NJ new build>>> Just the Beginning.....

Jul 10, 2018
25
NJ
just got the the 1st round of design drawing back! very exciting ..... Wife and I are both 36 & Kids are boy8 and girl6 ....looking forward to creating a lot of great family memories out back!i hope i dont regret this, I dont need another head ach...haha..

after we give them feed back on the drawings below the next step is they provide super detailed doc's that we can then show other PB or Landscape guys for bids..... then we will be finalizing our contract for the pool and given we've never owned a pool before, we'd really like to hear what other veterans would have to say does this all sounds like good plan?..


16x38 with auto cover & firepit is existing



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Hi [emoji1309] WOW, your design is amazing! I love how it ties in seamlessly with your existing fire pit. Your kids are at the perfect age to put a pool in. You won’t regret it... well, you might have second thoughts during the build [emoji6] but once your kids have their first swim there will be no regrets.
 
T,

Back in the stone ages my parents and I drove along the coast of New Jersey.. With no air conditioning at the time, all we could smell were oil refineries... For years, whenever someone said "New Jersey" I could actually smell that refinery smell..

Much later in life I went back to the New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, and discovered that most of the area looks exactly like your beautiful back yard.

What you propose to do looks great to me.. Just be ready for the "Sticker Shock" over what it will cost.. :p

Thanks for posting and the slight smell of oil and time..

Jim R.
 
T,
This is going to be amazing! Everything flows flawlessly together. Love your landscaping, I wish my grass looked nice like that. I just had my pool completed and so glad that’s over with. Waiting for final permits and working on little things here and there before pool closing. My kids boy 5 and girl 16months love the pool. I can guarantee yours will too. Goodluck with everything. Really looking to see how this progresses. Keep us updated.
 
Select the landscaping carefully.

Keep evergreens that drop needles away from the pool.

Keep trees that drop leaves, acorns, nuts, seeds and other mess as far away from your pool as possible. The shade is not worth the cleanup.

I see lots of tall tress around your yard in the pic that are not shown on that landscape drawing. Not clear what is staying and what is being cut down.

Your landscape drawing shows a lot of impervious area. Check that you are not close to the impervious limits of your lot. And design proper drainage away from the pool. As you have recently seen we can get large rainfalls.
 
looks great very nice renderings. dont know what your budget is but you will end up spending way more on retaining walls and drainaige that the pool itself. You got a great spot for a pool just needs lots of attention to detail to keep water away and around your deck/pool area.
 
would it make any sense to do the grading /hard scape ++++

and watch it to make sure that the drainage is working at optimal flow before starting with the main event (pool)??? we have gotten some crazy flash flooding recently in north east
 
no you just want to over do the drains you can never have too much. not sure what the rest of your lot looks like but hopefully its downhill from pool somewhere and you can use gravity to run your lines around the house or whatever is on otherside of pool and get it away. Your gonna need the room to actually dig the pool and get around with all the excavated dirt. Unless your retaining walls are gonna be way back from the pool I wouldnt do it. In a slope situation the further back you go the taller and bigger the walls get and the more work and materials they are. I see you have a natural boulder wall, you gotta decide what kind of material you are gonna use and if you are gonna try and save some of the existing walkways and patio space. If you like your pavers, you could try to find the same material and salvage some and blend in new stuff. IDK what your budget is but your in NJ too and everything is pricey here, your gonna spend some serious coin based on your drawings
 

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you have a PB you are dealing with already or not there yet? how about type of pool is it concrete or vinyl liner or fiberglass? I think your best bet is to get the pool built and leave it at that. then deal with the landscaping seperately, if you go thru the PB hes gonna make his cut. There are some guys that do both hardscaping and pool building because they already have the same equipment and machines, but not many can handle the softer plants and mulch/rock
 
I've intervied a few BP and wasnt impressed with any yet & I'm 99.8% sure i'm doing a g unite w/ Hydrazzo smooth finish .....also now thinking i'm not going to be able to make this summer coming up and it will have to be 2020 dream
 
That’s a pretty sweet render. I liked the table woth the tree area. First thing I thought of was alive in wonderland at the tea party. Lol. But that’s cause my head is always in Disney. It has a very Nantucket feel going for it. Very very cool!

good luck! Hire a builder for the pool and then hire a hood landscaping company forcthe hardscaping. My builder did out to my coping only. I took over from there for everything else including draining. My pool builder did get the final pool elevation so we were high enough and then we handled the flow control. Worked out fine.
 
thank Jim ,, can you clear up for me a few things......who deals with the engineer? ME or PB or the LandscapHardscape guy? which is the best way to work for maximizing both smoothness with the town and value in $$$.....I'm pretty sure I know the PB I want to go with , but I dont want to show my hand right away ....I guess what my question is whats the breakdown of next steps before I sign contract?? I'm not looking for the most affordable PB who's going to have me regret this huge project..I dont need another head ache ...haha
 
your pool builder has an engineer he uses for his gunite pools. Hes gonna design the shell and the specs for it. The overall design of hardscape is another scope of work. If you have retaining walls over 4' high you need engineering stamps on them. Most towns want the whole thing applied for in one shot, the pool, any retaining walls, plumbing/electric and the fence. You are better off using the pool builders guys for plumbing and electric but I would sub the landscaping/hardscaping out on your own
 
I would ask the 3 pool builders their thoughts on the engineering. anyone building gunite pools has an existing relationship to their engineer and may prefer to use their guy, and may be cheaper as well. If harry the homeowner walks into a firm and wants pool plans this is their only job w harry and they want to make money. When PB calls his guy and says were gonna build this the PB already knows what to expect. PB's engineer makes constant money from the PB, knows his way around pools, and knows what to draw up.

For instance, being in construction, I have done many jobs where engineered beams are to be installed. On a few the homeowners used an architect and engineer and give me the plans to bid and ultimately build if i get the job. in speaking w them they may pay thousands in engineering fees thru the architect, everyone tacks on a percentage of profit. When I get in w customers on ground floor and use my guy, I often hand draw a plan or take an architects plan and my engineer stamps the beam drawing portion for a few hundred bucks. It would be thousands to someone who didnt have a working relationship to my engineer, and I dictate what I want done. I cant tell you how many plans I see where architects add LOTS of cost to a job by adding or moving things that arent needed in reality, or can be done much cheaper/simpler. Once you have a stamped drawing you must build it to those specs, nothing else without a revision and a new stamp. best to find out what the PB charges for an engineering fee, you may be surprised, and some guys will want to work with their engineer only, your guy may wanna come out to the site and charge you additional for site visits, etc. and it gets expensive
 
Our Pb had their own engineer. We never met him but have a copy of the approved plans. They are very detailed and I don’t understand half of what’s on them. I’m sure our pb paid next to nothing to have them drawn up compared to what we would have paid independently.

It sounds like you have your eye on one pb. That really is the hardest part. Finding someone you are comfortable with. It feels like such a gamble at the time. I remember the feeling well. Definitely go ahead and get detailed quotes from the better three and take it from there. You are doing a great job of putting a lot of thought into the initial stages.
 
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