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1. Will my pool be a custom design? 2. What about the associated construction items? 3. How long will the construction take? 4. How much mess will the construction make in my yard? 5. Who do I call if I have problems or questions? 6. How deep does my pool have to be if I want a diving board? 7. What is the difference between a lap pool and a play pool? 8. Is a darker color better than a lighter color for the interior of the pool? 9. What is the least amount of money I can spend to get a nice pool? 10. Can I
build a spa with no pool? 11. How many therapy jets come in a spa? 13. What are the construction steps/phases? 14. Will we be able to swim as soon as we fill the pool with water? 15. What costs will I incur above and beyond the contract price? 16. What are my options for payment? 17. How can I make my pool safe for my children? 18. How
much will it cost to operate my pool? 19. Can I have a pool built on or into a steep slope? 20. What kind of warranty comes with the pool? 21. What permits will I need for the construction? 22. Do I need to be home during the construction? 23. Why do different builder’s estimates vary when the designs are similar? 24. How
soon can construction begin?
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| 1. Will my pool be a custom design? | Although most companies like to call themselves “Custom Builders”, most of their pools look exactly the same, just in different yards! Every Classic Reflection pool design begins with a clean sheet of paper. No two pools are ever alike! There is a distinct and intentional advantage to our being a smaller company rather a mass quantity builder. From the initial survey of your property by our designer/salesperson, continuing through the design and all the way to the finished product, you can be assured your pool will be a unique experience designed specifically for you and your family. | ||||||||||||||
| 2. What about the associated construction items? | Classic Reflections knows that many people don’t have the time or desire to become a general contractor. We therefore can include any and all items necessary to create your back yard environment. Such items as fencing, landscaping and irrigation, as well as shade structures, cooking stations and bars can be included into your design. | ||||||||||||||
| 3. How long will the construction take? | There are many factors which influence the total construction project and the time to build it. The estimated time of completion is based on your choice of pool size, shape and variety of features, such as waterfalls, lighting, decking type, fencing, landscaping etc. etc. etc. It is important to remember that our estimate is exactly that: an estimate. There are factors beyond our control such as weather, material availabilities, machines and people. In our many years experience building pools, we have learned that there is a delicate balance between time, cost and quality. We want your pool to be finished as quickly as you do, but rest assured we will not sacrifice quality for speed. The typical project takes approximately one working day per one thousand dollars worth of total project | ||||||||||||||
| 4. How much mess will the construction make in my yard? | Our contractors make every effort to minimize and contain the construction debris. One big reason they are our selected contractors is that they share our vision regarding customer service and satisfaction. We also place a premium on safety for crews and customers. Typically two clean-ups are performed during construction. The first is normally after coping and the second is the final clean-up normally before plaster. Additional clean-ups may be requested or even required on certain projects. | ||||||||||||||
| 5. Who do I call if I have problems or questions? | If you have any questions, concerns or comments you may contact our main office, the construction manager or the owner. Each and every one of our clients gets the personal cell phone number of the owner. Our involvement with our customers is one of the notable differences between us and the mass production pool companies. | ||||||||||||||
| 6. How deep does my pool have to be if I want a diving board? | Contrary to popular belief, diving injuries occur more often in shallow pools than in diving pools. The reason is simple, people will always want to dive into a pool whether shallow or deep, but with a diving pool there is a designated diving area, thus making it safer overall. The recommended minimum depth is 7’6”, however we won’t build a diving pool any less than 8’6” deep and we have built pools as deep as 12‘. A diving pool’s floor profile, which is the incline/transition from the deep end to the shallow end is as critical as the maximum depth. The deeper the deepest part of the pool, the longer the incline must be in order to be safe. All Classic reflection pools are designed with a “safety first” thought in mind! | ||||||||||||||
| 7. What is the difference between a lap pool and a play pool? | Lap pools, play pools and diving pools are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Lap pools are normally built longer as they are targeted more for fitness and exercise. To gain as much benefit from lap swimming, we recommend a pool length that will increase swimming distance and reduce the number of turns per stroke. Lap swimmers will tell you that the actual exercise comes from the swim strokes and not from having to turn around. It can be very frustrating in a shorter pool where the swimmer is turning after 4 or 5 strokes, therefore most of the lap pools we build are at least 40’ in length . We also recommend a 3’6” minimum depth at both ends of a lap pool in order to make kick turns. Play pools (sometimes called sport pools) are designed to provide more of an entertainment factor. The typical floor profile being 3’6” - 5’- 3’6” of water depth. This allows for the two most common types of activity, water volleyball and water basketball. It will be important for your designer/architect to understand your priorities regarding how you wish to use your pool. It is possible, (and we have done this many times), to design and build a pool that accommodates all of these requirements simultaneously | ||||||||||||||
| 8. Is a darker color better than a lighter color for the interior of the pool? | We offer a wide variety of both
color and product choices. There
are both aesthetic and functional advantages to lighter and darker colors. The darker colors when compared to
a pure white interior finish, tend to result in slightly warmer
(approximately 5 degrees) water temperatures. The darker colors will show less
staining as well and are therefore a big advantage in wooded or highly
landscaped yards. The darker
the interior finish, the more reflective the pool will appear. You may select from our color
charts or we will create a custom color specifically for your pool. |
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| 9. What is the least amount of money I can spend to get a nice pool? | There are many pool companies that advertise very low-cost constructions; even some in the $12,000 range. The old expression, “Let the consumer beware” certainly should apply to any claim that seems too good to be true. With our commitment to a very high quality, Classic Reflections will simply not agree to build a pool below a minimum standard. We estimate a minimum investment of $25,000 for a pool, and $30,000 for a pool/spa combination. | ||||||||||||||
| 10. Can I build a spa with no
pool? |
Yes, you can build a spa without a pool or a pool without a spa. We can show you several examples
of each. |
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| 11. How many therapy jets
come in a spa? |
The standard Classic
Reflection spa is 7’ in diameter with a step coming into it, split level
benches and 6 therapy jets, two of these jets being of the large rotary
massage type. These twin jets are stacked in
tandem to provide you with both an upper and lower back massage at the
same time. However, size of
spa, number of jets, jet location as well as overall depth and seat height
are all variables. We have
installed spas with as many as 20 therapy jets, located in different areas
so as to massage your back, neck, legs and even the bottoms of your feet! |
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| 12. How much time and effort will it take to maintain my pool? | Every Classic
Reflection employee is a current or former pool owner. Therefore, we
understand the more time you spend maintaining your pool, the less time
you can spend enjoying it. Every
Classic Reflection pool is designed to reduce the maintenance effort. We provide the most efficient and
reliable pool equipment on the market.
Still, there are some basic maintenance tasks that must be
performed to ensure smooth pool operation throughout the year. Essentially, the pool chemicals
should be monitored on a weekly basis to maintain proper pH and chlorine
levels. Skimmers need to be
emptied regularly and filters should be backwashed (recommended monthly)
to ensure pure, clean water. All
together, these tasks usually average about 10-15 minutes per week
depending on the time of year. We
also have affiliations with and can recommend professional maintenance companies so all you have to do is
come home, put on a suit (optional), hop in and enjoy. |
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| 13. What are the construction steps/phases? | Please see the PROCESS OVERVIEW page. | ||||||||||||||
| 14. Will we be able to swim as soon as we fill the pool with water? | The water used to
fill your pool will come out of the tap or your well. It is as clean as the water you drink, shower and cook with. So go ahead if you want to. We do the “Start-up” phase on
your pool as soon as we can, usually within a day or two of its being full
of water. Typically your pool
water will be clear and blue within 12 hours of this “Start-up”
procedure. To completely balance the water in your new pool may take up
to a month. |
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| 15. What costs will I incur above and beyond the contract price? | Classic Reflections believes in covering our bases up front. By the time we reach a contractual agreement with you, we hope to know exactly what we are building for you. Although field adjustments are an integral part of any construction project, the more details we can nail down before we start, the smoother and faster the actual construction process will occur. Normally, the only additional costs incurred by our clients, are for items which are added during construction by the clients themselves. | ||||||||||||||
| 16. What are my options for payment? | Payments are called draws, and are required at various stages of completion throughout the project. Typically 30% @ excavation, 30% @ gunite, 30% @ deck, and 10% @ completion. Of course we accept cash, but if you are financing your pool, we will work with your preferred lending institution. These are known as home improvement loans. Many customers who are buying new homes have obtained mortgages with the cost of their pool included. This allows us to build the pool simultaneously with the construction of the home. | ||||||||||||||
| 17. How can I make my pool safe for my children? | We use the term
“Barriers of Safety” and are fanatical about it. These barriers of safety can be
very effective when done in a layered fashion, and the more layers, the
safer. For example,
installing a keyed deadbolt (with only adults having accessibility to the
key) to all doors leading to the pool area, door alarms and a wrought iron
railing between the house and pool are three barriers which when combined
can help create a very child safe environment. We can incorporate wrought iron
railings into the design to be as unobtrusive as possible. These railings are removable to the point of never knowing
they were ever there if you decide to take them down at a later date. Other barriers of safety to
consider, are water
disturbance alarms, security cameras and spring-loaded, self closing door
hinges. The most important thing is that no one ever gets hurt in
your pool |
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| 18. How much will it cost to
operate my pool? |
Operational costs
vary depending on many factors. Pool
size, time of year, how much you use your pool and your cost for
electricity and natural gas. Pump
motors use electricity and spa/pool heaters use natural gas (where
available). Also, chemicals
will be needed to maintain proper pH and chlorine balances. The types and amounts of the
chemicals needed, will depend on the season and how much the pool is used. A 2 horsepower Purex pool pump
draws approximately $.30 of electricity per hour. A 350,000 BTU Purex pool heater
uses about $2.30 worth of gas per hour.
A standard 7’ diameter spa will take approximately 1 hour to heat
in the winter. |
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| 19. Can I have a pool built on or into a steep slope? | Absolutely. This is a specialty of Classic
Reflection. Working with
challenging landscapes has been a trademark of Classic Reflection for a
long time and we have a reputation for being able to transforming an
unusable back yard into a center of entertainment and/or an oasis of
solitude and relaxation. |
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| 20. What kind of warranty comes with the pool? | Please see the EQUIPMENT
and CONTRACTURAL AGREEMENT pages. |
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| 21. What permits will I need for the construction? | Classic Reflection will take care of all necessary construction permits, licenses and building inspections needed for your project. However if you have a homeowners association you may need to get their permission. | ||||||||||||||
| 22. Do I need to be home during the construction? | Only a couple of
times during construction will you need to let us into the house. Once when we are wiring the
necessary electrical connections and installing your computer control
center. Another time when we
install the gas for the pool heater, we will need to have access to
relight any pilots in your home for water heaters of furnaces. Our office will call you to
coordinate a time to do this. We
strive to communicate thoroughly with our customers because we consider
the project to be a team effort between you, your construction manager and
the contractors. Please feel free to call at any time if you have
questions or concerns. |
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| 23. Why do different builder’s estimates vary when the designs are similar? | While many pool builders wake up every morning figuring out ways cut corners and build a pool cheaper, we wake up determined to build a better pool which will withstand the tests of time. We look at worst case scenarios when determining steel schedule requirements which will keep your pool and deck from cracking if and when the soil around and under them moves. We use larger plumbing lines to allow for less restrictive water flow, which translates to less wear and tear on pumps and filters not to mention less energy is used to accomplish the same task. Using the most efficient equipment available on the market may cost more initially, but should save you a lot of money in the long run. The list of differences between Classic Reflections and other pool builders is almost endless. We build every pool the way you would have it built the third time around. | ||||||||||||||
| 24. How soon can construction
begin? |
As soon as you have approved the design, and permits are obtained, we can begin building your dream pool. Weather can be a factor as well. | ||||||||||||||
