flynnva Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Hi everyone, I've spoke with a few builders in my area and have been researching as much as I can about pools however I really don't know anything about them so I was hoping I could keep this thread going for a while and throw some questions out to y'all. One builder perfers steel walls and his price was higher than the other two by $7,000 - $10,000 although he included a few more items valued aroud $2,500. We didn't seem to hit it off very well so I'm inclined not to use him, but still open. The other two builders have great references and are larger companies, one is very local to my area. Both of these builders perfer poly walled pools. One uses Prestige which he explains is a Pacific pool. Looking at Pacifics web site, they seem to have very nice panels with alot of reinforcement. The other builder gives me a choice of Hydra, Matrix or Caravelle walls. The Matrix walls appear to be really well made, again with alot of reinforcement. Both the Pacific and Matrix appear to use different panels for the skimmer. The Hydra and Caravelle look similar and don't seem to have as much reinforcement and appears you use the same panel for the skimmer, it's just cut to fit. Is this correct? Does anyone have any positives or negatives about any of these pools? The pool size I'm looking at is a medium to large L Builder #1 recommends this equipment for a 42'x18'x26' 2" vermiculite floor concrete collar around base of walls 1 1/2" PVC ( I asked for 2" and he said "no problem") Hayward s-244t 24" sand filter Hayward sp-2607 pump 3/4hp. 2 Hayward wall fittings 2 Hayward eyeball fittings 2 Hayward skimmers He recommended against a bottom drain but said he would install it if I wanted Pacific poly steps my choice of Premier or Merlin liner Builder 2 recommends this equipment for a 40'x20'x30' 2" cement and Vermiculite floor concrete footing around walls 2"PVC Hayward s270T2 sand filter Hayward Tri-star pump 1h.p. 2 main drains 3 returns 2 skimmers Pacific poly steps my choice of Kafko liner 3 way valve for flow control between main drains and skimmer Please give me your thoughts on this equipment (not a brand war, but just if anything looks really off), pointers or ask me any questions, Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegsOnEarth Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Based on what you've listed so far, I would go with builder 2. I don't agree with not installing a main drain. Liner pools are notorious for having poor circulation and since builder 2 is going to put in 2" pipe and 2 main drains, he's your man. Outside of that, I am not familiar with these brands so I can't say a whole lot (Kafko vs Merlin vs Premier), so someone else will have to chime in on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoolGuyNJ Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 All three liner manufacturers have 20 and 28 mil liners. Walls and floors are typically 15% more for each. FYI, thicker doesn't last longer but rather is used with concrete or rusted walls. I agree with LegsOnEarth that PB#2 shows more promise. An S310 is a better sized filter. The 3/4 and 244T from PB#1 is too small, as is the 1.5 pipe. You need more than 1 skimmer. if the surface area is 1400 sq feet. . Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flynnva Posted August 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 Thanks for the replys. Both PB's would use 28mil liners and 2 skimmers. PB#2 is the one that gives me a choice of walls. I think I like the Matrix best. Scott, Do you have an opinion on any of the wall manufacturers I mentioned? PB#2 is the one I'm leaning towards. He is a few thousand more but the pool is bigger and the equipment he is installing is better. He first recommended the s270 but after we met and I expressed concern with the pool being in full sun he said he would step it up to the s310 and 1.5hp tri star pump at no extra charge. Does this sound like a better set up? I think he just forgot to change it on the contract but I already noted to question him on it. Also the contract states "walls with braces and concrete footings", should I also make sure it has a full concrete collar around the walls or is that pretty standard? As for backfill, everyone around here seems to use the excavated dirt, one gave me a choice of gravel at a added cost. I'm thinking the dirt is fine if I give it a month to settle before doing concrete. Soil here isn't rocky, I can tell you from digging fence post after it rains it digs easy but once it gets dry it is like digging in concrete. When I asked about lights, I wanted Hayward colorlogic and he recommended instead of two colorlogics he could do 3 low voltage lights which would be 1/2 the cost. I don't know the brand of the low voltage lights yet but what do you think? Thanks for all the help, just trying to make sure I figure it all out before it's to late. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoolGuyNJ Posted August 28, 2012 Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 I would think a 1 HP would be fine. No real need that I see going to a 1.5 HP pump. I don't build pools,. I just fix them. As such, I have no preference for the wall brand. Ask the local township engineer what the local soil conditions are. It sounds like clay by your post hole digging experiences and precautions may need to be taken, especially if there are drainage issues in addition to or as a result of the build. The existing soil may not be a suitable bed and would need additional measures such as gravel added, the use of other than dig spoils for back fill and french drains. You might need a soils engineer's report. They cost but can save you worse expenses later if precautions weren't in place and were needed. A pool this sized will need 3 Color Logic fixtures. I can't comment on the other fixtures without knowing what they are. Remember, if it isn't in writing, it wasn't said. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flynnva Posted August 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 PB#2 is very familiar with this area and most of his builds are around here. I think his father started the business 30 years ago. That being said, he has already included a french drain in the build but that was verbally, thanks for mentioning it, I made a note to have it put in the contract. I think he said he would add gravel below the backfill and cut in a french drain then backfill with existing soil. I did a search and found some low voltage lights that were a couple hundred each. I don't think they required a niche or conduit all the way back so I think that was the savings. However I think I would rather spend the money on the Color Logics, they seem like they would be replacable if there was a problem and the low voltage seems like they could be a problem down the road if/when one died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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