Our permit approved on wed- on Monday they ripped up the grass and did the lay out tues. today- mud pit. No need for sprinklers
hoping they’ll dig this week
New Pool in Orlando
- Thread starter SchubeyDew
- Start date
hoping they’ll dig this week
You would need to ensure your plumbing is set up to accept the SWCG. You could even install a dummy (a piece of straight PVC with a union on each side) that is cut to the length of which ever SWCG you are considering. This way, you only need to back off the union, insert the SWCG and do final electrical hookup.
I just checked on the circupool prices and it’ll cost me same to buy the system as what the PB wants to put the salt system in. So I guess I’ll be doing it through the PB.
@sureshot015 Sounds like you are just ahead of me. I’m sure irrigation will be fine during the rainy season but it will be end of summer before mine is done.
Ask the PB (or plumber) to build you a dummy with unions. If you ever have to take the SWCG out for service, you can insert the dummy and circulate pool but need to add liquid chlorine. Just something to plan as a contingency.
I’ll ask when the plumber is here, but if they can’t/won’t I am sure I can make one.
Finally making some visual progress! Permitting is done, sod is stripped and the layout was finished a few hours ago. It’s very cool to be able to walk around the future patio area and make sure everything works out spatially. I got to see them coming through with the Bobcat when they stripped the sod and let me tell you, they needed every inch of the 6’ 6” clearance that the PB requested between my a/c unit and the neighbor’s house. I’m feeling very fortunate that things are getting done already. My neighbor is still a few months out from getting anything done despite permitting being done and a few others on my street are even further behind him!
On another note, the TFP gang finally convinced me and I told the PB to add salt, so I’ll be signing that addendum today. Without further adieu, here’s the current status:
Very nice! Glad you have some progress, hopefully your dig is not far behind.
@SchubeyDew how's the process been with Dreamscapes? We started the bidding process with them a while back, and they're in the final 3 PBs on my list. Wouldn't mind hearing how their service has been so far. We're over in the Oviedo area, not sure where you are in the area, but I'm sure we've dealt with a number of the same PBs.
They are doing ours as well & so far we are happy with the process. When we went in to pick the finishes (plaster, tile, pavers etc) I walked in and saw walls of samples and fully expected this to be an upsell process (here are your 3 included choices- the rest are an upcharge kind of thing) and that wasn't the case at all- everything they had on display was an included option. Our designer even talked us out of some upgrades we were on the fence on. They were upfront with a the timeline and so far have stuck with it - which sounds to be a rarity with some builders right now.
@Erik13 We had the same experts Sureshot. I didn’t feel like they tried to sell us anything we didn’t want but when I mentioned the Pentair MagicBowls, they made it happen for a much better price than anyone else. In my original contract I had just gone with chlorine and when I decided to go with salt, not only was it no hassle, but they didn’t charge me the $250 change fee that was in my contract.
Like every other PB in Orlando right now, they don’t give you a heads up of when the subs are coming. If I hadn’t heard that from literally every other thing person I knew who had built a pool in the last year, it would be a deterrent. But it is what it is and my sales guy has been great. He generally responds quickly. We had some companies that took weeks to get back with us and even in today’s world that made us rule them out. If you want to know more about specific PB, shoot me a PM. We talked to probably 6-8 of them. Btw, I am in Winter Garden, but lived in Oviedo previously. Both great areas!
Like every other PB in Orlando right now, they don’t give you a heads up of when the subs are coming. If I hadn’t heard that from literally every other thing person I knew who had built a pool in the last year, it would be a deterrent. But it is what it is and my sales guy has been great. He generally responds quickly. We had some companies that took weeks to get back with us and even in today’s world that made us rule them out. If you want to know more about specific PB, shoot me a PM. We talked to probably 6-8 of them. Btw, I am in Winter Garden, but lived in Oviedo previously. Both great areas!
We're about committed to the same builder, and it's interesting to read this. Our designer pushed back on these as unreliable and prone to cracking.
That’s interesting. My salesperson said that he was one of the first to install these and put them in his pool. I did find that the price on the MagicBowls varied A LOT between builders. I think the lowest (with my PB) was $3300 and the highest was $8500. At one point I though about just having a PB run the electric and piping, but when I saw the quote from these guys I decided to let them do it.
Interesting, I am putting in 2 of them, one of my subs has them at his house and likes them. His only issue was that he installed them when they were brand new and he didn't place them quite right with respect to the edge of the pool and said when they first turn on, they lose a little water, but then no issues. He seems happy with them.
When you guys get to that point, try and stay on top of your plumber to have them get the lines where they need to be (there is a template in the magic bowl box), and to separate the 3 lines (water/electric/drain). My guy put in the niches yesterday and had some trouble adjusting the line location because the plumber had them all bundled together. Wasn't a major issue, but passing on something to make it easier when the niches go in.
My PB did make a note to order the mounting plates as he said that makes it easier to get it right. I just looked at the installation instructions and they don’t mention a “Mounting plate” per se but maybe it’s the niche bracket?
We had some major progress this week! Thursday was the dig and Friday they came and did the steel and initial plumbing. I have to say, each step of this is very exciting, as you can see the pool taking shape more. It was definitely a tight fit between my a/c unit and the neighbor’s house but they made it with the small machines (not micro) without any issues. The picture of the steel was taken at night. I’ll try to get a better one later.
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TampaKathy
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Yes, two main drains because I have two pumps is what the PB told me. One pump is variable speed, the other is single speed. That way I can run the spa and water features at the same time.
That is interesting that they put that second drain (for your single speed pump) on the floor. Mine is on the wall which minimizes debris being sucked into it. I have seen others on the forum with wall mounted water feature drains. probably too late to make any changes but it may be good to ask the PB why he did it that way. You may have something unique that would require it to be on the floor. BTW, my single speed pump for the water feature does not go through any filter other then the pump basket.
Looking great! They'll be blowing concrete soon- they did mine a day after the inspection on the steel/plumbing was signed off.
Yeah, after some thought I decided I would be fine without a filter for the second pump. Less maintenance and not really necessary when the water will get filtered through the rest of the system and rock filters, etc anyway.
@sureshot015 I can’t wait for that part. I feel like they are keeping a good schedule at this point. I’ve heard some horror stories lately about some of these pool builders and their timelines.