Contract Review - New Build Little Elm, TX

[TXSteveO]

I'm getting ready to sign a contract on my first pool... Wondering if I can get a review and comments on anything I might have missed... I was going to omit the builder name but it's so littered throughout the contract that I don't think I could clear every mention...

Here's the design we've landed on minus adjusting that back wall, bc we don't quite feel it's exactly what we're looking for... Maybe some step down or something... If anyone has any design input on the feature wall, that would be appreciated as well..

 

[KCNM]

I know I've seen someone else comment that they can tell a FL pool by the undersized filters, but that filter seems huge for a 14k gallon pool! Bigger means less cleaning, so it's a good thing. But -- and this is for the wider audience -- is this normal for places outside of FL?

You won't need that inline chlorinator. Probably won't save much by removing it either, though.

The have the pump marked as "main filter pump", but I don't see any others? Are all the spa and wall features being powered by the main pump? Have you looked at or discussed pool / spa mode? (I don't have a spa, but I've seen others discussing these kinds of things with theirs.)

Have you looked at what surface and tiles are included in "standard", and discussed what the upcharges for higher tiers are? It would not be great to fall in love with an upgrade, to find it it's going to be thousands more than you expected based on this contract.

 

[TXSteveO]

I know I've seen someone else comment that they can tell a FL pool by the undersized filters, but that filter seems huge for a 14k gallon pool! Bigger means less cleaning, so it's a good thing. But -- and this is for the wider audience -- is this normal for places outside of FL?

You won't need that inline chlorinator. Probably won't save much by removing it either, though.

I asked about the inline chlorinator, and she just mentioned it was there as a precautionary option, should water temps get below a certain level then the SWGC can't do it's job or something to that affect. And she said it really didn't save anything to take it out... So I didn't question her much beyond that...

The have the pump marked as "main filter pump", but I don't see any others? Are all the spa and wall features being powered by the main pump? Have you looked at or discussed pool / spa mode? (I don't have a spa, but I've seen others discussing these kinds of things with theirs.)

Yeah, I did ask about this and saw where some mentioned having a separate pump for pool features to run when in spa mode, but honestly we almost pulled the water features but decided to leave them. I don't think we'll miss not having them run while we enjoy the spa... The features will be more for when we're not using the pool at all and just want some ambiance while chillin on the patio... I think that's where my wife and I landed anyway... heh...

Have you looked at what surface and tiles are included in "standard", and discussed what the upcharges for higher tiers are? It would not be great to fall in love with an upgrade, to find it it's going to be thousands more than you expected based on this contract.

That we have not done. Though we're a little under "budget" here anyway, so I figured if we fell in love with a tile that cost another grand or two, we wouldn't be heart broken to spend for it...

I appreciate the questions though! Tells me I've at least paid some attention here and am learning .. Always more to learn though!

 

[joel98z]

2500.00 down is a bit much compared to other builders in the area. I got 4 different quotes from DFW area builders and none were more than 1500.00 down... May not be an issue for you and just sharing my personal experience.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Steve,

In my mind, flagstone is the worst possible choice for coping...

I have a rent house pool that has flagstone coping.. It was my first house with a pool and it looked like a good choice. At that time it was a standard chlorine pool, it is now a saltwater pool. Over the first couple of years the flagstone "shed" very thin layers of sand into the pool. Again, this was long before I switched to saltwater... It seems to be the specific stone.. Some stones do it and some do not.. There appears to be no rime or reason.. Good and bad stones are right next to one another..

It is like constantly throwing dirt into the pool.. I will never do flagstone again.

As a side note... Changing over to a saltwater pool had no effect on the stones.. the bad ones are still bad and the good ones are still good. This has been going on for 12 years or so...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[HeyEng]

I know I've seen someone else comment that they can tell a FL pool by the undersized filters, but that filter seems huge for a 14k gallon pool! Bigger means less cleaning, so it's a good thing. But -- and this is for the wider audience -- is this normal for places outside of FL?

Our pool is 14K gallons and I LOVE my big arse filter. I only clean it once a year and that might be overkill since the pressure rise is minimal.

 

[KCNM]

Our pool is 14K gallons and I LOVE my big arse filter. I only clean it once a year and that might be overkill since the pressure rise is minimal.

I mean, we're in Florida without a cage. I would have to clean it once a week just for bugs and pollen alone lol.

EDIT: Holy Crud just looked at your pictures and BEAUTIFUL place you have. Absolutely amazing.

 

[TXSteveO]

Steve,

In my mind, flagstone is the worst possible choice for coping...

I have a rent house pool that has flagstone coping.. It was my first house with a pool and it looked like a good choice. At that time it was a standard chlorine pool, it is now a saltwater pool. Over the first couple of years the flagstone "shed" very thin layers of sand into the pool. Again, this was long before I switched to saltwater... It seems to be the specific stone.. Some stones do it and some do not.. There appears to be no rime or reason.. Good and bad stones are right next to one another..

It is like constantly throwing dirt into the pool.. I will never do flagstone again.

As a side note... Changing over to a saltwater pool had no effect on the stones.. the bad ones are still bad and the good ones are still good. This has been going on for 12 years or so...

Thanks,

Jim R.

Yeah, I know there's risk... we went back and forth on this quite a bit and decided to just go with the flagstone and do our best to seal it well and maintain it. I've invested heavily in the 28x15 patio add-on that's all flagstone and want to maintain the consistent look (as in paid for it once, had to rip it out and replace it b/c the first contractor put in garbage stone). I'm expecting to deal with a little bit of this... Hopefully a nice robot will help with keeping the pool clean...