New Geometric Owner Build in Orlando

[coastertrav]

Which color did you pick for the travertine?

The travertine is called Light Beige and is from Baystone. It’ll eventually be laid in a French pattern.

The guys worked for quite a while on Friday leveling the ground and getting started, but the weather made them stop early. Should be back Monday to finish the job, but here’s some progress pics.

 

[tampatommy]

Absolutely beautiful. Just went to Stone Mart yesterday and paid 7400 for 1700sq ft of it in Ivory. Your pics re-assure my choice!

 

[kimkats]

That is coming out great! That is one of my fav patterns!

Kim

 

[coastertrav]

Quick update!

Deck is all done and progress has slowed during the holidays. Should be starting the clean out for plaster the first week of January.

Question to the other owner builders/pool contractors, when you are dividing up the scope and need things like water feature weir boxes set where the interface between the masonry, plumbing and tile/rock work is all critical. Do you self perform that or pick a sub to do the install. Also site prep items like removing and replacing fence panels for site access. Currently I’m doing all that work myself, but those small scope items don’t seem feasible to do on every job if you were a contractor, and while there are plenty of ambitious owner builders out there I don’t see a ton self performing work on this site and there are some beautiful water features out there.

 

[kimkats]

That is a very good question. One I had not really thought about before. I wonder if the owner does a lot of the work without really saying anything about it. That could be part of the way they saved money. If it is not something you feel comfortable doing or just don't want to do I bet you could have the trade that is dealing with something like it do the work for a price. I know a lot of PB pools will ask a trade to do some work on the side for some cash paid at the time of the work.

Kim

 

[coastertrav]

Kim, that’s what I was thinking too. I’ve talked with a few big builders (not in my area since the local guys take offense that I’m doing this myself) and the response I’ve gotten is that they have their own guys that are trained in the complicated interfacing scope. I’ve found that the finish tile guys are pretty good for taking care of any finish items needed, and every sub will do things for a price, but that price can be heavily inflated if it’s not their bread and butter scope.

 

[John_and_Val]

What is the name of your waterline tile?

 

[coastertrav]

Update!

Got all the electrical work completed over the past few weeks and got past our Final Electrical and Safety inspections. Tested the Globrites out briefly and lit up the entire backyard.

Got a landscape designer onboard as well and got the design complete and landscape installed, then later this week the pebble was done and now we’re waiting on them to come back to acid wash and start the fill (was supposed to be today, but this crew has a no call, no show habit).

Beyond the trouble of getting the guys on site to do the work, the crew was super experienced and did a phenomenal job. Two of the guys said they started plastering pools in ‘91, and one of the others started in ‘94.

On to the finished pics of plaster and landscaping!

Up next I’ve got to finish the water features and install some landscape lighting. (As well as get through all the final inspections).

 

[kimkats]

so close to being DONE!!!

When you/they start the water into the pool do NOT stop it before it hits the middle of the waterline tile. Stopping it could cause a ring in the plaster that is next to impossible to get out

You should also put a sock or something on the end of the hose to keep the metal off the plaster and it also helps as a filter. You may be surprised to see how much stuff it catches.

Kim

 

[ctrav]

Coming along nicely...when does the water go in? Don't forget to check water meter before and after to get your approx gallons!

 

[coastertrav]

Coming along nicely...when does the water go in? Don't forget to check water meter before and after to get your approx gallons!

Water is currently going in, should be around 13.5k gallons, but it’ll be interesting to see the exact amount.

 

[CaveDiver1932]

Looks great. What startup method is the PB using? Did they start the fill immediately or wait 5-6 hours?
Cd

 

[coastertrav]

Looks great. What startup method is the PB using? Did they start the fill immediately or wait 5-6 hours?
Cd

They started the full right after acid washing. The finishing sub is using an acid startup.

 

[coastertrav]

Pool is almost full!

Quick water photo from this morning!

 

[Poolbella]

Looks amazing!

 

[PoolForce]

wow, really beautiful, one question if you don't mind, how much you saved handling the project by yourself instead hiring pool builders?

 

[kimkats]

LOVING that color!!!! SWEET!

Kim

 

[coastertrav]

Getting so close to the finished product. Got a bunch of small punchlist items to knock out (hopefully get most done next weekend). Got the landscape and hardscape lighting in last weekend, and had a problem with the plaster install fixed (they plastered over one of the deep water returns, but were able to chip it out after the fact and smooth out the area around to be acceptable).

wow, really beautiful, one question if you don't mind, how much you saved handling the project by yourself instead hiring pool builders?

I have been getting this question a lot lately, and have a possibly loaded answer. We didn't save a dime. In fact, we went over budget by about $4k
To expand on that, when we started, my wife and I set a budget and had a few quotes by a couple of builders, and figured I could do it for less. These quotes were all at the top of our budget, and of course didn't include landscaping, sod replacement, irrigation or lighting beyond the pool light. During the project we upgraded finishes, built more deck then planned, added water features, added automation, added color led lighting, completely landscape the back yard, added landscape and hardscape lighting, expanded the pool by 3' lengthwise, upgraded the filtration, pump, skimmer and main drain, re-did all the irrigation for the new sod-less backyard to a complete drip system and purchased some furniture that was way nicer than planned. We did all that for only $4k more than our original budget.

A local builder came over the other day to check out the project and said I built an $80k pool. Using that number and subtracting out the landscaping and other items the builder wouldn't be handling our savings would have been around 30%. The biggest positive for me however has been the control over the project, and the fact that there haven't been any surprises or corners cut (that I didn't know about till after the fact). If I was doing this all over again there is almost nothing I'd change and I'd definitely go the OB route again.

One more quick photo of the lighting so far.

 

[tampatommy]

So, all in, where do sit now for the full project, including the landscaping and irrigation? I read your post as the builder would charge 80 for pool and i assume deck as well.... does that mean you saved about 30% at the $80k mark?

Just trying to gauge what we will save doing OB. Our entire project, repairs, sod, irrigation, fascia board, gas tank, pool, deck, etc etc will be right around 80. Im assuming the number if i used a builder for all services would be in the 105/110 range.

 

[coastertrav]

So, all in, where do sit now for the full project, including the landscaping and irrigation? I read your post as the builder would charge 80 for pool and i assume deck as well.... does that mean you saved about 30% at the $80k mark?

Just trying to gauge what we will save doing OB. Our entire project, repairs, sod, irrigation, fascia board, gas tank, pool, deck, etc etc will be right around 80. Im assuming the number if i used a builder for all services would be in the 105/110 range.

Answered you in a PM.