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The information and illustrations contained within this website have been obtained from the National Swimming Pool Foundation 2002, 2005 & 2007 Certified Pool & Spa Operator Handbooks, the Center for Disease Control website and various other industry sources.Building a Pool QuestionsWhich pool builder does Arizona Pool Pros recommend? Is a salt pool better than a chlorine pool? What type of filter is the best? Are pop-up cleaners better than a pool vacuum cleaner? What regular maintenance / services should I expect to encounter after my pool is built? Can I afford a pool? How much will it cost to maintain the pool? Which pool builder does Arizona Pool Pros recommend? Notice: At this time Arizona Pool Pros does not recommend any one particular pool builder. However, prior to you choosing your pool builder we highly recommend that you read the following questions and apply them to your search for your pool builder. Important Questions You Should Ask Every Pool Salesman! If you are an existing homeowner, a new homeowner or designing your dream home and you’re looking to create a relaxing environment to escape the summer heat, or if you just want to entertain family and friends then please take a few minutes to learn a few simple questions to ask the pool salesman that will help you build a pool-without the hassles, worries, frustrations or commonly associated problems that occur within the swimming pool industry. 1. Do you have complaints registered with the Registrar of Contractors, and can I have your contractor’s license number to check your status? Often pool builders and their salespeople will make claims and promises that they are unable to fulfill in order to get a signed contract. The problem arises as the pool is being built and it becomes obvious that they never had the intention to deliver on their promise. As a result, many disputes occur between the customers and the pool company either by an unfulfilled promise that was made by the salesperson or just due to poor workmanship. Every one of these complaints are registered and you as a consumer need to be aware of the companies past performance. Before you sign any contract with any pool builder you should first check their complaint history by visiting: www.azroc.gov/clsc/AZROCLicenseQuery Please be advised that many pool builders operate under several licenses so be sure to check each and every license held by the builder and their sub-contractors. 2. As a salesperson, will I see you during the construction process to make sure I’m getting what you sold me, and how often will I see you after the sale? Most pool companies and their salespeople are only interested in “selling you” a pool, rather than designing and building a pool. Once you sign the contract, the salesperson moves onto the next sales lead, and you’ll never see the sales person on the build site again. Now the responsibility to deliver on the “promises” is up to the superintendent, who you have never even met, let alone was a part of the original discussions. 3. Is the price you quoted the final price, or are there any potential add-ons or hidden costs that can take place that you are not telling me about right now? Some pool companies may come in at a lower bid on a project knowing full well that they will make-up the money through additional add-ons once under construction. For example, a “hard dig,” where the ground underneath the surface is rock or a harder material, takes more time and is wearing on the equipment. The company may present this to you for the first time only after they have already begun the digging. Other such costs include removing landscape, moving air-conditioning units, or fixing sprinkler lines that are in the way. All utilities also need to be located before you sign the contract because there is a possibility they will have to be moved too, which adds to the cost. One of the most costly mistakes is when a pool is built under power lines and during the inspection it is noticed; fines are then assessed accordingly so make sure it is delineated in your contact that the pool company pays for such an expense. 4. As a salesperson, what qualifies you as a pool designer? How much experience do you have in design, (were you a car or shoe salesmen a year ago)? Most salespeople have little, if any, experience in the field of design or mechanical drawing. They may lack the experience on construction sites to know whether or not what they are designing can actually be built. They know the basics: the width, depth and length of a free-form pool; where to put the steps to enter, and they know the pool goes some place in the backyard. If they want to get really creative, they’ll add a pile of rocks at one end or the other calling it a waterfall. They operate in a vacuum and will usually not take into consideration the other critical elements that go into building a quality product, which insures a quality experience. For instance, the most common oversight is where they place your skimmer (the piece of equipment responsible for removing leaves, dust and other floating debris from the water). Most sales people will just place the skimmer at the shortest run to your filter and other equipment because this is the cheapest method. What they won’t take into consideration is the fact that the wind in Maricopa County and at your house most often blows out of the west. Therefore, the skimmer needs to be placed on the east side of the pool in order to catch all the debris, regardless of where the equipment is located. While they may save you a little money upfront, in the long run you will have a worse experience because you will have to spend more money to clean your pool more often. 5. What are the names of the people that will actually be building my pool, specifically the names of the “sub-contractors?” How long have you known & worked with them? Most pool companies hire independent contractors to build your pool. The problem is that not all sub-contractors are created equal; you have those that do quality work and are considered to be specialists and then you have those that just punch a clock and make money by doing mass volume. Salespeople hate this question, because they can never answer it. 6. Will you provide me the names and numbers of your last 3 customers as references? If a sales-person says, “We have been in business for 24 years,” ask him how long “He” has been selling pools. Have him provide a list of the last three customers that he sold a pool to, and ask him if YOU can contact them. Obviously his most recent customers are the important ones to contact. Are those customers happy, did the company deliver on what was promised? 7. Are you locked in with an equipment supplier, like Hayward? Does your company get a kick back for selling their equipment, even though there might be better equipment available to me? Many pool companies will make deals with pool equipment suppliers and get a “kickback” from those companies for selling their equipment. The equipment may use more electricity per hour than other equipment that is offered, but the pool company’s salesperson is restricted to only sell that one type or brand of equipment. Since the company is getting a kickback on the equipment, certain equipment may be cheaper, for example a motor. You may think that you are getting a good deal initially due to the lower price but in reality you could end up spending $200 more for electricity each year - plus the motor will not last as long and you will have to pay for the replacement. 8. Do you and your company have experience with Environmentally Friendly pool equipment? (Pumps, Filters, Heaters, Etc.) Can you educate me on the benefits of using these types of equipment? COMING SOON! 9. During construction, who is responsible for removing excess debris and cleaning up my yard? Most companies have few or no policies when dealing with the tidiness and cleanliness of your yard or your neighbor’s yard; they tend to be very sloppy during construction. To top it all off, if you live in a community with an Home Owners Association (HOA) you may get fined because of the mess. Is a salt pool better than a chlorine pool? Myth: Salt pools do not use chlorine. Fact: The truth is that salt pools are in fact chlorine pools. The primary difference is that the salt pool does not use chlorine tablets to sanitize the water. If you have ever purchased a salt system you probably have heard the salesman say "just set it and forget it" or "virtually no maintenance required" or "salt pools don't use chlorine" while saying this the salesman is not technically lying but they are definitely not giving you the whole story. In reality salt pools require just as much maintenance as a chlorine pool. Salt pools tend to have a higher pH level than a typical chlorine pool. The higher pH means that in most cases you will need to add a greater amount of muriatic acid weekly. Salt pools use a chlorine generator to convert the salt (sodium chloride) into chlorine gas and a byproduct called caustic soda which is the cause of the higher pH. As the chlorine sanitizes the pool it reacts with bacteria to convert back to sodium chloride (salt). Chlorine gas is not a stabilized form of chlorine and will be quickly broken down by sunlight (UV rays) and heat, so the addition of cyanuric acid (stabilizer) is required to promote the killing of germs, bacteria, etc. Also additional salt will need to be added as water is splashed out or carried out of the pool by swimmers or backwashed from the filter. Myth: Salt pools cannot turn green. Fact: Salt pools that are not properly maintained can and will turn green. The chlorine generator used by salt pools is only effective as long as the water chemistry is properly balanced. In addition to balanced water the majority of salt systems will not produce chlorine if the water's temperature is too cold (usually less than 55 to 60 degrees F.) or too hot (above 95 to 100 degrees F.). When the water temperature exceeds these ranges the pool can easily turn green. Myth: Salt pools need less maintenance than a chlorine pool. Fact: The truth is that salt pools require just as much maintenance as chlorine pools. In fact some might say that a salt pool requires more maintenance since the chlorine generator needs to be taken apart and given and acid bath every 2 - 3 months on average. The acid bath is done to remove calcium buildup from the plates within the chlorine generator. So as the calcium hardness in your pool rises the chlorine generator will need to be cleaned more frequently. If you fail to perform this cleaning process you will find that the chlorine generator is unable to produce chlorine and it will eventually need replacement which can cost $300 to $1,000 depending on brand and model. What type of filter is the best? All filters have advantages and disadvantages. Here are the common filters and some advantages and disadvantages of each. Please be advised that there is a current trend taking place with pool builders. Many pool builders are now telling customers that it is illegal in the customers city or against the customers Home Owners Association (HOA) CC&R's to install anything other than a Cartridge Filter. In almost every case this statement is either completely false or a serious misinterpretation of the truth. PLEASE check your CC&R'S or call your city's Building & Permit Department before taking the word of your pool builders salesman. In most cases the pool builders are telling their customers this just so that the pool builder can charge a premium usually $200 or more than what the cartridge filter would normally cost. Below the filter descriptions is an illustration that should help to explain the differences between the filters. Sand Filters are nice since all you have to do is backwash the filter when the pressure increases 8 to 10 psi above normal (baseline) pressure. Sand in sand filters should be replaced every 5 years or so, this and servicing the backwash valve 1 to 2 times per year is pretty much the maintenance of a sand filter. Sand filters while being the easiest to maintain are the worst of the three filters in filtering capability. (i.e. The average 350 pound sand filter will require approximately $525.00 of service over the first 5 years of use. According to our Arizona Pool Pros Service Pricing.) Diatomaceous Earth Filters (D.E.) should be backwashed when the pressure increases 8 to 10 psi above normal (baseline) pressure. However, after each backwash of a D.E. filter, you must add D.E. back through the skimmer. If you don't put D.E. back in, the filter pressure will go up quicker since dirt particles will clog up the fiberglass grids causing the filter to experience abnormally high pressures. Eventually the high pressures will damage the grids. The most common complaint about D.E. Filters is that when backwashing is performed on a D.E. filter the D.E. and dirt coming out of the filter will build up in your yard creating an unsightly mess. This can however be prevented simply by burying the backwash line and having the waste water fill an underground backwash pit. D.E. filters need to be disassembled and completely cleaned, inspected at least once a year as well as service the backwash valve 1 to 2 times per year . The biggest benefit of a D.E. filter is that it is able to remove the smallest size debris of any filter. The average life expectancy of the grids in a D.E. Filter is 3 - 5 years at which time they will require replacement. (i.e. The average 48 square foot D.E. filter will require approximately $1,000.00 of service over the first 5 years of use. According to our Arizona Pool Pros Service Pricing.) Cartridge Filters also have more surface area over sand filters. Unfortunately, you can't just backwash a cartridge filter, you have to open the tank, take them out and pressure wash them. This process usually takes 1 to 3 hours depending on the size and number of cartridges. Cartridges also need to be cleaned when the filter pressure increases 8 - 10 psi above normal (baseline) pressure this usually equates to every 3 - 4 months. Again, if you don't clean them often enough damage can occur to the cartridges and you'll be replacing the cartridges prematurely. The cartridges do however need to be replaced every 2 - 3 years due to normal wear and tear. (i.e. The average 425 square foot cartridge filter will require approximately $3,300.00 of service over the first 5 years of use. According to our Arizona Pool Pros Service Pricing.)
Are pop-up cleaners better than a pool vacuum cleaner? Pop-up cleaners can be very effective at keeping a pool clean but this is only if the pop-up system was properly designed. Most homeowners decide to spend more money on how the pool looks rather than how the pool works. This is a bad idea if you are installing a pop-up system since poorly designed pop-up systems will result in dead zones (where dirt settles) or pop-ups being placed too far apart from each other to effectively clean the pool. I am often asked which I would install if I were building a pool. This question unfortunately is affected by literally dozens of variables such as how many and what type of trees, bushes, etc will be around the pool; is the home located near an open field, desert, or construction area; will there be rocks or grass around the pool; and so on. In most cases I would install a pop-up system but I would make certain that the pop-ups are not spaced more than 8 feet from each other and that all pop-ups are properly located on steps, benches, under tables and between submerged stools. I would do this even if this setup required additional plumbing or additional pop-up gear boxes. This setup gives the pool the best and most efficient cleaning system possible and the result is a very clean pool. Don't forget that the spa also needs to be cleaned and should also have its own set of pop-ups and preferably an automatic valve for the spa drain that will suck the dirt/debris out of the spa. Again this setup will cost more but what is the point of a good looking pool/spa area if the bottom of the pool and spa are always covered with dirt. In the event that your pool will be surrounded by trees or other plants with large foliage amounts then I would recommend that you install a Polaris Dust & Vac system as this setup will provide you with a very efficient and clean pool that will be able to handle the high debris loads. What regular maintenance / services should I expect to encounter after my pool is built? COMING SOON! However, until we get this answer completed you can get a good idea what services will be needed by simply viewing our Additional Services / Regular Maintenance Page at: http://www.arizonapoolpros.com/regular_maintenance.htm Can I afford a pool? How much will it cost to maintain the pool?
The cost of owning a
swimming pool is very expensive. This is why for decades swimming
pools were primarily owned by wealthy people. Over the last 20 to
30 years the cost to build a swimming pool has dropped significantly and the
fact that you can now finance a pool has made it much easier for the average
homeowner to have a pool built. However, when most homeowners are
first thinking about building one they NEVER take into consideration the
cost of maintaining the swimming pool once it's been built. I often
tell people who ask me if they can afford a pool that they need to assume
that over and above the cost of the payments that the pool builder quotes
them they need to factor in an additional $250 per month that will be needed
for the cost of weekly maintenance and repairs. Even if the homeowner
takes care of the pool themselves they need to assume this $250 as a minimum
amount that the pool will cost them each month. The breakdown of where
the $250 goes looks like this:
Now that you know what you
can expect to pay for various maintenance services that your pool will
need let's recap why I recommend $250 per month.
If every homeowner would
budget and put aside the minimum $250 per month like I recommend they would
NEVER be caught off guard or find themselves without the money to fix the
pool when things wear out or break. By the way when I say put the
money aside I mean put it into a separate bank account (preferably a
different bank than all your other accounts) in which the money will ONLY be
used for the pool and its repairs. This account should NEVER be used
as a way to pay for pool toys or other frivolous things.
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