New pool building construction FAQ
What type of material is your pool made out of?
The pool is made out of polymer…a fancy way of saying plastic. The plastic pool wall is engineered to be stronger then a steel wall, while being a lot lighter. The cost of the polymer wall is a little more expensive, but in the long term the panels never rust like a steel pool, so the cost is negligible. Here is a link to our pool panels we use: pool panel information
How long does the whole process take?
The typical pool building process is 3 weeks with average weather. Of course rain every day for a week straight will delay the project some, but once the whole is dug, there is a lot that can be done even while raining.
What does not come with your service when you build a new swimming pool?
There are a lot of things we do not do, even if we are offered tons of money. The price of your pool doesn’t include any landscaping. We will do a rough grade around your pool, and we will minimize the impact on your yard to save you money on replacing grass, but we will not seed, sod, plant trees, etc. We will roughly dig up some shrubs, small trees and remove them and place them in the spot where you want to replant.
We will not cut down trees. However, we have a number of a great (and honestly too cheap) tree guy that will cut your trees down for you.
Rough electrical around the pool is our responsibility, along with the pool lights, the pool bonding inspection, and running conduit; we will not run electric to your house or hook up your pool pump or heater. Depending on a variety of factors the cost of this can be 2,000 to 4,000 for the guy that usually hooks up my swimming pools. You are more then welcome to find your own electrician, or a guy doing work “on the side.” Just know id say there is a 25% chance of something going wrong when using an electrician that isn’t familiar with swimming pools.
Finally, we do not build fences. There are plenty of fence companies out there with tons of different style fences. I can give you numbers of fence guys I have worked with, but to be honest there is not a a fence guy I would 100% refer. They normally start late, don’t clean up after themselves, foul language, smoke, etc.
How long does a liner last?
There is not a hard, fast rule for how many years liner will last. Keeping your pool chemicals in balance will help the liners overall lifetime, as will a pool cover to protect from the sun. However I think most customers expect the liner to last longer then what it really will. I normally say 5 – 7 years. Anything above 7 year and you should be ecstatic. Here’s some tips to help extend your liner’s lifespan: https://www.paradisepoolandpatio.com/extend-vinyl-liners-lifespan/
But when you get a new liner you can pick a different design or color, and the pool will look completely different.
Do I need a permit with the city or county?
Generally yes. The price is relatively inexpensive, usually about 500 dollars for me, but included with a new swimming pool. The county will send an inspector out a couple of times and double check a couple of building issues.
The first issue they check is when we are digging the pool. They are double checking a couple of things: The pool is 10 feet away from the house and property line, the ground is original dirt and not “fill dirt”, and the pool is away from any septic lines.
Then the county will come out again to verify our electrical connections and insure we bonded the pool properly. Usually the inspector will sign off on the electricians work on this day.
The last time the inspector will come by after the pool is finished, and is most likely verifying the pool has a fence.
Do I get a warranty?
Yes and no. Our warranty is as good as any other pool company out there, but we try to be a little more honest on what is covered and what is not. Here’s an article that goes into more detail: https://www.paradisepoolandpatio.com/pool-warranty/
Pool Service FAQ
My pool walls are made out of wood, and it is falling apart. Can I salvage the pool?
Yes, there are generally two options when saving a wood built pool. The first one is ripping the liner out and fully assessing the damage. The wood panel walls are usually in pretty bad shape. If most of the pool is in good structural shape, the bad sections can be looked at. Normally, the bad sections wood gets ripped out and replaced with concrete. The concrete then gets lined with a special pad to prevent the liner ripping on the concrete. The coping then will have to be drilled into the new concrete and anchored down.
The second option is to build a pool inside a pool. This process involves tearing down most of the wood panels and bracing. Then the new polymer pool walls are built a little closer together to give some room to work. Then the pool gets plumbed, and concrete and gravel gets added behind the panels.
Can I put a liner in an old gunite pool?
Yes, yes, and yes. One of my favorite projects is doing complete rehabs on old gunnite pools. The pool owner comes to me with an old decaying pool that is usually leaking and has tons of cracks. The pool normally is way out of level due to settling. Ill come through and drain the pool, scrape the pool walls, fill in any cracks and line the pool with a special smooth pad to prevent the old concrete from tearing the new liner. If the pool is out of level, we’ll shim up the new coping to make a level pool. The new liner solves all the leaking problems from the old pool, and all of a sudden an old nasty pool is brand new.
My pool has an underground leak in the pipes. Do I have to destroy the decking to install new lines?
Technically no. Sometimes there is a trick depending on the current plumbing situation. It really depends on the exact situation, and each one is different. Sometimes you just have to destroy the pad that the skimmer is in and live with one section being a slightly different color.