'm just wondering if the 3 is going to be sufficient coverage since my pool is just rectangle. I seen pictures but its hard to determine the coverage area based on the pics alone.

---edit builder advised they use the 9w Jandy LEDs. Would 4 be enough to cover my rectangle pool and 1 in the spa?


Also the only option I really have is to do a spray dek overlay on my existing patio so we would do that over the new decking as well vs the stamped concrete. Anyone with opinions on the spray dek. Again mostly mixed reviews but my OCD demands the existing patio match the decking!
 
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I would negotiate your payment schedule. There isn't any holdback at the end. Also everything is due before it happens, so you might see if he'll change that to after excavation, gunite, etc. I can't remember what ours was/is but I know we paid after completion of a phase and we have 5% hold back.
 
Yeah, we were 30% after each of those and 10% after fill.

Make sure the filter pump is variable speed.

I would skip making the deck match. We have rock salt colored concrete deck, it is great, maintenance free, not slippery, not too hot and still looks great 4 years later.
 

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