New Member & New to Pool Ownership - Seeking Advice

[mr_scsi]

I'm new to pool ownership and will soon be a proud owner of a 'finished' pool.

This is a long post to describe the situation I have with my pool install here in central TX.

My wife and I contracted to have a fiberglass in-ground pool installed. Dimensions are 15 x 35 and a 6.6' depth raising to a shallow ledge 6" deep. The pool was selected for it has (albeit short) a swim lane. The site is mostly flat with about a 2' grade difference from the north to the south end of the pool. The pool parallels the house and is about 38 feet from the existing structure. We elected to add an automatic roll cover on the pool (prep only) and the pool will have a 25 x 45 x 10' fabric shade canopy covering the entire pool. The hot sun of Texas summers will no longer deter us from using the pool at will. besides my wife has already a pre-cancerous growth removed because of sun exposure.

This is where the pool installer has the opportunity to shine, but fell short of our expectations. Poor communication and lack of any project management experience were our first signs, followed by almost no customer service. We were working with multiple subs to get the pool project completed and needed to coordinate the subs in the most efficient manner. The project subs were supposed to work parallel, but the pool builder either did not show or tried to delay their activities. OK we got around this delay.

I have a checkpoint where I took a complete look at the project and made a list of over 10 items the pool installer needed to address or correct. Here are the obvious items which I need advice:

• The pool installer wants to back out of the contract before installing the concrete deck and refund us the difference for the deck. He stated that," time is money and we are costing him money." this was because of rain delays and contractors not being available.
• The electrical connections were part of the project that I took on to do myself. I'm an electrician that have not problems installing the needed service to accommodate the pool equipment. I think the pool installer took advantage of this fact and offered zero recommendations on correct wiring of the control panels and the pump. This delayed the pool installer about a week.
• The company installing the Roll Cover preparation were mistakenly paid in advance. I have many contacts in the construction industry and purchased the automatic pool mechanism independently from either the pool installer or the roll cover install performing the preparation. The day they were starting the install, I left the motor mechanism on site, if there were any specifications or reference information they needed. That night after returning home, I could not find my roll top mechanism anywhere on site. I called the installer and they basically committed Theft on my property. It was not until I threatened to call the county sheriff, before I was told where my property was. They were going to send my property to the manufacturer and already had the box labeled and in the possession of UPS for shipment the next day. I resolved this issue without calling the Sheriff.
• The person that cut in the returns and skimmers did an acceptable job. The BIG issue I have; he installed a return jet that has a wall protrusion in the middle of the swim lane. NO place on earth have I ever seen a pool jet installed in a swim lane. We requested that the return jet be removed and relocated elsewhere. The installer told us that these are standard openings that are predetermined by the manufacturer. We have pictures of the pool before being removed from the transport trailer. The fixture openings are NOT cut from the pool shell manufacturer. They will not move the return jet to another location.
• The equipment used is a Hayward Pump/cartridge filter, ProLogic-8 Control and Clorinator Cell. After learning everything I could from the manuals, I realized there are to pipe installation flaws. The Clorinator Cell uses a Flow Switch to signal the Panel that water flow is present. The manual states; "IMPORTANT: There must be at least a 12" (25cm) straight pipe run before (upstream) the flow switch." My install only has a 1" pipe after leaving an elbow leaving the filter canister running to the flow switch.
• A review of the Pump manual shows the recommendation: "It is recommended that a minimum length of straight piping (shown as “L” in above diagram), equivalent to 5 pipe size diameters, be used between the pump suction inlet and any plumbing fittings (elbows, valves, etc.)." My install only has a 7" pipe after leaving the skimmer diverter valve.
• The Pool installer will not supply me with the pool deck installation criteria. I have my flatwork contractor giving me advice on how to prepare the soil and the base for the pool deck. I'm not hearing any specifics from the pool install. All he states is the concrete crew will install the deck. I'm envisioning that 1 year down the road the pool deck will crack/fail and we will be replacing the entire deck. The pea gravel used to infill around the pool shell is not an acceptable base material upon which to apply any concrete flatwork. I'm thinking my installation may require a turned down edge to give the deck the structural integrity to withstand the test of time. I simply do not have any satisfaction from the pool installer.

The Pool installer will not address any of our concerns about the install and simple wants to refund the unfinished items in the contract. We have repeatedly offered him the opportunity to correct the issues, but are not being addressed by the installer. I'd like to get the install signed off by the equipment manufacturer before completing any contact with the pool installer.

We have made some mistakes in this pool project and realize these issues were amplified by our inexperience. I guess our expectation were too high going into the project. In all of my dealings with contractors they have a level of ethics and integrity which can be appealed to. This is not the case with our pool installer.

Please offer any suggestions to properly post these questions to the forum. I want to follow all the rules, but may not have time to review all of them initially. Hopefully the knowledgeable people on the TFP.com can help me with this project. maybe I can get this project back on track and completed in the near future.

Thanks,
Scott.

 

[kimkats]

I feel for you. Something that should be a source of pleasure turned into a source of stress. Unfortunately I am not sure TFP can be of any help in resolving your issues I think this would be better covered between your lawyer and the PB if you want to continue with the PB. IF you want to cut ties with the PB we might be able to offer suggestions to help you finish what still needs to be done.

I wish you luck whichever way you choose to go.

Kim

 

[needsajet]

Welcome to TFP! Good to have you here

I'm with Kim on this, it's a tough situation and you're in need of more serious help.

You can scratch the following issue off your list, if you like. It's a non-issue for pool pumps because of the strainer in front of the impeller inlet. It's a strange hangover from conventional centrifugal pumps that found it's way into most pool pump install manuals, incorrectly. The 7" is fine for repairs, replacement or fitting a different pump.

• A review of the Pump manual shows the recommendation: "It is recommended that a minimum length of straight piping (shown as “L” in above diagram), equivalent to 5 pipe size diameters, be used between the pump suction inlet and any plumbing fittings (elbows, valves, etc.)." My install only has a 7" pipe after leaving the skimmer diverter valve.

Other experts here will know if the chlorinator flow switch must have more straight flow or not. It wouldn't matter on any that I've worked on, but I don't know anything about yours. If there's a chance to upgrade from a T9 to a T15 cell before the SWC is started up, I would do that.

You're probably all over this one, but just in case, be sure you have the equipotential bonding fully considered and covered off before the concrete is done.

Agreed that pea gravel should not be used to support concrete. If it can be removed, replaced and compacted, that's what I would do. It might be worth getting engineering advice on that one. It might be possible to cantilever with extra rebar and thicker concrete, depending on the excavated width and degree of support beyond the excavation.

I hope you're able to resolve everything adequately. Good thing it's off season so time (and hanging onto $) are on your side.

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello Scott. I also wanted to welcome you to TFP and echo how we can sympathize with you right now. I can't offer too much advise other than what's been given thus far, but I can agree that my FB pool return jets were drilled on-site, not by the manufacture. Now changing locations of that return jet might simply be a matter of drilling a new location off to the side where it's not in your swim lane and simply plugging the original jet from the backside leaving the eyeball in-place - basically a mock jet. I say that because I'm not sure if they can remove the original jet fixture and try to seal the fiberglass hole altogether. Perhaps, I'm just not sure.

In any case, I wanted to join the other to say hello and give your thread another for increased visibility. I hope by summer most of the headaches are behind you so you and the family can enjoy your investment the way it was designed. Best of luck to you.