Pool Construction (St. Augustine: environment, luxury, upkeep)

[RIB]

Ah yes,screening! Mom was fond of saying: "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride".

If wishes were... I would not opt for a screened building.

I would love to look out across a pristine pool. The screened in pools remind me of a Japanese sci-fi film, with a gigantic spider hovering above the water.

Practicality rules since we would rather not be carried off by mosquitoes nor want to spend extra time removing blown in debris.

My head is chock full of question marks regarding decisions we will need to make next week.

It really helps, reading your posts and exchanging thoughts.

[daisies76]

Great visual... LOL

I initially didnt like the screened-in look either, but now that we have a pool without one, and having to constantly sweep and vaccuum the neighbors leaves off the bottom of the pool, and then having all the poor frogs that like to go for a swim and then constantly having to save their lives when they cant get out, we may look into getting one with the next house.. I can certainly see the benefits of having one..

[riveree]

My parents were just informed by their insurer that their pool screen would no longer be covered. Gotta love those insurance companies! Not.

I like the sound of the new saline pools (as opposed to chlorinated water), but $45k? Ouch! I guess I'll just keep swimming in the tub.

[neosoulman]

I recently just used Jacksonville Pool Builders, Swimming Pool Construction, Contractors, Estimates, Quotes, Bids and got 5 quotes from various pool builders. A few were great and competitve, (couple were duds too) but it definetly saved me some time and I ended up saving a few thousand off the first quote I had gotten.
Good luck!
gw

[neosoulman]

I just posted a similar posting, not sure if that took or not, But i found a website that will put you in contact with up to 5 pool builders in jacksonville. you just submit a form and they contact you. I ended up using one of the builders i found through this service. Pretty easy and saved me some dough!

The site is jacksonville.freepoolquotes.com

good luck diving in! make sure theres water first

[RIB]

Thanks for the information...perhaps it will be useful for others. We did get 5 bids, researched companies, one at a time, online.

We had 2 from Jacksonville, 1 from Palm Coast and two locally in St. Augustine.

Went with the local firm, not the lowest bid but they had other factors that were favorable.

A residential pool in the 15+ X 30+ range is going to run anywhere from $32,000 to over $60,00 depending on the bells and whistles.

Ours will be a simple free form with the only additional charges being a necessary screen enclosure and solar heating.

The hole has been dug, the lath and wire up. Next step is the gunite shell which should happen this week.

We should be in the water (thanks for reminding me) about mid July unless ugly weather rolls in.

Again, thanks for the heads up.
RIB

[abitofparadise]

RIB, Did you ever find anyone in your area to quote you a price? I wasn't sure when you posted this in the forum.

[abitofparadise]

Sorry I did not read further, to see you already had a builder. Hope things are going great with your pool. ENJOY !

[Stonewall17]

When I was looking to build my home in NE Florida, one of my first priorities was a nice, beautiful pool. I always wondered why there was only an occasional pool here and there. Ofcourse it was the climate. Anyway, I did my research and even invited some bids from a number of contractors.

And then it dawned on me that if I was going to spend all that money for a screened-in pool and deal with all that cleaning/maintenance and solar panels, etc., etc., I would want to at least enjoy it longer than 7 months out of the year. Right?

And so, I opted for a big six-seater hot tub instead, and I have had no regrets. I can go for a dip all year round.

But I gotta admit ... a pool is nice to look at. There is nothing like entertaining around a chilly pool in the evening.

[vpdianne]

Always check out your pool contractor. Check the Better Business Bureau. Ask for certificates of insurance for General Liability and Workers Compensation. Make sure you call their insurance company to make asure they are in force. Ask your contractor for references and permission to view some of their existing projects. Talk with their former customers. In addition, if your contractor uses subcontractors make sure they are fully insured. And finally make sure you get a Release of Lien for all work completed up and including materials. Make sure all permits are pulled prior to work starting and if you are building a pool in a planned development I am sure you will have to get approval from the Home Owner's Association. 45K to 60K should be enough to get you a nice size pool with some nice tile work. But do your homework first on your contrator. It will save you alot of frustration and expense up front.