Yes: Pools are worth it....

[williemackgarza 1826]

Yea I hate the look of those plastic wail alarms. We installed a double sided combo lock on our backdoor for security. Its great. But I think I still need the alarm.

[PantsTent 2002]

Also planning one of the cheap stick on door alarms and I suspect like most people, I plan to toss it or return it after final inspection.  It's the 10 windows I have, I'm not sure what to do. My upstairs windows all have the stops that spring into a hole in the frame at 4 inches open and then you have to squeeze them in with both hands to open further. This type of things I believe also passes code but I can't find a simple to install device like that. Would like the exact same as the upstairs as it's very clean looking.  I'll ask my builder for more detail on what he's seen before next time he's out.  In the gunite queue for now...

[El Tri 412]

34 minutes ago, PantsTent said:

Also planning one of the cheap stick on door alarms and I suspect like most people, I plan to toss it or return it after final inspection.  It's the 10 windows I have, I'm not sure what to do. My upstairs windows all have the stops that spring into a hole in the frame at 4 inches open and then you have to squeeze them in with both hands to open further. This type of things I believe also passes code but I can't find a simple to install device like that. Would like the exact same as the upstairs as it's very clean looking.  I'll ask my builder for more detail on what he's seen before next time he's out.  In the gunite queue for now...

in austin you need window locks on any behind the fence line. i installed the cheap stick on door alarm, and once inspection passed i took it off

FYI, the stores will not allow you to return the alarms - they know the game

[PantsTent 2002]

1 hour ago, El Tri said:

in austin you need window locks on any behind the fence line. i installed the cheap stick on door alarm, and once inspection passed i took it off

FYI, the stores will not allow you to return the alarms - they know the game

Just regular window latch that all windows have was sufficient, or height of latch matters?  I was told they need some mechanism that limits opening to 4".  There are the cheap stops that screw on to the rails but I don't know if that's sufficient.

 

[TexasEd 8077]

On 10/5/2020 at 8:42 PM, capnamerca said:

@texased, some other thoughts. ... I'd HIGHLY suggest sinking the hot tub a few feet so you can see all of the pool surface area. You can do some cool things with a small retaining wall, or maybe a circular set of steps down to the hot tub coping.

The second item that our pool builder completely missed is fucking accent lighting on the decking areas. ... It cost me a pretty penny to add direct-bury LV wire and have them put in the boxes before they poured the concrete, but I'm so glad they did. I had them run two sets of wire to each box, in case I ever got a short that melted one of them. I had the step lights and the retaining wall lights put on separate switches, so I can turn on one or both, and they're wired to extra "slots" on my pool pump controller (and thus, to the app).

Also, run 110v power outlets while the electrician is there - decking framers will need to run conduit for that, too,  .... It's not possible to have too many power outlets.

Lastly, we did the oval spa shape on the advice of a neighbor, and love it. Our spa is in that 7' range, but we can sit 6 adults very comfortably, and even cram a few kids in there too. Making the spa an oval actually gives you more "butt space" vs a circle.

Fuck I love my pool, so glad I made that decision early last year. We've been in almost nightly, esp the hot tub.

Thanks for this.  I did not state it before but we have thought of this.

1. We started with the hot tub flush with the deck but it is now raised 6"  We should be good on visibility.

2. The lamps on the poles will be on the app to control.  I the current steps have LV light in them and I will get them added in the new steps.  I buy the lights they install them.  Getting them on separate controls is a good idea.  I might want the step lights on every night and the post lamps just when we are out.

3. I have two 110 outlets in the retaining walls and 1 at the back of the yard for the equipment which will be down the hill.

4. for design reasons probably staying circle but thanks 

[El Tri 412]

2 hours ago, PantsTent said:

Just regular window latch that all windows have was sufficient, or height of latch matters?  I was told they need some mechanism that limits opening to 4".  There are the cheap stops that screw on to the rails but I don't know if that's sufficient.

 

all i used were the locks that screw on to the rails, ensuring the window cannot open more than 4 inches.

check with your construction supervisor to make sure. inspection codes change all the time

[HookEm 2467]

On 10/6/2020 at 8:07 PM, Poolflood said:

Is there a factor in there for heater efficiency?

The 3 majors are btwn 83 and 84.

Yes, I assume 83% efficient.

[joe dirt 285]

it took 4 weeks to go from rebar to shotcrete, and it’s now been 4 weeks since tile and coping went in. decking was supposed to go in a week ago thursday. now we’re supposedly on the schedule for this monday. at this point i’m not sure i’ll be able to get the lawn repaired in time for the winter. i’m fuckin pissed at the thought of having a mud pit over the winter. 

[williemackgarza 1826]

Throw out some winter rye.
I got the slide set now gotta work on my steps for it.
Finally got my gas line done and the heater is working. Sat in the hot tub. Will heat up the pool once it cools a little more.

[Landomatic 3813]

On 10/10/2020 at 9:54 AM, joe dirt said:

it took 4 weeks to go from rebar to shotcrete, and it’s now been 4 weeks since tile and coping went in. decking was supposed to go in a week ago thursday. now we’re supposedly on the schedule for this monday. at this point i’m not sure i’ll be able to get the lawn repaired in time for the winter. i’m fuckin pissed at the thought of having a mud pit over the winter. 

I'm right at 5 months since I signed contract and put down deposit (May 14).  And I'm still at just having tile done.  Fucking tile.  So, take some solace...you're still ahead of me.

Had a knock down drag out with my project manager and my sales rep last week.  Was simply told there is nothing they can do about it and they're fielding these types of calls from pissed off customers all day, every day.  Told me to go ahead and escalate it all I want, but that I'm going to get the same answers.

Sales guy told me if I signed a contract and put down a deposit today, they wouldn't even dig until mid February...so 4 months just to get started, then all the delayed processes after that.

Also said they are now running into just about all equipment being on backorder from suppliers.  Swore to me that mine is already in stock and sitting in a warehouse allocated to me, but I don't know if I believe him, or I worry that they switch it to another client as just another finger in the dam.  They are one of the biggest pool builders in DFW and he said that has helped them be at toward the top of the distribution lists from equipment vendors, but said the smaller companies are really in trouble on that.  Anyway, you might want to discuss that as it sounds like that's the latest of what people are getting hit with now.

And yeah, I feel ya on the yard thing.  I've had a torn up war zone of an unusable backyard for the last two and a half months with no end in sight soon.  It fucking sucks.  Hang in there.  We might have to start a "building a pool right now support group" thread.

[PantsTent 2002]

Gunite day today!  It's exactly three weeks since excavation finished so I guess I'm not doing too bad timeline wise.

 

[Poolflood 845]

10 hours ago, PantsTent said:

Gunite day today!  It's exactly three weeks since excavation finished so I guess I'm not doing too bad timeline wise.

 

Congrats!

[billfromlaketravis 11522]

The wife has the pool maintenance down cold. Cholrox has a lot of helpful tools to check pool chemical levels. 

We’ll probably need a pool guy to come out once year to check the pump, but that’s it. Fingers crossed. Knock on wood. 

[williemackgarza 1826]

Gunite day today!  It's exactly three weeks since excavation finished so I guess I'm not doing too bad timeline wise.
 

Baller! Congrats

[joe dirt 285]

so 5 weeks after masonry, coping and tile we finally got our fucking decking poured today. current timeline has travertine and equipment scheduled for tuesday. might actually be time to start looking for irrigation repair and sod soon. 

[williemackgarza 1826]

Ran the heater and heated the pool and spa. 70 deg to 91 in about 13 hours, was pretty fucking nice swimming in warm water.
Kiddos loved the slide.

[Brew 3049]

Getting sprayed tomorrow, settled on a 16x44.

[Hefeweizen 5333]

That is a huge pool.  Nice...

[PantsTent 2002]

I'm jealous of the land as well. Here's my suburb yard pool so far.

[Brew 3049]

2 hours ago, PantsTent said:

I'm jealous of the land as well. Here's my suburb yard pool so far.

Not having neighbors close by has made me realize how much I hated having neighbors. Still in a neighborhood, it’s just 5 acres tracks with planted yards where I can’t see or hear the people beside me. 5 minutes from work and everything else, but the feel of being out in the country.

[PantsTent 2002]

10 minutes ago, Brew said:

Not having neighbors close by has made me realize how much I hated having neighbors. Still in a neighborhood, it’s just 5 acres tracks with planted yards where I can’t see or hear the people beside me. 5 minutes from work and everything else, but the feel of being out in the country.

Oh, I realize I hate neighbors without moving first.  Finding something exactly like you described was difficult so decided to invest or improve this home instead.

 

[Landomatic 3813]

Finally got coping completed Thursday, October 22.  Deck prep started and equipment set as well.  Right at 5 months and 1 week since plans and selections final and deposit made.

Amazing since having a come apart on them, how much things have been moving ever since...despite being told there is just nothing they can do about the scheduling.  Apparently the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  I just wish I would have squeaked sooner.

Coping is white marble.  Decking is the one on the left lower step that's just kind of poking out.  Looked more natural and a little warmer than the other one.

 

[joe dirt 285]

lulz at myself for thinking we’d actually get anything done this past week. i guess they did deliver the equipment on thursday, but it’s just sitting on the travertineless decking. we’re heading in to the 4th month since the dig and i’m over it already and just ready for my yard to be put back together. 

[freyguy 4289]

Set your sights on February.  Maybe March.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21921]

Might be ready for next summer, but don't count on it

[williemackgarza 1826]

Man, i feel yalls pain. The reason I got rid of the builder and finished it myself.

[Landomatic 3813]

On 10/24/2020 at 12:09 PM, joe dirt said:

lulz at myself for thinking we’d actually get anything done this past week. i guess they did deliver the equipment on thursday, but it’s just sitting on the travertineless decking. we’re heading in to the 4th month since the dig and i’m over it already and just ready for my yard to be put back together. 

You should threaten to sue.

[markersmake 15]

Joe Dirt, that sucks. I know I’d be going crazy too. Our dig started 7/27 and we were in the pool 9/19.  Those weeks I was on edge b/c my mess of a yard was out of my hands. Can’t imagine 4+ months. 
Our build has turned out very nice, still fighting with the pool company as some valve is out of whack, in floor cleaning or something else,  as soon as the pumps turn off, the spa slowly starts to empty, every night.... And someone up thread mentioned about the lights not syncing up, yep. The wireless controller throws them (relays) way out of whack, I think. And the in floor cleaning, maybe it’s a bit early or something isn’t dialed in, but something isn’t right with it.  Pool company is aware of everything, but they are definitely moving slow to get things to 100%... 

[Dendox 102]

We started in late August and added water last Thursday. Plaster and gunnite only two lines my builder doesn’t control. Both bumped us a week or more. All told - we are quite happy. Still need some decorative work but the pool works. 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10356]

59 minutes ago, Dendox said:

We started in late August and added water last Thursday. Plaster and gunnite only two lines my builder doesn’t control. Both bumped us a week or more. All told - we are quite happy. Still need some decorative work but the pool works. 

Damn... realizing I have land envy.  I need less neighbors nearby. 

Great pool too!

[RMac5 1551]

Damn, that looks fanfntastic Dendox. 

[Brew 3049]

They didn’t spray Thursday because of a chance of rain Friday. Now it looks like we’re going to get 4-6 inches of rain tomorrow and Thursday. If anyone wants to come swim in a mud puddle, be my guest. Hopefully the walls hold up. It looks like we have started the backward slide of delays as we move into a crap time of year to deal with weather.

[williemackgarza 1826]

I once heard, once gunite is shot, some old school pool guys would say it would be good to just fill with water while it cures.. not sure if true or not.
I feel your pain. Had to pump out mud from an empty hole 2 times while we waited.

[NoRagrets 1125]

Can anyone give me a ballpark on replastering a 15k gallon pool, no hot tub. Just a range is fine.

[Brew 3049]

13 hours ago, williemackgarza said:

I once heard, once gunite is shot, some old school pool guys would say it would be good to just fill with water while it cures.. not sure if true or not.
I feel your pain. Had to pump out mud from an empty hole 2 times while we waited.

Not long after I posted they came and tarped it. They went way past what I would I have expected. They overplayed tarps to create a funnel to the the deep end and set a high volume pump there. Then they built dirt up all the way around the pool and tarped out about 10 feet from the pool to push the rest of the water away from the pool walls. I was actually pretty impressed with the setup. Through all the rain it has kept the actual pool hole completely dry.

[BradInATX 9208]

Just rolled up into my driveway.

[Poolflood 845]

4 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Just rolled up into my driveway.

Only offer up the wife for gunite for when you get really really desperate. 

[troph 24906]

Had to fire our excavator - but back on track. Did some pool and septic work while we waited for the schedule to clear for our sub.

[fattyflattie 4638]

Oh my @troph   Well done. 

[BradInATX 9208]

Looks like my yard is just a little bit rocky

[PantsTent 2002]

Get used to the sound of that hammer and the vibrating of your foundation for a few days.

[joe dirt 285]

travertine is almost done. they came up a little short so they had to order more. you can kind of see it to the right of the spa. the plaster got done today, and they come back to acid wash tmrw followed by filling this bitch up with water. we’re still waiting on the gas line and fence repair. irrigation has been repaired and they come back to lay sod down early next week. 

the end is finally in fucking sight. 

 

 

[TexasEd 8077]

We are in the permitting and HOA approval phase.  Earliest that excavation might start is December.

Getting Landscaping lined up now so we can save some of the ornamental trees before then.

[Landomatic 3813]

Finally threatened to sue my pool builder today.  Officially 6 months to the day (May 14) since I signed the contract, finalized plans and put down the deposit.  And they are supposedly decking on Monday.  I've never had to sue anyone in my life, but I will if I have to.

[tbone_ 14161]

Did you try a strongly worded note?

[joe dirt 285]

3 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Finally threatened to sue my pool builder today.  Officially 6 months to the day (May 14) since I signed the contract, finalized plans and put down the deposit.  And they are supposedly decking on Monday.  I've never had to sue anyone in my life, but I will if I have to.

are they just saying it’s lack of labor?

i think bc my guy is a one man show, he only has one set of each subcontractor group to do shit. in retrospect, i wish we’d have just gone with a cody or a&s type builder that probably has access to a larger labor pool. either way, this has been an even bigger pain in the ass than i thought. i will be holding this against my wife for the rest of my life since i never wanted it to begin with. 

[Landomatic 3813]

22 hours ago, tbone_ said:

Did you try a strongly worded note?

Hahaha yes, it was a strongly worded email threatening to sue if they don't get it completed in a reasonable time from this point forward.

[Poolflood 845]

There are going to be 2 types of builders.  Larger builders with a contract that precludes lawsuit.  Will go to meditation.  Smaller builder you can sue.  But what are you going to get out of it?  MAYBE you get built a week or so earlier OR they'll say, ok, all communication goes through lawyers.  You want to pay your lawyer for that?  

Covid has fucked the industry.  Nobody is exempt.  It sucks.  

PM if you want info on a builder and if they're paying their bills on time - that becomes the biggest issue in an environment like this.  They don't make money unless they're digging pools.

[Landomatic 3813]

18 hours ago, joe dirt said:

are they just saying it’s lack of labor?

i think bc my guy is a one man show, he only has one set of each subcontractor group to do shit. in retrospect, i wish we’d have just gone with a cody or a&s type builder that probably has access to a larger labor pool. either way, this has been an even bigger pain in the ass than i thought. i will be holding this against my wife for the rest of my life since i never wanted it to begin with. 

They never have a straight answer other than "everything is just really backed up because of Covid".  But I will only buy that for so long and that excuse ship has sailed.  My neighbor started theirs after me and they've been swimming for a couple months now.  So, it's clearly just that this company over-extended themselves.  And I don't think the size of the company really matters.  Ours is one of the biggest in DFW (possibly the biggest) and our neighbor's was a small mom and pop type.

I have a client who builds pools (out of state) and she said they are running into the same things, but the difference is that she said they won't dig until they know they'll have the crews available to at least make some consistent progress.  In other words, they won't let their clients just flap in the breeze with no work being done.  Our company has literally left things sitting for weeks and weeks, especially after two of the 3 big payments were made.  I'm now holding the last payment, which was due at coping, as it's the only leverage I have left.

[Landomatic 3813]

4 minutes ago, Poolflood said:

There are going to be 2 types of builders.  Larger builders with a contract that precludes lawsuit.  Will go to meditation.  Smaller builder you can sue.  But what are you going to get out of it?  MAYBE you get built a week or so earlier OR they'll say, ok, all communication goes through lawyers.  You want to pay your lawyer for that?  

Covid has fucked the industry.  Nobody is exempt.  It sucks.  

PM if you want info on a builder and if they're paying their bills on time - that becomes the biggest issue in an environment like this.  They don't make money unless they're digging pools.

Yeah, I'm sure mine has an iron-clad contract and I'm just fucked either way.  Doesn't mean I can't try to apply pressure though.  This is the second pool I've used them for.  Also the last.

And yeah, it's fucked the industry, but as I mentioned in the last post, there are still ways to handle it right and this company is not handling it right.