Building my first pool...

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Heckpools

Heckpools

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LifeTime Supporter
Feb 8, 2009
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New Jersey shore
Hey everyone, I own a service company so thats all i do.. SERVICE

But a good friend of mine who is local pool builder has a new pool he is starting tomorrow (tuesday) and asked me to give him a hand. Im sure he wont mind me taking some pics, so ill do so and post as soon as i get a chance. Im pretty sure He hasnt done anything yet but have the hole dug, so im looking forward to getting pictures from step one and on!

Not sure ill be on the job the entire time, i have alot of work coming up myself, but ill try and get a finished pool pic from him once he's done.

Im excited to actually help build one instead of always fixing them! :-D
 
The pvc pipes sticking up out of the cement footing are used as extra support for the concrete deck that will be around the pool once its back filled. I gotta say, this guy has EVERY base covered. He is EXTREMELY meticulous.
 

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Suggest to him not to heat and bend the PVC pipe. A 90 or two 45's would have accomplished the same thing, and would not have compromised the integrity of the pipe. I have seen guys put bubbles in PVC heating it to bend; how do you think that will hold up once buried?!

Everything else looks top notch! Just hate to see stuff like that, especially on a project that looks as nice as this.
 

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waste said:
Bruce, ... that's flex pipe :oops:
Click to expand...

That is even worse :shock: Doesn't look like flex to me (might be my screen resolution, or just my old eyes!), and I tried to look really good before I posted (I still would have complained about anything other than rigid :cool: ).

I guess in many ways I am just "old school". Real PVC, real fittings, primer and glue; just makes for a much better product, in my opinion. I see such shoddy workmanship every day, and it bugs me. If you're gonna take the time to do it wrong, you might as well take the time to do it right!

Rant over! Thanks for the clarification, Ted. Guess I'll go make an eye Doctor appointment next....... :lol:
 
yes, its flex pipe. And its not "shotty" to use flex below ground. Ive never met a vinyl builder who uses rigid below the ground. Flex is actually 3X more expensive.. The reason its bent is so once the pool is back filled there is no pressure pushing down on the pipe... The skimmer of course is rigid down to the ground, and then flex over top the filter pad. Unfortunately He only needed my help for 2 days s0 im off the job. :( I plumbed in the the pump, filter and heater while him and his guy did the floor but i wasn't able to get anymore pics. Maybe i can stop by the job once the liner is in and take some pics of that and the filter pad.

Have a great saturday everyone.

Matt
 
Ok, I'll add a little and then go away. I get a little tired of the bashing of flex and poly. It's good stuff, it's not shoddy work, and Heck is right. Vinyl builders use it all the time. It will expand a bit too, unlike rigid PVC. Trying to be real nice and not step on toes, but there are what, 3-4 actual builders on this site, maybe. Whats the "N" on that out of all the builders in the known universe?
Just unsettles me a bit when someone posts some great pictures of a great job by a builder who probably has built several hundred of these things the same way and has years of experience, get bashed out of the shoot for a product that is about as good as it gets.

Besides, "old school" is not PVC. Old school is pipe with mechanical joints, using rubber gaskets. It's still in the ground after decades and decades, still doing its job. Its called cast iron plumbing

OK, rant over :mrgreen:
 
bk,

1. Do builders use flex because it is a better product or because it is quicker?

2. It seems I have seen 2 types of flex here on the forum....a corrugated type and a smooth type. Is that correct? Is there a difference in the quality of those two?
 
I don't question the cost of flex, nor its ability to work in the right application. My beef with flex is that it is less resistant to puncturing in a swimming pool application, maybe not so much in vinyl pools, but definitely in gunite (shotcrete) pools with tie wire and steel. It may cost more, it may be a great product, but neither of those reasons are why it is used! It's used because it is faster!

I would never use it on my pool, nor would I (or do I) allow it on any pool I am involved with. Rigid may take a couple minutes more, but, in my opinion, is worth the time. The work on this job looks great, and the bottom was not in yet so it would have been an easy fix. My opinion was not to bash the work, or to suggest a lesser option in this pool; it was an observation and a suggestion on how to avoid a future potential problem with a product that can tear if it gets hit by a shovel, get a hole from a grade stake, etc.

Now my rant is over! My apologies if I stepped on any toes.
 
duraleigh said:
bk,

1. Do builders use flex because it is a better product or because it is quicker?

2. It seems I have seen 2 types of flex here on the forum....a corrugated type and a smooth type. Is that correct? Is there a difference in the quality of those two?
Click to expand...

Better product for the application, IMO. Not that much quicker, really. I guess it is if you have al of those fancy inground pop up cleaners, bottmo main drains, etc. I my book, thats just more to go wrong. IMO, people would be more happy, and have less trouble, maintenance, and overall less hassle and more enjoyment out of a pol without all the add ons becasue something always goes wrong. But i digress. :wink:

Corrugated and smooth, its really all the same. I'm not so convinced a little stake or a shovel in the ground will puncture it. Remember, I live in new england. The rigid PVC is fine, but if the ground moves around with frost and ice, your better off with some sort of flex or poly. Also, if you do it right, there are minimal joints underground as well. Thats where leaks occur, not in the pipe itself. I've dug up countless miles of water line and PVC sewerline. I can count on one hand how any were cracked in the actual pipe. Again, PVC is fine, but there is nothing wrong with flex or poly, not one thing. It's kinda funny, really. When PEX water pipe came out I remember some old plumbers said it was inferior, never work, copper is better, meachnaical joints wont work yada, yada. Ironically, they are the same old codgers who ran a million miles of cast iron with mechanical joints. Now, I know a couple of these old devils who run PEX and now they swear buy it. Same thing here, basically.
Again, this stuff is a great product for the application. I just hate to see non-builders and non-plumbers come on here and bash it. Simi and I will never agree on it, so i'll let it be.
 
bk406 said:
I'm not so convinced a little stake or a shovel in the ground will puncture it.
Click to expand...

I've seen it firsthand, more times than I care to. Once, in my opinion, is too many. Not the plumbers fault, or the product. (And I don't happen to fall in the non-builder/non-plumber category :shock: :cool: ).

OK, so we agree to disagree :-D Wanna go grab a beer :cheers:
 
bk406 said:
simicrintz said:
non-builder/non-plumber category :shock: :cool: ).

:
Click to expand...
Beer is good!

How long you had your plumbing licence? Almost 30 years here.
Click to expand...

Guys can settle any "disagreement" with beer! One of God's greatest inventions!

I've been a builder for 32+ years. Houses, room additions, freeway bridges, waste water culverts, swimming pools. Swimming pools for the last 15 years. I am not licensed in just a single trade, and am currently more focused on my R/O business, although I still build half a dozen pools a year for my buddies! I've gotten to the point that I would rather superintend/manage than be in the hole, although I can jump in if I'm needed still!

Nice to see you're licensed (one of the good guys!). Way too many "will work for cash" guys out here!
 

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