New Orleans Swimming Pool Contractor
Here is a white plaster swimming pool during the application phase. The plaster is what waterproofs the swimming pool as the gunite is porous allowing water to escape. The plaster phase is the last phase of a swimming pool and water is added immediately after the process.
If you have a swimming pool and you are worried about your pipes freezing or equipment busting I have a few tips for you. I usually tell my customers to run their pool at night so that water is going through the pipes and do not have the time to freeze. Our company is based in SE Louisiana so our winters are not too harsh. On the southshore of Louisiana, Lake Pontchartrain’s water is warmer than the outdoor temperatures in the winter so when a cold front comes through the north wind blows it’s colder air over the warmer lake causing the temperature on the southshore to be considerably higher that the northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. Point being is if you have a pool in SE Louisiana and live on the northshore the outside low temperatures will be lower causing you to have more problems with freezing. If you have a upper-scale computer system for your pool it probably have a freeze protect allowing you to set a temperature I usually put 38 degrees just to be safe and when the temperature hits that point it automatically turns on whatever equipment you have set up. So I have all pumps come on, the filter pump, the pool cleaner pump and if you have a pump for your waterfall you have that come on also.
If you do not have a computer system for you swimming pool and you are looking to protect your plumbing, here is some advice. You can run your pool manually or change your time clock to run the pool overnight. Depending on the high and low of the temperature depends on when I run the pump/s. The easiest way to set it up is I will run a pump from 11 pm-8 am. If the weather is going to stay in the 30’s all day I would manually term on the pumps after the 8 am time period or run the pool for 24 hours or whenever the temperature is going to go above freezing.
If you are really nervous because the temperature is going to be really low for an extended period of time I would drain your plumbing/equipment. First turn off all timers then take the lid off of your pump to allow air to enter the plumbing. Next, if you have a good upper end filter there should be a drain plug at the bottom of the filter. Unscrew the plug, you may need pliers. Also the pumps have drain plugs usually located at the front of the pump, unscrew them also. If you have a check valve for a raised spa or wall for a water fountain/feature, if it is a high end check valve you will be able to unscrew and take the center part out or unscrew screws and take the lid off.
We at Crystal Pools and Spas Inc. us ALL upper end equipment/parts and if you are a prior customer all the steps I stated in the paragraph above you can easily follow. You don’t have to worry about getting a saw out and cutting pipes because you have a cheap in line check valve for instance.
If you have any other questions about protecting pipes/equipment just email us at kevin@nolapools.com. Thanks and have a great holidays!!!
I hope to go back in a week and get some photos with the waterfalls and bubblers on. We just sealed the travertine pavers in these photos and could not afford to have splash by the fountains onto the travertine because of the sealer. This job turned out beautiful and are very proud to have build another dream pool for our client! I hope they enjoy this pool as much as I enjoy looking at it!!!
This pool construction is in Madisonville and we are currently working on this project with my father and I just completing the plumbing/equipment phase today ourselves like usual. The pool is 540 ft.2 and has a very large suntan ledge with a 13′ raised wall that features two elevation changes and will feature stacked stone and a 4′ waterfall. On the suntan ledge we installed 3 bubblers and a umbrella holder. The depth of the pool is 3.5 feet to 6 feet deep. This pool will feature travertine pavers and the pool is chlorine with a Nature II system combo unit. We are VERY excited to finish this pool construction with our utmost attention to detail like all our work. I, Kevin, have been on the job every phase now and I have been actively supervising/working. We dug the pool on Tuesday, had the steel structure tied Wednesday, gunited it yesterday and plumbed it today. We hope to get the materials in a timely manner so that we can finish the pool construction soon. The stacked stone wall has an inverse radius and that material may take a bit longer to get in than we have hoped, but I am trying to find a way to speed up the process because the inverse panels are a special order. Here are some photos and I hope you enjoy it!!!
I can’t attest for all builders but the way Crystal Pools and Spas install main drains are very safe. And here are the reasons why and what you should look for as far as saftey. Us at Crystal Pools and Spas Inc. plumb our own pool, so I have an exact idea how our system operates. We run a 2″ plumbing line to each of our 3 pool suctions. There are two skimmers in most pools by us and 2 main drains that are tied into one pipe. On top of that we use anti-vortex main drain covers. Think of these as domed and where the water is sucked on the sides. A traditional main drain cover is flat and sucks right out of the top. So say you have somebody sit on this domed top 100% (which would be very hard to do) the other main drain would do the extra sucking and very little sucking would happen from the first. Like I said that is if the pool is done correctly. If you have a company build a pool and the plaster man gets plaster inside of one of the main drains pipes well the other will do most of the sucking and then the system could be compromised. Ok you may ask how about if two people cover both main drains (it would almost be impossible for one to block both with a pool done by us because we space the two main drains a few feet apart) what will happen. Well with a pool built by us like I said we run a 2″ pipe to each skimmer and a 2″ pipe and T it off to two main drains. So what this means is each skimmer is sucking around 33% of the pool water and each main drain is sucking at say 17% each. So going back to my question if two people block both drains 100% then the skimmers would be sucking from 33% each to closer to 50% each relieving the pressure off of the main drains.
There are contractors that will tell you they will install state of the art equipment to prevent hold down on the main drain but if a swimming pool is constructed correctly you do not need this. Where problems occur are owners that chose the cheapest bidding contractor and then quality and supervision goes downhill. For instance, I bid all the time and know what the other contractor is bidding on and will tell the homeowner and they fall in love with a price that excludes LOTS of variables. A big on is a contractor will do small things like put one main drain in the pool instead of two and the big thing is they will install smaller sized plumbing lines like 1″ so that their bill is less. They will also tie lines in together so for instance even if a contractor you choose installs two skimmers in your pool doesn’t mean that each of those two skimmers have a dedicated line running from them to the pool pump. What a lot of companies choose to do is if they put two skimmers in their pool they will use one pipe sometimes 1″!!! in diameter and tie in the two skimmers into the pool pump. If a system is set up like that they will usually put in a smaller pump and a smaller filter to get the cost WAY down and you are left with an inefficient and unsafe pool. So let’s say you have 2 skimmers and 2 main drains by a contractor and they plumbed this way with say the same size pump as I would do a 1.5 HP or a 2 HP then first the pump is struggling for water because the flow rate of the smaller pipe and one less inlet of the pool(1 line to the two skimmers), but also your main drains are now sucking 50% and your two skimmers are at about 25% each. This could be a larger safety concern and a person needs to remember you get what you pay for.
Remember to, if you have a older spa/hot tub and it has one main drain make sure you have a anti-vortex main drain cover and make sure the cover is installed tightly!!! This main drain will be sucking 100% of the water and can easily hold down even an adult. At Crystal Pools and Spas Inc. we put two main drains and anti-vortex covers on all of our hot tubs and so should EVERY contractor and you should not do otherwise. If you have any questions to how your pool system may work or any safety concerns you may have just email us at kevin@nolapools.com. And if you live in SE Louisiana or southern Mississippi please give us at Crystal Pools and Spas Inc. an opportunity to serve you, you won’t be disappointed! Thanks!!
First, the homeowner should understand the purposes of the valves to instead of memorizing which ways valves go. The way we at Crystal Pools and Spas Inc. plumb our swimming pools is this. Before the pool pump there are 4 pipes coming up out of the ground then going into a Jandy Never Lube spa valves then directly into the pump. 3 valves are close together and the 4th is on the other side of the Jandy Never Lube valve. The 3 together first off is your swimming pool suctions, one for each skimmer and the other or third for you main drain/s in your pool. The other pipe or 4th pipe is your main drains of your hot tub or spa. All 4 of these pipes are suctions that lead into your pump that suck the water.
Next thing to understand is the water is returned to the pool by coming out of that same pump that the 4 suction pipes go into. The water is directed into your filter usually with us a Clean and Clear 520. Once the water goes through the filter it is directed through your heater. After the heater there will be another Jandy Never Lube valve with one pipe on each side. One pipe will be the the clean water going to the swimming pool and the other pipe will lead to the jets/returns into the hot tub/spa.
On a normal running of your pool you will put the Jandy Never Lube valve (has off written on it, not the handle itself but the off) off sign pointed towards the one pipe coming out of the ground or your hot tub/spa main drain suctions. So visualize, you will have 100% of your water being sucked from your two skimmers and two pool main drains. Then on the return side or the Jandy Never Lube valve after the heater you’ll have the off facing mostly the spa returns, NOT all the way. The reason you do not turn it all the way off is so that you will get chemicals/chlorine into your spa to sanitize it. So say it is cracked open, out of the heater it goes to the Jandy Never Lube valve and say 80% of the clean water will go to the pool and 20% will go to the hot tub/spa.
So this should give you a nice visual, when you want to go in the hot tub/spa you will turn the off the Jandy Never Lube valve on the suction side towards the 3 pool pipe suctions so that now you are sucking water 100% out of the spa main drains. Then on the return side, post heater, you will turn the Jandy Never Lube valve’s off to the pool return. Therefore getting 100% of the clean heated water going to the spa jet’s/returns.
The last thing to remember is after going into your spa turn your valves back to where they were prior to turning on your spa/hot tub. 100% spa suction off and 80% pool to 20% spa return side. If you can imagine what the pump is doing and taking water from it is very easy for you, the homeowner, to not get confused by this process!
If you have any questions about your hot tub/spa or any pool related question please email me at kevin@nolapools.com or reply to this and I will get an answer to your shortly. And if you have any pool service needs like a renovation, re-plaster/resurface and you live in SE Louisiana or Southern Mississippi please give us at Crystal Pools and Spas an opportunity and you will not be disappointed in our workmanship. Thanks!
It goes further than how long has that business been in business. You need to know how long have they been in business in the same exact company name. A lot of companies have sort of the same name but add something to it most probably because they have been bankrupt and they need to. It is VERY difficult for a homeowner to research this which is VERY frustrating hanging you the homeowner as to trust whatever that company tells you. I believe when a company goes bankrupt one time there should be a waiting penalty after the second that contractor should loose his license from his or her trait. Well it is so easy for that to file a name under a spouses’ or friends’ name therefore leaving the homeowner guessing. This is the most difficult step, WHO TO TRUST???
The second step for a homeowner is to compare apples to apples and not to banana’s. In the swimming pool field there is a wide variety of equipment on the market. Just a residential filter for example can range from $200 to $1,300. That is just for the filter!!! So when comparing companies you need to know what you are getting! Another short cut by some builders are to have thinner gunite/concrete walls and flooring to save a large bit of money. As a state licensed contractor, you have to give a lifetime structural warantee of the shell or gunite/concrete of the pool. Well if a company is not in business for long or gets sued that warantee means NOTHING!!!! This should be VERY important to a homeowner looking to build a pool. This step of interviewing a contractor can be very time consuming but VERY important to protect your investment. There are plenty of ways, too many to name, for a contractor to cut cost resulting in a cheaper price. Good established contractors in business for a long time under the same name will not cut corners just to sell a couple of extra pools. Remember, you get what you pay for!!!!
The next thing you consider should be, are you talking to a salesman or the horse’s mouth. A salesman is exactly what it sounds like, he will sell the job and you will never see him again. He or she works off of commission and is usually very savvy and have lots of tactics and colorful brochures because they work off of commission. There are plenty of tactics out there where a company for instance will say the pool is including 3′ of decking around water’s edge. What home owner’s don’t realize is that the contractor knows the homeowner will have a greater amount of decking installed than the 3′ and then suddenly have the homeowner over a barrel to pay whatever price once the contract is signed and the process has begun. It is important for the homeowner to weed out the dishonest contractors that use modern day tactics just for the sale. Not all builders have a sales/design team. You should be looking for a BUILDER not a seller!!!! You need somebody that you communicate through the whole process, from start to completion. You are the owner, and your only worries should be color selection. You should not worry about some crew being faxed a set of plans showing up to your home UNSUPERVISED! Also as a homeowner, you should not have to worry if you do have a foreman/overseer that they are actually concerned or paying attention to your job. I tell people on the initial visit look outside and see if the salesman has a truck, second see if he has a toolbox attached to the truck, thirdly open that toolbox up and see if there are tools in it and finally the most important is are those tools used? If you would open up my toolbox on my truck you would find some rusty tools, some with dents/scuffs,etc. A true builder should not be driving around picking up checks but to actually care and supervise your one and only pool. Not thinking about his or her next project!!!
Another aspect of choosing a contractor is the referral world. If you are getting a referral somebody you know and it is a good one you should keep asking around. I think it is a joke when a company gives a list of say 10 referrals to a customer to call and check. Let’s think here, I bet the 10 referrals he’ll give are his top 10 customers and you won’t get the one’s he or she has disappointed. For the sake of some reason people like a list of references I have posted some on our website and will add everyone here on out that will take time to write one. I will not exclude any, that is not being honest. I feel that a client should get ALL references and it’s not a being honest to take only the happy. You have to remember hiring a contractor is not like buying a vehicle that is produced by the same plant. A swimming pool is hand crafted and everybody put’s in different components. I always tell people they can come choose from every client my father and I have built a pool for.
Now about Crystal Pools and Spas Inc., all I can tell you about is Jeff and Kevin Knott. We work to give our clients 100% satisfaction not only during the process but after also. Our prior customers are not forgot about and I still get a good call back from past clientele to ask me questions. We please 100% of our customers by the time the job is complete because you are our future! I will be honest there are many very nice sales techniques out there today but honestly that is NOT what we are about or use. We are about being upfront and honest from the very first time we meet a potential client. That’s all we can be, no bright colorful pamphlets, no creative sales techniques. It is about looking into a potential buyers eyes and giving that person our word. That is what we are about. I am a realist, there have been problems come up during a job process through the years and anybody tell you things don’t come up are kidding them self. It is about how you attack and solve any concern/problem if it may occur. I know me not answering my phone when I know a customer may be mad will not solve anything only create frustration by the homeowner. I’m not saying all of my competition are outlaws but the pool industry epically in SE Louisiana has a used car dealership reputation. It is frustrating having competition that is incompetent. There are some that build pools that know a subcontractor and he will get other subcontractors and that person is all of a sudden a builder. That person relies on the subcontractors to build the pool correctly and usually will lead to bankruptcy. The thing frustrating to me is I lose swimming pools every year to a list of incompetent builders. There is a skill/craft to this industry and you can’t rely on subcontractors to keep you afloat because that is a loosing formula. A swimming pool is a investment for you and your job should be treated like it is that builders pool. If you give a client 100% of yourself for his/her job you will have customers’ for life! My wife is a RN at St. Tammany Hospital in the nursery and I told her that she can never have a bad day when she enters work. She needs to attack that day with a great outlook because you are dealing with people that has given birth and they want it to be the best experience. My wife represents the hospital and if she goes in with an attitude it can put a damper on what is suppose to be the best day of a couple’s life. Well I attack my job the same way, when I enter a job I leave any personal problems at home. It is not fair to the homeowner to get 75% of me and another customer 100% of me. We strive for consistency! Every owner deserves that and in return the referrals will come! We promise we will be on the job supervising not sitting there or not on the job. We interact with our subcontractors and we give them information. We build all our swimming pools as our own, I’m sure others say the same thing as a sales catch but we back that up with action. We are not about cutting corners which a lot of contractors view as profit but seldom realize the long term loss of satisfaction. There are a lot of different subcontractors for every phase out there. Some less expensive that others. We only use subcontractors that take pride in there work and we pay more for that. For instance we use the same plaster crew my father has used since 1980. We not only go on our own salescalls and supervise but we do the blue collar stuff like plumb our own pools (equipment/piping), clean up and haul off trash, clean driveways after the dig, startup our pools, etc. The most graitifing part of my job is to take a design on a sheet of paper and then take that into a finished project. I LOVE that part of my job!
At the end of the day when the lights go out and it is you and your finished swimming pool will you have the best and most efficient equipment, will you have a sound structure, will you have the dedication and service you deserve even after the project is complete? That is what it is all about! Most builders can give you a pool that has blue water when the job is complete but it goes WAY BEYOND that, what are the components that makeup of your swimming pool?
If you or anybody you know has any pool related question please feel free to share our website and just ask us. We are willing to help with all that’s possible. I enjoy what I do for a living and love to interact and I am motivated in making people happy. I hope I helped you in the pool decision process and I hope I gave you information so that you can make the best educated decision in choosing the best possible swimming pool contractor for you and your family. Thanks!
Kevin and Jeff Knott
We just wrapped up the swimming pool in Baton Rouge, what a beauty! The construction from beginning to the end took exactly 4 weeks and that included the demolition of the old fiberglass pool. The pool has wonderful ivory french pattern travertine pavers with a upgraded 2″ 12″X24″ travertine coping. The pool also features a midnight blue plaster, a computer system, 2 500 watt lights. There is a raised wall that has 2 elevations. The lower elevation walls are finished in stucco with a stone cap and a total of 4 fleur de lis spitters. The raised portion of the wall is stacked stone with a stone cap and a 4 foot waterfall that can also trickle down the stone to give a rain like aesthetic. In front of the wall features a bench so that the customer can sit under the waterfall. The pool also has a suntan ledge with 3 bubbler fountains. I will update a new photo on Crystal Pools website sometime next week when the landscaper installs the landscaping. Thanks and hope you enjoy our latest addition to our collection!!!
