One of the first things you have to understand is that MOST pool companies SELL POOLS---- that's it, they ONLY SELL POOLS. They really have nothing to do with the actual physical construction of your pool. They hire sub-contractors to do the work on your pool. The company is only as good as it's sub-contractors. After the pool company sells the pool, their only other real function is to schedule the subs, handle any customer complaints, and collect your money in installments as the construction progresses.

After the contract has been signed and you find your family and yourself just anticipating and dreaming of that first plunge into your brand new refreshing swimming pool, reality sets in when the excavator arrives. That's right, the machine needs an access and that could involve some damaging of your yard, bushes, and plants. YOU have to provide an access. It may mean tearing down part of a fence, or breaking up some sidewalk. (And by the way you have to pay extra for any fence replacement, sidewalk replacement, tree removal, or utility re-route.) If water, sewer, cable, electric, gas, or telephone etc. are under ground or in the way, you have to pay to have them re-routed. It may not be included in the price of the pool. Check your contract. This may not be mentioned by the pool salesman.

One thing I hear from customers is the excavation, steel and gunite shell are usually done in a couple of days, and it seems like your pool may be finished in about a week, then the backyard becomes a ghost town for about another week or so. They say it is because the shell needs time to dry and cure out. I am not sure if I buy it, but it is all I can come up with.

Most pools, unless they are very custom pools, take about 3-6 weeks to build, but you can always count on weather related delays. Like I mentioned before, the pool companies schedule the sub-contractors, but really have no control over the subs schedule. So when the pool company tells you to expect the deck guys, or tile guys, or the plaster guys in your backyard on Tuesday, you may not see them until Friday depending on their schedule. This can make the pool company appear to be less that truthful. They mean well but are at the mercy of their subs. WARNING....if you let your self get upset every time a sub doesn't show up when they are supposed to, you are in for the most miserable experience of your life. Be flexible. You can motivate your pool company without getting all emotional and upset.

During the construction of your pool, a mess will be generated in your backyard from the materials, alot of it will be left in the pool until the plaster phase, but some of it will be around your pool. This mess does not have to be scattered about. Make it understood to your pool company that you want that mess to be located in one centralized spot in your backyard. When it is all over they should do a "final clean up" and haul everything away.