Finally Finished! - New Build in Tampa, FL

[Taimon]

tldr: Signed Contract May 2021 Week 1: Excavation December 2021 Week 3: Gunite Complete January 2022 Week 7: Completed plumbing. Pool Equipment installed. Forms for decking and footers placed. February 2022 Week 9: Waterline tile and coping complete. February 2022 Week 10: Electrical installation complete. February 2022 Week 11: Concrete footer poured. March 2022 Week 15: Paver deck started and completed. March 2022 Week 19: Pool cage completed. April 2022 Week 20: Blue Granite Plaster installed and pool filled. May 2022.

Hello,

First time poster and very excited to join the TFP community as a first time pool owner.

Also excited that construction is scheduled to begin (hopefully) within the next month or so, brief summary of pool details are in my signature. I'll probably start a new build thread when the time comes as I greatly appreciated the other new build threads while I was going through the pool design and builder selection process myself.

Anyways, in preparation for construction I cut down a few relatively small trees that were planted almost 2 years ago. Now just the small tree stumps (about 3 inch diameter, pictured below) remain. Is it ok for me to leave these as is or should I plan on getting these stumps grinded/removed prior to construction? 3 of these stumps, all the same size, are currently located where either the pool or paver deck will be, but I figure they'll just get dug up during excavation since they are so small?

Thanks,
Taimon

 

[kimkats]

Hi and welcome to TFP! Let this be your "official" thread to keep the story altogether.

Stumps-since this pool will be inground I would not worry about the stumps where the POOL will go as the big toy aka diggy machine will get those out. As for any where the deck will be going I WOULD make them go away as you sure do NOT want them decaying and the ground sinking with them and causing the deck to shift.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Good luck on the new pool.

 

[BigPapaSmurf]

Ditto on what Kim said, don’t worry about the one‘s inside the pool, stump grind the deck one’s.

 

[Oswald]

We had to remove 2 trees for our upcoming pool construction and the pool builders instructions were cut to less than 4' for the pool area and stump grind for any decking area. This lines up with all the advice above.

 

[Taimon]

Thank you for all your responses! I'll go ahead and grind down the tree stumps that would be under the deck.

As suggested I will make this my official thread and begin posting updates with pictures once construction begins in the next month or so. Until then here my pool specifications, at this point my PB will charge a fee for any changes I make, but still feel free to weigh in if there is anything that looks off:

Size	15'x28'
Depth:	3.5' - 5.5'
Pool Lights:	2 LED Color Lights
Sun Shelf	11'x5'6'' 42 SQFT w/ Bubbler
Interior Finish	PebbleSheen Blue Granite
Skimmers	1
Returns	3
Automatic Overflow Protection	Yes
Spa	5'6'' x 8' Raised 12''
Spa Lights	1 LED Color Light
Therapy Jets	6
Blower	Yes
Screen Enclosure	Mansard, 2 screen doors, gutters
Equipment
Filter	Jandy DE 48SQFT
Pump	Jandy Variable Speed Pump
Heater	Jandy NG 400K BTU Heater
Automation:	Aqualink App
Returns Lines	3
Sanitation	Jandy Saltwater Generator
Decking	Oyster White Buff Mega Smooth Pavers
Copping	Sandstone Pavers
Waterline Tile and face of raised spa	NNGB 136 Navy Blend Glass tile

 

[kimkats]

I LOVE your design! That looks great!

Please get the model number for all of your equipment so we can make sure it is what is best for your pool.

For your screen make sure at least one of the doors is double or extra wide to help get stuff into and out of the screen. Also have a hose bib inside the screen for cleaning and adding water.

 

[Taimon]

I LOVE your design! That looks great!

Please get the model number for all of your equipment so we can make sure it is what is best for your pool.

For your screen make sure at least one of the doors is double or extra wide to help get stuff into and out of the screen. Also have a hose bib inside the screen for cleaning and adding water.

Thank you!

I’ll ask my PB about equipment models and screen doors. Luckily there is already a hose bib that will be inside the screen.

 

[Taimon]

Pool equipment update:

• DE Filter: Jandy DEV48
• SWG: Jandy AquaPure PLC1400
• Pump: Jandy VS PlusHP 2.7 DV2A
• Heater: Jandy JXi400NG
• Color LED Lights: Jandy WaterColors LED RGBW Pool and Spa Lights

 

[kimkats]

Nice job on the SWG. It is rated for a 40,000 gal pool so it should work great for yours!

 

[Taimon]

Well I am sure it is a surprise to no one, but my start date has been pushed back so I am still waiting for my PB to give me a start week.

In other news, recently my PB sent me a form to sign saying they will be using a private company for inspections as opposed to the county inspector. The reasoning they told me is because the county inspectors are backed up and its taking a long time for inspections to pass before being able to continue with the next step of construction.

Makes sense to me so I assume I can proceed with returning the form, but was wondering if anyone had a similar situation where they regretted allowing their PB to use a private inspector?

 

[KCNM]

Huh, I didn't even know that was a thing.

Private Building Inspectors

Wouldn’t it be great if we could speed up construction without sacrificing quality? With all of the construction in Florida and not enough inspectors, owners and contractors have been screaming for relief from delayed plan review and delayed inspections. Yet not too many people know that the...

www.floridabar.org

I would say, this probably has the same downsides as arbitration. That is, when the party paying for arbitration is the party likely to provide repeat business, the arbiters are maybe invested in good outcomes for that party. I would really have expected them to have brought this up as part of the original contract signing. But you are where you are now.

I would maybe suggest that they provide you a credit and you directly hire the inspectors? That way, it avoids any potential repeat-business bias.

 

[kevin76]

That's interesting. I'm in Hillsborough county and the inspections have not been the hold up in this build at all. In most cases my yard sits untouched for months between each phase even after inspection. They just finished footers friday and are planning to schedule the inspection monday/Tuesday.

With that said, I don't know how much it matters. They are only here a few minutes and just look everything over quickly. Even the plumbing inspection is a closed inspection meaning it occurs after all the pvc trenches have been covered with dirt.

 

[Taimon]

Thanks for the feedback, definitely gives me something to think about.

Estimated start date is about 2 weeks out, fingers crossed for no more delays.

 

[TampaKathy]

I agree with Kevin...inspectors have not been the hold up and they spend all of 3 minutes on site. I am not actually in the city of Tampa though...I am in Lutz. My PM said the Tampa inspector (or one of them) is a real pain to deal with. My PB tried to use the "inspectors are being slow" excuse anyway but I have seen zero delays due to them. It's up to you but I'm not sure how much it will matter which inspector you have. I'm actually surprised they even told you. When my house was built a couple years ago the builder used a private inspector...I don't recall being notified but I could just be forgetting. Something to keep in mind, the inspector is not making sure that the pool is built to what you and the PB agreed...so as far as measuring stuff and counting returns, skimmers, etc, that's on you...the inspector is really making sure there is nothing dangerous (at least that is my understanding).

 

[Taimon]

At last we are finally beginning!

My PB is currently estimating about 20 weeks before I’m swimming, so hopefully in May I’ll be posting pictures of the final product. However, based on other Tampa Bay areas threads I know I should be prepared to be patient.

Here is a current picture of the backyard along with a rendering of the final design. I am hoping excavation will be this week.

 

[Taimon]

Trucks arrived bright and early this morning and the dig is underway

 

[kimkats]

Let the MUD begin!!! As soon as they say they are done run out there with a tape measure and the plans. Is it wide, deep, long, etc enough? Add about 8" for the steel, shell, and plaster.

 

[Taimon]

After about 3-4 hours excavation was all done. Now to head out with my tape measure.

 

[Taimon]

It’s been about 3 weeks since the dig and today the gunite was competed. Based on the experiences of others I believe this is where progress begins to slow down dramatically.

I suppose now I begin to water the concrete for the next 5 to 6 days?