The pool is installed!!!!

Here are some photos of the install, not in chronological order....

Pool to be installed July 9th !!!

All the preliminary work is now complete. Permits and zoning approval are finalized, and the PB (Pool Designs, Inc.)has set a July 9th date to begin work.Thank you to allt hose who have emailed or left comments waiting for an update. If all goes well, we should be swimming within 2 weeks of that date. We still need to decide on concrete color, retaining wall block, fencing and a low voltage light system for around the perimeter. Feel free to leave comments if you have been through the process and would like to share tips or things you wish you had/had not done.

One more word about permits. I went to the construction office to pay for the permits, expecting them to be in the $100 range. I was a bit taken aback when I was told the permits came to $1,059! I know some permits run this high, so I tried not to act as though I was about to pass out as I wrote the check. I did mention to the clerk that I was under the impression the permits would be in the $100 range. That's when she decided to look over the paperwork again, only to discover the actual cost was $159!!!Lesson learned: always ask if something does not seem right. I could have easily paid that and never known the difference until it was too late.

Permit update...

Stopped by the building department this morning and found out that the zoning officer had to fly to California for a family emergency; not good news for anyone involved. On the upside, the office did tell me that all the permits were approved, and all that remains is for the zoning officer to sign off. Prior to submitting the permits I did have a discussion with him about pool placement, and we should not have any zoning issues.

God #@%$*&* Permits!!!

Well, today was SUPPOSED to be the day the permits were approved. Our building department is a small one, and they share inspectors with other small towns in the area. Hence, they have very limited hours. I stopped in today to find out out that everything had been approved, except the zoning approval which should not be a big deal. The zoning officer is in for TWO hours each week (yes, I did say only two hours per week)All that was left was for him to come in, look at the drawings and sign off. So I show up at the office during his two hour stretch only to find a sign on the door that he had an emergency and would not be in. Ughh! Apparently he won't be back in the office for another week, hopefully.

A warning for anyone considering an inground pool....if you are the type of person that needs things done, who needs to see progress, who hates to wait....try valium :-)

permit process has begun!

Received my permit pack from the PB yesterday and submitted them to the town. The building department estimated they would be ready my next Wednesday!!! Total permit cost, including zoning was about $140. Not bad, I was epecting worse.Excavation should begin shortly after that, weather and PB schedules pending.

Waiting on permit packet

Still waiting on my permit packet from my pool builder, pool designs inc. out of Yardville, NJ. Spoke with them on Monday, they said they were finished preparing the paperwork and would overnight the documents. I offered to drive down and pick them up, as my town building department is only open a few hours per week and I want to move this project along. They assured me they would be there Tuesday. No paperwork on Tuesday :-(. I'm hoping it come today, summer is moving quickly, and my wife is VERY unhappy that I removed the above ground pool already.

On a more upbeat note, if you are enjoying this process or are considering a pool for your home, please check out a FANTASTIC pool forum. www.troublefreepools.com
They are a wealth of information on all aspects of swimming pools.

We begin to prep the yard for our new pool!!

OK, so here we go. We are starting to prepare the yard for our new pool. I have attached a few pics. The first is the manufacturers diagram of the pool we have chosen. I copied it off the Viking Pools website. ( I hope they don't mind !)

The next two pics are the view from our decks.We had an above ground pool, with the deck built around the pool. We sold it off, and what is left is just the curve of the remaining deck. We plan on trimming back the deck and crerating a straight edge, with stairs down to a concrete patio extending off the pool. Our contractor is Rochelle Remodeling here in Independence Township (Hackettstown)He is a fantastic builder and remodeler of homes, and I look forward to working with him.


The other pic is the approximate layout of the new pool. It's kind of hard to see in the pic, but I used a garden hose to create the outline so that we could get a better idea of where we wanted the pool to go. We still need to remove several smaller trees and bushes, as well as the old rock retaining wall for the above ground pool. We also need to remove the concrete pad formerly occupied by our old hot tub. That will involve a jack hammer and maybe it's own seperate blog :-)

Waiting on the permit packet to come back from the PB, hoping that processes moves quickly.

contract progress

It's been a few days since I posted, so time for an update. We were delayed slightly after we "canceled" our contract. It's not that we didn't like our PB or our pool, we just felt we needed some additional time to sort out tall the legaleze on the backside of the contract. We were in the 72 hour right of recission period, and felt like we neede to call a time out to let our attorney take a look at what we were commiting to.

My attorney suggested a few minor changes, and our PB was very accomodating when we explained each one. If anyone is interested in exactly what the changes were, email me at medic2051@hotmail.com and I'll fill you in. Our PB is pool designs Inc. from NJ.So far we are very happy with them.

Now that the contract is back in effect, we move on to the permit process. Our Pb is supposed to start the excavation 2 weeks after permits are complete. I have some work to do in the yard to prep for excavation, and I also have layed out a garden hose in the shape and size of our pool. Tomorrow i will try to load some digital pics of all of that for all to see. Stay tuned.

Pool details

OK folks, getting ready to finalize the contract with the PB. After weeks of research, including speaking to other pool owners, internet searching and checking with the Better Business Bureau, we have decided to go with a Viking brand fiberglass pool, installed by Pool Designs, Inc.(www.pooldesignsinc.com) based in South/Central New Jersey. We chose Viking because they seem to make the best fiberglass pool, with the best warranty.

Our pool will be a 16x35 free form, 6'6" at the deep end. We chose the speckled blue (can't recall the trade name) finish, with a 6" tile border. Pool designs installs their pools with a cantilevered concrete edge. This is where the concrete has a "lip" over the edge of the pool, as opposed to a fiberglass edge. They include 3' of concrete decking around the pool. I think we will increase that to 4' when we talk to the mason.

We're planning on using a DE filter (hayward 48) PB wanted to install a cartidge filter, but I have heard too many negative things about cartridge filters. Pump will be a Hayward tristar, and we will be generating our own chlorine with the goldline SWCG system. We decided not to install a heater, as the almost $3,000 price tag and the cost of propane for heat seemed a bit too much. We can always add that at a later date. Lighting will be LED.

The cost for this project so far is around $41,000. This includes the pool,excavation/installation, plumbing, lighting, tile, 3' concrete decking. It does not include electric (we have a 220v feed there already)additional concrete ( we plan on adding a patio)water to fill the pool and any landscaping/fencing.

In the next few days I will be posting some pictures of the pool site, and providing updates on our progress. Stay tuned!!

Welcome to my inground pool project blog !

Pool details

Ok, here are the details: We've been pool owners (above ground) for about 10 years. This year, when the liner fell apart, we decided maybe it was time to upgrade. Finally time for a "real pool". After some exhaustive research, we have decided to go with a fiberglass pool.

For those interested in installing a new pool, there is a wealth of information on the net about pools. If you haven't looked, or don't have time, let me give you the basics. Ingrounds come in three basic construction varieties; vinyl lined/steel walled, gunite (sprayed concrete), and fiberglass. Each has it's own strong points.

Vinyl is the least expensive. Install time is weeks to months, depending on how good your contractor is. They purchase a steel walled kit, dig the hole, assemble, put in the liner and back fill. The liner lasts about 7 years, assuming nobody accidentally cuts it. I have a friend at work with a vinyl pool, and he has had cuts from storm debris falling in the pool. My neighbor had a deer fall into theirs and destroy the liner. Cost to replace the liner varies depending on pool size, but runs anywhere from $1000 to $2,500. We have enjoyed our above ground liner pool, but are trying to avoid the hassles that vinyl can bring to your pool experience.

The most expensive is a gunite pool. This is the pool most people think of when they think inground pool. They are the most expensive, take the longest to build and need the most maintenance. They need to be emptied every three or 4 years and replastered, which can cost thousands of dollars. The upside is these pools can be ANY shape you want. the downside is the initial cost, replastering cost and cost of chemicals, which they say can be hard to regulate due to the chemistry of the pool water and the plaster walls.

In between vinyl and gunite is fiberglass. In my opinion, the best choice for a number of reasons. The price is somewhere in between the other two. There is no vinyl liner to worry about, they look FANTASTIC, use fewer chemicals, don't need to be replastered and are supposed to be 17 times stronger than gunite. Install time is quick (one week?)The pool arrives in one piece, is placed in the excavation and filled with water the same day. Done. there are a lot more details to it, but I’ve gone on long enough.

My next post will detail which fiberglass pool manufacturer we have chosen, and all the details about our upcoming pool!!