JK,
Happy to help as best I can. Below are the answers:
- If we do go ahead and use DIY pools service, will they walk us thru each step of the process? Yes they make the process very clear and give you access to several great videos the explain the process. You can arrange virtual meetings with them and email them. I found them to be pretty responsive so far. The owner has been a pool builder for decades in California and is a consultant to you for your project.
- How accessible are they? There is a process to schedule virtual meetings. We've had 2 and they were on-time for both.
- What we have in mind is a 15 ft by 30 ft by 4.5 ft deep throughout the pool with two infinity edges (1 length 1 width). At one end we would like to have a roughly 6 by 6 jacuzzi and we‘re still undecided about a spillover from the jacuzzi into the pool. We think this is a pretty straight forward simple pool design. We intend to use glass mosaic tile throughout the entire pool (bottom, sides, and infinity - see pic attached). Sounds like a nice pool and there will be some up charges for the additional structural design for the infinity edge. Their starter package was under $1000 for a basic pool and their lowest level of support. My design is complex and will probably end up a little over $2000 but I've allowed for a couple additional design changes. My wife has a tendency for changing her mind... imagine that!
- About sub-contractors would DIY Pools have any contractors who will work in our area? They don't have any subs that I'm aware of in Florida. They may be able to recommend if they've done a pool in your county but subs aren't that hard to find. They will recommend shotcrete over gunite and my guess is this is due to the higher skill level for gunite. A good starting point is to look for other pools under construction and if at all possible talk to the owner's to see if their happy with the work so far. When you send out requests for proposals get references and check them. I heard horror stories about finding subs for an Owner Build and I've found that is not a problem at all. Everybody is busy but they also want to make sure they stay that way. The challenge is to discern the really good quality subs and they are not usually the cheapest but they will be the best value.
- Do you think the contractors you’re using may know some fellow contractors in their trade who would be willing to work in Brevard county? That's very likely for certain parts of the work. I would think most may be common to my area and I'd be happy to share mine with you once I select them. I'm going for my septic plan review meeting this Friday which sets the slab elevation for the house in my case. Next thing I'll do is select and award excavation contractor. I'm going to check with to see if they have pool excavation experience and I'll let you know. Every contractor I select comes from a fairly long list and I short-list the top 3 or so then visit sites where work is in progress for each to verify they meet my requirements..
- If not, what is a good way to go about finding contractors. There are a couple ways to do this:
- DIY may be able to help with this for most of your subs.
- Start with recommendations from friends that have had pools built if they know the subs.
- Look for company information on trucks at job sites
- I've found them by just striking up a conversation at the job site or take a photo of their logo on a truck and call them to see if they are interested in quoting your job.. Then get references and check them out. When you do this try to do it during breaks or after quitting time. Keep in mind they are on the job for a pool builder and it's not a good idea for the builder to see you as interfering with his job.
- You will have a local engineering company that works with DIY to stamp the structural drawings. They are a good source of information for subs especially any subs they may interface with on the job.
- When you are finalizing your subs and send out requests for proposals require them to provide their liability insurance certificate and their workman's comp.experience factor. This is a great indicator of their quality in most cases. Safer contractors have trained supervisors and usually have better productivity even though their hourly rates are a little higher.
- Of course Google works too but you have to be sure you do a lot more than just check out their website.
- A couple other things that may be helpful:
- Build a schedule and permit plan for your job to start with. Include all the activities that are required to complete the job and make sure you have the dependencies right and the duration's confirmed with your subcontractors information provided in their proposal. Add contingency for weather and other delays. Your job as OB is largely to manage the interfaces between the subs and anybody else that can affect their work like permits, materials/equipment delivery, and required inspections.
- Once you get your preliminary design complete go to the building department and ask for a meeting with a permit application reviewer. Explain your situation and ask for any advice they can provide so you have a successful project and an overview of how the permit and inspections work. You'll learn a lot of great information and especially things that are specific to their office. You'll also start a relationship that is needed for a successful job.
I haven't done much on the pool other than preliminary design so far. In my case all the pool excavation and elevations will be driven by the elevation set for the house slab. Oddly enough this is set by the septic system permit to ensure proper drainage through the sanitary sewer connections to the house. It all slopes downhill and a very specific slope and has to end up at the bottom of the drain field with at least 20" above the water table. I have my septic plan review scheduled for this Friday... fingers crossed!
I hope this helps and I'm happy to share any information I have as my job proceeds.
Chris
www.troublefreepool.com
