I have a pool person who would come twice a day to scrub and balance the water for $250. So my question to you all that have done it yourself is, am I wasting money by doing this? I cannot guarantee to be home due to traveling for work and can’t rely on anyone to do it for me. The obvious answer is yes but wanted to get some input.
So I’m just about to get my pool finish..
- Thread starter Chopjaw
- Start date
- Mar 24, 2014
- 2,455
- Pool Size
- 32000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-55
My answer is I wouldn't let a "pool person" take care of my pool for free. Probably cause more problems than good.
If you are out of town regularly, I recommend a SWG. I would also turn off all those features unless using the pool.
If you are out of town regularly, I recommend a SWG. I would also turn off all those features unless using the pool.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,677
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Are we talking new plaster or pebble? Uhg, tough situation. I did my startup myself. Based on my research I'm convinced that the startup process for any sort of new plaster-type finish is very critical to the future performance of the finish (how it feels, how it looks, now long it lasts, etc), and as easy to get right as it is to get wrong. First 30 days are important, first 14 days even more so, first seven days even more so, and the first hours even more than that. To do it right, I tested and balanced the water every day, and I brushed twice a day.
Based on my experience, I wouldn't trust that to anyone but myself. I watched two different pool guys that were semi-involved do some pretty stupid things, and I fired them both and took it over. TFP saved my butt.
If you have a guy that can do it right, twice a day is sufficient. $250 for how long? Day, week, month? A day, no. A week, fair. A month, steal!
The inherent problem is trust. Trust in the guy's knowledge and more importantly his integrity. It's not his pool. It's not his dime. He'll be long gone years from now when a bad start up might start showing its signs. (A really bad startup can reveal itself in days.) And if you're not around... yikes. How do you know you can trust this guy? How will you know he's doing his job if you're not around? You're supposed to be able to trust a professional to know his job, and to do his job. But that doesn't seem to be the case now-a-days. Maybe you'll be fine with your guy, but a business card or a sign on his truck or an emblem on his shirt means absolutely nothing. This site is filled with stories of people that have been let down by pros, and I've seen it myself with my own eyes.
Sorry, I'm anti-pool-professional (had some very bad experiences). So not the best guy to give you any confidence in your pool guy option. But that's my reality. I hope yours will be different.
OK, that said, here's some ideas that might actually help, as opposed to my whining, if you really aren't going to be around.
Ask for references. Ask about his testing methods, ask about the brand and model of his testing equipment (if he says strips, say bye-bye). Discuss and establish a start up plan and determine what he's going to use in the way of start up instructions and chemicals. Ask him to deliver to you each day a report of his test results and his dosing. Relay that here to TFP and get input from its experts.
The best thing that you can do for your new pool is to learn the proper way to start up your pool, monitor the entire process (using help from TFP), and manage the entire process, in person or remotely, whether you're doing the actual work yourself or not.
If you just hand the keys over to some guy, without understanding and managing the process, you run the very real risk of compromising your pool's performance for years to come.
Based on my experience, I wouldn't trust that to anyone but myself. I watched two different pool guys that were semi-involved do some pretty stupid things, and I fired them both and took it over. TFP saved my butt.
If you have a guy that can do it right, twice a day is sufficient. $250 for how long? Day, week, month? A day, no. A week, fair. A month, steal!
The inherent problem is trust. Trust in the guy's knowledge and more importantly his integrity. It's not his pool. It's not his dime. He'll be long gone years from now when a bad start up might start showing its signs. (A really bad startup can reveal itself in days.) And if you're not around... yikes. How do you know you can trust this guy? How will you know he's doing his job if you're not around? You're supposed to be able to trust a professional to know his job, and to do his job. But that doesn't seem to be the case now-a-days. Maybe you'll be fine with your guy, but a business card or a sign on his truck or an emblem on his shirt means absolutely nothing. This site is filled with stories of people that have been let down by pros, and I've seen it myself with my own eyes.
Sorry, I'm anti-pool-professional (had some very bad experiences). So not the best guy to give you any confidence in your pool guy option. But that's my reality. I hope yours will be different.
OK, that said, here's some ideas that might actually help, as opposed to my whining, if you really aren't going to be around.
Ask for references. Ask about his testing methods, ask about the brand and model of his testing equipment (if he says strips, say bye-bye). Discuss and establish a start up plan and determine what he's going to use in the way of start up instructions and chemicals. Ask him to deliver to you each day a report of his test results and his dosing. Relay that here to TFP and get input from its experts.
The best thing that you can do for your new pool is to learn the proper way to start up your pool, monitor the entire process (using help from TFP), and manage the entire process, in person or remotely, whether you're doing the actual work yourself or not.
If you just hand the keys over to some guy, without understanding and managing the process, you run the very real risk of compromising your pool's performance for years to come.
The more you have someone else do, the less you will understand your pool. Even if you are a bit irregular in your time spent, knowing the workings of your pool is key to what TFP teaches.
Yea I understand the sentiment here. I’m thinking of some type of quartz finish or at best pebbleFina.
The pool girl offered allot of info to me when i asked about service. She went as far as starting off with a list of chemicals needed for new plaster and the best times to add them plus levels that are critical for new pools... Just a lot of information I could not keep track of. Her deal is $300 to be here twice a day to brush the pool. Once in the morning and once in the evening for thirty days.
The pool girl offered allot of info to me when i asked about service. She went as far as starting off with a list of chemicals needed for new plaster and the best times to add them plus levels that are critical for new pools... Just a lot of information I could not keep track of. Her deal is $300 to be here twice a day to brush the pool. Once in the morning and once in the evening for thirty days.
It seems like the bottom line is that you have to address a possible travel contingency. $300 for the first 30 day start-up, twice per day, is a very good price imo. I would even pay that to have him/her on standby just for the days that you end up traveling. Maybe work side-by-side on the days you are in town. But as others said, trust and quality of work is by far the bigger concern.
We were in your position after we replastered last year, not by choice. The whole project had been delayed way beyond the plan, and we were leaving the country for 12 days. I had been brushing 2x per day and had gotten CYA and CH within acceptable levels. We left on day 16 of start-up, and paid $250 for a responsible (we felt) pool guy to come every other day for 12 days to brush and balance pH and FC. I absolutely wish we didn't have to do that and that I could have maintained the startup myself, but so far am not aware of any ill effects of having had to resort to this backup plan. I did a detailed walk-thru with the guy and had him log all his work. I told him specifically what not to do (e.g. don't add salt or turn on the SWG). I even checked our security system from overseas to see when and for how long the guy came each time.
I don't even know what he would have charged for every day or twice per day. We live in a high cost area.
We were in your position after we replastered last year, not by choice. The whole project had been delayed way beyond the plan, and we were leaving the country for 12 days. I had been brushing 2x per day and had gotten CYA and CH within acceptable levels. We left on day 16 of start-up, and paid $250 for a responsible (we felt) pool guy to come every other day for 12 days to brush and balance pH and FC. I absolutely wish we didn't have to do that and that I could have maintained the startup myself, but so far am not aware of any ill effects of having had to resort to this backup plan. I did a detailed walk-thru with the guy and had him log all his work. I told him specifically what not to do (e.g. don't add salt or turn on the SWG). I even checked our security system from overseas to see when and for how long the guy came each time.
I don't even know what he would have charged for every day or twice per day. We live in a high cost area.