Here is our newest project for May 2012 in Kenner, Lousiana.  It is 13′x31 and will feature travertine French pattern decking, 3 deck jets, 3 spa jets in the pool bench, blue plaster and more.  Here are photos:

Chateau swimming pool

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Our latest swimming pool is in Chalmette and is a trade winds design with suntan ledge and bubblers/umbrella hole, raised stack stone wall with water fall, salt water, travertine decking and a midnight blue plaster color.  Here are photos of the construction process:

Chalmette swimming pool

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Here’s the debate on what type of pool deck you should choose.  The debate is between concrete which includes some of the following : Kool Deck, Sun Dek, stamped concrete, stained concrete, etc; and pavers which can be man made like Pavestone, Belgard, or even travertine.

Let’s first discuss a concrete pool deck: pros are it is less expensive, the cons are that it will eventually get hair-line cracks and may do worse through the years and crack and shift.

Now lets discuss a paver pool deck: pros are it can be easily fixed if any settle through the years, and cons are cost

Now as far as the heat factor of each product you would need to talk to your pool builder because all different pool deck products concrete and pavers will have different heat factors.

Now this is the main reason we at Crystal Pools and Spas Inc. install mostly a paver pool deck, it is because of not only look but mainly is fixability.  If you go with a concrete pool deck and it cracks, which it will even with hair-line, there is NO true way to patch it.  If you try to paint over it, the color won’t match with the existing pool deck.  Now if pavers move in a given area you could easily have it fixed down the road.  Also, if you would want to add on to your pool deck down the road, most of the times you could add on to pavers and it will look as it was built together, as long as your series of decking is still made.  As far as adding on to concrete you would see the split and the older pool deck would have age you couldn’t duplicate with the new concrete.  You could elect to paint the whole deck to tie in but you would still have the seam from the old pool deck to the new pool deck.

So speaking of cost, your upfront cost on pavers would be more than concrete but the RENOVATION cost would be A LOT CHEAPER!!!  With pavers you would just have to fix the area that would need work if needed.  You already own the material so it just would involve the labor.   Now if your concrete deck was really bad, down the road you would really have to not only jack hammer the whole deck (if it was done to match and correctly) you would be starting from scratch and you would have to start over.

Pool deck conclusion

In conclusion, say your upfront cost on your decking of paver decking vs. concrete decking was 30% more expensive, to fix a badly settled deck down the road would be night and day.  If you had pavers vs concrete, the pavers would be in the ballpark of around a 300% savings.  So we recommend paying a little more upfront so that you can keep the integrity of your pool’s decking look as the day it was installed.  We hope this helps you!

 Pool deck

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Here is our current project of April 2012 being built in Baton Rouge.  This homeowner contacted us with a pool we built 7 years ago, in uptown New Orleans.  He loved the design/concept and we are duplicating the pool.  It will be salt water, have a very large suntan ledge with 5 bubblers, a long bench, Tahoe plaster color, 3 deck jet spitters coming from his landscaping and  a 2″ precast coping.  Here are some photos of the process:

Po

Pool in Baton Rouge

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Here is our swimming pool being constructed for the month of April 2012.  It is in Lakeview and will feature a level spa, a swimming lap pool type of design, 2 benches, a suntan ledge with 3 bubblers.  I will continue to add new photos as the pool is being constructed!

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1) The obvious reason to stay away from builders that take on too many jobs is point blankly, they are looking for their next pool to sell.  Most swimming pool contractors are looking to maximize the volume of pools they build.  When they do that, you become a job NUMBER.  There is usually little to NO supervision, putting the liability at the hands of the subcontractors.  Let’s face it, in the deep south it gets HOT!  When it get’s hot with not only no supervision but NO VOICE to be heard, people/subcontractors or employees can get lazy.  Who pays for that?  Not the subcontractor or the builder but YOU!!!  Find a builder that does not take on more than he/she can chew therefore hopefully for you they will not be on the job just to collect a pay check!

2)  Another reason that is not obvious for choosing a contractor that not builds too many volume of pools is ease to get in touch with the builder to answer all of your questions.  That includes weekends and nights.  If you chose a good builder the relationship should be more than one of business!  We at Crystal Pools treat all of our new and PAST customers professionally but also on a personal level.  It is not our GOAL to take on too many jobs (under 20 per year).  With that ratio for Jeff and Kevin they can provide the customer not only with supervision and openness but provide them with AVAILABILITY!  Not just during the job but years after it is completed!

3) The last that will be discussed that most people do not think of is this:  WARRANTY!  Have you ever wondered whose responsibility it is to warranty everything with your pool once completed?  The BUILDERS.  At Crystal Pools and Spas because we take on so FEW jobs we target to address any warranty work in a week’s period.  It is the amount of jobs that allows us to have the time and availability to give our customer’s the attention they DESERVE!

4)  The most important factor for choosing a builder that doesn’t worry about maximizing the volume of pools that they build is the length of time it takes for a company to complete their job.  Companies that take on too many jobs can’t complete their jobs in a timely manner.  Think of it like this, if you were building 10+ pools at a time you wouldn’t have the availability of a work staff therefore you would have two options, take longer to build or have different crews and get different results. We hear all the time of a pool taking over a half of a year to complete jobs.  We average 4-5 weeks from the day we dig because your job is one of our few we will have going on.  This is by the choice of our philosophy.  We feel as though it will keep the success of our name to go on through the generations under ONE NAME!

In conclusion, you would be blown away at how many stories I hear by person or by emails that say once a certain company/competitor gets the contract signed that they NEVER see their builder again.  It is as if everything was outsourced to different people or worse to the subcontractors alone!!!  This is honest.  If you are not in the New Orleans area, email us but do your HOMEWORK!  Getting a pool built is NOT like buying a vehicle. When you finally figure out the type of vehicle you want you go around seeing the service different companies can offer but more importantly the price.  With a pool it is DIFFERENT, it is a man made item that is going to vary from builder to builder.  It is not like it is built somewhere else and we are bidding to deliver it!  We are getting paid to BUILD it CORRECTLY!!  If you do live in the New Orleans area please give us a call for you new or existing pool.  We will be honest and assure you you won’t be a number.  Also, we will assure you that we stand before our Crystal Pools logo and we ARE our logo we DO NOT hide behind our logo!!!  You get US!

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There are a lot of variables in what determines a swimming pool cost!  First thing is the access issue.  Will it be easy to get a backhoe and a dump truck into your backyard?  Or will there need to be a bobcat/skid steer to bring dirt from the backyard and load it at the street?  Typically you need about 9′ of width to get the proper equipment into the space.  Second thing is what options are you looking for?  For example a hot tub or spa can add a good bit of money to your project especially if the hot tub is raised.  If it is raised, it has to be hand formed with wood, it will take more gunite/concrete and most importantly it will have to have a finish applied to the exterior.  Depending on the exterior, tile, stucco, stone, stacked stone, etc.  A hot tub is expensive also because it is not only the spa itself but then you need a heater and for that heater there needs to be a gas line.  A gas line alone can be a quit big investment.  Then if you go with a hot tub you may chose to go with a computer system, even adding more money to the swimming pool cost.

Swimming pool cost variables without a hot tub

Well the first variable would be how big of a pool do you want??  Does this pool have benches or a suntan ledge??  Do you want a raised wall or bubblers in the suntan ledge or add a water feature?  Well all of these can add to a swimming pool cost.  A raised wall that is 8′ compared to one 40′ is a bid difference and we didn’t even get into the height or finish of the wall plus the water features on the wall.  Do you want a special or color plaster?  If so, it could add a considerable amount of money to the swimming pool cost.  The shape of the pool shouldn’t contribute to the overall swimming pool cost unless the pool is out the ground or has a negative edge.  Another thing that can contribute are pool equipment and additional pumps?  Green equipment such as variable speed pumps, LED lights, etc. can add a chunk to change to the swimming pool cost also.  Also, is how/what kind of sanitation do you want to chlorinate your pool.  Salt water vs. traditional chlorine will add to the swimming pool cost.  Outside of these factors a VERY large cost to a pool is what type and HOW MUCH decking do you want?  A pool deck that is 400 ft.2 of Kool deck vs a deck of 1600 ft.2 of flagstone is a VERY LARGE difference!  Other variables, are steps on the decking or a raised deck area can also add money to the swimming pool cost.

If you want to see how much a swimming pool cost s call us for a free estimate if you are in the New Orleans area!

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Swimming pool designs are very important. Designs will customize your backyard but not only that there are a lot of different material choices that will customize your pool also.  You could take the same design and use different materials and it would be a different pool over 100 times.  You have to first look at your yard, or your blank template/canvas.  If you have a small area of yard for a pool, to maximize that space you may want to consider a rectangular pool on your swimming pool designs to maximize swimming area.  If you have a large area, the sky’s could be the limits.  Some people may like a freeform/lagoon shape but some may like a gretain and more formal swimming pool design.  There is NO right or wrong way when choosing your swimming pool design.  As for me I enjoy the lagoon and the more formal rectangular swimming pool deigns.

Swimming pool designs, how should I chose???

I would meet with a swimming pool contractor and look through his/her portfolio. Pay attention to the details, shape, materials, etc.  Keep up with the ones you like/enjoy.  When you are finished looking at swimming pool designs or photos, ask yourself what do you like about them?  You could also research online, click swimming pool designs.  There are different tools on how you can look up swimming pool designs.  But do your homework!  With a gunite pool you are not limited to ANY design as long as you have the space!  If you really wanted a lagoon shape with an island, well go ahead.  Swimming pool designs on gunite pools are anything that could be imagined!

Here are some swimming pool designs and examples:

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You hear about green pool this and green pool that.  What is all this green pool stuff????  What is the green pool??  Usually a green pool is a bad thing.  We are not talking about any forms of algae.  We are talking efficient equipment to save you money down the road.  The green pool is the way more homeowners are electing to go.  The green pool is what it states, will save you your green money to operate!  The green pool also, is better for our environment.  If you had a green pool your green thumbprint you hear about could be drastic.  But most homeowners want the green pool in order to eventually pay for their green pool equipment and then save/make money on it.

There are different avenues to save you money down the road and eventually paying for the piece of equipment that you may buy and creating the green pool.  For instance there are variable speed pumps now.  A variable speed pump lets you operate your pump at what RPM (rotations per minute) that you want it to.  Ok, a regular 2 HP (horse power) pump will run at full RPM’s or 2HP.  You will get full force out of the pool but the electrical output that the pump needs is drastic.  Now enters the variable speed pump/ green pool principle, you can get the same 2 HP pump but in variable speed.  The pump cost’s in today’s terms around double a normal 2HP pump but the key is you could run the same pool on the lowest RPM”s 24 hours per day as opposed to a standard 2 HP pump 8 hours per day and save over double on your electcity!  Thats where the savings will start to pay for the pump/ establishing it to be the green pool!  Here is one pump savings calculator, remember in the New Orleans area we spend about 12 cents per kilowatt, click here.  Here is another saving calculator, click here. If you went with a computer system on your pool, for instance a Jandy PDA computer would actually tell you the RPM’s but also the wattage output.  If you saw those figures you would definitely elect putting the pool on a lower speed and establishing the green pool.  The reason you would have 2HP is say for a party you could crank up the pool pump to full force for any water features or the hot tub.

Next subject on the green pool :

LED lighting vs. halogen lighting.  Typically in a standard size pool you use to put one 500 watt halogen light into it and if you have a spa you would put one 250 watt light in it.  Well a pool that has a spa with it and pool has one light and spa with one light, you would be burning up to 750 watts of energy when in use.  Well LED is different, the cost of a LED light is quite a bit higher but would pay for itself depending on how long you would use your lights inside the pool/spa.  Click here for a savings calculator to see for yourself.  Also, with LED’s you can get a colored light to display different colors.  See this photo.  With a  computer system you can actually pick out the color you would want and if it was properly installed you could have each light on a different color and see how much wattage output the LED will use and be happy you have a green pool.  And I’m not talking about the color green light, I’m talking about the green pool, the one that saves money!

The next, that I am having trouble finding a saving calculator for is a heat pump heater.  If you have a pool with a spa/hot tub you need a gas powered heater to heat it because it will boost the temperature up very fast compared to a heat pump heater.  What a heat pump heater does is maintain a comfortable swimming temperature.  So say you had a normal gas powered heater and wanted to heat the pool, it would be VERY expensive to run for what natural gas/propane costs.  If you had a pool only and wanted it heated I would go with one of three options: 1) a heat pump heater, 2) solar heater 3) solar attic.  Heat pump heaters are made by a lot of different manufactures but I prefer Rome Solarium because of their good warranty!  A heat pump heater costs more than a standard gas heater but it would be very efficient compared to a gas heater to maintain/heat a pool.  In Orlando, there are a lot of rental houses around Disney that have both a gas heater and a heat pump heater installed making their heating, a green pool.  A solar heater is expensive up front but there is really no cost to operate until it came time to re-shingle your roof.  The problem with solar heaters is the obvious, the look of them.  And third way to make the green pool is the Solar Attic, this takes the hot air out of your attic and disperses the hot air/water to the pool, lowering your electricity bill because the a/c has to run less.  This unit has never to date been installed by us but I have researched them.  The only thing is when the attic is over 120 degrees is during August/September in the New Orleans area but the pool is already warm or too hot by then therefore you don’t need the extra heat.  I don’t know how well it would work outside of the hot months.  The reason I like a heat pump is because it will heat the pool as long as the outside temperature is above around 50 degrees, this is the avenue I would take to make the green pool.  A heat pump heater really runs the same as a home’s a/c unite.  What is nice also about the heat pump heater at least for the Rome manufacturer is you can cool your pool water too if you elect to pay the extra money for it, which I will talk about next…

Lastly is how to cool a pool efficiently.  Well we have to worry about this in the south when the pool temperature can creep to 100 degrees.  There are two ways that I know of one being the heat/cool heat pump stated above or the Glacier pool cooler .  The Rome heat/cool heat pump would cost more to operate but do a better job at actually cooling the water temperature but the Glacier would cost less to operate once bought because it is like running a fan, it may cost $10 max per month in your electricity. If you wanted a green pool and cool the pool these would be the route’s to go.

If you had a pool or one being built and it did not have a hot tub, I would defiantly install a heat/cool heat pump if you were thinking about putting a heater on the pool sot that it would be a green pool.  This would pay for itself VERY fast!   If you have a hot tub/spa you would defiantly need a gas heater (a heat pump heater would take just too long to get the hot tub hot) you would have to ask yourself if you would want the heat or heat/cool heat pump heater, most people don’t want to spend that kind of money though.  You have to ask yourself, do I want to pay more now in order to save more now and make later?  If so, you may want to have a green pool!

I hope this helped you on deciding if you want your pool to be, the green pool !!!

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Here is another way, which isn’t really the right way to look at who they will pick to be their swimming pool builder.

That person will investigate for their swimming pool builder by looking up the BBB or Better Business Bureau.  The problem with the BBB is they only recommend a swimming pool builder by who is a member.  If a swimming pool builder or his company doesn’t pay the BBB they will not refer you.  This is a big reason Crystal Pool and Spas doesn’t belong.  You mean to tell me that a company people look to for honest input and that may make your mind up on who to go with, does that on the principle of “who pay’s me”??  I find this very unfair and if the BBB is your way of picking your swimming pool builder, then this is a crime.  As a homeowner, you owe it to yourself on doing the necessary homework when looking to who honestly will be your swimming pool builder.  There are a lot of swimming pool builder /s that have been bankrupt and been under multiple names.   You should ABSOLUTELY do your homework but just basing your decision on a company as the BBB to make the decision for you on which swimming pool builder to pick is not the correct avenue to chose.

A homeowner, doesn’t have the resources and time to investigate all the swimming pool builder /s.  It would take getting an attorney to research which company has and has not been under a name change.  The problem with this is one company could have re-listed in another state or used their spouse’s name for their new company or even tougher a friend or somebody with a different last name.  This industry is known as a “used car” business.  There are a lot of swimming pool builder /s that will tell a homeowner whatever the homeowner wants to hear, at least initially.

So you ask yourself how do I look into the right swimming pool builder.

Ask friends, neighbors, family members who have built a pool for them.  Ask about their honest experience.  Then investigate if that company is under the same owner and philosophy.  Another way to determine your swimming pool builder, is when interviewing don’t only hear what they have to offer but listen to that person.  Are they throwing out a bunch of beautiful adjectives or are they humble and being honest in what they will provide for you. There are plenty of swimming pool builder /s that give 100% for the sale then 10% for the construction.  If it was my pool, I would want a percentage reversal!  I’d want a swimming pool builder that cared and that his/her job meant a lot to that person and not just money.  You need to go with somebody that is motivated and loves their job.  It goes beyond 3D pool designs and plasma tv’s that show your backyard pool on tv with soft music.  It IS about who will BUILD your pool.  Does your contractor show up only when it is time to pick up his check in his car or non-work truck.  Our philosophy is, take a look in the back of our truck and toolbox.  WOW, used tools!  That is what you need to look for.  A swimming pool builder that cares!  That is what separates the companies that go through name changes and ones that will fix any mistakes made and build relationships.

These are just some tools in helping you pick your swimming pool builder.  GOOD LUCK!!

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