A new day

Friday - April 20, 2007





We have two appointments today and after getting all the kids off to school Karen and I walk into the backyard. We know we can't do the 125 and we wonder whether they are just high in their bid or whether we are going to have to scale our project back, lose the pool in a pool and go back to our previous pool:


we discuss the various options

* no pool at all - clearly not something we want to do
* rectangle pool with cover - original plan, but after seeing the "pool in a pool" it just doesn't cut it
* hope on of these other contractors is considerably cheaper - could be, we really have no way to know
* lose the cover and go to a fence option - something I am not at all happy with, but something Karen would be OK with.

so with that we are very much up in the air and wait for our next appointment.

Our First Setback

April 19, 2007

OK - so when we started this process we really didn't know how much this whole thing was going to cost.

We have had the side yard concrete bid a couple times and it has always been way too expensive in our mind for the utilitarian purpose and there is always a "short load" fee because it doesn't involve a huge load of concrete - so basically you are paying more for less.

so we are not sure how much that part is going to be

and we don't know how much the landscaping and the cover, etc, etc.

so I make some guesstimates add it all up and come up with 75,000 - neither one of us have any idea how realistic this is (or how we are going to pay for it, but hey we always seem to find a way)

Now I also forgot the whole pool cover issue. Back in the beginning I mentioned the automatic pool cover, and how much that was a central part of our entire project. One of the problems we ran into on our first appointment is that I wanted the pool cover, but Karen did not want a rectangle pool - and unfortunately those are not compatible issues - or so we thought.

However on our first few appointments we had the contractors give us bids for rectangular pools with auto-covers. Karen was not ecstatic about it and frankly it wasn't my first choice esthetically either - but it seemed to be our only option and then...

I found this picture online:

It was gorgeous and it was perfect - it allowed us to have the cover, but also allowed for a free-form and we really liked the way it looked. We were both very happy and I sent it off to the contractors we had already talked to and printed out multiple copies to show our coming appointments - this was a design we were both very excited about. We came to find out this is called a "pool in a pool"

So -we were all set to get our first bid.

Mark and Jorge came over on a Thursday night and we sat down to look at the bid. Now the first time they came over and subsequent conversations with them - everything was very jovial and fun and they were easy to talk to. On this night Mark was really quiet and it seemed as if something was wrong. We finally asked him Mark, what is wrong with you tonight. Well, he said, its the pool in a pool, it is really expensive. OK, well lets look at it and see what we got. So he started showing us the blueprints and describing all the things. One of our first impressions is this pool is a lot smaller then the one we envisioned.

So we get through all the design and he brings out the bid - it is roughly 83,000 - which is not too bad and not far off from our estimate. the problem is that is just for the pool and the cover - no landscaping, no side concrete, no patio cover, no BBQ, nothing. Once we get into Jorge's landscaping bid and the bid for the patio cover - the whole thing was going to add up to well over $125,000 - and that was just not going to be realistic.

OK, so the thoughts are racing through our heads - have we simply tried to do too much, are the other bids going to be cheaper, are we even going to be able to do anything?

So I ask him - what is making it so high. It is the pool in a pool he tells me. Basically we need to build 2 pools, not so much in the excavation, equipment, gunite and all that. But in the craftsmanship, the steel and the cover itself, Bottom line the pool in a pool and auto cover are driving the cost up around $25,000.

They leave and we are all depressed - I go to bed wondering if we are going to be able to build a pool at all.

Appointment Three - Diablo Disney

April 18, 2007

So at this point we are still pretty high on Premier, low on Aqua and waiting on our other various appointments. We know it is going to be expensive, but we are not sure how expensive.

now the pool is the primary part of the project, but the project is so much more.

for one we also want a spa

and the auto cover

and some waterfalls

we need cement on both sides of the house - right now both sides are just dirt and it is an awful mess in the winter and basically unusable. Our garage is overflowing with all of the kids bikes and the 4 garbage cans. So the project also involves both sides having broom finish concrete and paths to the sidewalk. The east narrow side is going to be for the garbage cans and the west wide side is going to be where all the bikes, scooters, sports equipment, not to mention all the pool equipment.

we also need to rebuild the fence gates, rip out and replace the poorly done backyard patio, add in a patio cover a lot of landscaping and trees and Karen's new addition - the sitting wall.

It is a big project - basically a complete and total remodel of the back and side yards.

So, our third appointment is with Jeremy from Diablo Disney - now the name of his company is Diablo Oasis - but there company letterhead is all in the Disney font - it looks like the Disneyland Pool Building company.

Back to our blink test - Jeremy is doing very well. He is extremely down to earth, funny, salt of the earth kind of guy. We head outside - he makes some good suggestions, we have a nice conversation and when he leaves we are impressed. at this point it could be either Premier or Diablo Disney - it all depends upon the bids.

Appointment Two - Aqua Pool & Spa

April 14, 2007

Blink test, we have a problem.

For every positive feeling we had with Premier - Aqua was the opposite.

Now before I get into the appointment, let me tell you about Aqua, Aqua is huge. The do hundreds of pools every year and have an enormous workforce. Most builders are contractors that subcontract out various portions of the pool. Aqua's deal is they do everything start to finish and every last person who steps in your backyard is an employee of Aqua. It is a compelling argument.

Also in their favor they have an absolutely gorgeous showroom. Out in Manteca they have an enormous lot with about a dozen or more real live full pools to see. You can see various concrete options, plaster options, this option, that option - everything. It is extremely well done and very very impressive. We went for about an hour before an Easter party and we were very impressed.
http://www.aquapoolandspa.com/aps_showroom.html

So the day the Aqua pool guys was coming we were pretty excited. we liked Premier a lot, but we also bought into the Aqua philosophy (http://www.aquapoolandspa.com/aps_faq.html#_14) and we were very impressed with the showroom.

then, the guy showed up.

again blink test - not very good.

So we have a quick conversation about our thoughts on the pool and we head outside. Now I am paraphrasing but this is pretty much how it went.

Us: "we were thinking of putting the pool over here and the spa over there"

Him : "well, I don't know, that is going to be hard"

Us: "we need some concrete over here and a patio cover"

Him: "yeah, that seems like a lot of work"

Us: "blah, blah, blah, this detail that detail"

Him: "I don't know it seems really hard, we going to have to dig a hole and have a tractor and a lot of workers, its going to cost a lot of money"

Us "uh yeah"

so about 10 minutes later he leaves and we just look at each other - was that guy serious. On almost every comment we made, his comment was how hard it was going to be and how expensive it was going to me. It was like we were really inconveniencing him.

needless to say - we put Aqua on the same pile as Swan from the year before.

and then my wife called and left him some VERY direct feedback on his sales tactics - I wish I had a tape recorder going because it was classic.

Appointment One - Premier Pool & Spa

April 6, 2007

Our first appointment and looking back very funny on how little we knew about the process. We read a few books and did a little research - but I think we learned more in that first appointment (and certainly much more over the next seven weeks) then we ever imagined was involved in putting in a pool.)

Our first company was Premier Pool & Spa and our initial blink test was very positive. Mark (the pool guy) and Jorge (the landscape guy) were both great answered all our questions, and the more they answered the more we had. We walked the back yard, took some measurements and took about an hour to discuss all the options (and there are a lot of them)

When they left - we looked at each and realized that we had a lot of things to learn and decide.

The Design

Before our first appointment - Karen and I spent a lot of time doing research and we came up wiht a design template that we liked and it looked like this:

Blink

So before I describe the meetings we had, I think it is important to explain the concept of "blink" as described by this book by Malcolm Gladwell.

Karen and I had just read this book and both thought it was fantastic.

The general idea of the book was to put scientific reasoning behind why we have gut instincts and why they are so often right.

being the type of hyper-logical person that I am - having logical scientific reasons for gut instincts is powerful stuff. I had often trusted my gut, but would also search for a logical reason why that I could not identify and thus have some internal conflict. this book and the brilliant way it is presented allowed me to trust my instincts with much more trust, and almost no internal conflict.

the "blink" philopsophies would come up a lot in this process.

part 4

So this time we make 6 appointments with 6 different companies

needless to say Swan, was not one of them.

1. Premier Pool and Spa - had a good flier, really liked the examples on their website
2. Aqua Pool and Spa - very big company, has full showroom in Modesto and boasts of being only company that uses all "employees" and not subcontractors. Their argument is compelling.
3. Absolute Pools
4. Logan Pools
5. Diablo Pools
6. Diablo Oasis Pools (which we started calling Diablo Disney because they use the Disney font in all of their stuff"

part 3

So with our great Swan experience under our belt - we get busy and don't have any new appointments, money gets tight, football gets going and 2006 drifts away - no pool this year.





2007 is upon us and once we get past football and the holidays we decide to once again "look at getting a pool put in"





friends have heard us utter this phrase so much, it has become something of a joke and we are not sure we even believe it ourselves.





we did make one point of progression in 2006 and that was the discovery of the auto pool cover. IN my mind at least this had alleviated a lot of the fears I had about troy and the pool.

a long journey - part two

The actual design process started last year - when we first started interviewing pool contractors.

Our very first experience did not go well.

I called Swan Pools because I had a flier from them and was familiar with the company name as they have been around a long time.

So I made an appointment - for 11am.

11:30 no pool guy

Noon - no pool guy

1:00 - I get a call:
pool guy "hey I'm running a little late"
me thinking "no S***"
me talking "no problem, you still going to be able to make it today?"
pool guy "Yeah should be there in about an hour"
me "OK"

2:00 no pool guy

2:30 I call pool guy
me "Hey you still coming?"
PG "yeah I am on my way"
me "OK, I need to get my kids by 4"
PG "him - no problem - I'll be there in 15 minutes"

2:45 - no pool guy

3:00 - no pool guy

3:05 - I call pool guy
me "hey you still coming?"
PG "yeah on my way"
me "OK, well I am going to go pick up my kids and be back in 20 minutes, because if I don't and you get here I won't be able to make it in time:
PG "OK, I'll be there in 30 minutes"

3:35 - I have got the kids and came home - no pool guy

note: AJ has a baseball game that I need to manage - starts at 6, we need to be at the field at 5 - didn't think this was going to be a conflict with an 11am appointment!

3:45 - I call pool guy
me "hey you still coming?"
PG "yeah almost there"
me "OK, but here is the deal I need to leave by 450 - can you get here and have time to discuss this before then"
PG "well, I don't know"
me "look, I don't mean to be a prick or anything but we did have an appointment at 11"
PG "I know, I know - I just got held up this one client is a real jerk and blah, blah, blah"

note: I never understand when salesman bad mouth their other customers to a potential client - it always makes me wary, but I digress:

PG cont " I'll be there in 5 min"

me thinking again "yeah, I bet"

3:50 - no pool guy

4:00 - no pool guy

4:15 NO F****** POOL GUY - Is this guy for real?

4:30 - Hey a pool guy - now remember I need to leave now in 15 minutes for the game and I remind him.

PG "well, I don't know if that will be enough time"

me (as politely as I can since my two young children are watching) "well, I've been waiting all day and this is all the time I have left"

PG "alright"

me "OK, so my wife and I were thinking we would like to put the pool here and a spa over there and maybe some landscaping"

PG (interrupting) "well we have this special and it looks like this and it costs 45 thousand"

me "OK, well that is not exactly what we are looking for, do you do custom designs"

PG "well, we can but we don't really like to"

me thinking again "how does this guy still have a job"

it is now 4;50 and I am out of time do I decide to cut bait

me "OK, leave me your special and I will discuss it with my wife"

PG "well, if we sign today we can get started faster"

me laughing "yeah, I don't think I am going to do that and I need to go to my game now"

PG "well, I did come all the way out here"

Me (restraining from simply punching him in the face at this point, after all the kids are still watching) "yeah, well like I said I will look at your special with my wife"

He leaves, we rush out to the game and needless to say - we didn't go with Swan.

A long journey - part one

When Karen and I got married in 2002 and moved into this house - one of the things I liked about the house was the size of the backyard and the hope that someday we would have a pool put it.

As time moved on - the kids lack of swimming prowess, the enormous cost and the multitude of other projects kept us from pursuing the idea.

So here we are in 2007, it still costs too much, we are busier then ever, but the big kids are all great swimmers and we are confident we can get Troy swimming in the next couple of years - so off we go.