Educate Yourself Before You Buy A Swimming Pool

Everyone knows that an educated buyer is a confident buyer, and the more expensive the purchase, the more informed you have to be. Most people will spend more time researching a new car than researching what is involved in putting a swimming pool - a large, permanent, and costly structure - in their backyards.

They will look online at pool pictures and get a feel for what design they want and what features they would like to have but don’t really know what is involved in the construction process. If you talk to any swimming pool builders, they will tell you that most of their customers are clueless when it comes to what is going to happen in their yard. It’s not the �pretty� part of getting a swimming pool but if you know what to expect, it can help you get through the process with less anxiety.

There are many phases of construction and some are more disruptive than others. Good, experienced Swimming Pool Builders will go through each stage and tell you what is going to happen, how long it will take, how long before the next stage will start, and what responsibilities you will have (you are going to have to do a little bit of watering and scrubbing but that is the extent of it).

After the pool designs have been finalized, swimming pool builders will paint an outline of the pool on the ground so that you can visualize what your pool will look like where it is placed. If you want to make any changes, this would be the time to do it. After this stage, any changes usually require reconstruction and that means more money.

Next is the excavation phase. Not too many people are prepared for a big piece of machinery coming in and ripping up their yard. It’s a messy, scary but necessary stage but one that you will quickly forget once your beautiful pool is completed. Some swimming pool builders have their own in-house excavation crews, like the #1 ranked national pool builders- Premier Pools & Spas. You will typically see a higher standard of care and less damage to plants and structures around the swimming pool area when you have specialized crews that only work on one phase of construction, all the time.

The next stages are plumbing, steel and electric. The amount and kinds of plumbing and steel used in pool construction are huge factors in how stable and efficient your pool will be. Unfortunately, not all swimming pool builders use the same size and configurations of plumbing in their pools and that will affect the water turnover rate and the overall efficiency of your pool. Steel rebar are the �fingers� that hold your pool together and keep it from moving around in the ground. More steel, less movement. Many times the local codes will say that a certain steel schedule is to code, but it doesn’t account for soil that is unstable. Premier Pools & Spas uses 25% more steel than required by code in their pools. They understand soil conditions and so they build a pool that will be stable anywhere.

The next phase of pool construction is the application of the shot Crete or gunite. Gunite is a mixture of sand, rock and cement that is the shell of your pool. After the gunite is applied, swimming pool builders will give instructions on how to water the gunite every day, several times a day, to ensure that the gunite cures properly. This is a very important step!

Now it is time to jump in and enjoy the finished product. You will quickly forget about any construction issues and remember why you and your family dreamed about having a swimming pool for so long.