SOUTHERN POOL DESIGNS - CUSTOM POOL BUILDING PROCESS

After you have approved the final design of your Southern Pool Design pool, making sure that all of the components of your pool are in the design and contract, a detailed set of engineered plans will be created from which your pool will be constructed. An outline of your pool will be formed with wood nailed together to show the position and shape of your pool as per plans. You will now want to get ready for the excavation process. With any major construction process, you will have heavy equipment making numerous trips into your backyard. Please remember to have relocated all plants, sprinkler heads, etc. that may be within the path of the equipment and pool location.

The next step in the construction of your new Southern Pool Designs pool is the excavation: a messy, dirty process that is exciting and unavoidable. An excavation crew carefully digs, forms and hand-trims your pool in precise accordance with every detail of your swimming pool design specifications. The excavation process usually takes one day; however, it may take longer depending on the soil conditions as well as unexpected weather delays. You will note the wooden forms around your swimming pool. They are there to guide us through the rest of the construction process and are important that they are not tampered with. The majority of dirt from the excavation process will be removed the day of the excavation. Don’t be concerned if some dirt remains, as we will use this for other phases of the construction. If for some reason you would like a portion for landscaping purposes or some other uses, you must let us know where and how much you desire.

Next, a steel crew forms a rigid contoured grid of reinforcing steel to create the backbone of your swimming pool. You will see bars crossing one another for the utmost in reinforcement. Notice the tie wires at every other intersection, they tie the steel together forming a continuous bond. You will also notice that there are block spacers in between the steel and the ground. This helps to hold up the steel above the soil, so that the steel will end up approximately in the middle of the gunite. When the steel is finished it will appear like the steps are missing. Don’t be alarmed; the steps will be shot in at the next stage, which is gunite. Please be advised, that when inspecting the progress of your pool, the steel is sharp. So please take caution.

The next step of your pool construction is the application of the gunite. Technicians will skillfully shoot the gunite around your pool’s steel reinforcement grid. Your pool shell formed by this process is so strong that Southern Pool Designs backs it with a Full Lifetime Warranty! After your gunite has been completed, it will need a couple of days to cure before our next step.

Your pool is now ready to be plumbed with the high-grade National Sanitation Foundation approved “Schedule 40” PVC pipe designed to prevent leaks or deterioration. All pipe connections are solidly bonded and the entire plumbing system is hydrostatically pressure tested. As with every other stage of your new Southern Pool Designs pool, the plumbing is done in accordance with your pool design specifications and we ensure the plumbing meets our rigid standards of quality and design. The plumbing crew will dig a trench around the pool where the suction and return lines will be placed. This trench will lead to the equipment location, marked on your print, where the pump, filter, chlorinator, etc. will be installed. After all the plumbing lines have been installed and inspections passed, the trench will be filled in with dirt, compacted and now ready for the next stage of the construction process.

The next step in the construction process is the installation of your pool tile. The weather resistant tile will be hand-laid and carefully grouted around the waterline of your pool by a skilled craftsperson. The tiling process should take approximately 1 to 2 days to complete depending on the size and complexity of the job. At this time, the skimmer will be set, step risers poured and tiled, precast coping set, brick coping set, and any other water features that are on the raised area of the pool will be installed.

Next, the outline of your decking is formed around the perimeter of your new Southern Pool Design pool. This “cantilever-formed” deck overhangs the interior perimeter of your pool to provide the swimmer with a non-skid safety edge. The procedure will begin with the crew forming the deck out of wood forms. They will be nailed in place and are not easily moved. The deck is usually formed in one day, termite treated and inspected the second day and poured within one weeks time. Depending on the weather, the deck may need several days to cure before proceeding to the next step.

This is also a step in the construction process when the pavers/travertine will be installed, if you elected to go with either of these instead of a concrete deck.

Using National Electrical Code approved conduit, wire and bonding, our professional electrical contractor carefully makes all of the electrical connections for your pool. The lights are installed, the pumps are wired and electrical breakers installed. Southern Pool Designs will contact the city for all inspections.

Once the deck has been poured, the screen measurements will be shot to begin the layout and assembly. The screen sections are assembled off site and delivered by truck to the job site for installation. The installation usually only takes about one day, however, will vary depending on size of job and complexity. It begins with the installation of the gutters and the screen following right after. If you chose to have a fence, it will be delivered and installed on site per our engineered plans.

Now that your pool has passed the city building safety inspections up to this point, an experienced surfacing crew applies the pool interior surface you have selected. Your interior finish will be installed in a two-day process; the first day the pool will be cleaned of any loose debris and prepped. The second day the crew will return to install the interior finish. A Southern Pool Designs service technician will be out to start the pool up the day that it is filled with water. The start-up will consist of detailing pool, tile and deck and chemically balancing the water.

The final stage is for the installation of the child safety fence or alarms. The child safety fence is a removable mesh pool fence designed specifically to provide a safety barrier around residential swimming pools for toddlers and young children. The fence is installed in sections to provide convenience for easy removal and reinstallation by you, the homeowner.

When you’re 100% satisfied, a pool service technician will set up your pool orientation. You will learn all the function of your new pool and how to properly care for it. You will be asked to fill out our “Quality Assurance Survey” which tells us how we did. We are constantly looking for better ways to improve our quality and customer service. It will now be time to sit back, kick off your shoes and enjoy your new Southern Pool Designs swimming pool!