We started on our "journey" of pool ownership about 5 weeks ago now. We started by getting bids from 5 pool builders, and, after making some drastic changes to our original pool design and having 3 of the pool builders rebid, we've narrowed the bids to 2.
I have a couple of questions before we go thru final negotiations with each of them to arrive at our final decision:
1. One pool builder uses all Hayward equipment, and the other uses Pentair equipment. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Pentair might be more highly regarded than Hayward. Does this sound right? Is one brand, as a general rule, a bit better than the other?
2. Would there be any advantage to adding NPT Colorscapes to the plaster, or is it not going to provide any additional durability over a white plaster finish? (We know we don't want a dark finish in the pool, especially with the 112 degree weather we're suffering thru this summer, but we would rather not have a finish that reveals every speck of dirt).
All the specs from each builder seem equal, except for the automated cleaner. One builder listed a Polaris 280 cleaner, while the other listed a Dolphin DX4 robotic cleaner. I'm pretty sure I don't need the DX4 for our 13,000 gallon pool, so I plan on having the pool builder swap that for a Polaris 280.
Any advice from the seasoned vets here?
I have a couple of questions before we go thru final negotiations with each of them to arrive at our final decision:
1. One pool builder uses all Hayward equipment, and the other uses Pentair equipment. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Pentair might be more highly regarded than Hayward. Does this sound right? Is one brand, as a general rule, a bit better than the other?
2. Would there be any advantage to adding NPT Colorscapes to the plaster, or is it not going to provide any additional durability over a white plaster finish? (We know we don't want a dark finish in the pool, especially with the 112 degree weather we're suffering thru this summer, but we would rather not have a finish that reveals every speck of dirt).
All the specs from each builder seem equal, except for the automated cleaner. One builder listed a Polaris 280 cleaner, while the other listed a Dolphin DX4 robotic cleaner. I'm pretty sure I don't need the DX4 for our 13,000 gallon pool, so I plan on having the pool builder swap that for a Polaris 280.
Any advice from the seasoned vets here?