Wow are they Fast!

As you can see in our previous blog we decided on Sunday to go with Space Coast Shotcrete, (Monday was a holiday) Tuesday they were in our yard early with a backhoe and string-line.  I went over the plans with them and they started tearing up the sod.

By the end of the day they had all the sod removed and had staked the area for the pool.

We hadn't told the girls that we were starting the pool today so it would be a surprise.  It's funny to see them trying to figure out why the large equipment is at our house and then the different reaction between the two girls.

Day Two - These guys are amazing.

First they excavated.

Are You My Mommy?

Then they filled the pool (hole) with gravel.

Started to form

Nice Fence did Superior Fence put that in?

That's the spa to the left.

That's a lot of work for two days.

Researched different equipment with Patrick at Inyo Pools, however,  J.C. with Space Coast Shotcrete recommended waiting until they were finished before ordering any equipment.  That way if there were any questions about the type of drains they used or how far away the drain was from the pool pump,etc. we would know the answers for sure without estimating.

They should be shooting the pool early next week.

Let's Get It Started In Here!

Made our revisions to the permit that the county required and now we have a permit in hand.

Got a quote from Prestige Gunite of Melbourne Florida, they were very friendly and got me a quote back very fast.  They would only shoot the gunite but were able to give me names of contractors to dig and form the pool.  Their quote was actually an estimate and may change depending on how much concrete they used.

Today we also got a quote from Space Coast Shotcrete, Inc.  They would dig, form and shoot the pool, so there would be no need to hire or mess around with additional contractors.  The owner came out to look at our lot today and we decided to go with him.  We agreed that we would get a locate done ASAP, and he could start shortly after that.  His ETA for finishing was approx. 2 weeks.

We haven't told the girls yet.  We want it to be a surprise when the get home from school and there is a big hole in the ground.  We should have additional pics soon.

Why I'm building my own pool

A few years ago we decided we wanted a pool.  Living in Florida, and having two young kids we were spending more time at home, and the kids had been asking over and over again for a pool, and guess what it's HOT in Florida! So we started our look for a pool.  We had several pool companies come to give us quotes.  To our surprise a pretty basic pool with no screen or fence at that time (during the housing boom) was going to cost us close to $60k.  That was way out of our budget so our search stopped soon after that.

With the kids getting older and continuing to want a pool, and with the building boom long since over, we figured it was again a good time to look for a pool.  We figured we could get much more pool for less money.   So again we started getting quotes, however this time with several more years of looking at pools in magazines and at neighbors houses and online, we knew much more what we wanted.  One particular pool we had discovered on line was exactly the style we were looking for. Armed with this picture we decided we would call several pool companies to get quotes.

Picture found on www.concretenetwork.com

We called 4 different pool companies to give us a quote.  Three different pool companies actually showed up to give us a quote, and only two of those companies actually gave us a price.  I believe most of the pool companies were used to building pools that fit their cookie cutter shapes and styles.  The people that showed up were very friendly and very knowledgeable, however two things bothered us, first they didn't seem to get the concept that we were looking for and wanted to make several changes because that is what they were used to building, the second was we thought the price with the compromises was somewhat high.

But the big question is Can I do it?

I think anyone that starts a large project like this for the first time is very tentative and questions whether they can do it or not.  My wife and I had several discussion on if we should do it ourselves or have a pool company do it.  After a little research (probably not enough) we decided "What the H*** lets do it."

We believe we have several things working in our favor.

First, I own a fence company  so over the years I have made several contacts that I believe could come in handy.

Second, a couple of years ago we watched as our neighbor built his own pool and was able to see first hand what the process was.

Third, my brother owns a pool supply company and could have additional contacts if we get ourselves in trouble.  He also coincidentally is getting a pool, at first he was planning on having a pool company build it, but after running into some of the same issues we are, he has decided to build his own pool too.

Where Will We Find The TIME?

I own a fence company my wife Amy works 30-40 hours at a law firm, our kids are in sports and other after school activities, I'm training for an IronMan, Amy's training for a Marathon, are we crazy or stupid thinking we can handle this?  Obviously we will need help.

Our solution is to call in  Bryan Burns, (a.k.a. Bryan The Builder) a good friend of ours that has worked in construction for years and has recently started his own remodeling company. He will help with getting subs, and with actually being on the jobsite when the subs are on site working.  I am not a perfectionist, and I have seen some of Bryan's remodels so I think it will work out much better to have him overseeing Q.C.

Step 1:  Talk to Anyone that will Listen to You.
As I mentioned earlier we got several quotes from pool companies and this was instrumental, not only did they provide us with several ideas that we had not considered but they also provided us with prints of the pool which would act as our starting point.  After that we talked to neighbors, family members, co-workers and anyone that would listen to us, all of which either gave us ideas or allowed us to firm up our own plans.

Step 2: Get Started
In order to get started we need two things: HOA approval, and Permit approval.  In order to get both of these we need plans.  My brother Patrick decided to go with an online pool design company that would do all of the plans for him which included the pool, a spa, and a sunk in bar.  The cost for these plans including structural drawings is about $850.  I have not seen the plans yet, but so far he has been happy with them.

I have decided to go a less expensive route.  Bryan gave me a name of a Structural Engineer that would provide structural plans for $200.  These are simply a set of boilerplate prints that he provides with his raised stamp.  I picked them up from him and was going to see if he could also do the architectural drawings.  He was a wealth of information, and let me know that it was not necessary to get architectural drawings, he gave me several samples of what needed to be submitted to the county and let me know that I could do it myself.

Pool Fence Cut Sheet Provided by Superior Fence and Rail of Brevard

So that is what I have done.  I submitted a set of drawings to the HOA and a set to the county permitting office.

For my fence company we submit permits all the time so it's normally no big deal for me to submit a permit, but I do have to admit I did feel a bit of satisfaction submitting my own pool plans.  The first thing I did after submitting them was to call Amy and let the kids know the permits were submitted and I could hear the cheers in the background.

OOPS - Forgot a Few things
I received a fax from the building department letting me know I was missing a few items, I had not put where the pool equipment was going to be, or an arrow showing how the subs were going to access the pool area.  I also had provided a scaled pool drawing and a separate survey with the pool on it, but the survey was not to scale.  So I have re-submitted the drawings and am waiting for a response.

Step 3: Subcontractor Quotes
Even before we had plans we had been to several paver companies to get quotes.  So far Wagner Pavers have been the most helpful and the best price.  Our structural engineer has given me the name of a company that he says is the best in the county and will not only do the shotcrete but also dig the hole and tie the steel.  This means one sub instead of three.  I've read that once you find one good sub they will be helpful in finding other subs for the rest of the job, hopefully this holds true.


One website in particular that has been very helpful is  www.howibuiltmyownpool.com

As we move forward with this project I will continue to post pictures and comments.