Pool Builder Won’t Do Start Up of New Pool

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Missfeli520

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May 24, 2018
16
Orange County, California
Hi Everyone,

So my my saga continues..

The pool builder just informed me that he will install our mini pebble but that I will need to get my own company to do the start up because all he’s going to do is install it and acid wash it.

I am so confused as to why he wouldn’t do the start up when he already said previously he would. I don’t think anything is in the contract regarding start up at all. I think he just doesn’t want to do it because he’s mad I wouldn’t give him another $2100 to spot fix the horrendous tile job he did.

He also gave me an approximate date for when he will install the pebble (which is weeks away) and didn’t mention anything about coming to prep the gunite for pebble. I have used my hose to try to clean the gunite and get all the debris and little pebbles down to the deep end. I then took out all the water with a bucket. Then the next day I swept a lot of the debris into a dust pan/bucket. I figure I’ll do more sweeping again today and tomorrow to get it as debris free and clean as possible, but is there anything else that should be done to prep the gunite for plaster/mini pebble?
 
I'd be happy to do it myself I did mine. There isn't much to it actually just keep pH and chlorine at proper levels. You do need a proper test kit like the tf-100 (above).

Use the below pool school guide and you should be good to go. Also fill out your signature with your pool details including your equipment.

Pool School - Start-up New Plaster
 
Missfeli520 said:
Hi Everyone,

So my my saga continues..

The pool builder just informed me that he will install our mini pebble but that I will need to get my own company to do the start up because all he’s going to do is install it and acid wash it.

I am so confused as to why he wouldn’t do the start up when he already said previously he would. I don’t think anything is in the contract regarding start up at all. I think he just doesn’t want to do it because he’s mad I wouldn’t give him another $2100 to spot fix the horrendous tile job he did.

He also gave me an approximate date for when he will install the pebble (which is weeks away) and didn’t mention anything about coming to prep the gunite for pebble. I have used my hose to try to clean the gunite and get all the debris and little pebbles down to the deep end. I then took out all the water with a bucket. Then the next day I swept a lot of the debris into a dust pan/bucket. I figure I’ll do more sweeping again today and tomorrow to get it as debris free and clean as possible, but is there anything else that should be done to prep the gunite for plaster/mini pebble?
Click to expand...

I did my own startup, everything was fairly simple. Get the tf-100 test kit and then you can probably follow this procedure although not sure if you’re getting an npt product it should be the same thing. http://www.nptpool.com/sites/nptpool.com/files/NPC_SwimmingPoolStart-UpProcedures.pdf

As far as cleaning up the gunite for pebble, it’s usually a pretty good size crew, they take care of the cleanup and then pump the water out, all done in minutes, they won’t install the pebble if they know the surface isn’t ready.
 
I'm sorry things are difficult at this point. I haven't read your build thread, so forgive me if I give suggestions already made.

Is your PB actually installing the plaster/pebble himself (his equipment, his workers, etc), or is he subbing out the work to a plaster company? Here in the Houston area, the PB's use local plaster companies. In my case, the company does only the gunite and the plaster pebble installations. If your area is like mine and you will have a plaster company come out, then they should be the ones who prep the gunite. Get the name of the plaster company and call them directly. Skip the PB since he may not cooperate. Again with my experience, the plaster company came out maybe a week before and took a lot of notes and measurements, so they would be prepared on the date of the plaster. I asked the man who came out what I should do to prepare. He explained that a clean-up crew from their company would come out 1-3 days before the plaster and clean up. But..... he told me it wouldn't hurt to power wash the shell before the clean-up crew. He said some clean-up crews were better than others, and that it was a very busy time of the summer making it necessary to hire guys not very familiar with cleaning up. I really appreciated his honesty, because like you, I had no idea. My son did the power washing for me soon after that guy left. It probably wasn't the best power washing job, but it was good enough. I hope you have a similar experience!

Like you, I had already swept and removed debris. I'm not sure I needed to do that, but it certainly didn't hurt.

Another suggestion after you're happy with getting out what debris you can: Inspect the inside of the shell fairly closely and look for any places where you might find some small metal wires sticking up through the gunite. They could be even just a quarter of an inch and usually by now look rusty. Stick some blue painters tape or tape on a colored sticky to mark the places (or better yet shoot a picture with your camera). It's not uncommon to have 1 or a few that didn't quite get completely covered by gunite, so don't be alarmed. The guys just put some sort of gray plaster-like material over my places to make sure they would be totally covered. My pool is 3 years old, and so far, so good.

Let me know if you need more specific questions to ask the plaster company about prepping for the plaster.

As for start up, I would be happy he's not doing the start-up! You will do a better job than most PB's. It's amazing how little many of them know about water maintenance. They sort of know what to dump in the first day or so, then it's like they're just throwing stuff in after that. No offense to those wonderful PB's who DO know what they're doing, but I've heard of only a few. Once my PB's 'start-up' guy knew that I knew what I was doing, he handed everything over to me. Let me tell you, before then I had NEVER maintained pool water! And I certainly wasn't an expert when my pool was first filled, but it didn't take long to figure out I knew at least as much as the start-up guy (if not more). One day at a time, and my friends here on TFP held my hand and walked me through each and every step. I was nervous, but I knew they were with me so everything would be fine. And it was great. I even found it exciting to be doing it myself - an old woman who hadn't had to learn much in those recent years!!!

* Do you have a test kit yet? If not, order it now. Having to wait a few weeks for the plaster gives you plenty of time to be prepared.
* Who is the manufacturer for your plaster/mini pebble? If they offer a warranty, then get their start-up instructions to keep the warranty. TFP will help you follow their recommendations with what we know so you don't lose the warranty.
* Let us know if you're willing to do your own start-up, then we will get you going on a little homework!!! You will really bond with your pool by taking care of it from the very beginning. Think of it like bringing home a new baby or new pet. Instead of hiring someone to do the first few weeks, you will! You might be nervous, but you know TFP is right there for you!

Take care,
Suz
 
Pool builder said he doesn’t honor his warranty unless I use a licensed pool service to do start up and maintenance.

I doubt I’d ever get this guy to do any warranty work to begin with but I wasn’t sure if I should stick with someone licensed at least until we know for sure everything actually works. :confused:
 
Missfeli520 said:
Pool builder said he doesn’t honor his warranty unless I use a licensed pool service to do start up and maintenance.

I doubt I’d ever get this guy to do any warranty work to begin with but I wasn’t sure if I should stick with someone licensed at least until we know for sure everything actually works. :confused:
Click to expand...

This is a tough call. Does your contract state anything at all about startup and who does it? If not, it is your call to do it yourself (you will do a better job than any service would) or farm it out to someone. If you ever have any warranty issues and did it yourself it would probably end up as a court case. But then again, it sounds like that would happen anyway. My PB had a startup company that came out and they were totally worthless. They (literally) flung chemicals into the pool without testing anything and told me just leave the VS pump on full speed all the time. I saw them once every week or so to fling a couple more things into the water. I was so glad when they stopped coming.
 
Looking back did you get references from PB on previous work? Seems like the PB is looking for an excuse to get out of any responsibility. Now he's holding you hostage by giving you a date that is weeks away to do pebble?? What was PB's original timeline for the entire build?
 

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Missfeli520 said:
Pool builder said he doesn’t honor his warranty unless I use a licensed pool service to do start up and maintenance.

I doubt I’d ever get this guy to do any warranty work to begin with but I wasn’t sure if I should stick with someone licensed at least until we know for sure everything actually works. :confused:
Click to expand...

Uhg, you're still at it with this guy? So sorry.

I was about to say (as others have) this guy is doing you a favor by walking away from the start up. Do it yourself, do it right. You only get one shot at it.

Unless the contract expressly says "no licensed pool service for start up = no warranty" then he can't now claim that. So technically you could to it yourself and not compromise your warranty. But if you want to play it safe, or if that is in the contract, you could hire a licensed pool service with the express understanding that they are to adhere to your spec's for start up. The trick would be to find such a service that supports your notions about startup. If you can, then you have the best of both: they do the work to honor the warranty, but you get your startup done the way you want.
 
Who holds the warranty card? Usually it's the plaster/pebble manufacturer, right? For my pebble finish, I call the manufacturer for any warranty concerns (even though my PB scheduled the work with them, and marked up for it....)
 
Just make sure you get or they use a popular branded pebble product with a warranty. Meaning actual Pebble Tec or whatever brand of mix has good service and warranties.

There are many off brand products that are a bit cheaper but who knows what happens if you have a problem.

Just to calm down most do not have problems.

I have had my plain Jane plaster for 8 years with -0- problems.

Next time I will do pebble but will get it polished smooth with a diamond polisher.
 
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