For anyone interested in seeing a gunite pool being built- ahh! crawly/jumpy things!

[luvflorida]

Stupid question #1 - how did y'all go about finding a reputable pool company?

We moved to Ocala, FL about 6 months ago and those we've asked for advice (realtor, inspector, landscape guy) are hesitant to recommend anyone - which worries me. I did a BBB search for Blue Haven (one of the larger pool companies) and they don't seem to have the best record.

TIA!

Denise

Up here in Maine I'm sure there aren't as many pool companies as down south. We went with a large company that was highly recommended by people who have used them.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

12 weeks?! It took 12 weeks to build that pool? It's beautiful, but, man, that's a long time!

It's Florida--my construction was to take about 10 weeks...the extra 2 was for the screen (actually only 4 days of work--but the lag time between pool guy saying ready and the screen guy being able to come accounts for the 2 extra weeks).

Pool building is a big business in Florida....the clock time of when people were actually working was probably closer to 6-8 weeks. No work was done on weekends...then there were gaps in the scedule of a few days to a week of just waiting for curing or other things. Also--concrete shortage meant a slight delay in timing of delivery though our contractor was pretty good iwth it. And also--RAIN DELAYS .

Welcome to Florida!

I believe luvflorida said that their pool will be much quicker.

 

[luvflorida]

I believe luvflorida said that their pool will be much quicker.

Yes, there aren't nearly as many pools being built in Maine as in Florida.

And, Lisa loves Pooh, I LOVE your pool! It's gorgeous! Makes me all the more excited for ours to be finished. We won't get a lot of time to use it this summer, but next summer it'll be all set to go!

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Just curious, how much use will you get out of it in Maine?

 

[luvflorida]

Just curious, how much use will you get out of it in Maine?

Not nearly enough! Seriously, the swimming season up here isn't a very long one. June, July, August, and the first few weeks of September are about the only months that the pool will get used. Even in June, though, it can be a bit chilly for swimming. Next summer we plan on adding a heater to the pool which will extend the season a bit more, but probably not by much.

We do get some hot, humid days in the summer. In fact, this summer has had quite a few hot days and those were the days that made us decide on putting in a pool.

 

[denisem]

Pool building is a big business in Florida....the clock time of when people were actually working was probably closer to 6-8 weeks. No work was done on weekends...then there were gaps in the scedule of a few days to a week of just waiting for curing or other things. Also--concrete shortage meant a slight delay in timing of delivery though our contractor was pretty good iwth it. And also--RAIN DELAYS .

Welcome to Florida!

I believe luvflorida said that their pool will be much quicker.

Yes, we weren't considering starting until fall/winter for those reasons...oh, heck, we're starting from scratch - maybe I'll just extend the lanai, get a screen enclosure and a BIG aboveground spa!

Denise < --- still going to follow this thread

 

[Poohnatic]

Very cool!

We're looking at a fiberglass pool in about 2 1/2 years. Keep those pictures coming!

Suzanne

 

[poohandwendy]

Next summer we plan on adding a heater to the pool which will extend the season a bit more, but probably not by much.

You will definitely want a pool heater, being in Maine (even for the hot summer months). I grew up with an in-ground pool (in south western Pennsylvania) and it takes a whole lotta very hot days to get inground water to a temperature that is comfortable to swim in. And all it takes is a heavy rain to cool that water down to a chilly, not-so-fun-to-swim-in-temp.

Have fun with your pool, they are great!

 

[kaylajr]

This is great

DH and I want to put in a pool next spring/summer so this thread is really helpful

 

[Spoisal]

great pics! keep them coming! we just signed our contract on Friday (7/15) & I think the digging will start 7/25. VERY EXCITING!!!!! Our pool won't be gunite, it will be shotcrete. Our pool will be free form - 32' x 18' at the widest spots. What are you doing around your pool? Any special patios or landscaping? This is what I am trying to decide right now. Is sure does add up!

 

[Dan Murphy]

.........The wood frame is a more firm border--b/c once they start digging, the spray paint disappears--The frame maintains the borders of how far out to be digging the hoel. Once dug..they'll build more of a frame structure and attach mesh to it and then the cement pond is poured. Not sure at what point it will differ for the gunnite construction though.

Thanks much for the explanation.

 

[luvflorida]

great pics! keep them coming! we just signed our contract on Friday (7/15) & I think the digging will start 7/25. VERY EXCITING!!!!! Our pool won't be gunite, it will be shotcrete. Our pool will be free form - 32' x 18' at the widest spots. What are you doing around your pool? Any special patios or landscaping? This is what I am trying to decide right now. Is sure does add up!

32'x18' is a big pool! Ours will be a bit smaller. The pool company will put concrete, four feet wide, all around the pool as part of the pool package. It'll follow the shape of the pool. We wanted more at one end, so they're going to go out another ten feet with the concrete at the end where the steps go into the pool. So we'll have a fourteen foot concrete deck to put table/chairs etc. on.

The fencing will go as close to the pool as possible, but it will be rectangular so there are going to be spaces to fill in with some type of landscaping. We're still thinking about how to best fill the spaces. We're considering crushed rock, or plants, flowers, or small shrubs. We don't want any grass inside the pool area.

 

[luvflorida]

Thanks much for the explanation.

Lisa loves Pooh explained it better than I could! The difference with the gunite is that it is not cement that is poured in. It is cement that is blown in with some sort of gun-type equipment. That's where the name 'gun'-ite comes from. I'll be sure to get pictures when they do it. Should be interesting!

 

[Spoisal]

The pool company will put concrete, four feet wide, all around the pool as part of the pool package. It'll follow the shape of the pool. We wanted more at one end, so they're going to go out another ten feet with the concrete at the end where the steps go into the pool. So we'll have a fourteen foot concrete deck to put table/chairs etc. on

.

I think this is what we are going to do also! Nothing fancy, but it will do the trick & look nice....good luck to you guys!

 

[luvflorida]

Be prepared to have your lawn dug up! These are the ruts left behind by the heavy equipment. Luckily we have access to the back of our house by going around either the left side or the right side of the house. They had to be sure to go around the side where the septic system and leachfield were NOT located. The trucks were way too heavy to drive over a leachfield. And, luckily again, they didn't have to drive over any of our driveway. One of the guys said that sometimes the trucks can crack driveways.

This is day four. They worked on Saturday, but not Sunday. More digging and grading.

A dump truck load of crushed rock/gravel was brought in this morning and they proceeded to fill the hole with it. A side note- I want that guy who is standing in the hole to be my poolboy! HaHa!

In some of the pictures you can see this little tree. It used to be nearer the hole and probably would have been in the way of the fence, so we dug it up and replanted it by our back porch.

Here is a picture taken after they finished with the rocks and after the tree was removed. It was taken from the back steps. I think they're done for today. When the next step comes along, I'll update with pictures. Thanks to everyone who is following along. Hope it is interesting and helpful to you!

 

[MickeysMommy]

Great pics. Thanks for posting the progress.

 

[scoutsmom99]

how excting I have always wanted a pool! Thanks for sharing I'm going to subscribe so I can continue to watch the progress

 

[luvflorida]

Day Five- The pool company came out and installed the plumbing today. They were here for about five hours and this is what they did. This shows the drains they installed at the bottom of the pool. That dark round thing leaning against the wooden rail is the light that will eventually be installed in the side of the pool.

These are pipes that lead from the pool, (skimmer area), to the filter and other equipment that was installed by the side of our shed.

This is looking from the other end of the pipes, toward the skimmer.

They put three pipes on one side of the pool for water going in or coming out. I can't remember if the guy said they are for outgoing water or incoming water!?! Eventually these will all be covered up and underground, not visible. The next step will be the installation of steel bars in the pool. So far so good. Everything seems to be running as scheduled.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yes, there aren't nearly as many pools being built in Maine as in Florida.

And, Lisa loves Pooh, I LOVE your pool! It's gorgeous! Makes me all the more excited for ours to be finished. We won't get a lot of time to use it this summer, but next summer it'll be all set to go!

Thanks--forgot to mention that the blur at the top of the pool on the right...is our fan jets .

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They put three pipes on one side of the pool for water going in or coming out. I can't remember if the guy said they are for outgoing water or incoming water!?! Eventually these will all be covered up and underground, not visible. The next step will be the installation of steel bars in the pool. So far so good. Everything seems to be running as scheduled.

Your skimmer is where it goes "in"--and the other pipes would be where it comes "out". ETA--skimmer is usually on the deep end...and it appears that looking head on--to the left of your light. We have one extra pipe for the vacuum--so that is another "in". .

Also--I'm impressed you got the pumping equipment....In good ol' Florida--that's one of the last things---pool equipment day is a good day....close to getting it filled!

FYI--it took about 24 hours to fill our pool....and I don't recall if it was same day or next day after they did the finish--but I thought we'd have to wait much longer--so it was quick to us .

You might check with your water/sewer. Though I forgot to do ours (stupid hurricane!!)....in our county at least...you document the fill time and size of your pool (so ours is ~15,000 gallons....2pm one day - 2pm next day)..and they will credit the sewer portion of that charge so that you don't get hit with the entire cost of the water sewer. I don't recall the credit as we didn't get it...but we had a pipe leak once (Before our pool days) and our water bill was higher than what it was for filling the pool. (Scary thought about all that wasted water!).

So look into that--a coupon of sorts to your pool building experience!