Serving the Greater Kalamazoo, MI Area
Construction
We believe having the very best equipment will make your pool as maintenance-free as possible.
In my opinion, Sta-Rite pumps and filters, Hayward brand chlorinators and Rheem brand heaters provide you with the best equipment based on performance, reliability, and serviceability. Your equipment will be placed on a 5 x 7 concrete pad. The extra large pad will provide you with plenty of operating room and the ability to add extra items in the future.
We do not sub-contract the concrete work for your deck. Pouring concrete around a pool deck is difficult compared to other common concrete pours. We account for the water run-off pitch, which can be overlooked. Proper placement of the deck items within the concrete is also critical. Your concrete will have a nice, clean, professional, concrete look that will last for years to come.
We also offer an exposed aggregate for our pool decks. Marble chips are used for a smoother deck, something your feet will appreciate. The looks of a marble exposed deck will remain constant for decades, unlike a typical broom finish, which shows aging over time. To give your pool deck character, you can take advantage of different colors, custom emblems and borders.
The construction begins…
The sod and top dirt is stripped and saved for later landscaping use.
Useless clay will be disposed of, while clean sand will get stockpiled.
Careful measurements are required to ensure your pool will be built according to NSPI safety codes.
After the pool is dug, the construction of the walls begin. An extra step we take to ensure a quality built pool is caulking of all wall joints. Caulking gives the pool wall an airtight seal for better liner fit.
We use high quality plastic walls and bracing to guarantee you will never have rusting and / or corrosion.
The steps are installed along with the bracing. We take an extra step to provide you with a quality step construction by backfilling behind your step with a solid, flow-able material (vermiculite).
Adding the vermiculite under the step provides a solid base and superior strength, giving your step rock-solid support. Your steps will not have the hollow feel common in most pools.
We take every step possible to make sure dirt (which is backfilled) is "tamped" as much as possible. Methods of tamping we use are water tamping and stage tamping. Soaking the ground with water at the end of the day allows dirt that has already been tamped to settle even more. And by not allowing dirt to be built up more than 10" between tamping, we ensure that the ground underneath your pool deck, plumbing, etc. will be as solid as it was before we began digging.
The plumbing lines are carefully bedded and covered with rock-free sand to protect the lines from rock contact.
Plumbing lines used are made of 100 lb psi poly pipe. All fitting connections are double-clamped with stainless steel clamps.
To give you the highest quality, we will not use the convenient PVC flex pipe commonly used today. Termite damage can occur when using PVC flex pipe underground. Extra steps are also taken to avoid unnecessary stress on plumbing lines. Pipes are kept as far as possible from pool walls and bracing, eliminating contact and avoiding a leak.
All suction lines will be separately valved for optimum convenience. 1 1/2" pipe is used for pools 25,000 gallons and less, while 2" is available for an extra cost. Pools using 2" plumbing would require a larger pool pump.
Walls are leveled and braced, and plumbing lines going through the footing are protected by sleeves before the footings are poured.
Concrete footings are poured around the pool 8 inches thick and reinforced with fiber mesh and steel rod.
Two main drains and a vacuum breaker will be installed in concrete to ensure a solid foundation to your pool bottom. Drains are very important for proper circulation, and make it very convenient for the pool owner to operate his / her pool pump when water levels are lower than the skimmer (the secondary suction port).
The most common installation problem with drains is that the plumbing line is generally installed too close to the footing or pool wall / bracing, eventually resulting in leaks. By sleeving the drain line (shown above), we eliminate contact, therefore protecting the line from leaks. Having a drain in a pool has several advantages and should not be eliminated. The advantages are when pulling water from the bottom of the pool, circulation is increased and allows water temperature to remain more consistent. We plumb the main drain line separately and dedicate a valve to each suction line. By doing so, you have full control of your circulation, allowing you to start your equipment in the spring immediately after opening your pool, resulting in filtering the newly added water immediately. You also will have the ability to lower your water for closings and other service work by using your pool pump.
Underneath your liner, a 1 1/2" - 3" layer of pool crete (commonly known as vermiculite) will be installed. The pool crete is hand-troweled on and gives your liner extra protection from impact punctures and a smooth solid bottom for easier vacuuming and a sound look.
The thicker the pool crete, the fewer problems with cracking and crumbling you will have. In my experience, I have seen first-hand the effects a thin layer of pool crete can create over time. This is why we take the extra measure to apply a thicker layer of pool crete, which ensures your pool is built with the highest of quality.
As I stated earlier, the quality of the pool installation and material are important factors to think about when choosing your swimming pool contractor.
We hope this has been informative, and we welcome an additional comments and questions.