New Build - Oceanside, CA - Tile Picking Time!

[AndyOside]

Hello Everyone,

My wife and I are getting ready to sign a contract with a pool builder and have some questions regarding the design and some feedback on the quote. Before I add some of the design pics here, I was wondering if it was OK to post them as they have the designers name and pool company attached. I can edit that out if it is not allowed. Just making sure I don't break any rules. Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[Texas Splash]

You can post your quote and equipment listing, but it would be better if you blocked out the business name. We'd be happy to look them over.

 

[AndyOside]

Thanks for your reply. We are in the middle stages of our planning, but let me tell you where we are right now.

1. We are set on the linear rectangular pool with off set spa.
2. The wall is goofy high because the equipment has to live behind that wall and so the permit says the wall has to be five feet. We have multiple pics of that walled tiered in different ways and I don't love any of them. The Pool Equipment can't live anywhere else that makes sense without a ton of extra cost, or reducing the pool size.
3. The quote is vague in parts and I know I need to get more detail, but what exactly should I be looking for. I understand how to price the equipment, but everything else is a bit of mystery.
4. SWCG is the current thinking.
I am sure I forgot to put in same basic things, so please ask away and I will do my best.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

 

[Ahultin]

I'm not an expert by any means but adding in some of the upgrades that our pb included in his bid you are approaching what we are paying (in the same market area) and we have the grotto/slide and overall larger dimensions

 

[AndyOside]

@Ahultin That is interesting. Do you mind if I pm you directly regarding your quote. The two quotes I have on basically the same pool are 5K apart, but one designer is much more responsive and communicative, unfortunately, he's the more expense quote.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Design of the pool: spillway of spa is too wide and will throw water onto the deck. Water naturally will get wider as it falls and from 18” and the spillway looks to be as wide as the coping of the pool under it.
Layout and excavation: Dump site charges, find out the cost and if it’s for dirt or secondary material. What if you have a cave in due to rain and who is responsible for the removal of soil to bring back the original form of the pool walls and or floor. Extra hours for excavation at what cost per hour? You are responsible for keeping the area secure from the public during construction (safety fencing)
Steps and Benches: be involved in the locations of these elevations in the spa so they work for you and your body height.
Plumbing: “hydraulically balanced” ask for the written formula (friction loss, run lengths, pump curvature) of how
they came up with it.
Shotcrete: ask for at least 1-copy of the Shotcrete delivery form to prove a 4,000 psi mix and how much time was in between leaving the plant and on scene for delivery and if any water was added after it was mixed at the plant.
Decking: because the p/b is not installing deck work I suggest that your deck contractor be on site during the layout of the pool to insure that the elevation is correct for the proper fall of the deck away from the pool and away from the house.
Equipment: I favor the Pentair Quad DE 100 filter when possible ( some cities do not allow DE filters), pentair globrite led 12 v. lights, pentair rebel pool sweep is expensive to replace parts on down the road.
Hope this gives you a few things to consider during the process, Ray.

 

[AndyOside]

Thanks for the feedback. I am going to get another quote after @Ahultin's comment, so I will be back to you guys after I have that in hand.

 

[AndyOside]

Updated design and new quote. Would love any feedback on the quote or the design. I am pretty sold on this builder, so just looking for anything that strikes you all as way out of whack. Again, this is for San Diego County, so the costs might be more than other parts of the country. We don't plan on the umbrella or chair, he just added those in for perspective. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

I would consider cutting the step in the spa at a 45 so you can have an area to step in front to walk past the step instead of having to step around it.
Is the spa elevation at 0” ? When some one exit’s the spa it will be replaced by the water from the pool at whatever temperature that is. Unless you keep the pool water level below the spa spillway this will occur.

 

[Cena_sea]

I like your new wall design. The tall wall blends a lot nicer. In theory it seems too high, but it could end up looking impressive. A member on here had a build with a 6 foot wall and it looked great. A couple of builders discussed a double retaining wall (another wall behind the pool wall but I'm not sure if you have the space to build that (we chose not to).

Edit: Sent pm with pricing details.

 

[AndyOside]

I would consider cutting the step in the spa at a 45 so you can have an area to step in front to walk past the step instead of having to step around it.
Is the spa elevation at 0” ? When some one exit’s the spa it will be replaced by the water from the pool at whatever temperature that is. Unless you keep the pool water level below the spa spillway this will occur.

Thanks for the idea about the 45 on the step, I completely agree. I am sure the spa elevation will be above the pool level by a few inches, but it will be something I button down before we move forward.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

One other thing to consider is having all the 90 degree corners “fish bowled” so your pool sweep will have less chance of getting stuck. This would need to be done during Shotcrete.

 

[kylevanarsdale]

@Ahultin That is interesting. Do you mind if I pm you directly regarding your quote. The two quotes I have on basically the same pool are 5K apart, but one designer is much more responsive and communicative, unfortunately, he's the more expense quote.

@Ahultin & @AndyOside - I am currently in process of working with various pool builders for estimates in San Diego proper. Would you be able to PM me? I have a few questions but cannot figure out how to PM. Thanks in advance.

 

[AndyOside]

Sorry for the lack of updates it has been a crazy time.

Good news, the process has begun! Last week was demo of the current decking and excavation. Despite having the a GPR (ground penetrating radar) company come and identify the utilities, we were still able to hit both a sewer and water within the first few hours of the dig. I am now disputing the bill with the GPR company since I had to pay a plumber to come out to reroute all those pipes out of the pool at an increased rate because the water is to my tenants house not mine. I "camped" out of my house without water or gas for three days.

The good news is that the backyard has been more than half trenched for the PB and it will hopefully make the plumbing go quicker once we get to that step. Everything else seems to be going to plan as steel should come in this week. More pictures to come as this all moves forward.

 

[Smalone]

I would consider swapping out one of your shear descents for a rainfall version. Much nicer sound.

 

[AndyOside]

Smalone - thanks for your thought, I have debated about it and I think I like the looks of the sheer descents a bit more and with two of them, there should be plenty of sound, our backyard is pretty well enclosed.

Steel goes in tomorrow.

 

[AndyOside]

Steel finished. Excited for plumbing to start on Tuesday. Deciding between EasyTouch/Screen Logic v. Intellicenter. And soon the fun part, tile and wall design.

 

[AndyOside]

Plumbing started today and everything is going as planned. Or at least from what my untrained eye can tell. One thing is that came up is that we did not discuss jet height with our PB, and he put in what he felt was standard. I read a few other threads where jet height was somewhat debated. I feel like this is something that should have been decided previous to plumbing, but it looks as if we can adjust bench height at shotcrete so this might be a moot issue.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Seat height is determined at Shotcrete, have the information of your request relayed to the supervisor or head crew member of the Shotcrete crew, most common is 21“ to 24”

 

[AndyOside]

The most wonderful time of the build! It's time to cull some tile and make some decisions. We have the big pool wall, water line and spillover tile to figure out by the end of the week. The elimination process starts today.