Fiberglass Consult Soon - What Did You Wish You Asked?

[Mona1986]

Hi TFP Community! I have my first consultation soon with what hopefully will become my future PB I’ve been waiting for about 3 months just to talk to a salesperson, so I have had a lot of time to fester and think haha. I have compiled a list of questions I intend to ask below. Was wondering if you could review and then add on anything you think Im missing? Basically all you people with pools (especially fiberglass), what did you not think to ask or wish you asked when just starting out. I have also listed what I’m pretty decided to go with and what Im still debating pool/equipment wise, in case that helps gear what questions I need to pose. FYI the PB I am planning to work with is located in my state close by and specializes in fiberglass.

I’m pretty settled on the following…

• Cartridge for Filter (get bigger size than needed, unsure on brand/model)
• SWG (get cell rated for 2x pool volume, unsure on brand/model)
• Fiberglass
• Rectangle Shape
• No tanning ledge or water features (I want to go basic because of budget + reduce the amount of things that can go wrong/have issues)
• LED lights (probably 2 depending on the cost)
• Cantilevered coping (unsure on color)
• Brushed concrete (probably grey color)
• VS pump (unsure on brand/model)
• Timers (unsure on brand/model)
• Decking amount - I know people always say a big complaint is not getting enough decking. I think my yard has a good foundation and I don’t really host parties or have a lot of people over. I already have a 12 by 25 feet patio that starts right at the house. I basically am thinking to add a total of 4 ft (including coping) around both widths. One width would butt up to where the patio is now, therefore making the patio 16 feet long. How much to add to the length sides of pool will depend on how wide my pool is (how much I can afford). I plan to add as much concrete as needed to the length sides to make it flush with the current patio that is 25 feet wide. The amount of concrete on the length side of the pools will depend on how big of a pool I can afford. If it’s a 16 foot width pool, then it would be 4.5 on each side. But if its 10 foot width pool it would be 7.5 on each side.

I’m still debating on the following…

• Heat pump vs gas heater (leaning towards heat pump but unsure on brand/model)
• Manual vacuum vs robot (leaning towards robot if I can afford but unsure on brand/model)
• Covers. I just learned my fence is slightly below 4 feet (required code), so Im in the process to get fence estimates now. Instead of getting the fence up to code (which then also requires getting specific alarms on several doors and windows because house serves as 1 side of fence) I could look at an auto cover if it meets certain standard. So I have an inquiry out to a company (coversafe) on how much that is. So I feel like my covering options could go 2 ways. As much as I like the idea of an auto cover for convenience, I know its going to be probably a lot more $$$ upfront then the fence, plus I really want to avoid adding too many components to the pool because the more I add the more expenses it will be to maintain and the more opportunity for things to break and go wrong.
  • Get the fence updated, add the alarms, use a solar cover in season with reel, use a loop loc during winter. Still debating about a solid with pump, a full mesh, or a solid with mesh panel
  • Leave the fence, get an auto cover, use a loop loc during winter. Still debating about a solid with pump, a full mesh, or a solid with mesh panel

Questions I plan to ask about during consultation...

1. Timeline
   1. What is the current expected start date to being work and how long is it expected to take to completion?
   2. At what point will a deposit need to be made and how will that impact the start date if it is not made by then?
   3. Is there a timeline of all activities laid out and indicating how many visits will be needed?
   4. What repercussions will I have if the project is not completed in time?
2. Pool Equipment
   1. Can I choose all my own equipment?
   2. Can I choose to buy the equipment myself vs having it as part of pool package (is this something that would even be beneficial for me to do?)
   3. By what point in the project do decisions have to be made about equipment models/types?
   4. At what point during the project will I have to make a decision about an auto cover if I want one?
   5. How is the coordination done between you and the auto cover company?
   6. What are the recommendations or limits for where the filter, pump, heat option, and SWG are located in relation to pool?
   7. Does the pool equipment need to be sitting lower than the pool? Are there any restrictions or recommendations?
   8. Will plastic or concrete be used for the pool equipment area?
3. Qualifications and Labor
   1. What are all the aspects of the entire project from start to finish that will be subbed out?
   2. How are subcontractors chosen?
   3. Can I get a list of all the subcontractors that will be used including full company name and EIN?
   4. How do you verify what kind of business licenses, contractor licenses, trade licenses, and insurance the sub contractors have?
   5. What kind of business licenses, contractor licenses, trade licenses, and insurance amounts do you have?
   6. Are you responsible for any and all of the subcontractor work, meaning if the sub contractor makes a mistake or error that you will be responsible to cover and fix it?
   7. What are all the aspects of the project that the actual project manager will be on sight to oversee?
   8. When project manager is not onsite, who will oversee the work?
   9. Who will own getting all the needed permits and documents, making requests to the HOA, county, etc, and arranging inspections?
   10. What are all the quality standards that will be measured and checked during the process (i.e level tolerance, etc)?
   11. Who owns dirt removal?
   12. What do I do if I don’t like or feel comfortable with how something was done? Who do I contact and when they will come to verify the work/issue?
   13. Who and when will it be verified if there needs to be any extra electrical, plumbing, or gas line work?
4. Pricing
   1. How can I get a breakdown of the total quote and to know what is standard included, what is optional, what can be upgraded, etc?
   2. What types of situations can be run into that were not known beforehand that could add extra cost or time? How can we work together to help remove them?
   3. Is the project pricing done as a flat fixed cost or can there be variables? If yes to variable pricing, what is everything that is NOT fixed price?
   4. What is the payment schedule?
5. SOW and Quality
   1. Will you mfg the pool?
   2. What is needed to fully confirm if a crane will be needed or not?
   3. How is the pool placed in the ground?
   4. What happens if upon initial placement, pool is not leveled? What process is used to get it level?
   5. What is used to backfill under/around pool and how is that done (should be clean gravel, no dust)?
   6. What is placed for ground water removal and how?
   7. How is bonding done?
   8. Can you handle to install looploc anchors along with the project build?
   9. What is done during the process to ensure that walls will not bow in or out?
   10. What is done during the process to ensure that benches and stairs will remain level?
   11. What kind of HW will be used and installed? If package assume standard, cheaper material – are there upgrade options and if so what?
   12. I plan for a SWG to be used – will certain types of HW or materials be better suited?
   13. What materials will be used for plumbing (should not use flexible PVC pipe)?
   14. How will plumbing be secured?
   15. How and when is pressure testing for the plumbing?
   16. How will the cantilevered coping be done to ensure that it is straight and smooth?
   17. Is an overflow port an option to drain water out of the pool? If so how is that done and how much does it add?
   18. When will it be confirmed if a retaining wall is necessary?
   19. Do you perform pool maintenance and service/repairs? If not, who do you recommend and why?
   20. How do you recommend pool winterizing is done for this area climate and fiberglass?
6. Warranty and References
   1. Are all warranty claims handled through you? If not, which ones?
   2. What are the warranty terms and conditions (duration, start date, response time, what is covered vs not covered)
   3. For the entire project scope, what is NOT guaranteed (i.e concrete color)?
   4. Why do your references for customers stop in 2018 (online has 67 pages worth)?

 

[sean316]

I asked about a sump tube and they told me I do not need one. I let it go...... Now I have a bunch of glass, metal and tile (lost house due to a fire) in my pool and have to drain it with no sump tube. Don't settle if you don't like their answers.

 

[Nectarologist]

• Heat pump vs gas heater (leaning towards heat pump but unsure on brand/model)
  • 100% gas. You won't need the heat in July and August (or at least only minimal) but in the shoulder months you'll want it quickly. If you have a nice weekend coming up you need to run the heat pump all week. With gas you can turn the heater on the day before to get it up to temp. This assumes you have natural gas (propane would be cost prohibitive for me)
• Manual vacuum vs robot (leaning towards robot if I can afford but unsure on brand/model)
  • Robot but nothing wrong with manual the first year. it's not like a light in the pool that you have to do now.

Ask who will be responsible for obtaining permits, arranges inspections, and who is responsible to close out the permit.

 

[Homebrewale]

My opinion is different on heat pump vs gas heater. Our pool is used almost every single day during the shoulder months. It is more economical for us to use a heat pump to maintain the water temperature than it would with a gas heater. If we were only using it occasionally on weekends, then I would have a gas heater.

 

[Texas Splash]

I wish I would've requested an overflow port. That way I wouldn't have to manually pump water out of the pool during heavy rains.

 

[Homebrewale]

I wish I would've requested an overflow port. That way I wouldn't have to manually pump water out of the pool during heavy rains.

It was one of the few things my pool builder added where I didn't ask. Now for the others, it was a different story.

"Why didn't you install good valves instead of cheap ball valves?" Response - you didn't ask.
"Why didn't you install unions on the inlet and outlet to the sand filter so I could remove the multi-port valve? Response - you didn't ask.

To the OP, it is good that you are asking a lot of questions. The PB assumes you will ask if you want some standard equipment upgraded. I didn't not what to ask when I built my pool since it was my first one.

 

[JamesW]

Here is what I suggest for the general contractor and all subcontractors:

The full legal name of the company as it is registered with the state, which might be the single sole proprietor’s name and any DBA (Doing Business As) names the company uses.

Full contact information for the company including website, email, physical address, phone, EIN, registered agent if any etc.

For any business with a “Fictitious” or DBA (Doing Business As) name, there has to be a state or local registration of the “Fictitious” or DBA (Doing Business As) name as associated to the full legal name of the company, which is the person’s name if a sole proprietor or a corporation or LLC or Partnership.

A business license if required (Verify that it is active and in good standing).

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) if required or available.

A sales tax permit if they will charge sales tax on products they itemize (retail) like chemicals, parts, supplies etc. (Verify that it is active and in good standing)

A contractor’s license if required by the city, state or federal government depending on the type and scope of work. (Verify that it is active and in good standing)

A trade license for any work requiring a trade license like plumbing or electrical. (Verify that it is active and in good standing)

All owner information including a comprehensive detailed profile of all qualifications, work history, background check verification including civil, criminal and traffic from all courts anywhere.

Check all reviews from any site like BBB, Google, Yelp, Porch, Thumbtack, Amazon etc.

You want insurance including (Verify that it is active and in good standing):

General Liability.

Errors and Omissions for any professional work, especially if the work requires a trade license.

Umbrella (Preferred).

Commercial Auto.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance if the business has employees.

Surety Bond in an amount of the total cost of the job (Minimum).

Verify that a building permit was issued before the contractor does any work requiring a permit.

Some information is available online, but it can be complicated and time consuming to find what exact qualifications are required and if the company actually meets the requirements.

Worker’s compensation insurance information might be available online, but other insurance and bond verifications need to be provided by the company.

At least 3 references that you can check and check the references.

What are the quality control metrics such as what is considered to be “Industry Standard” for things like level etc?

Is level +/- 2.0” or +/- 0.25”?

Note that the more questions you ask, the more likely it is that a contractor will see you as being too much trouble to deal with.

How much do you do to check a business?

A recent thread shows how a business stole money from customers: https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/pool-contractor-in-houston-charged-with-theft-of-150-000.249063/ The question is: What due diligence did the homeowners do, if any, and would it have been enough to protect them? Here is...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Mona1986]

I asked about a sump tube and they told me I do not need one. I let it go...... Now I have a bunch of glass, metal and tile (lost house due to a fire) in my pool and have to drain it with no sump tube. Don't settle if you don't like their answers.

So sorry to hear about loss of house :-( I hope everyone made it out ok

 

[JamesW]

Here are some more questions you can ask.

When will the project begin?

When will it be completed?

How certain is the timeline?

What happens if the project is not started or completed on time?

How many total visits will be required?

What are the major steps?

What’s included?

What’s not included?

What’s extra or optional?

What are things that might happen that would be an extra expense that can’t be known beforehand?

What is the exact equipment list including make and model of everything?

What is the manufacturer’s warranty?

What is the installer’s warranty?

What equipment pad will be provided?

Who are the subcontractors for electrical and plumbing (if any)?

For example a gas heater would require a gas line run and connected by a licensed plumber.

Who will provide the crane service to lift the pool into place?

You can look up information about the companies online like lien filings, licenses (business, contractor, trade etc.).

You can check with the state contractor licensing division to see if there are any complaints.

 

[Mona1986]

Note that the more questions you ask, the more likely it is that a contractor will see you as being too much trouble to deal with.

How much do you do to check a business?

A recent thread shows how a business stole money from customers: https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/pool-contractor-in-houston-charged-with-theft-of-150-000.249063/ The question is: What due diligence did the homeowners do, if any, and would it have been enough to protect them? Here is...

www.troublefreepool.com

James - that was really good list to check! Thanks! Yes I am sure the PB will see me as a nuisance haha. And with the industry being so tight and I'm sure they have so many other projects they could do, I may be turning them off. But that's ok If it doesn't work out, I'll take it as it wasn't meant to be.

 

[JamesW]

There are many online resources you can check to find out as much as possible without asking the company directly.

 

[Mona1986]

Thank you to all for the replies - definitely very good information and call outs mentioned! I edited my post to include these and organized it. I'm sure I wont have as much time in the initial meeting to go over everything, but I'll continue to compile any further feedback you all have narrow it down to the most important ones to fit the time block

 

[sean316]

So sorry to hear about loss of house :-( I hope everyone made it out ok

We did. It started at the neighbors house, luckily we heard a propane tank explode and wake us up. Got both dogs out but couldn't find the cat. After 6 hours and the fire being put out, the cat walked right up to a fire fighter on a last walk of the house for hot spots. The cat hates people but that day his attitude changed lol

 

[Mona1986]

We did. It started at the neighbors house, luckily we heard a propane tank explode and wake us up. Got both dogs out but couldn't find the cat. After 6 hours and the fire being put out, the cat walked right up to a fire fighter on a last walk of the house for hot spots. The cat hates people but that day his attitude changed lol

Oh my goodness! How scary. Happy to hear not only people family, but pet family made it through! Everything but lives can be replaced