New Pool - SE Pennsylvania

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Here is some free advice. I'm an attorney and I do a lot of settlement negotiations. First, whatever you demand don't make it so high that he simply doesn't respond. I'm a defense attorney, so I'm generally the one that is paying the money. Sometimes, the Plaintiff will make a demand that is so ridiculous that I simply do not respond to it. Second, whatever you demand, make sure that there is some logic behind how you came up with the figure. For example. I am paying you for a pool that was supposed to be xxx sq ft. That comes up to xxx per sq ft. You gave me a pool that is xxx sq ft. I think you need to reduce your cost by xxx dollars. However, be willing to negotiate. Third, and perhaps the most important, don't lose your cool, but be firm. You don't want to argue with him where he simply "bows up" and tells you this is all he is willing to do. Finally, if at all possible, don't get an attorney involved unless you have no other choice. Sometimes, we can make things a lot worse.

That's just my .02 cents. Take it for whatever it is worth.
 
I think AUPatrick has excellent advice and it already sounds like that's the tact you're taking by having it surveyed to get the actual numbers.

Keep us posted! I'm sorry for the headache this causes for you but it's always helpful to all of us to see how things are resolved. We're cheering for you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Update.... I want to thank everyone for their suggestions on here and private messages.

So after a long back and forth with the PB we came to an agreement. In the grand scheme of things my wife and I aren't concerned about the dimensions of the pool to cause massive issues with the PB. We would rather keep a good relationship with the PB (warranty issues, ongoing maintenance, etc) than burn all bridges in making some demands that I know would results in both parties hating each other.

In the end the PB admits the size is smaller than contracted. We came to a monetary price reduction (in the low 4 digits), and an upgrade to a colored plaster ($1,000 value). Wife and I are happy. We want to keep things civil, since we realize that there will be many times in the future we need to work with the PB. I think the PB is happy because he can put this obvious mistake behind him (and hopefully learn to measure better.... lol). Honestly now that the landscaping is coming together, i like the size/shape of the pool and won't look at it thinking it should be a different shape or bigger. The yard is finally feeling normal again!

So here are the updates since my last major post.
- Hardscaping is almost done. The contractor needs to come out and install a few more drains near the patio on the upside of the pool. We had some significant rain over the past week and noticed water pooling in some areas. He owes us 50 feet of additional drainage piping, so we will utilize that (and probably more) to take care of low lying areas.
- Retaining wall ended up almost double in size from original estimate.
- Landscaper added in steps toward the shed.
- Random flagstone walkway from house to patio, patio to shed, patio to equipment pad, and firepit to yard.
- Final grading is done.
- I did the seeding (200lbs of fine fescue) over 8,000sq/ft. We are just trying to grow grass everywhere right now to stabilize the yard.
- Wife and I have started planting plants. See photos below of various plants we are starting to arrange. We won't plant alot of them until the landscaper finishes the drainage issue.
- Landscaper broke a light during install. You will see it missing alongside the stepping stones between the deck and patio.
- Waiting for the firepit accessory kit to come in. Includes liner, tools, cooking grate, and spark screen.
- Figuring out the furniture situation, as you will see various tables and chairs around the patio.
- Fencing completed.
- Tomorrow the PB comes out to install the diving board and clean out the pool to be ready for plaster.
- Electrician out tomorrow to wire the lights and equipment pad.
- Plaster to scheduled for Thursday.
- Water being delivered Friday.

Here are a bunch of pictures. Not in any specific order.































 
So glad you were able to come to an amicable resolution. Everything is looking fantastic. I also did the same thing with grass everywhere inside the fence to stabilize. It's easy to kill later then cover with mulch. Good spring for growing grass, not so much for warming pool water. Last year the water was 75 on May 11th. Today it's 60.

One plant that many aren't crazy about but I like for its tropical appearance and it's tough as nails durability is just the standard yucca filamentosa. They get large in diameter by clumping over time and shoot up really cool ivory blooms on stalks about 6' tall that tower above the swordlike foliage. They aren't for everyone though. I also planted lots of the orange, yellow and red flavored cone flowers that are the newer varieties. Shasta daisies, Big Blue liriope, Drift groundcover roses (a cousin to the upright Knockout roses), hibiscus and others. I know you didn't ask, but I am so reminded of our pool when I see your setting it just gets me excited about our plants.

I know you said you saw our build, so just a reminder that colored regular plaster will be mottled in appearance. And you may see trowel patterns or other general swaths of coloration. We love it. You can read about our mix in our build. Are you going grey or blue in color direction? If you start freaking about the decision you can come see ours. It was an easy part of our decision making. The DW liked the color water I was promising and delivered.

Again, good job moving forward.
 

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Update...

- Plaster was done a week ago (Last Thursday). They did it late in the afternoon and didn't finish until maybe 6 or 7pm. Too late for the water trucks to fill the pool, so we started with my well water. I left it running somewhat slowly, as to not cause a ring in the plaster, but to keep it filling. The water trucks showed early Friday morning. Three in all.

- For some reason the plaster subs thought they could drive on the repaired/seeded/graded lawn. They backed their truck right into the yard because they were too lazy to run an extra 20 feet of hose. Needless to say I was upset. According to my contract the PB is supposed to have a senior person on site at all phases of construction, which they did not during plaster. The PB admitted the mistake and is paying to have the upper part of the yard re-graded with fresh topsoil. They recently dumped a few yards of topsoil in the rutted area, and I expect it to be spread within the next few days.

- The PB has been out everyday brushing and checking the water chemistry. I am told they do this for the first 30 days.

- Have some issues with the landscaping. They need to fix some water issues around the top of the patio, where water has been pooling after rainfall. The solution will be a 70ft long french drain installed along the edge of the patio, topped with river rock that matches the opposite side of the pool. They will put a 2 foot wide strip of the rock along the whole top side of the pool above the french drain. The drain will then be converted to a normal drainage pipe and taken down beyond our equipment pad, which eventually drains towards a creek. We are stopping the drainage pipe well short of the wetlands setback on the property.

- Wife and I have continued buying various plant for around the pool as you can see in the pictures below. For now we are just trying to grow grass everywhere to stabilize the grounds. In the future we will convert a lot of the areas to mulched garden beds.

- One concern the wife and I have is the uniform color of the plaster. We asked for a medium grey. From the day it was done we noticed some severe difference in color variations throughout. Although it has gotten better over the past week, it is still very blotchy throughout. On a lot of the hard edges (tanning shelf, steps, benches) the color is much whiter. You can also see obvious trowel marks throughout. Take a look at the pictures below and let me know what you think. I sent an email to the PB with some pics earlier tonight and am waiting a response.

























Ryan
 
The mottled coloration is very similar to ours. I try to mention to everyone that is getting "colored" plaster that it will not be close to uniform. Yours does have some 'harder' areas of different coloration than ours but it is just due to the troweling and subsequent separation of the mixture of cement, marble dust and colorant (Diamondbrite or other) that was used. It may continue to lessen a bit but will remain noticeable. It's just the nature of the beast. Best plan honestly is to come to appreciate the uniqueness of the finish. Plain plaster is much more common in this region than down south, so most visitors will think your pool coloration is cool. Some may suggest an acid wash, but with colored plaster I'm not sure how beneficial that will be.

Glad to hear they have a revised plan for the drainage. Did they not install the original 250'? Or was that insufficient?
 
bmoreswim said:
The mottled coloration is very similar to ours. I try to mention to everyone that is getting "colored" plaster that it will not be close to uniform. Yours does have some 'harder' areas of different coloration than ours but it is just due to the troweling and subsequent separation of the mixture of cement, marble dust and colorant (Diamondbrite or other) that was used. It may continue to lessen a bit but will remain noticeable. It's just the nature of the beast. Best plan honestly is to come to appreciate the uniqueness of the finish. Plain plaster is much more common in this region than down south, so most visitors will think your pool coloration is cool. Some may suggest an acid wash, but with colored plaster I'm not sure how beneficial that will be.

Glad to hear they have a revised plan for the drainage. Did they not install the original 250'? Or was that insufficient?
Click to expand...

bmoreswim, they never installed "all" of the 250ft in the contract. So the additional drainage they just installed yesterday included some of that original amount. Basically we got a large amount of additional piping installed at a discounted price.

Ryan
 
Update...

Well we are just about done.

-Plaster was done almost 2 weeks ago. Since then the color is starting to darken and even out. Still not allowed in for another 1-2 weeks. PB says a medium grey plaster takes 3-4 weeks before you can go in.
-PB has been out every day to check chemistry and brush the pool.
-Filter has been running 24/7 (can't wait to get the electric bill).
- All the grass I planted is finally growing in nice and thick, see pictures below. We planted a lot of various bushes around the pool and will continue to add some. We also plan on changing over alot of the grass areas around the pool to mulched beds (yes I know how the mulch ends up the pool, lol). We just planted a lot of grass seed to stabilize all of the ground.
-Added about 6 various twining type vines to grow up through the fence to add some privacy.
-Still need to install some outdoor bluetooth speakers in the eave of the shed, so we can listen to music on our phones wirelessly.
- Landscape lighting has been completed (see night pictures below). Right now it is hooked to a basic timer (8pm-11pm for now). I am going to shoot the PB a message that we would like it hooked up to our easytouch system the next time he gets a chance.
- French drain bordering the high side of the pool has been completed. They bordered the patio and covered the drain with a 2 foot wide band of river rock to match the retaining wall side of the pool. The drain eventually turns into a solid pipe and runs down to the equipment pad where it is hooked up to a popup drain. I find myself actually wanting a heavy downpour to see if it works.
- Firepit liner was installed today and the spark screen will be dropped off tomorrow. I will be adding a few bags of sand inside the pit to get the base fire level higher.
- Still need to re-finish some teak furniture that is on the patio now and relocate it to my deck. Leaving only the aluminum patio set down by the pool.
- I will be adding a few led lights for the steps on the deck, hooked to the new landscape lighting system. The wire is already run to the base of the steps, making it easy to extend.
- PB also fixed the ruts the plaster guy put in the previously graded front yard. I have re-seeded it, and hope to see some growth by the weekend.
- County appraiser already stopped out yesterday for a tax re-assessment. Doesn't take them long to try and get more money.
- Having a slight issue with the skimmers that the PB is going to look into. They don't seem to be "skimming" any water off the surface. Next time the PB is out they will take a look.
- Swapped out one of my main gate latches to the D&D TruClose Child Safe Pool Latch. Seems to be working better than the standard ones we got from the fence company. If it holds up over the next few weeks I will order the remaining 3. $65 each, ouch!















I will try and get a better variety of pictures over the next few days and post.

Ryan
 
Yes, fantastic! I'm sure a deluge will come along soon enough to test the drainage handiwork. Sounds like they should have everything all set now.
 

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