Vegasmom's Pool Build

[Vegasmom]

Just our luck

Wow, last post here was in Sept.! I haven't been visiting, either. Unfortunately, I have no progress to report. My husband is officially pyschic (maybe he should go after Angel's million, LOL!)

He predicted that when the custom tile from China came in, it would be wrong. And that this pool won't be finished until February.

Well, the tile from China came in wrong. We waited almost 2 months for it, and it's the wrong color. I would compromise if it wasn't the one color that I absolutely didn't want, but of course, that's what they sent. I am amazed at my ability to remain calm. No one has lost their head! We're just so used to this...

Waiting to hear what PB is going to do about it and/or if there is a way to get the right stuff here quickly. Maybe I'll make the rounds again at the tile stores and try to find something that's in stock. This is just so perfect though and we've waited this long. *sigh*

 

[DLSDO]

My you are a very patient person. I would have lost my mind for sure. Hope they get you the right tiles soon. Keep the pics coming once they get started again.

 

[Vegasmom]

update

In case anyone is wondering if we abandoned the pool build and decided to make it a big planter box, here is an update. We had them rush the tile reorder and it's been here since Dec. 10th. Have been given 20 diff. excuses as to why we still don't have anyone here doing work. Apparantly, all the contractors around here take off early for the holidays.

At any rate, we are scheduled for tile next week. My concrete forms should go in by the end of next week, and I may have partial BBQ in several. So, for anyone following this ancient thread (we may go down in history as the longest build!) I will have pics soon.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and New Year.

 

[Poolscout]

Looking forward to update photos...

I am a new Vegas "paddock pools" pool owner in the southern highlands area. Wish I had your HEATER right about now...pool temp hanging at 40 deg F.

Kevin

 

[Vegasmom]

Finally!

Hey Kevin Ya, that's cold! Brrr. I've been roughed up so many times by my family for making the tile change that led to our delay, but I just keep telling them that we wouldn't be swimming now anyway. My husband would, however, use that heater to heat the pool just so he could see the steam rise up, LOL! What a nut. Anyway, hope you're happy with your Paddock pool. I hear they do a really nice job.

So here's the start of the tile, at the waterline. I am really happy with the look so far. Next going in is the stacked stone, I think. Then he'll do the middle wall and glass inserts, then the spa. I'm a little disheartened by the fact that my brown glass doesn't 'fit' on the top of the spa wall where I planned it to go. They're 3 x 12"'s and I wanted them staggered with very small grout lines. It's not working out so we need to find a fix.

 

[Poolscout]

Great update pics...and nice waterline tile

If I could afford a heater (wife thinks it is prohibitive to have one & use it)...I would be swimming right now!
I am thinking of going the dry sauna with an Icy plunge route - but haven't done much research on the sauna...

We look forward to more updates as they come!

Kevin

 

[Vegasmom]

Thank you for the compliment. Yesterday my installer spent 3 hours chipping out newly dried mortar all along the back wall. I didn't want a tile edge and grout line showing there where the finger ledge has to be. Just something that was overlooked when we went over things. So they haven't done any more tile yet. I'll have more pics probably by Fri.

I'm not a fan of cold, so the icy plunge idea makes me cringe! Our last house didn't have natural gas so we used a propane tank to heat everything. I'm curious to see how this will affect the monthly. I've seen people do outdoor saunas. I love the heat here (give me 110 all year and I'd be happy) but I prefer steam. Great for my sinus problems.

Do you have a pic post here? I'd love to see your pool.

 

[Vegasmom]

more tile

Here's the latest progress on the tile. I am very happy so far! Sorry the photos are dark.

The top of the spa wall there is what's giving us a little bit of trouble. Trying to decide between using the porcelain, or keeping with the brown glass/spectra glass to match the waterline. It doesn't fit well so the wall would need to be cut back.

A nice view from the side so you can see the texture of the sandstone

I love this porcelain tile. Photo doesn't do it justice, though. The small glass inbetween the brown is what's going in those rectangles.

 

[Vegasmom]

moving along slowly

We are making good progress considering it's winter and everything takes longer to dry. We've had a few issues but they've been minor. So many things come up that you either didn't plan for or needs adjusting. Overall, very happy with the way everything is turning out. The precast coping, wall caps and patio pavers will get ordered in the next day or two. It's a local company (API, and they are the absolute best!!) lead time shouldn't be too bad and best of all....they are sealing everything at their factory for me! One less thing I need to worry about. BBQ is coming along nicely. I need to steal my husband away from work long enough to pick out a countertop but I'm leaning toward blue limestone. Here's some more pics....

Front of the spa

Waterline again. I like how the light here captures the beauty of the glass

Another view of the spa. That poor palm has taken quite a beating from the wind

BBQ! Quite an upgrade to the foot high Walmart charcoal model I've been using, LOL

 

[DLSDO]

Looks great. Keep the pics coming. I am trying to envision the finished project. Is your pool a uniform depth. From the pictures it kinda looks like there are a few seperate swimming areas.

 

[ktdave]

S........L........O........W.........L.........Y,........B....U....T..........S........U.......R.......E......L........Y! :lol: :lol:

It's coming along GREAT V'Mom! Keep the pics coming!

Good Luck!

 

[Vegasmom]

Thanks guys. Dave, in answer to your question, the pool slopes from the wet deck end, which is 12", to 3'6 and it's deepest in the middle is somewhere around 5'6 and finishes out around 4'6 in front of the bench seat where the spa is. I may measure that tomorrow to be sure because I could be off and I'm curious myself.

It wasn't as important for us to have a deep part of the pool. I wanted the kids to be comfortable and there to be lots of places to stand with your head above water. I think the wet deck will get a lot of use (especially from the dog!)

We had lots of rain last night and I don't know if that will affect them working tomorrow or not. I'll post more pics as I take them.

 

[Vegasmom]

progress? not much

I haven't taken any more photos because not much has changed. The weather has been a slight issue but even more maddening (yeah, at this point, I guess I've finally lost it) there seems to have been a communication breakdown somewhere regarding certain features. PB is going to handle it and fix things, but we aren't moving along as we should be.

One other thing I will mention, and this is to hopefully save someone else from making a mistake. Luckily, I'm here everyday and have been paying very close attention to the progress (in some areas not enough apparantly)

Do not let your concrete people come in and pour decking until your coping and/or patio is completed. They had the forms in place and were going to pour the next day and my coping isn't in yet. I explained my concerns to the owner and he understood. So, forms are still in place, he's got a fraction of payment to tide him over, and my concrete will get poured when I say so. These people know the right way to do things, but it seems some are more interested in keeping their schedules intact and getting their paycheck. Beware!

Same thing happened with landscaper. Unbeknownst to me, they were going to come in and start planting....my tile isn't finished, I have wall caps that need to go up, firepots, etc. etc... So I'm forking over $25K only to have my plants trampled by the other workers coming in to finish their jobs? I don't think so.

Do not let these contractors rush or intimidate you into doing something prematurely. Everything in it's own time. They'll just have to be patient. Like I've been all these months....

 

[Vegasmom]

Still a little frustrated at this point. I don't understand it but we seem to be surrounded by incompetence. Either that, or something went very wrong in our communications. How, is beyond me as I personally went over all the little details we are now having issues with at least 10 times.

PB has had to remove the water feature and the tiles surrounding it because they didn't put it in the right place. Landscaper ordered lights I didn't approve at $300 a piece and expects me to use them anyway. Again, he was in a rush and made assumptions without confirming. They've painted my BBQ to match my house when at no point in discussion was this approved. In fact, I specifically stated I did not want a green BBQ and we'd find a color when it came time. That's easy, it's paint, but WTH? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

The beautiful sample the precast people made me was apparantly a one shot deal they got lucky with and now can't reproduce. Their blaming it on the weather. Literally.

We've had to move A/C units because they built the equip. wall wrong and my panel was supposed to go on the inside of said wall, now it has to be freestanding. They also did not build the wall high enough (HOA requires 6ft. but they only engineered it for 5')

Since we signed contract with PB, 4 other homeowners on my street have signed as well. We overshot our completion date by 6mos. already, so I guess they figure they have no timeline to follow with us anymore. There's no one here working today, but they're down the street working on the other pools. This is my fault, for being so nice. I've now realized my acceptance, patience, and friendliness towards these companies has no place in construction. It is not possible to do business this way.

Sorry for the rant, but if any of this helps someone with their build, it's worth posting. I see from the count lots of people are reading so maybe this won't all be in vain. I've been so positive throughout all this but it's finally sucking the life out of me. I do have faith and know in the end it will all be fine, but this process is insane...

 

[sammm]

You have the patience of a saint. I would have lost it a long time ago. Remember it's your money, not theirs.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

I am so sorry you are having such trouble, and it's not like this is a $20K pool or something... you are shelling out MEGA bucks! (not that shoddy treatment would be acceptable if it was a less expensive build...)

Keep on them, and they will do it right, even if they have to do it over because THEY did it wrong. You will have a gorgeous pool area when you are done!

 

[SeanB]

Still a little frustrated at this point. I don't understand it but we seem to be surrounded by incompetence. Either that, or something went very wrong in our communications. How, is beyond me as I personally went over all the little details we are now having issues with at least 10 times.

PB has had to remove the water feature and the tiles surrounding it because they didn't put it in the right place. Landscaper ordered lights I didn't approve at $300 a piece and expects me to use them anyway. Again, he was in a rush and made assumptions without confirming. They've painted my BBQ to match my house when at no point in discussion was this approved. In fact, I specifically stated I did not want a green BBQ and we'd find a color when it came time. That's easy, it's paint, but WTH? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

The beautiful sample the precast people made me was apparantly a one shot deal they got lucky with and now can't reproduce. Their blaming it on the weather. Literally.

We've had to move A/C units because they built the equip. wall wrong and my panel was supposed to go on the inside of said wall, now it has to be freestanding. They also did not build the wall high enough (HOA requires 6ft. but they only engineered it for 5')

Since we signed contract with PB, 4 other homeowners on my street have signed as well. We overshot our completion date by 6mos. already, so I guess they figure they have no timeline to follow with us anymore. There's no one here working today, but they're down the street working on the other pools. This is my fault, for being so nice. I've now realized my acceptance, patience, and friendliness towards these companies has no place in construction. It is not possible to do business this way.

Sorry for the rant, but if any of this helps someone with their build, it's worth posting. I see from the count lots of people are reading so maybe this won't all be in vain. I've been so positive throughout all this but it's finally sucking the life out of me. I do have faith and know in the end it will all be fine, but this process is insane...

I normally don't make this sort of suggestion since I don't want the site to become a place for people to air their dirty laundry, but if you are unable to get some serious cooperation with your builder, then please direct him to this site and this thread. You have been the absolute model of patience, have praised your builder, have been very slow to complain, and deserve better treatment than you have received up to this point. However, no builder is perfect, wires get crossed, etc. What you builder has here is an opportunity to show that they can be better than average, admit past mistakes and move quickly to correct them. If they do not, they should be reminded that literally thousands of people both now, and in the future, will read this thread when they are looking into prospective pool builders. People will read about your experience and decide whether or not "Smart Pools" is really a Smart Decision. It won't take long before people doing an Internet search for Smart Pools of Las Vegas will be directed to this very page, and rest assured that just about everyone who is considering this company will do a search to read about other customer's experiences. Let's hope they do the right thing and get your project completed quickly and most importantly, as you have specified!

 

[Guest]

Hope it all gets better. But from what you have told me. If i was building a pool in Las Vegas. I would not even LOOK at Smart Pools, and if a friend did I WOULD STEER HIM AWAY faster than a speeding bullet.

again i hope you get it all worked out. But i would be raising Holy He** until they got their butts in gear and got to work. If they were down at my neighbors working i would barge in to the back yard, ask them why ( calm at first ) they are working on their yard when my yard is a mess and 6 months over due. If they objected, my time to shine, BBB ( business not chemicals) use my lawyer know-how, get them to refund everything they charged me and get a new builder. If they did not refund i would go to court and deal with it as long as it takes. Again sorry your having so much trouble. Hope it all works out, I cant believe a business person would get so far behind. If i ran my business like that i would be out of the job and possibly in jail in a week.

 

[Vegasmom]

Thank you all for the support. When I think back to when we built our last pool in Vegas 12 yrs ago, I recall there being issues then as well. To the degree we're having problems now, is related to the size of the project. There's a lot going on around here! The problem with SP on this build definately seems to be communication and I do believe that they will work to improve this. In fairness and support of them, they are trying to do everything within their power to make things right. I'll admit to being petty over the fact they're working on other pools and mine isn't done.. when I think about it logically, we're at different stages and aside from my superintendent being run ragged from so many jobs, the actual contractors I require are not the same as my neighbors.

Our situation and build was unique in many ways as so much of it was custom. In fairness, the major delay with the tile the first time was on me. It's not my intention to steer people away from Smart Pools, because I believe, like Sean said, no builder is perfect and wires do get crossed. Vegas is known for unreliable, dishonest, flaky contractors..ask anyone that lives here. I don't mean to sound like I'm throwing them into this category as I don't feel that way about SP, or my concrete guy and landscaper (who aren't affiliated with SP). We've done other projects where we've had to deal with a lot worse. I heard this saying once and isn't it the truth?! "We're not making the same mistakes over and over again, we're making all new ones." And so goes the course of construction. I do feel they will make it right, I am not worried about that as they've given me no reason to believe otherwise.

I believe in being honest, though, and if someone is going to do a search for SP, or any builder/contractor they need to be aware. The problems we're having can happen with anyone. Just because someone might do a search and nothing comes up, certainly doesn't mean that company isn't without it's problems, just means no one reported it. They do have a chance to show they're better than average and I'm confident they will. Like I said, I have faith it'll all turn out OK in the end. I'd like to think our next project, whatever it may be, will be without headaches and complications, but that's not reality. When this pool is done, I'm taking a long vacation 8)

I will update with pics next week. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.

 

[TresW]

Vegasmom, first let me say that your pool is going to be beautiful when it's completed! OK, regarding your construction problems, luckily you have enough understanding of the construction process that you'be been able to prevent some very nasty mistakes (it would have been disasterous had your landscaper proceeded with their work at this point). I hate to say this, but the only way you're going to get this back on track is to start getting nasty with the PB. I'm an architect and I've been heavily involved in the construction industry for 23 years. On nearly every project I've been involved with, at some point I've had to get downright ugly with the contractor. Sometimes they have to be told in no uncertain terms when they're not getting the job done. Being nice won't get the message through. I do not like being mean & nasty one bit, it's not in my nature. But it's got to be done sometimes. Tell them you want to meet to discuss the schedule and how to get it back on track, and do not settle for excuses. Feel free to yell, they need to know how important this is to you. You'll want the PB superintendant and the PB project manager in the meeting, and don't accept anything less than a commitment from them to provide you a written schedule through completion of the project. Give them a reasonable time to complete the schedule (a week or less). Once you have the schedule, if they're a day late on any event on the schedule then call and ask them what is going on. Make sure they revise the schedule if anything is significantly delayed (due to weather, etc.)

Regarding all the misunderstandings, do not depend on verbal direction for anything. Put everything in writing. Copy the super and the PM on everything. If it's something casual, like the color of the BBQ, then type up a quick email and send it to the super and PM. If it's anything that affects the cost of the project it should be handled as a written change order that is signed off by you and the PM.

Is the landscaper working for the PB or directly for you? Either way they should be submitting cut sheets on any light fixtures for review and approval before ordering them.

Don't feel you're being petty about wanting them to work on your pool instead of your neighbors' pools, they SHOULD be giving yours priority! Contractors (like most of us of the male persuasion) like starting a project, but don't like finishing it. When it gets bogged down with delays and such, they just want to move on to something else. That's when it's time to get vocal!

Good luck to you and stay diligent!