New Pool in Louisiana
- Thread starter jboyea
- Start date
Glad to know you still have a sense of humor after all you've been through!mcaswell said:
You can see the imperfections in my fiberglass pool at all times of day.jboyea said:
In the year or so that this pool has been in our yard, although we have not swam in it, I have still have been maintaining it. Although I can't compare to gunite, I can say that it has been easy to keep clean.
Everyone says fiberglass pool installations are extremely dependent on the skill and experience of the builder, along with the level of care applied to the project. On the surface, that statement doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, because don't gunite pool builds also require skill, experience, and care? Sure, but fiberglass pools are different in that, unlike a gunite shell that is formed right into the excavated hole (so slight imperfections in the shape of the excavation are inconsequential), a fiberglass pool absolutely requires a properly prepared hole with a perfectly level and clean bottom.
As the installation manual for our pool states: "It is vitally important to understand that the floor of the pool with the weight of the water will take the shape of the sand bed whether it is prepared correctly or not. Allowing the weight of the water to change the shape of the pool is not the objective. This action could cause undue stress in the fiberglass pool shell not easily detectable right away..."
In the case of our pool, the result of this stress was an uncountable number of cracks.
Roughly quoting what one fiberglass expert told me, "some inexperienced builders wrongly assume these fiberglass pool shells are indestructible."
Another important distinction between fiberglass and gunite is the warranty. Sure, the shell may have a 25 year (or longer) warranty, but read any fiberglass pool's warranty document and you'll see a very convenient escape clause... damage caused by installation error is not covered. So, your pool is installed, and 10 years later develops a crack. The manufacturer can simply say, "sorry, your pool wasn't installed correctly... we're not responsible."
And they may very well be right, as most fiberglass pool problems probably ARE the result of poor installation. But this is a terrible situation for a homeowner to be put in, as how are they supposed to know for certain that the work is being done correctly at the time? Personally, I think what the fiberglass industry needs is to strike that clause from its warranty documents, and implement a system of having a representative present for all installations, to certify that it was indeed done correctly. At their discretion, they could exempt certain builders that have decades of experience and are absolutely trusted by the manufacturer to do a good job, but regardless, "improper installation" would no longer be used to disqualify warranty claims.
--Michael
jboyea said:
I couldn't find any substantive reviews for Pools 'N Stuff, so I guess there's no way of knowing if this is a one-time occurrence. But just the fact that he has demonstrated a willingness to shaft a customer (even if this is an isolated incident) is all I need to know to cross this company off my list.
You arguably roll the dice with ANY contractor in this respect. You can find a builder who has done a thousand pools with no problems at all, which hopefully means yours would go well too, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he would do the right thing for you if the build DIDN'T go well.
Chances are, an established builder who has put much effort into cultivating a good reputation is not going to throw that away on a whim (especially in today's world, where information can spread at a blinding rate), even if it means suffering a loss on fixing your project. Which is why I have a really hard time understanding what's going on here, as this company has been building pools for over 15 years and at least has the appearance of being stable and established.
Their company profile on the Leisure Fiberglass Pools website says "Eva and Doug Jeansonne began Pools N Stuff with the customer always at the forefront. Now, the second generation has stepped up to the plate, son Jean-Pierre Jeansonne to carry on their dream."
Maybe the parents started the business with this principle, but apparently their son has chosen to adhere to more of a "avoid taking responsibility at all cost when things go wrong" way of thinking.
Wes
As I see it in this economy there are a lot of contractors that are just barely hanging on and all it would take to put them out of business is for one job to go wrong. So to stay in business they keep rolling the dice waiting for the odds to catch up with them, then when it does they do everything they can to avoid / delay eating the cost often hoping to make enough on other jobs to pay for the bad one before getting bit again..
Did you contact Sun Pools, they make a good pool, mine is being delivered the week of the 22nd, met the owner and mgr, nice folks.
Not sure they have an installer near you but call to find out.
Not sure they have an installer near you but call to find out.
I just finished building my pool, see tagline for details.
My biggest complaint about my pool is I let the Pool Builder talk me into LED lights, there are five of them.
He ranted and raved about how great they look, and all the color changing capabilities.
Problems
=======
1. They are not very bright. I'm really ****** about this.
2. When you change the color to anything but white, they get even dimmer.
3. You can not dim them, when you want it darker.
4. The Pool Builder chose a brand that can not be controlled by the Hayward Controller.
5. I could care less about the energy cost savings, the lights are not bright enough.
If you are bound to have LED lights, I would check the lumens carefully, and make sure you have enough, it's
impossible for me to add more lights, I wish I would have put in 4 more lights. Heck you can just turn some of them off if you want to save money.
That said, make sure that if you want colored lights, (actually I really light basic white only), make sure that the controller can change the patterns.
Again, check the lumens output, compared to standard Lights. The sales people are just heck bent on trying to save you $50.00 per year and sell these things.
-Russ
My biggest complaint about my pool is I let the Pool Builder talk me into LED lights, there are five of them.
He ranted and raved about how great they look, and all the color changing capabilities.
Problems
=======
1. They are not very bright. I'm really ****** about this.
2. When you change the color to anything but white, they get even dimmer.
3. You can not dim them, when you want it darker.
4. The Pool Builder chose a brand that can not be controlled by the Hayward Controller.
5. I could care less about the energy cost savings, the lights are not bright enough.
If you are bound to have LED lights, I would check the lumens carefully, and make sure you have enough, it's
impossible for me to add more lights, I wish I would have put in 4 more lights. Heck you can just turn some of them off if you want to save money.
That said, make sure that if you want colored lights, (actually I really light basic white only), make sure that the controller can change the patterns.
Again, check the lumens output, compared to standard Lights. The sales people are just heck bent on trying to save you $50.00 per year and sell these things.
-Russ
Same thing here (though Pentair automation in my case). The builder INSISTED that the lights would be controllable by the EasyTouch system, and I was very specific in how I asked the question... "so, the color of the lights will be directly controllable by the EasyTouch, not just the method where you manually turn the lights off and on a certain number of times to change colors, but actually being able to specifically select the color or mode you want from the unit's menu?"TymerTopCat said:
"Yes". There was no ambiguity or uncertainty. He said that all the manufacturers of pool automation systems and lighting gear adhere to a common communication protocol so that the products are interchangeable. This sounded fishy to me, but I accepted his explanation. I later learned from other reviews and postings that this is not correct.
--Michael
I have not updated this post so thought I would give everyone a update on our pool selection. We did go with the Leisure Pool and PB that we had liked from the beginning. I understand Michael may have had a problem with his Royal pool but the crew did an excellent job with getting mine level and correct to the location, within 1/2 inch square to house so I am pleased. I would say the quality is amazing and I am definitely happy with the selection of my leisure pool and happy with my install so far. I will start to post pictures now that I have a little time.
[attachment=0:jbnlne6q]On the Truck.JPG[/attachment:jbnlne6q]
[attachment=0:jbnlne6q]On the Truck.JPG[/attachment:jbnlne6q]
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Our pool in the yard and ready to go, except the rain came down hard and we had to wait a few days to start the dig. I had a lot of neighbors looking at my new lawn ornement though. We got to see how sturdy this pool was, the pool did not flex at all when it was lifted from the truck. The kevlar in the fiberglass sure makes it strong.
[attachment=0:nznmly44]Our Pool in yard.JPG[/attachment:nznmly44]
[attachment=0:nznmly44]Our Pool in yard.JPG[/attachment:nznmly44]
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I am putting pavers in myself, and so this is the drainage system I will use between my patio and the paver deck.
[attachment=1:19tl617j]IMG_3214.JPG[/attachment:19tl617j]
Temp placement, ready for the concrete
[attachment=0:19tl617j]IMG_3222.jpg[/attachment:19tl617j]
[attachment=1:19tl617j]IMG_3214.JPG[/attachment:19tl617j]
Temp placement, ready for the concrete
[attachment=0:19tl617j]IMG_3222.jpg[/attachment:19tl617j]
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MiaOKC
0
How is it going with your paver patio? DH and I are looking to DIY our paver patio in our pool remodel.
Any updates? Did it get finished? Also, from your pics it looks like the shell is sticking up pretty far above grade. Was that so it could match up with the existing patio?
Wes
Wes
The pool came out great, it was set to be higher than the patio. The pavers are coming along slow. I have had nothing but rain since July so that has caused delays. I am a DIY paver installer..... What I have got done came out nice, just have to install in between the rain and my work schedule. I will need to post some photos of the progress.