Mark Slaby's Posts

Choosing a Pool Contractor

Posted by Mark Slaby on January 27, 2009 at 3:26pm

Make sure your customers know how to choose a contractor. Share the following information with your potential customers:How to Choose a Pool Contractor:Choosing the right pool contractor can be easy if you follow these steps below. Actually, skip a few if you think it is overkill but know we wanted you to have a thorough look at the process of getting the contractor for your project.If you're thinking of getting a pool, schedule an appointment with a licensed pool contractor (some states do not require a license). Timing is important too. Many builders have a busy season and a slower time of year which pretty much follows the swim season. Therefore, for best service, contact the builder in the beginning of the calendar year. Waiting until Memorial Day to start the process and hoping for a July 4th Pool Party is just not going to work in most cases.It's highly unlikely any reputable builder will have your pool finished for you to enjoy all summer and in some cases, maybe not at all. It's like ordering a pizza during halftime of the Super Bowl. Think you'll have that pizza before the game's over? The idea is to start talking to a pool builder now.Things to consider when choosing a pool builder:Are they established in the community? Ties to your local community mean the contractor is committed to building and maintaining a positive reputation.Are they responsive to your inquiries---promptly returning your calls? They might also have an email address for you. Multiple ways to contact them help you when the contact person is 'in the field'Do they take the time to educate you on pool building and ownership?Is safety emphasized? For instance, here is one www.poolspanews.com/2003/041/041maindrain.htmlDo they know anything about energy efficient equipment?Do you like them? You have to feel good about the company.Are they a state certified builder? Licensing ensures the highest level of commitment to building - and requires the builder to take continuing education courses as well as carry proper insurance.Will they provide you references?Unhappy customers? Ask them about customers who were not happy and how they handled the situation. The 'how' is really important.Will they provide vendor references? The supply houses are one of the first to know if the builder is experiencing financial problems.Check the state licensing agency for complaints.Check the local building department for complaints.Check with the county clerk of court for lawsuits. This process costs money. If a customer took this route, there probably is a 'real' problem.Check the BBB but keep in mind that it is REALLY easy to file a complaint. On more than one occasion a customer has contacted the BBB because I was unwilling to do additional work without pay and the customers thought that this would make me do it (I work much better with honey than vinegar).Will they let you see a job they have currently in process?Do they provide financing services or do they just send you to figure it out yourself?Is the owner of the company accessible?Do they have a website that provides information and contact points? Of course, I'm partial to my own company, Mermaid Pools of Central Florida, Inc. but there are many good sites out there that are worthwhile.How does the money flow? Builders build your pool with your money, no doubt. However, do they require 50% up front? Understand that before you start.Guarantees? If they seem too good to be true, they might be. Look for quality in guarantees, not speed. Economics (and payments that match progress) make reputable builder move things along.Are they experienced? This is a double edged sword for sure. You want someone who knows what he/she is doing but not someone who have been in a pool building rut where all the pools look the same and there is no innovation. There are far too many pool builders with '20 years+ experience' who stopped learning anything after about 5 years. Imagine you have someone doing it the way it was done 15 years ago.How is the pricing? Pool builders pricing is about the same wherever you go, so don't fixate on price. Most differences are really not real - just some builder's effort to make it difficult to compare. Choose the builder that you are comfortable working with. Whether it is a little more or less shouldn't be the overriding concern. Also, if you find yourself choosing based on price you haven't found a builder for you. Price buying is used because it is, obviously, quite quantifiable. When you are choosing on price you really should think about continuing your search for a builder for you.Most horror stories occur because someone didn't take a few moments to think about some of theses issues. Pool building -- which usually involves lots of backyard mess in the process - need not be messy in your head.Share this information with your potential customers and they will see you as a quality and sincere company. If you have questions, feel free to contact me at Mark@mymermaidpool.com or visit our website at www.mymermaidpool.com

Don't Solve the Problem ! Eliminate It!

Posted by Mark Slaby on November 16, 2008 at 8:30pm

I had some time to reflect recently. Here's why I had the time. Our kids are on the Mount Dora Swim Team and we're working to keep the city from closing the pool -- a tragedy for a pool dude like me -- so I volunteered for the fund raising golf event. My job was to watch the hole-in-one hole to verify any possible ace. I miscalculated the time I was going to be out there and quickly ran out of reading material so I SLOOOOOOOOWED DOOOOOOWN and READ slowly instead of the other thing I usually do.......I skim. Yes I am a skimmer man through and through which is where I found the one word that caught my eye.

It was "protection." And in context it was about a pool professional class in response to the new suction entrapment rules. The class was about "Suction Entrapment Protection......"

I remembered back to a giant banner I saw over a dozen years ago while I was still a corporate tool. Working at the 'happiest place on earth' -- Walt Disney World -- I saw this banner in our Team Disney building. It read:

Don't Solve Problems! Eliminate Them!

Another software team had just put in a new hotel reservation system and things were going pretty well (as I understood) but there was a still big 'war room' area with techs helping users with all kinds of problems. The mantra was obvious. Don't make a career out of these software problems. Eliminate them. We've got other things to do.

Today, as I look at the new ANSI 7 standards and all the options for protection against suction entrapment I am reminded of why many are pushing for only the protection against suction entrapment -- their career depends on them selling widgets and work-arounds and other things to help solve a problem that, if eliminated, would make them have to look for a new career.

While some advocate the need for suction in pools for hydraulics, a reasonable and knowledgeable pool builder would agree that at least 95% of all pool projects can be built while totally eliminating suction entrapment hazards. As busines people, surely there is a marketing hook here. And operationally, building without a drain is easier in most cases.

The only way to completely eliminate suction entrapment hazards is to eliminate the suction device completely.

As an industry, rather than continue with endless work-arounds we need to realize that we've got things to do - not necessarily 'better things to do' but more things to do in order to make our products safer and more efficient. Let's move forward and make careers of that!

Piping Efficiency - Not Just by the Pool

Posted by Mark Slaby on November 6, 2008 at 11:00am

Recently we took on a job for a builder who had gone out of business. I got to see a few things up front and personal that I normally would not get to see. Among other things, we had to do the equipment set and hook up. Here is where we encountered a dozen extra 90s some digging and waste of time.We always think of optimum hydraulics yet we often don't do it in the end (or at the end) of the project.We work in the Central Florida area around Orlando/Mount Dora. In Florida, a pressure test is required prior to the deck pour. Many builders run the pipes from the pool and create a manifold of the pipes in a nice straight row -- 2 to 6 or more pipes 90ed straight up in a line about 2 inches from each other. They are connected by a single pressure gauge. Looks like a pipe organ. Then after the inspection the pipes are cut off under ground, redirected to the equipment pad and put in place for the final connections.By running the pipes to the exact spot of the equipment placement, we only have to cut the pipe and 90 them into the valve or equipment directly. See how the pipes are spaced for the future equipment set.Click on the link to see the picture from a project in 2004:Central Florida Pool Builder Mermaid Pools.JPGThis example shows 4 separate pressure gauges. We could have easily tied the pipes together as one and used one gauge. This was a fiberglass pool project requiring threaded plugs and if you've ever chased around the pool trying to figure out which plug is leaking -- you'll know why we did it (and we had four gauges on the truck.) Even though the requirement is that the piping hold 35 psi for 15 minutes the truth is that it will have to hold until the end of the next day as the inspector might not arrive until then.Here, as you can see, we make four cuts and 90 into two 3-way valves. Sometimes we even have the valves in place and he only thing to do is the 90. For security reasons, we usually bring the equipment out right when we are hooking up, like this case.In summary, hydraulics is all about ALL the piping.

Deposit or Not --- That is the Question

Posted by Mark Slaby on November 3, 2008 at 11:30pm

Is a deposit requirement a good thing for a pool project?We've all heard the stories - 80% up front and then the contractor is gone for a long time or for good. We've also had the experience of a customer changing his/her mind after the sale and having a deposit might make them think twice about cancelling -- especially if there is a cancellation penalty.We've done fairly large deposits and also fairly small. In late 2007 we at Mermaid Pools of Central Florida went to a 'no deposit' requirement. Now exactly how we do this is important -- clearly we don't want to get too far into the project without payment with the emphasis on physical improvements to the property. Obviously, ripping stuff out of the ground is not a good option.So what we do is don't require a payment until the first 'big event' be it a fiberglass shell delivery or the steel work on a concrete pool. We do this so that we are not upside down.So why do it? We do it to build confidence in the customer that we aren't using their money to build someone else's pool. We are able to get them to feel better about us. Additionally, we do it because we are able to advertise it or to gain publicity in the local paper www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/apopka/orl-dawson1908jan19,0,131394.column. Customers are fearful or cautious and this is one thing we do to get them over the top. We're not the only swimming pool contractor in Central Florida (Orlando) doing this either. Times might be changing.We've never had a problem with getting this first payment.