Build Advice Needed--NW FL

[uscmas412]

I'm in the process of receiving quotes for a gunite pool. The first builder (Blue Haven) came by this afternoon. Questions as follows:

1) Blue Haven is the only "local" company with decent reviews. I also understand they're a large national company and probably manage their online presence better than others. Any reason to not choose this company?

2) Sales guy was pushing Ozone...hard. I counteracted with SWG due to the reviews on this forum. Here's the kicker, they're both the same price ($995). Any ideas why they're pushing ozone (other than his paycheck)?

3) Supposedly Blue Haven offers a lifetime transferrable warranty, but I've yet to see any fine print. Has anyone actually used their warranty?

4) The most cost effective place for the pumps/equipment will place it on the master bedroom side of the house. There is a ~6 foot buffer due to a closet. Will noise be an issue?

18' x 32' with tanning ledge, two benches and 730 sq ft of decking.

 

[Jcvader99]

We finished our pool last April with Blue Haven...

1. Blue Haven overall:
   • Each local dealer has its own management and staff, so you can't necessarily base it on other locations, although Blue Haven has a good reputation in general.
   • We were very happy with the end result here in Charleston, SC.
   • Biggest complaint is the lack of communication by the Site Manager. Those guys are busy with 10-15 pools at a time and don't always call when they say they will, or what they said yesterday can get disrupted by an emergency today.
   • Overall, they met the original schedule, but having things change daily was moderately annoying. I think any builder will have similar issues (weather, employee issues, etc...) though so I wouldn't hold Blue Haven to a higher standard.
2. In Summer of 2017, our local dealer didn't mention Ozone at all to us. We have friends in town who used a different company and convinced them to use it. My personal take is that it's not an even comparison between Ozone and SWG... to my understanding, the Ozone pool still requires Chlorine to be added manually, so my vote is for SWG. We are very happy thus far with ours.
3. I have not had to use the warranty, but you can see the fine print here... Basically its lifetime on the shell (they fix it if it leaks, but that doesn't include the interior surface, just the shell). They also offer 15 year warranty on the pebble finish if its "Wet Edge" brand, since Wet Edge warranties their surface directly. All other warranties are 1 year on workmanship, and manufacturer warranty on equipment (usually 1 year or less).
4. We have Hayward pump/filter... If you have a variable speed pump, the proximity to your bedroom will be minimal. During the 2 minute startup (100% speed) it will be loud, but once it turns down to 50-60-70% speed, the noise is very minimal. Ours is direclty outside our bedroom windows, but 10 feet below. I can hear it, but not to the point that it is disturbing.

Pic of fine print...

 

[ajw22]

Read Alternative sanitizers and "chemical free" pools--The Truth! to learn about ozone systems.

Get the SWG. No one trades in their SWG for an ozone system. Lots of folks realize their error and install a SWG after a while.

 

[kimkats]

I would get more quotes AND check out some of their past builds in your area to get a true feeling for anyone you get quotes from. The person that built the pool for Blue Haven in S.C. will NOT be the same as the person that does the work in your area. As always the skill of the workers is the most important part!

Now on to the fun part! I LOVE your design! Looks like it will fit with your house very well. One thing I would tweak is your lights. With them where they are now anyone swimming in the swim lane will have the lights in their eyes at night or they might kick/hit them if they do a flip turn while swimming. I would shift them slightly towards the house. Just a bit. This will take care of the above concerns.

How deep are you thinking?

Kim

 

[Srqpoolguy]

Ozone is Somewhat hype Have many of these ozone units at these newer homes here and they don’t do much except cause the return jet to bubble and Look cool. As far as being useful in Florida especially in summer get real. Swg is the much better route. Blue haven has built a number of pools near Sarasota and seem to do good work. Again your dealing with contractors so they all have their quirks. Solid company though.

 

[Cleanmypool]

I came here searching for other info regarding Blue Haven equipment, but saw this post in the results and thought I'd respond, hopefully it isn't too late. We're also in NWFL so using the same Blue Haven office, I'd guess. We went with the ozone before reading here about them. Our pool was only filled in December, but so far, so good. If you haven't made a choice yet, feel free to ask any questions about our build and I can answer!