This forum is amazing and I have learned so much fromeveryone on this forum. My wife and I have made up our mind that we areinstalling a pool and we are in the process of talking to pool builders andhaving designs made up. (will not have any designs from anyone until nextweek).
Tomball Texas
I wanted to start this thread so I can get opinions andthoughts on what the pool builders have discussed with me so far. (obviouslythe design and pricing might sway my thoughts one way or the other).
1) Stellar Custom Pools – This guy is a friend ofmy wifes which has me alittle nervous. I am worried that if we start getting “picky”and adamant while the build is going on that the relationship will go southvery quick. However, it sounds like heis willing to give us a really good deal on a pool so we will see how thatgoes.
A) He pushes Pentair products
B) for the poolbottom he would do Stonescapes over pebble tech or wet edge because he believesstonescapes is a very good product for a much better price.
C) He recommends spray deck to keep costs down butsaid he could do whatever I would like
D) He pushed a sand filter over a cartridge filter
2) Supreme Pools – This pool company wasrecommended by two people in our community and the company has a good facebookpage. The sales person was nice, but he seemed less in tuned with thetechnology and didn’t take any pictures. He just took a picture of my houseplat and said he would draw something up.
A) He pushes Jandy equipment
B) He had no real opinion on stonescapes vs wetedge vs pebble tech and just said he would do whatever we want
3) AquaScapes – I was very impressed with thisdesigner/salesperson as he seemed very in tuned with all pool technology andhad very passionate opinions about various products. I would say on the firstvisit I was most impressed with this designer. He took lots of pictures and hadsome good ideas.
A) He pushes Jandy Equipment
B) He recommends Wet edge over other products
C) He would do a cartridge filter
D) He said he could do spraydeck, but told me thatspray deck will eventually ware off from patio furniture being moved around “chipping”off the spray deck material. He said just imagine your interior wall of yourhouse and how you have texture on your wall. He said that is spray deck andthat spray deck could chip off. He said that spray deck is good because itsslip resistant and a good product for the price. Said cement can crack which isanother downside. He said he would recommended pavers for my decking but saidhe would design it based on spray deck and we could change it anytime we want
E) He recommended OZONE/UV filter and said hereally helps to keep algae down, you use less chlorine, and your eyes and skinare less irritated due to less chlorine used.
4) The Pool Man – This salesman was good. I likedhim but I didn’t like how much he pushed “in floor” cleaners. He acted like alltheir pools come with in floor cleaners automatically and I told him this is somethingthat we would have to talk about (because it’s a $3,000 charge)
A) He pushes Pentair equipment
B) Recommends pebbletech and had a 15 minute speechabout it
C) Pushed in floor cleaners very hard
D) Recommended pavers
E) Cartridge Filter
F) He recommended OZONE/UV filter and said hereally helps to keep algae down, you use less chlorine, and your eyes and skinare less irritated due to less chlorine used
Ihave a meeting tomorrow with Atlantis Pools and then I might meet with PiercePools next week. I was excited to meet with Pierce Pools but they had no availabilityfor 10 days which has me nervous that they are over busy.
Tomball Texas
I wanted to start this thread so I can get opinions andthoughts on what the pool builders have discussed with me so far. (obviouslythe design and pricing might sway my thoughts one way or the other).
1) Stellar Custom Pools – This guy is a friend ofmy wifes which has me alittle nervous. I am worried that if we start getting “picky”and adamant while the build is going on that the relationship will go southvery quick. However, it sounds like heis willing to give us a really good deal on a pool so we will see how thatgoes.
A) He pushes Pentair products
B) for the poolbottom he would do Stonescapes over pebble tech or wet edge because he believesstonescapes is a very good product for a much better price.
C) He recommends spray deck to keep costs down butsaid he could do whatever I would like
D) He pushed a sand filter over a cartridge filter
2) Supreme Pools – This pool company wasrecommended by two people in our community and the company has a good facebookpage. The sales person was nice, but he seemed less in tuned with thetechnology and didn’t take any pictures. He just took a picture of my houseplat and said he would draw something up.
A) He pushes Jandy equipment
B) He had no real opinion on stonescapes vs wetedge vs pebble tech and just said he would do whatever we want
3) AquaScapes – I was very impressed with thisdesigner/salesperson as he seemed very in tuned with all pool technology andhad very passionate opinions about various products. I would say on the firstvisit I was most impressed with this designer. He took lots of pictures and hadsome good ideas.
A) He pushes Jandy Equipment
B) He recommends Wet edge over other products
C) He would do a cartridge filter
D) He said he could do spraydeck, but told me thatspray deck will eventually ware off from patio furniture being moved around “chipping”off the spray deck material. He said just imagine your interior wall of yourhouse and how you have texture on your wall. He said that is spray deck andthat spray deck could chip off. He said that spray deck is good because itsslip resistant and a good product for the price. Said cement can crack which isanother downside. He said he would recommended pavers for my decking but saidhe would design it based on spray deck and we could change it anytime we want
E) He recommended OZONE/UV filter and said hereally helps to keep algae down, you use less chlorine, and your eyes and skinare less irritated due to less chlorine used.
4) The Pool Man – This salesman was good. I likedhim but I didn’t like how much he pushed “in floor” cleaners. He acted like alltheir pools come with in floor cleaners automatically and I told him this is somethingthat we would have to talk about (because it’s a $3,000 charge)
A) He pushes Pentair equipment
B) Recommends pebbletech and had a 15 minute speechabout it
C) Pushed in floor cleaners very hard
D) Recommended pavers
E) Cartridge Filter
F) He recommended OZONE/UV filter and said hereally helps to keep algae down, you use less chlorine, and your eyes and skinare less irritated due to less chlorine used
Ihave a meeting tomorrow with Atlantis Pools and then I might meet with PiercePools next week. I was excited to meet with Pierce Pools but they had no availabilityfor 10 days which has me nervous that they are over busy.
I'm near 249 and Louetta. You're already getting great advice from the experts around here. My pool was finished in July 2015, and TFP helped make it a success. From reading others' builds on TFP during that time, I can make some suggestions for builders if you like. You have quite a list already and may not want to confuse the issue. Just shoot me a Private Message if you want more names. 
) you can have too much CYA. here is a chart to show you the relationship between FC and CYA:
I am SO glad you are here and letting us help build your pool. I hope you find TFP as easy as I do!