Yes: Pools are worth it....

[Spur08 382]

@cman would add on gabled porch be under additional structures or part of the regular domain?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but we can claim these losses on our 2021 tax return since it was declared a state of emergency, correct? Also, if you extended into 15% of the value of the home, then you can request a property tax exemption or something like that?

[Your Mom 4806]

6 months ago I was getting quotes on a pool.  I got cold feet and decided to make sure I was going to remain employed through this shit before going any further. Fast forward to today and I’m still employed and it seems like I’m safe again. 
Have I missed the boat to get a pool in Austin done by the end of summer? I’m assuming yes. 

[freyguy 4278]

You mean before the end of the year?  Yes.

[Poolflood 845]

50 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

6 months ago I was getting quotes on a pool.  I got cold feet and decided to make sure I was going to remain employed through this shit before going any further. Fast forward to today and I’m still employed and it seems like I’m safe again. 
Have I missed the boat to get a pool in Austin done by the end of summer? I’m assuming yes. 

 

46 minutes ago, freyguy said:

You mean before the end of the year?  Yes.

You'll easily be swimming by 2022.  

Realistically you can be done quicker but when I say the manufacturers are behind.... I bet there are less than 100 heaters in distribution in the state of Texas.  Typical year there would be multiple thousands.  Don't get me started on pumps.

If you buy now just be patient.

[HookEm 2467]

I don’t suppose anyone had a Pentair Filter where the bottom cracked but the top is still salvageable?

[DaysOff 7956]

12 hours ago, Your Mom said:

6 months ago I was getting quotes on a pool.  I got cold feet and decided to make sure I was going to remain employed through this shit before going any further. Fast forward to today and I’m still employed and it seems like I’m safe again. 
Have I missed the boat to get a pool in Austin done by the end of summer? I’m assuming yes. 

 

Get the captain pool; you've earned it.

[TexasEd 8067]

Shotcrete/Gunite Day is here!  Came a day early because the pool they were supposed to do had standing water in it.

[TexasEd 8067]

[TexasEd 8067]

[Tailgate 3022]

Got the pool running today. Still some pvc damage to waterfalls and chiller...but happy to see water flowing. Hopefully all good in the next week or two.

[freyguy 4278]

Same here (finally).  Ditched the UV bioshield for good.  Waiting on a heater manifold.  Bypassed both in the meantime.  Now discovering the pool won't go into spa mode.  Valve actuates to position, but visually, everything still in pool mode.  Methinks the check valve may be toast, but it was already too dark for me to try and figure it out.

[C-Man 27232]

@cman would add on gabled porch be under additional structures or part of the regular domain?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but we can claim these losses on our 2021 tax return since it was declared a state of emergency, correct? Also, if you extended into 15% of the value of the home, then you can request a property tax exemption or something like that?

Hmm. Hard to say without seeing it. (Even then it's a little fuzzy.) Is the gabled porch attached to the main structure? I'm not talking about the concrete/slab.
To answer your second question, one of my co-workers sent out an email on this earlier today. Let me dig it up and post it here. Apparently, this pertains to property taxes.

EDIT:
On a side note something that came to light was a temporary reduction in property taxes for those with damage for an extended period of time. I thought this was something you might want to share with your clients that were affected by major winter storm claims.

Tarrant County Link: https://www.tad.org/temporary-exemption-for-disaster-damage/

Dallas County Link: https://www.dallascad.org/News.aspx?ID=1

Collin County Link: https://www.collincad.org/press-releases/42-2021-press-releases/198-propertytaxexemptionforwinterstormdamage

[gyroprotagonist 2594]

yeah, just got a ~$1500 estimate for repairs.  mostly PVC replacement, a few check valves and the chlorinator.  my plumbing repair expertise tops out with sprinkler systems so letting the pros handle this one.

[C-Man 27232]

Well, fuck me. I'm so damn frustrated. Now it appears PURE *might* be covering exposed outdoor pool equipment if it froze and was damaged due to rolling brownout outages. I realize this is an unprecedented weather-related loss in Texas but the flip-flopping by carriers is driving me (and my clients) nuts.

The bottom line is if you have pool equipment and it was damaged, file the claim as part of your likely larger claim. Let the carrier make a determination. (In the future, probably a good idea to take pics of anything you do prior to the loss to protect the equipment -- wrapping/covering/etc -- as it can only help if shit goes down.)

[HookEm 2467]

FYI - Looks like I may have finally found a couple of places that have my Pentair pool filter top. (#170022).  Probably because they were pricing them so high.

I'm not going to cancel either until I get one in.  If I happen to wind up with an extra I will sell it to anyone on here for what it cost me.  ~$500.  PM me if interested.

[BradInATX 9208]

Starting to look like something.

This is the hard part. Been pretty patiently waiting all winter, but now that it looks like a pool and I'm in the home stretch, it's hard not to count days until we can jump in this mofo. Got a few more days to finish the boulder/water feature (it stacks up higher and goes all the way across the back side including the hot tub facia). Then it's the pool finish, and equipment set. Hoping for early April to jump in.

Edited March 11, 2021 by BradInATX

[mchookem 16337]

well, we might have celebrated too soon 😒

booster pump for the Polaris does not appear to be working - makes noise and has water going through it like it's running, but zero movement on the polaris itself and the water 'pull' or whatever you call it is super weak. so now have to get back in line with to get someone out to take a look at it specifically. boo.

pool can run w/o it obviously...and actually it's not a huge deal for a few weeks now...b/c our pool renovation is starting Monday! yay!

new plaster, new tile (weren't going to replace the tile but discovered several had broken and fallen in the pool b/c of freeze so added), new sundeck, coping repairs...i was getting worried the company we're using for the reno wasn't going to get us on the schedule due to all the repairs they have lined up, but the guy called this morning and we're on - can't wait! 

between that and all the new plumbing/repairs...might as well be a brand new pool! 😎

(yes, we're using 2 different companies - the one that did the repair work so far is FANTASTIC, i'd be happy to give a recommendation if anybody needs one, but they don't do construction/renovation, just service and equipment repairs. the other company...fingers crossed, we got 3 bids and this was the one in the middle, i liked this guy best so hopefully i won't be back on here in a month bitching and raging about it lol)

[DaysOff 7956]

Those polaris pumps are cheap pieces of shit. Every damn one of them in the state broke in the freeze.

[LosIllini 91]

15 hours ago, mchookem said:

booster pump for the Polaris does not appear to be working - makes noise and has water going through it like it's running, but zero movement on the polaris itself and the water 'pull' or whatever you call it is super weak. so now have to get back in line with to get someone out to take a look at it specifically. boo.

had the same issue here.  Bearings were frozen up on the pump post-freeze, and the unit was not circulating water.  Finally got a new replacement pump in, and wired up.  Cleaner is working again.  Not too difficult of a fix, if you can find the same part/ swap out, and don't have to redo any of the connecting plumbing.

[immamac 42868]

Guess I'm lucky one of my hoses popped off. My booster survived. 

[immamac 42868]

My pool is not doing so well without circulation and filtering after weeks. It's turning brown. Hahah. 

[billfromlaketravis 11519]

16 hours ago, DaysOff said:

Those polaris pumps are cheap pieces of shit. Every damn one of them in the state broke in the freeze.

This. We thought the repair guy was sketching out on us, but it did actually take him a few days to find the part. 

[Fudbelty 2788]

Finally got parts to start the repairs today. Hoping to be up and running.

[Quagmire 2147]

Gonna start the design process soon, anything you guys wished you had added? Or stuff to avoid ?

[mchookem 16337]

reno started yesterday!

the damage to the palms is just 💔 they were easily 20+ feet ☹

it's not all big and fancy...but i live central lol 

Edited March 16, 2021 by mchookem

[Landomatic 3813]

On 2/3/2021 at 9:40 AM, Landomatic said:

Update:

Quick recap...our pool has been a fucking nightmare.  We signed our contract with deposit and final selections on May 14, 2020.  They not only took forever, but every element of the build was done wrong the first time and had to be either redone completely or had to be fixed multiple times to get it right.  We're talking issues with plumbing, coping, decking, gunite, electrical, and plaster.  We finally got plaster on November 20, 2020 and had our driveway replaced and everything pretty much down to a few punch list items on November 24, 2020, so pretty close to 7 months with some straggler time remaining.

Now, here we are on February 3.  There was one fitting for the spa bubbler that was in crooked so it was shooting the bubbler about 20 degrees off center.  I was given 2 options...either rig it by bending the plastic pipe so it would come out of the water in the right spot but the pipe would be crooked, or redo the fitting which would require a small plaster patch that I could "barely see".  Option 2 seemed like doing it right and I'd had enough of the rig jobs up until this point, so we opted for option 2.  Supposed to be a one day job.

First try at the patch job that we'd barely be able to see was a fucking joke.  Huge patch that was nowhere near the color of the existing plaster and looked like a giant pile of dog shit in the bottom of my pool directly under the pool light so it has a spotlight on it.  Fine, once again, nothing is ever done right the first time and they'll need to come redo that as well.  Next attempt, it looks as bad or worse.  Mind you, we've now filled and drained the pool three times (I'm now receiving notices from the city that they think I have a water leak).

So, they decide the only way it's now going to look right is to re-plaster the spa.  What that really means is that it gets another coat over the old plaster.  I didn't buy a pool with a re-plastered spa, I bought a new pool with a new spa.  But, at this point, I just want the fucking thing done so I sign off on it.  They chipped the old stuff off around the edges and fittings and put down some kind of primer layer and they're all set to re-plaster.

Plaster guys show up and they're starting their setup and prep work.  After about an hour, I look out and they are packing their shit and leaving.  So, I go out to see what the hell is going on and they tell me the tiles are falling off like nothing just from sticking their tape to them for the prep, so they can't continue.  Are you fucking kidding me?!?!

Now they've determined that they will have to completely redo the tile work and that they will also need to re-plaster the pool along with the spa as there is no way they will ever be able to get them to match each other.  They also won't redo it with the tile we originally selected because they've decided that it's the product, not the install job that was shoddy.  Mind you, we've had to have them back to replace tiles that have fallen off at least 4 times up to this point.  MOTHER FUCKER!

At this point, there are several other issues in the pool that I was letting slide in an interest to just get the fucking thing done.  But, now the gloves are really off (I already had to threaten to sue earlier) and I'm fucking demanding they redo it all and get it all right.  The other issues are the main drain is in crooked, two of the in-floor cleaning heads are off center, the lights they used are way too bright for that size pool, and the plumbing was done wrong (understatement) so the in-floor cleaning heads that are under your ass in the spa shoot ice water out when the spa is on.  Also, I'm not accepting re-plaster over the old plaster.  I want it all off and completely redone from scratch.

To top it all off, they are having problems resourcing another black and white greek key tile to use.  That was truly the design inspiration for the entire project and I am not willing to just pick something else.  We have $50K plus worth of furniture, accessories, a custom cabana, awnings, landscaping etc that were all selected to coordinate with that tile.

In all of this, I find out my project manager has been fired.  They admitted to me that he has been the problem the whole time and that he should have been fired before Thanksgiving.  They told me he was having some personal problems (I got to hear about them from him all the time and none of them seemed that bad to me, he was just a whiney bitch) and that his lack of quality control has been unacceptable.  Well, no shit!  I guess the good part is they've admitted it's all on them and they have agreed to redo everything and get it right.

So, here we are.  Over 9 months in and I need new tile, new plaster, new plumbing, and new lighting.  Good times.  I won't put the company on blast publicly yet until this is finished, but if anyone in DFW is getting a pool and wants to know their name, PM me and I'll be happy to tell you.  They are one of the biggest in the metroplex based out of Plano.

Here she is in her current state in all her glory.  Kill me now...

 

Here's an update for anyone who gives a fuck.

tl;dr...

Contract signed, deposit made, final selections - May 14, 2020.

Broke ground August 3, 2020

Between every element having to be redone at least once (most several times), one fired project manager, and tons of other delays, here we are 315 days later...

 

[El Tri 412]

22 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

Here's an update for anyone who gives a fuck.

tl;dr...

Contract signed, deposit made, final selections - May 14, 2020.

Broke ground August 3, 2020

Between every element having to be redone at least once (most several times), one fired project manager, and tons of other delays, here we are 315 days later...

 

jeez and i thought my 6 month project was bad (which it was, our dumbass supervisor fucked up and delayed the project and we missed all of 2019 summer)

[freyguy 4278]

52 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

Here's an update for anyone who gives a fuck.

tl;dr...

Contract signed, deposit made, final selections - May 14, 2020.

Broke ground August 3, 2020

Between every element having to be redone at least once (most several times), one fired project manager, and tons of other delays, here we are 315 days later...

 

Hey man, that still doesn't look finished.

[Quagmire 2147]

Ozone filters worth is or bs upgrade ?

[freyguy 4278]

8 minutes ago, Quagmire said:

Ozone filters worth is or bs upgrade ?

big BS, same goes for the UV chambers (I learned that one the hard way recently).  You kill your bugs with chlorine, and you get extra UV from the sun.  Ozone is another way to oxidize organics in closed loop systems, but it will also oxidize your pipes, plus you will lose every bit of it once it hits the open air.

[williemackgarza 1826]

Finally got my replacement slide/fountain pump installed.
Now seems to be a small glitch in the Intellicenter automation.

[MonkeyDoughnut 10319]

16 hours ago, Quagmire said:

Ozone filters worth is or bs upgrade ?

I don't have one, but yes they work, especially now with the variable speed pumps where you can run your pump 24hrs a day. They would allow you to use less chlorine. Its considered something akin to salt water pool feel/clean in a chlorine pool system. Are they needed, no. Do they help and work, sure. I've looked at possible adding instead of adding a salt system.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13515]

On 2/10/2021 at 7:52 PM, freyguy said:

Your controller should have a freeze mode setting that automatically kicks in.  But yes, just keep running all the pumps.  This ain't Minnesota, so there's little to no chance of shit actually freezing.

Just catching up on this thread. This post didn't age well.

[freyguy 4278]

Just now, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Just catching up on this thread. This post didn't age well.

No.  It most certainly did not....

[gyroprotagonist 2594]

just got my pipes fixed.  no real damage to the pumps, but the booster pump that runs the vac is squealing like something from Deliverance.  Used to be mildly annoying, but now is pretty bad.  

[TexasEd 8067]

47 minutes ago, gyroprotagonist said:

just got my pipes fixed.  no real damage to the pumps, but the booster pump that runs the vac is squealing like something from Deliverance.  Used to be mildly annoying, but now is pretty bad.  

I've been hearing the booster pumps are the #1 casualty.

 

[mchookem 16337]

yep, our booster is DOA but it's low priority, as our pool reno currently looks like this...

2 weeks in...new tile and mastic/mortar/coping repairs complete. sundeck refinish was done thursday and cured all weekend, they had to finish it first before the plaster, which is scheduled for the coming week.

i would be all smiles except...one of our lights is out and our pool was so small we only needed one, so we told them we just wanted to cap it and fill it in. that detail seems to have gotten lost somewhere as the hole/light is still there. but when i brought it up to the reno manager last week he seemed apologetic and said 'no worries, we'll get it taken care of'...so i'm hopeful they can quickly fill it in and we can stay on schedule and get this done in a month!

so basically...so far we're having the exact opposite experience as Landomatic lol

(sorry man, that's enraging!)

 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10319]

The large amounts of pollen is really getting annoying. Clogging skimmers, pump baskets and main filters.

Anyone tried a "pool skimmer sock"? 

[immamac 42868]

Pool got mega swampy, no sense in treating it with all these oaks around it was just a losing battle. Decided to drain the pool entirely, refill with water trucked in instead of well water with 1000+ TDS out of the spigot. Drained pool with siphon hose method, but it wasn't happening so I went and rented a trash pump (yes necessary, tons of leaves sticks etc in the pool water). Went in with my wet/dry vac and got all the leaves and sticks and whatever in 8 trips. Then sucked out the rest of the water in another 3 trips. 

Powerwashed all the surfaces in the pool and the pool light housing and all that stuff that never gets cleaned ever. Didn't get to skateboard. Then pumped/vacuumed out the water again. 

Had 14k gallons delivered in 6 loads. I took the opportunity to completely clean the DE filters and grids (taking it apart) so added DE and Shocked the pool with less than half the shock as before.

I bought a new housing for my pump - backordered at least 120 days. Said fuck it and found a pump almost identical (because nothing sold at leslies is identical to anything else) but it had the same replacement part I needed. Harvested the part off the new pump, when new part comes in from backorder will replace part on new pump and return or sell "new in box" on ebay.

I now have a working pool that is better than it has ever been 120 days faster at least. 

[freyguy 4278]

1 hour ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

The large amounts of pollen is really getting annoying. Clogging skimmers, pump baskets and main filters.

Anyone tried a "pool skimmer sock"? 

Yes, I got em.  They're cheap and help keep alot of crude things from getting to your filter.

[conVINCEd 21469]

1 hour ago, immamac said:

Pool got mega swampy, no sense in treating it with all these oaks around it was just a losing battle. Decided to drain the pool entirely, refill with water trucked in instead of well water with 1000+ TDS out of the spigot. Drained pool with siphon hose method, but it wasn't happening so I went and rented a trash pump (yes necessary, tons of leaves sticks etc in the pool water). Went in with my wet/dry vac and got all the leaves and sticks and whatever in 8 trips. Then sucked out the rest of the water in another 3 trips. 

Powerwashed all the surfaces in the pool and the pool light housing and all that stuff that never gets cleaned ever. Didn't get to skateboard. Then pumped/vacuumed out the water again. 

Had 14k gallons delivered in 6 loads. I took the opportunity to completely clean the DE filters and grids (taking it apart) so added DE and Shocked the pool with less than half the shock as before.

I bought a new housing for my pump - backordered at least 120 days. Said fuck it and found a pump almost identical (because nothing sold at leslies is identical to anything else) but it had the same replacement part I needed. Harvested the part off the new pump, when new part comes in from backorder will replace part on new pump and return or sell "new in box" on ebay.

I now have a working pool that is better than it has ever been 120 days faster at least. 

Out of curiosity, what does it run to have 14k gallons of water delivered?

[immamac 42868]

1650 mostly truck fees. The water itself was only 400 or so bucks. 

Each truck is 2400ish gallons. 6 trucks @ 260/truck + taxes and shit. 

[immamac 42868]

Just now, immamac said:

1650 mostly truck fees. The water itself was only 400 or so bucks. 

Each truck is 2400ish gallons. 6 trucks @ 260/truck + taxes and shit. 

In my case very worth it. There would be no way I would have reasonable TDS filling completely with my well and rainwater collection dilution would take years. 

[Buzzrock 14926]

Yes, I got em.  They're cheap and help keep alot of crude things from getting to your filter.

+1 I started using them when my dog decided he liked the pool.

[TexasEd 8067]

Tile day

[TexasEd 8067]

A couple more in progress 

[freyguy 4278]

You need to nuke that playscape and put in an lattice backdrop.  Find someone to drop ranch pipe every 4-8 ft, then tack weld square livestock fencing.

 

[freyguy 4278]

But know that if another snowpocalypse comes, it'll look like this.  😭

 

[C-Man 27232]

Our Polaris finally gave up the ghost this week. Never had to buy one before -- any recs on what we should get, how to go about procuring it at the best possible price? Can I even get one now with the dearth of pool equipment out there?

[TexasEd 8067]

6 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Our Polaris finally gave up the ghost this week. Never had to buy one before -- any recs on what we should get, how to go about procuring it at the best possible price? Can I even get one now with the dearth of pool equipment out there?

Everything I have read says ditch the pressure side type and go with an electronic robot.  They actually scrub the plaster to remove stains so you don't have to brush.

Ours will come with one like this https://www.polarispool.com/en/products/robotic/polaris-9650iq

But there are other brands that are more highly recommended at TFP for you to retrofit. https://www.troublefreepool.com/forums/pool-cleaners.50/

Edited March 31, 2021 by TexasEd