New Pool, East Coast of Florida

[Skooma]

Hello!

We are new the world of building pools, though we've both had them in our childhood homes. There are so many choices and things out there, so we are trying to do our research.

I've got some questions for the experts if you don't mind!
Some background:
We are building on the mid-east coast of Florida so the ground is pretty much sand.
We have three young kiddos ranging from infant to 8 years old and we plan on living in this house for the next 10+ years.
The pool will be used for splish splash family fun, as well as swimming to stay active and healthy.

Things we've decided so far:
- a sun shelf with bubblers for the kids
- automation [Intelliconnect?] & salt water system - ideally Pentair
- a screen enclosure but we may not be able to do it right away.
- slow slope stairs [as close to zero entry as possible - we figured along the side of the sunshelf]
- as much pool as we can get for our yard. PBs seem to be recommending 15x30 so we still have grass and deck on either side.

Things we'd love feedback on:

- Spa: One of us wants one, the other is indifferent. We can reduce our pool cost by at least $10K if we remove the spa. Is it a terrible idea for us to skip the spa and just plumb for a spa addition, or even a standalone spa to build in the future?
- Decking : we cant make up our minds and pavers have been a huge chunk of our PB quotes. Any recommendations for decks in Florida keeping the sugar-sand ground and heat in mind? Is a concrete deck really that bad?
- In your experience, will a PB let you supply things i.e decking and pool system? I'm not sure we are brave enough to go owner-builder though we've had a land clearing contractor offer to help find subs if we want to go that route.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!! <3

 

[Tegguy]

Let me preface this with I have never owned or built a pool but we have had them quoted and we are going down the owner build side of things now.

- Spa: One of us wants one, the other is indifferent. We can reduce our pool cost by at least $10K if we remove the spa. Is it a terrible idea for us to skip the spa and just plumb for a spa addition, or even a standalone spa to build in the future?

Unforuntatly this comes down to personal preference and my wife and I went down the same path (I wanted one she didn't) but utlimatly ended up with a spa after talking with neighbors. We got mixed reviews but ultimately we decided that if we were going to do it now was the time do. The other option would have been a stand alone spa.

- Decking : we cant make up our minds and pavers have been a huge chunk of our PB quotes. Any recommendations for decks in Florida keeping the sugar-sand ground and heat in mind? Is a concrete deck really that bad?

We ended up with Pavers because the acrylic/concrete decking stains and cracks but it's really personal preference. To help control temp we have been told to stay toward the lighter colors.

- In your experience, will a PB let you supply things i.e decking and pool system? I'm not sure we are brave enough to go owner-builder though we've had a land clearing contractor offer to help find subs if we want to go that route.

I think this will depend on the individual builder honestly and they will probably have caviots if they do allow you do. My experience is no they won't because they want the markup on their productions (20-30% typically) but you can always tell them you'll find your own paver company.

 

[Newdude]

The spa debate is easy. You fit into one of 2 categories and you go that route. Built in pool spas are for entertaining but not comfort. If you want 6 people to have a good socializing time in hot water, its the way to go. If you want to have 75 jets massaging you with a heavenly experience, then a standalone hot tub is the way to go.

Both options can go a little into the others territory. The grandkids could pop in the standalone for a few minutes while you and you wife enjoy the massage, or everybody in the built in tub can have *some* of the hot tub experience while socializing with one or two jets per person.