Just finishing New Build in Frisco, TX

[christophertx]

Hi All,

I'm located in Frisco, TX, just north of Dallas and am nearing completion of my pool build and wanted to share some info. I meant to post throughout the process, but work got busy...

I started interviewing Pool Builders in the spring (over 3 month timeframe) and signed a contract on June 6th after narrowing the field from seven. I spoke with M. Christopher Custom Pools, Riverbend/Sandler, Artesian, Pools by Owner, Robertson, Foley, and Hobert. Here's how I found my target company list. In 1999 I built a pool with Riverbend/Sandler, and know people that have built with Foley, Hobert, and Robertson. I saw advertising for M. Christopher and was familiar with their Home division. I found Artesian and Pools by Owner through online forum references.

I ran across the Trouble Free Pool forums when I started researching builders and pool options. Countless "under construction" posts were helpful to us in making the many design decisions required (in addition to prior experience with an IG pool and friends with pools). Below are specs of the pool, equipment, and some of the other selections:

Purpose of Pool: Play pool (basketball, volleyball, lounging) for a family of 6.
Pool Builder selected: M. Christopher Custom Pools (Division of M. Christopher Custom Homes)

Pool Info
Gunite Pool (1/2" Steel throughout , min 10" Centers alternate rebar in stress areas yielding a 5"x10" grid)
Pool Perimeter: 100
Pool Size: 33'x21', Depth Profile: 3.5'x5'x4'
Pool Gallons: 16,159
SQFT: 513
Spa Size: 8'x6'
Coping: Travertine - Classic Tumbled Bullnose 4"x12"
Tile (Pool): 6" -NVRS 665 - Brazos Brown (Nobile Tile)
Tile (Hot Tub): 1" - NWFR 165 St. Raphael (Nobile Tile)
Finish: Stonescapes Tropics Blue
Raised Wall: Bark Ledger Stone

Deck (Contracted Separately)
1185 Sq Ft Travertine Paver (Tumbled) - Versailles/French Pattern
Color: English Walnut from QDI Stone
Installed by Legacy Custom Pavers

Equipment Info
Pentair VS Pump (Main)
Pentair 1.5 HP for features
Pentair Cartridge Filter (520sq ft)
Pentair MasterTemp 400K b.t.u Heater
Ultrapure Ozone Generator (Sized for 50K gallon pool)
Pentair Easy Touch 8
2 Lights

2013 Build Timeline

6/6: Signed Contract
6/25: City Permit Issued
6/28: Excavation
6/29: Plumbing and Rebar and bonding
7/1: Pre-Gunite Inspection Passed
7/4: Gunite
7/5: Gas Pressure Inspection Approved
7/15 (Week of): Tile and Coping and Start Stone, put Equipment in Place
7/23: Deck Inspection Passed
7/23 (Week of): Finish Stone, Deck, Site Cleanup
7/30: Pre-Plaster Inspection Passed
8/1/2013: Plaster (Day 1)
8/2/2013: Plaster (Day 2 Acid Wash) and Filling with Water

35 days from excavation to filling with water (54 days full days from contract signature).

 

[cbink]

Congrats!

We need pictures!!!

 

[christophertx]

Excavation

[attachment=1:3w1cfopb]WP_20130628_001.jpg[/attachment:3w1cfopb]

Plumbing & Rebar

 

[christophertx]

Congrats!

We need pictures!!!

Thanks!! Pictures are on the way!

 

[christophertx]

Plumbing

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[attachment=1:2ldv45et]WP_20130629_006.jpg[/attachment:2ldv45et]

[attachment=0:2ldv45et]WP_20130629_022.jpg[/attachment:2ldv45et]

 

[christophertx]

Plumbing & Rebar

[attachment=2:2v0nu6df]WP_20130629_021.jpg[/attachment:2v0nu6df]

[attachment=1:2v0nu6df]WP_20130629_020.jpg[/attachment:2v0nu6df]

[attachment=0:2v0nu6df]WP_20130629_025.jpg[/attachment:2v0nu6df]

 

[christophertx]

Overall View

[attachment=0:2upovuho]WP_20130701_003.jpg[/attachment:2upovuho]

 

[christophertx]

We got a huge surprise on the 4th of July. The Field Supervisor sent a text at 5:45 AM saying the Gunite crew was on the way! Really!? On the 4th of July? I thought he was joking with me. I was kidding around with him after excavation and the first payment (draw) was due - told him I blew the money and he had to wait until next payday :lol: . I thought he was getting me back. He wasn't kidding. The crew arrived onsite at 6:30AM. I'm sure my neighbors enjoyed it as much as I did .

[attachment=1:3ay3h65y]WP_20130704_002.jpg[/attachment:3ay3h65y]

[attachment=0:3ay3h65y]WP_20130704_006 (1).jpg[/attachment:3ay3h65y]

 

[cbink]

We got a huge surprise on the 4th of July. The Field Supervisor sent a text at 5:45 AM saying the Gunite crew was on the way! Really!? On the 4th of July? I thought he was joking with me. I was kidding around with him after excavation and the first payment (draw) was due - told him I blew the money and he had to wait until next payday :lol: . I thought he was getting me back. He wasn't kidding. The crew arrived onsite at 6:30AM. I'm sure my neighbors enjoyed it as much as I did .

At least it wasn't on the morning of the 5th July! (assuming there may have been some sore heads!)

Looks great thus far - can't wait to see the rest of the build!

 

[christophertx]

Tile, Coping and Stone

[attachment=1:1szd14oy]WP_20130718_001.jpg[/attachment:1szd14oy]

[attachment=0:1szd14oy]WP_20130718_005.jpg[/attachment:1szd14oy]

 

[christophertx]

More Tile/Stone Pics

[attachment=2:fm0sgv8b]WP_20130719_006.jpg[/attachment:fm0sgv8b]

[attachment=1:fm0sgv8b]WP_20130719_004.jpg[/attachment:fm0sgv8b]

[attachment=0:fm0sgv8b]WP_20130719_008.jpg[/attachment:fm0sgv8b]

 

[jamgolf]

Very good looking tile and stone work. Great looking dry stack stone/wall.
I am curious to know if your mosaic glass tile on the spa is NPT: Jules?

 

[vudoo222]

Every nice! We are in the process of designing our pool right now. What is that travertine coping on your spa? Not sure what that color classic is. Is it Noche?

 

[SKC]

We have begun the process with Riverbend for our build in Prosper. Out of curiosity, why did you choose a different company the second time?

 

[christophertx]

Very good looking tile and stone work. Great looking dry stack stone/wall.
I am curious to know if your mosaic glass tile on the spa is NPT: Jules?

It's actually by Nobile Tile - 1" - NWFR 165 St. Raphael (From their French Riviera Series). In my opinion, it looks (in person) nothing like what the catalog/web site depict.

Here's a close up from the store (in person it seems the subtle blues come out more).
[attachment=0:25fnpzwr]WP_20130705_007.jpg[/attachment:25fnpzwr]

 

[christophertx]

Every nice! We are in the process of designing our pool right now. What is that travertine coping on your spa? Not sure what that color classic is. Is it Noche?

It's not Noche. The Pool Builder purchased the coping from Nobile Tile and they call the color "Classic". It's not as light as an Ivory, but not as dark as a Noche or Walnut. Maybe a shade darker than Ivory....

[attachment=0:3ntawevl]WP_20130708_007.jpg[/attachment:3ntawevl]

 

[christophertx]

We have begun the process with Riverbend for our build in Prosper. Out of curiosity, why did you choose a different company the second time?

Riverbend did a good job for me the first time and I felt like they would have done a good job again. That said, here was my thinking at the time:

1. M. Christopher was pretty transparent and open from the outset. The salesman made a comment (and I think something similar has been echo'd here) to meet with the builders and figure out who you want to work with. After that, negotiate price and contract. M. Christopher seemed like they were going to be more flexible and "engaging" during the build process to allow for minor changes and "preferences" (and M. Christopher was indeed great to work with. They were communicative and asked for my feedback on things throughout the process - even simple things like junction box location). That's not to say Riverbend wouldn't have done those things, but my first build with them took 10 weeks and was pretty rigid from an interaction perspective.

2. Riverbend's current build process uses "direct piping" to the equipment, e.g. they run the plumbing under the pool if that is the shortest, most direct route.
I understand their pitch on why they do it, but I just didn't want any plumbing under the pool (except where necessary, like the main drains). I felt more comfortable being able to get to the majority of plumbing without tearing into the gunite (that's also one reason I went with a paver instead of a poured concrete for the deck). In fairness to Riverbend, I didn't push the issue for pricing and engineering with plumbing running on the outside. I had a couple other more custom things I wanted that they either hadn't done before or not done alot of they were having to get one-off pricing on.

In the end, for what I was wanting, I just felt most comfortable with M. Christopher.

I'm sure Riverbend will do a great job for you.

 

[jamgolf]

Very good looking tile and stone work. Great looking dry stack stone/wall.
I am curious to know if your mosaic glass tile on the spa is NPT: Jules?

It's actually by Nobile Tile - 1" - NWFR 165 St. Raphael (From their French Riviera Series). In my opinion, it looks (in person) nothing like what the catalog/web site depict.

Here's a close up from the store (in person it seems the subtle blues come out more).
[attachment=0:22io6ivz]WP_20130705_007.jpg[/attachment:22io6ivz]

Looks very attractive. Great choice !
Good luck with rest of your build.

 

[SKC]

We have begun the process with Riverbend for our build in Prosper. Out of curiosity, why did you choose a different company the second time?

Riverbend did a good job for me the first time and I felt like they would have done a good job again. That said, here was my thinking at the time:

...

Thanks for the info. This is my first build, so it's always interesting to hear what other people look for and want throughout each phase of the process.

 

[BoDarville]

christophertx:

Looks like you went through a very well-thought-out process for your pool build. Lots of good details in this thread. Pool is looking great so far. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.