Do not water your concrete decking until 24 hours has passed from initial application. It is recommended that you water your concrete decking at least twice daily. During the warmer months, three times minimum is best. You cannot put too much water on new concrete decking, so feel free to water away. It takes 30 days approximately for the concrete decking to cure, so you cannot hurt it by watering it for the full 30 days. The recommendation is that you at least do it for two weeks post application.
This is one of the most changed items during a pool build. You will have the opportunity to adjust your decking if you’d like prior to it being poured.
Elevation is like that snake that you don’t see and can come up and bite you sometimes. Fortunate for you, sparklean usually knows when that snake is present, we just don’t know how hard he’s going to bite sometimes. Property or ground elevation is the height difference of your yard relative to a certain point (usually your existing patio). We try our best to account for elevation changes with the need for retaining walls, pool height, turndown, etc… Sometimes, those things can vary depending on the final elevation of your property. Final elevation will be determined day of dig. Most of the time, this is accounted for though in your contracts.
Your contract covers the specifics on this. We encourage you to reread this section so there’s no surprises when we have to charge to put the “Great Wall” back up if it wasn’t accounted for in the standard contract.
Pool depths are listed in your contracts, however, please understand that there can be variances or reasonable tolerances with regards to depths, mostly of which are affected by the type of soil we are required to excavate. Pool profiles are not listed in your contracts for the same reasons. If you have a preference on pool profiles, it recommended that you ask your project manager about this, before we start playing with the big tonka toys. Please don’t wait until we finish digging, load up all our toys, and drive into the sunset before telling us that you wanted to have more of a shallow end.
Mitigating rock isn’t fun for anybody. It delays the excavation of a project, it creates wear and tear on our equipment, and it cost you the customer to remove it. Rock charges are very different on every project that encounters it. If we have to dig out, scrape, chip, clip, hammer, or remove rock, there will be a cost associated. Those costs are listed in your contract under the terms and conditions. Please understand that the cost for this is determined by the amount of time that it takes to deal with it. Yes, this also includes the haul off and dump of the rock as well, it doesn’t stop when the hammer comes off. Those big dump trucks on the street don’t operate on hopes and dreams unfortunately, they do take fuel to run and most dump locations don’t want your rock.
Driveways typically work great for parking your vehicles, kids’ bicycle, power wheels, scooters, sporting equipment, etc., however, they usually don’t hold up well against a 70,000 lb. fully loaded dump truck or real life, big boy tonka toys repeatedly driving over it. For this reason, driveways are a last resort as far as access goes. Should we access a property via your driveway, ECP is not responsible for associated damages. We can fix it if it happens, but there will be associated costs with fixing those items.
We’re currently in negotiations with the alien network, however, we have not solidified any deals with hovering excavation equipment. Because of this, it is expected that we will destroy grass, dirt, sprinkler systems, sidewalks, curbs, flowerbeds, fences, neighbors’ yards, and potentially much more. Please understand that ECP is not responsible for any of these items if they are destroyed during the course of excavation. We are happy to replace and/or fix these items if they arise, but they’re typically not covered within the normal scope of the contract and may add cost to fix.
Often, we build on properties that have drainage issues prior to us starting construction. When this is the case, please understand that building a pool will not correct prior drainage issues on a property. In this scenario, if there is standing water once final grade is complete, this is most likely the case. Our in-house final grade crews will account for the drainage of the pool area, but it does not account for all the property’s drainage. We can certainly address drainage issues and correct them, but please understand that additional drainage work on your property can be an additional expense.
Throughout the course of your project, you will see trash begin to accumulate. We promise we are not importing trash onto your property so that we can bury it or burn it later. The project managers and crews will do their best to keep it limited to one area as the project progresses. The bulk of the trash will be removed at the end of the project when final grade crews begin.
Any deviation from the contract should be accounted for in a “change order”. You will receive a copy of the change order prior to implementation to which all parties will sign. The items to be changed during the course of a project may or may not be allowed depending on the change requested and where you are in the process.
This question is specific to which material you are choosing. Ultimately, your project manager will communicate with you when to choose everything.
We encourage you to be present during all parts of construction if you’d like, however, it’s not necessary. We will absolutely require you to be present on dig day and when electricians are on your property. We do require that we are allowed unimpeded access to your property though. When you hired us to build your pool, it was assumed that you wanted us in your backyard to build your pool. Please don’t be “that guy” that won’t allow us in the backyard when it’s time to work or just because you’re not home. Yes, this does happen occasionally. If we have to pull crews off of your project because access wasn’t available, pull off charges can be applied.
Timelines…Whew! Where do we start with this one? Please do not schedule any events around the completion of construction for your project. Occasionally, customers like to start scheduling events prior to finishing a project, but we strongly urge against this. There are too many variables that can affect the completion of a project as many of them are outside of our control, such as weather. If your project is aligned with holidays, birthday parties, quinceaneras, weddings, or any other family events that are pressing, our recommendation is to schedule it at another location until you can confirm that water is in the pool and ready. Please see the attached “Timeline” form that will lay out some more specific information.
During the permitting process, you will communicate just as you have with our office staff. Once we have received a permit from the city, there will be a project manager specifically assigned to your project. They are assigned to your project once permits are received (or at time of creation of plans for county customers) and they will reach out to you once they receive your information from our office. The project managers will be your primary point of contact for your project once they are assigned. We expect that all homeowners communicate with them directly for all your project needs.
Pull the reigns you ball of fire! We are excited to get started as well, but there is a system and a process to make this work correctly. You’ve signed your contract. This was the first step. Depending on where you live, we will need to first create a set of construction plans. These are the plans that each crew will use to properly build your pool based on the design we all chose. It’s imperative that this is accurate, so it may take up to a week to complete. Depending on where you live, you may need to begin with the permit process. For the rest of the timeline, please reference your timeline sheet that lays out the general timeframes for a given project.
Many pool tiles are known to have color variations. Typically, the ones that do will have it identified on the tile itself. This is not only true with tiles though. This can have the same effect with anything masonry related on your projects. This can include concrete, rockwork, tiles, coping, veneers, etc…
Retaining walls are design to hold back dirt, not moisture. If you have a retaining wall that borders decking, please expect that you will get some water to work its way through over time, especially when the great flood comes through during springtime.
This is probably one of the most common questions associated with tile, coping, and masonry. Don’t be alarmed. This stage is one of the slowest typically and it’s no reason to lose your cool and call the office daily. Remember, the tile and coping are all being applied to fresh gunite, so there is lag time before we can start putting weight on it. This is especially true if you have large water features with significant weight. Also, our in house masons are very good at what they do. They are skilled laborers and they’re not easy to find for what we do, but we have vetted our employees over time and they are truly the best! With quality, sometimes you sacrifice speed. This is a good thing. Even though masonry can be the bottleneck of the construction process, we assure you that the product is exceptional when completed.
The answer to this can be fluid and depends on many factors. On average, we can start digging your pool anywhere from 1-4 weeks from the time we receive an approved permit.
Under normal circumstances, it’s an estimated 6 weeks to receive a permit from the time you sign a contract. Some municipalities require an act of congress to get through permitting in which case this process can be delayed.
This process starts the day you sign a contract. It includes creation of folders, organization of your files, creation of sets of construction plans, stamped/approved electrical plans, and ultimately an approved permit from a plans examiner. Please know that an approved permit does not include any nonstandard city requirements. Examples of this can be engineered drainage surveys, final grade surveys, proximity letters, erosion control requirements, etc…
Stand down. The ugly foam is placed there on purpose believe it or not. This is the expansion joint that sits between the pool coping and the decking. Once the pool is filled with water, we will return to remove the foam and fill that joint with mastic. Additionally, you will want to follow the following guidelines for mastic installation for at least 24 hours…
When the mastic crews are complete, you may see loose sand around the area. Please be careful as it can be slippery. It is necessary that this sand is used for the installation. Our crews will not return to clean off the residual sand left around the area, this is standard. It is permissible to sweep or hose off the deck after 24 hours though, so feel free to put the kiddos to work!
The pool will be full once the water level has reached halfway up the tile line.
The only thing we need from you is to have a water hose attached to a water supply on site. Usually this is your spigot from the house. There is a process for plaster application. The following steps will happen over the course of a few days. At step 4, our crews will start filling the pool. The only responsibility you will have is to notify us once the pool is full…
Most homeowner will choose their plaster around the same time that tile and coping selections are made. Ultimately, you have some time for this. Your project manager will let you know when to start narrowing down a decision.
If equipment is going to be altered, we recommend that this decision is made prior to start of construction.
You may have already had some preliminary talks with us prior to signing a contract, but you will cover this again with your project manager. Ultimately, your project manager may make some recommendations as to where it will best serve your pool and your budget.
Gunite is applied through a pressured hose with a mix of cement, sand, and water. During this process, there will be overspray around the pool area. To limit exposure or damage to surrounding objects, you will see our crews erect tarps to protect your home. These tarps are designed to protect from the large pieces that are being applied, but you may notice a light film or residue around the area as well. This is nothing more than aerosolized product, but it is an overspray and can potentially dirty or damage patio furniture and other items around the home. If you have anything nearby that is a concern or don’t want damaged, it is always best to remove it from the area or cover it prior to our crews arriving.
Gunite is the concrete shell of your pool. It is called gunite because of the way it is mixed and applied. It is a mixture of cement, sand, and water applied through a pressure hose, producing a dense hard layer of concrete similar to the concrete you’re already familiar with.
