Pool build - Southwest FL - Tampa

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No safety issues, right. I’d be more concerned about the amp. Most will have some safeguards built in to protect against a short, some might not. Maybe a fuse of some sort? Hmm, now I really want another set at the other end of my pool. I’ll have to take another look at how I might route some wires... where there’s a will...
 
OMG - I FINALLY feel the frustration of pool building...I knew it would happen at some point.

After coping and tile was done, I started doing measurements again and it suddenly occurred to me that the entire grade of the yard has changed and when the pavers go on, they will be level with the coping and - WAIT A MINUTE - The pavers end where they meet the driveway with a fence separating the two...the pavers will be 11" higher than the driveway!! (yes, our driveway is in the back yard)

Call pool company to see how this is intended to work -
response: "I thought you were removing the driveway"
Me: It's existing and in the plan...if we remove it, where do we park?
response: "You said that the concrete in your back yard was being removed"
Me: Yes, the 600 sqft concrete patio that existed where the pool is now....it has been removed for several months.
response: "Well we can just pour a concrete retaining wall around the driveway to hold the paver base in. (at an additional cost of $6.50/linear ft)"
Wife: No, we will not tolerate having to have two steps from the driveway to the back yard where it used to be at grade until you set the pool that much higher.
response: Well the only other option is to remove the driveway and re-grade the area
Wife: Yes, you have left that as the only option
Me: Considering you used the driveway as a ramp to excavate the yard and broke the concrete in the process - and then covered the concrete with dirt so we wouldn't notice - I suppose we do NEED a new driveway anyway...

The pool company graciously removed the driveway concrete for free....
 
....and then the pavers started before the driveway area was filled/graded properly. That's when the real problems started.

All of the drawings/layout diagrams I have from the pool company are without actual dimensions of the pavers...but they clearly show where pavers are to be. Yesterday, the install crew finished three of the four sides of the pool deck. Unfortunately, according to my measurements based on visual clues and existing structures in the plan, most of the pavers are done wrong. On two of the three sides complete, the pool deck areas are too long and not wide enough. When I point this out to the install crew - they provide me a design the pool company provided them that shows the dimensions of the pool deck. According to their plan, they are SPOT ON - perfectly installed to a fraction of an inch! But, the way they are now, the new, $9,500 shed that is built and awaiting delivery will not fit and that newly needed driveway is not only separated by a fence, is also separated by 3 feet of dirt to the pavers...

The areas around the pool deck, which were to be filled/graded prior to the paver install are still 11" lower than the pavers - with nothing holding the paver base in. The crew installing the pavers said "someone else is coming after to fill that".

Call the pool company, only to learn that the company has gone on vacation for the holidays! So nice of them to give the entire company vacation time - but while they have sub-contractors installing things and there are problems like this, who resolves the issues??

Worst part.....due to the delays, I will be deployed to Afghanistan before water goes into the pool! I knew it wouldn't be "8-Weeks" like the sales guy said, but we contracted in late August - let's call it September to round up - we are at 15 weeks now.
 
No words just a BIG sad :( for you. You know what you and wife need to do......stick to your guns (with a smile on your face no matter how hard it is) and get what is right. Read over your contract and make sure you have what you wanted in it.

Kim (NO cheering on this one)
 
Thanks Kim. I just had to vent a little...

Wife wrote a good email to pool company (along with pictures):

"No way is this acceptable!

First off.. why don’t they start by using a wet saw to cut these.

In my opinion this all has to be torn up. Either it’s all torn up and we find someone else to do it the correct way or they send a crew that knows what they are doing”

Note: my wife is a landscape designer whose family owns a company in Massachusetts that installs driveways, patios and pool decks...she knows the right way to install pool deck and has first hand experience with how a professional install looks when the person doing the work (her father) cares about the finished product. When paying $13 per sqft to have our pool deck, it had better be done by someone who cares.
 
These are just two examples.. there are large gap differences between pavers next to each other throughout the deck, big chips out of the edges, many pavers shift around when you walk on them and one specific paver that I can play teeter totter on.
 
Curious...

Do the pavers get grouted in like the coping? Not that that would matter. Looks to clearly be unacceptable workmanship.

I can't add much, except moral support, and additional venting. I just can't wrap my head around stuff like this. And I always wonder about what was going on in the mind of the guy that left that work and considered it done. Does he honestly think that's good enough, that it meets some reasonable definition of adequate? Broken and missing corners? Crooked cuts? Uneven seams? Ragged cuts? Rocking pavers? Really? (Geez, the Romans did better work than that, about 2000 years ago! Pretty sure they didn't have any power saws with diamond blades! Or does he know it's not good enough but doesn't care? Or maybe he's hoping that you won't notice? Or hoping that if you do notice you won't call him out on it? So that, to him, the definition of "good enough" is what he can get away with without having to redo it?

Is pride in your work something you inherently have, that you're born with? Or something you're taught? The latter I suppose. And it's no longer being taught as well as it once was, that's for sure.

In my trade, my end product is perfect, or as close to perfect as I can possibly get. Even knowing no one will actually notice that it is, and that I could have made a little more money by doing less. But it makes me feel good to know that it is perfect. And (likely because of my OCD tendencies), I get physically/emotionally uncomfortable when I see flaws in workmanship, so I can't really let stuff like that go even if I wanted to.

I get it that not everyone is going to provide that level of quality, but surely there must be some line that shouldn't be crossed. Some crooked paver line, for example!! Like Kim said: stick to your guns. We're with you!!
 
Thanks Kim and Dirk - I appreciate the moral support. I seriously think the crew installing the pavers believed this was “good enough”. No, they don’t grout these pavers...in fact, the pool sales rep told me (before the pavers were started) that they don’t even use poly sand because “with this type of paver, there will be so little gaps that sand isn’t needed” (hahaha - wait till he sees our gaps)

We just have to wait until the pool company gets back to business after their holiday break to see what their response is.
 

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So - it's been a month... I've been deployed for 3 weeks. The paver company has been back 3 more times....wait...they are there right now, so make that 4. From my security cameras I can tell that they FINALLY sent a different crew to the house. I have my fingers crossed that these guys did it right this time.

The exciting news is - Our pool has water!! Remember how I said that the pool company lacked communication skills?? Well, they showed up Friday the 19th without calling, writing or even thinking - and started filling the pool!! This is where the 'Ring' brand security cameras come in handy....."There's Motion in your Backyard" ..... Thankfully my favorite human wasn't too far away and was planning on being home that night. The pool finished filling at 1:04am. The pool company didn't call, write or stop by Saturday, Sunday, Monday.....Wife wrote to them on Monday evening to ask WTH is going on!? Pool company's response (next day): "Our service guy will be there today."

Do we have a beautiful pool, yes. Would I recommend Landmark Pools to anyone - Ug...they are way too expensive to be this frustrating to get basic scheduling information from. I could have saved $5000 and gotten automation standard from one of their competitors - but we chose Landmark based on their reputation for being the best in our area. It's hard to say, based on the reviews, that we would have gotten a better experience from any other company.

My view of the pool:
pool.jpg
 
:shock: Just pop in and out like nothing??? WOW! I am glad she was able to be there!

That water is mighty pretty! How has the balancing been going? Has your favorite human tested it yet?

When do you get to come home this time?

Kim:kim:
 
Hey Kim - I'll get home in May. 120 day deployment for surge support. Favorite Human wasn't exactly interested in learning how to test water before I left...life happens so fast and then the departure day is already upon us. There was so much I still wanted to get done before leaving. The builder's service guy has only been there twice since filling....that I have caught on video anyway. That said, our rep said they expect balancing to be complete by Thursday. We are scheduling the builder's "Pool School" and the plumber for connections to the heater - probably for Saturday.
 
Dirk said:
Looks good from here! I hope you're happy with the job and enjoy the pool for years to come!
Click to expand...

Thanks Dirk! Still a few things to finish up before truly enjoying the space...the concrete slab in the corner is for the new shed being built, have to get a new driveway designed/installed (cutout in fence upper right hand of the picture is our "driveway" (one-car parking pad), irrigation and landscaping so we can finally stop tracking dirt everywhere.

When I get home I am going to replace the wood deck - you can see part of in in lower left...it wraps around the side of the house. Then I just have to hang the bistro lights, wire up the speakers, put up a TV mount and start enjoying!
 
Ah... my poor, deluded friend. Now it begins!! I love (and chuckle at) your punch list. Once you put something that nice in your home, the rest seems dull by comparison, necessitating the upgrading of everything else (the deck plan is the confirming symptom). Lowe's preys upon people like you and me, hence their slogan "Never stop improving!" And why would we? Where's the fun in that? The trick is to enjoy it all during the process, and not wait until finished (which might never occur)!

I've been in my home three years, and I'm still unpacking/remodeling/upgrading/improving. I lived in my last home (first home) for over 30 years, and only "completed" everything to my satisfaction three years ago (do the math). Then I moved. Hmmmm... did I move for my grand kiddies, like I tell everyone, or did I move because I was done with that house?!? THE CURSE!!! :p
 
Fortunately this is not my first home and I have learnd the lesson that, once a homeowner, you are never 'finished'. When we bought the house (May of 2017) I told the wife we could remodel the kitchen and baths -- or -- get a pool. The home is 92 years old and the last major remodel was in the 50s. The punchlist for the inside is much MUCH longer...but I will get to enjoy that outdoor space at the end of long days breaking knuckles inside.
 
Just to make all my northern friends a little envious - our pool heater was connected and tested yesterday!! The pool company is meeting the wife on Saturday for "pool school" and the heater will actually be put into service. Official first day of swim season at our house is Sunday, Feb 4th!!
 

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