Austin New Pool Build - First Time Pool Owner

[Tberry]

Hi everyone, pretty new here. Thanks in advance for reading my post and contributing.

I am looking to build a pool, I have received 3 quotes from local pool builders but I am confused and need assistance in making a decision. I have limited information from Contractor 3 but can request for more information if needed.

Below are the pool and equipment spec. Kindly review and suggest the best option or let me know if these are overpriced. Thanks

Spec​	Contractor 1​	Contractor 2​	Contractor 3​
Pool Size	32'5" x 24'7"	18’x32’	18’x32ft
Pool Perimeter	117ft	114ft
Pool Area	588sqft	436sqft
Pool Depth	3.5 – 5.5	3.5ftx4.5ftx5.5ft
Pool Gallons	14.937	NA
Spa Dimensions	6’x8’ Rectangle	custom
Spa Perimeter	28ft	30ft	28ft
Spa Area	48ft	54ft	48ft
Spa Height	1.5ft	18 inches from deck
Spa Depth	3.5ft	3.5ft	3.5ft
Spa Gallons	614	NA
Pool and Spa Gallons	15,551	16,111
Decking	354ft
Decking Finish	Koolcote
Turndown Beam	89ft	422 sqft of 6 inch beam
Existing Deck	100ft
Pool Coping		Travertine 16x24 coping	12x12 Square Edge Travertine
Masonry #1	18” RBB		6” Raised Bond Beam
Masonry Size	18		12” Raised Bond Beam
Masonry #2	Masonry Wall		2ft-3ft Pool wall above
Water Feature #1	2x2’ Water Sheers
Water Feature #2	1x ColorVision Bubbler
Equipment​
Filter	Pentair Cartridge Filter 420sq	Pentair Clean & Clear S20 Cartridge	460 Sq Ft Cartridge W/SPA
Heater	Pentair 400K BTU Heater	Pentair Mastertemp 400k - NG	Pentair 400K BTU Heater
Main Pump	Pentair Intelliflo3 VS + Relay	Pentair Intelliflo i3 (3HP)	2.7HP VS w/Spa
Pump #2	Pentair Superflo 2HP VS	NA
Spa Blower	1HP Silencer Blower	Jandy 1.5HP	1.5HP
Cleaner	By Owner	Pentair Prowler 930 Robotic	Polaris Epic 8520
Control Panel	Pentair IntelliCenter i5	Pentair Intellicenter I5PS
Remote Control	Panel includes WiFi	Pentair Home App	IQ904 PS (2JVA)
Pool Lights	3 x Pentair Microbrite LED	4 Pentair Microbrite LED 12v	2 Pool Nicheless Color LED
Spa Light	1 x Pentair Microbrite LED	1 x Pentair Microbrite LED 12v	I Spa Nicheleless
Sanitization	Inline Chlorinator	In-/line Chlor w Pentair UV system	Fusion Sanitizer
Other Lighting	Pentair Microbrite LED	9 vista step lights
Actuator		2 addtnal actuators
Gas Connection	60ft	Gas
Water Line Fill	NA	Manual	Manual w/o RPZ BF
Drains	A&A Channel		Deck o Drain
Skimmer	Standard Skimmers x2	2 Pentair Quikskim ultra skimmer	14
Plaster	Pebble Sheen (Tier 1)
Entry	Tanning Ledge / Matching Interior
Tile	Emser Products Std Tier		Standard 6x6
Drains		Aquastar circle drain w Pentair Leaf Canister
Returns		6 Directional flush mount inlets	4 Drain Heads
Spa Pipes		3 inch suction, 2 ½ inch return schedule 40 PVC
Spa Jets		6 Deluxe Therapy Jets	6
Spa Air		1.5inch dedicated air line
Spa Drain		Aquastar circle drain
Fill line	None	Manual integrated fill line	Manual w/o RPZBF
Price	$135,000	$164,500	$120,000

 

[Jimrahbe]

T,

If you are not getting a saltwater pool, you need to find another pool builder...

Have you ever been in a gunite spa before?? Is so, and you liked it, great!! If not, you really, really need to try one before you buy one.

I'm am a Pentair fan...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Brisket512]

Contractor 2 seems to be high, I'm building something similar just outside of Austin and most of my bids were around $130k.

I'd highly suggest asking the builders what they are doing to mitigate ASR "concrete cancer" with their builds. It has been a big problem for pools built in Austin the last few years.

 

[Tberry]

Thanks for the advice, I will make sure to ask. I am also outside of Austin - Georgetown. How’s your project going, has your builder been reliable? Do you mind sharing a few details about your project and if you’re comfortable, perhaps the name of your builder if you have had any luck with them. Thanks.

 

[Tberry]

T,

If you are not getting a saltwater pool, you need to find another pool builder...

Have you ever been in a gunite spa before?? Is so, and you liked it, great!! If not, you really, really need to try one before you buy one.

I'm am a Pentair fan...

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks for the response, yes I have been in a gunite spa before with no issues.

Why do you recommend looking for a different builder if not building a saltwater pool. Is there any inference from the information provided that suggests that any of these builders will be incompetent?

Also, what are the pros of a saltwater pool? Thanks

 

[Newdude]

Why do you recommend looking for a different builder if not building a saltwater pool. Is there any inference from the information provided that suggests that any of these builders will be incompetent?

Texas PBs don't like SWGs. But they love hocus pocus like the UV, Ozone and ionizers. All 3 claim to lower your chlorine need, but unless they deploy a tent over the pool, the sun will deplete the same chlorine daily. The sun is your daily battle, not the algae the secondary sanitizers are designed to control, which they can't control either. An active algae bloom grows exponentially and there are no silver bullets once the runaway train starts.

In the case of the ionizer, it adds copper to the pool which will stain your $120k+ finish. It is an avoid at all costs no brainer.

The SWG on the other hand simply adds your daily dose of chlorine for you, with no trips to the store or remembering to find the time. We are overwhelmingly in favor of them here and you'd have to pry anyone's from their cold dead hands.

I know builders like to do their own design, but I'd pick the pool you like best, then make them compete for who gets to build it. I could never spend that much money with Builder X telling me my pool should look like so. There is zero reason they all can't build the pool you like best.

It also levels the playing field when all 3 builders want $160k for pool B because it's a fancier or a more extensive build. Then you're simply choosing not to spend that much money, but builder B may still be a better choice to build pool A. Sorry that I made the decision worse. It's a gift i have.

 

[Tberry]

Texas PBs don't like SWGs. But they love hocus pocus like the UV, Ozone and ionizers. All 3 claim to lower your chlorine need, but unless they deploy a tent over the pool, the sun will deplete the same chlorine daily. The sun is your daily battle, not the algae the secondary sanitizers are designed to control, which they can't control either. An active algae bloom grows exponentially and there are no silver bullets once the runaway train starts.

In the case of the ionizer, it adds copper to the pool which will stain your $120k+ finish. It is an avoid at all costs no brainer.

The SWG on the other hand simply adds your daily dose of chlorine for you, with no trips to the store or remembering to find the time. We are overwhelmingly in favor of them here and you'd have to pry anyone's from their cold dead hands.

I know builders like to do their own design, but I'd pick the pool you like best, then make them compete for who gets to build it. I could never spend that much money with Builder X telling me my pool should look like so. There is zero reason they all can't build the pool you like best.

It also levels the playing field when all 3 builders want $160k for pool B because it's a fancier or a more extensive build. Then you're simply choosing not to spend that much money, but builder B may still be a better choice to build pool A. Sorry that I made the decision worse. It's a gift i have.

Thanks alot for the insight, I like builder B's design but not the price tag, lol. I will look more into SWGs designs. Are these usually the same price range as above?

 

[jimbethesda]

Thanks alot for the insight, I like builder B's design but not the price tag, lol. I will look more into SWGs designs. Are these usually the same price range as above?

There is no difference. A SWG is simply a small piece of equipment that’s installed with the rest of your equipment. Total cost should be $1,500 - $2,000, but ditching the UV system saves some money. Many Texas pool builders won’t do SWG because of their ignorance. I live in Austin, we had to eliminate a few PBs because they refused. We still found several, and picked one, that would.

You can read up on SWG. The short description is that they take salt (NaCl) and split it into Sodium (Na) and Chlorine (Cl). The neatest part (IMO) is that once the chlorine is “used up” it recombines with the Sodium to turn back into salt. So, you add salt once, and then maybe 1-2 times a year as you lose salt due to splash out, draining, or backwashing your filter. So, you spend $0 on chlorine.

The other important part is what you do instead if not a SWG. You either use those dichlor/trichlor tabs which has stabilizer (CYA) and chlorine, Cal-Hypo that have calcium and chlorine, or liquid chlorine that contains water, chlorine, and a little salt. Chlorine gets used up daily, while CYA and calcium accumulates over time creating lots of headaches. Many people use liquid chlorine, which is fine, but it is a little bit of a hassle as you need to add some every day (or maybe a few times a week in winter).

I have yet to meet a pool owner that exclusively uses the tabs that doesn’t constantly wrestle with algae, spends $$$ every month on magic potions from the pool store, or spends $$$ every month on a pool maintenance company. The exception is for those living in areas with lots of rain, the dilution can keep the stabilizer to a minimum.

Oh, and those that don’t have a SWG end up with a lot of salt in their pool anyway because almost everything they put into their pool contains some salt. This is an important point, because PBs say salt will harm your pool. Not true at the levels required, and all pools have salt.

TLDR: Get a SWG (rated at least 2x the size of your pool) or don’t build one. You’ll thank me later..