Pool builder from H**L!

[rbonin]

Waterbear - We had an experience much like yours with our first PB. The "good" news is he never really got started on our pool and only ripped us off for our $17,000 down payment.

He seemed like such a great guy when we started with him and his reputation was great with the BBB, but family problems and drugs quickly took a toll on him. He abandoned his company, employees as well as customers, and took all the money and spent it on who-knows-what. Right after he was indicted for fraud by the MO Attorney General's office, he committed suicide in a 1-car accident.

Of course, we were not able to recover a dime as there was nothing left.

The good news for you is that yours seems to be trying to make good on his committments, at least at some level. Good luck.

~Rick~

[waterbear]

Update, we passed our final inpection today! Only close to 15 months overdue! My pool is finally legal to swim in! Now I have to see if the PB will be good to his word to finish the work that needs to be done. He has informed me that he has gotten a sales job and that once my pool is done he is finished with being a contractor. He did bring over all the rest of the equipment that I am supposed to have at least. It's sitting in my garage. Also, in his new clarity he admitted that he plumbed the water features with pipes that are too big so he is supposed to replace some of them with smaller pipes to increase the presuure and reduce the flow rate. Don't know how he will do this without destroying the deck but he said he could....we shall see.

[South_Texas_Sun]

Update, we passed our final inpection today! Only close to 15 months overdue! My pool is finally legal to swim in! Now I have to see if the PB will be good to his word to finish the work that needs to be done. He has informed me that he has gotten a sales job and that once my pool is done he is finished with being a contractor. He did bring over all the rest of the equipment that I am supposed to have at least. It's sitting in my garage. Also, in his new clarity he admitted that he plumbed the water features with pipes that are too big so he is supposed to replace some of them with smaller pipes to increase the presuure and reduce the flow rate. Don't know how he will do this without destroying the deck but he said he could....we shall see.

Pipes too big?? Lucky fellow. I'm installing 2.5 inch pvc as we speak because our plumber didn't read the directions and our waterfalls dribble instead of flow. Are you sure you want SMALLER pipes? (or just smaller jets?)

If the PBFH isn't even in the pool business anymore, think LONG AND HARD before you let him start tearing up concrete or undermining what you already have.

With all the terrorist illegals coming across the Mexican border, why can't they go after the PBFH's? Maybe I'll start taking out ads for our PBFH in the local paper, and publishing Mohammad cartoons above their name......

You know what Hollywood says...."No such thing as bad publicity!".....lol

STS

[waterbear]

Pipes too big?? Lucky fellow. I'm installing 2.5 inch pvc as we speak because our plumber didn't read the directions and our waterfalls dribble instead of flow. Are you sure you want SMALLER pipes? (or just smaller jets?)

If the PBFH isn't even in the pool business anymore, think LONG AND HARD before you let him start tearing up concrete or undermining what you already have.

With all the terrorist illegals coming across the Mexican border, why can't they go after the PBFH's? Maybe I'll start taking out ads for our PBFH in the local paper, and publishing Mohammad cartoons above their name......

You know what Hollywood says...."No such thing as bad publicity!".....lol

STS

I have Fiberstars spillway fiber optics pots and they have been plumbed with 2 inch pipe. Install maunual calls for smaller pipes for water connection. There is too much flow and not enough pressure.

[waterbear]

Just an update on my pool if anyone is interested. The PB has closed up shop and disappeared leaving about 19 unfinsihed pools. He is no longer licensed at least! There are court cases against him (I have not filed yet, don't know if it's worth it.) I have fixed a lot of the problems myself, had to replumb part of the system (spa and water features). They installed it without gluing some of the PVC joints and others came loose from bad workmanship! Don't know how that ever passed pressure testing on the inspection! (I think I have finally solved the leak problems from the spa! They never glued the check valve on the bottom!). Still need to get an electrician to wire in the fiber optices illuminator and still need to replace the light in the pool ( at least he gave me the replacement light before he disappeared!). Slowly but surely the pool is becoming what it was supposed to be! At least I was not as bad off as one lady that used the same PB who had to hire another company to finish her pool for an additional $22,000! And that was a special price because the owner of this company is her neighbor!

[msm859]

Just for the record "decreasing" pipe size will NOT increase water pressure -- if anything it will decrease the water pressure. Decreasing the pipe may increase "velocity" but you can do that at the end of the pipe.

[JohnT]

Just for the record "decreasing" pipe size will NOT increase water pressure -- if anything it will decrease the water pressure. Decreasing the pipe may increase "velocity" but you can do that at the end of the pipe.

In a pool plumbing system, decreasing pipe size most certainly will increase pressure. You are restricting flow with the same size pump. Unless your pipe has the capacity to carry much more water than the pump can deliver (not the case with pools), any change in pipe size will result in increased pressure at the pump.

[waterbear]

In a pool plumbing system, decreasing pipe size most certainly will increase pressure. You are restricting flow with the same size pump. Unless your pipe has the capacity to carry much more water than the pump can deliver (not the case with pools), any change in pipe size will result in increased pressure at the pump.

EXACTLY! The water features were supposed to be plumbed with 3/4 inch pipe so the flow rate is much too high causing them to overflow yet there is not enough pressure (or velocity) to allow them to work properly. I have been in contact with the manufacturer to find a remedy for this short of tearing up the deck and repluming although I did have to replace some of the exposed plumbing due to faulty pcv joints and leaks already.

[ehorn]

Just a little water flow dynamics for you, there is a standard equation we use to calculate water flow which is:

PV = nRT

Where P = Pressure V = Volume, n = number of moles R = universal constant T = Temperature. Usually the nRT side is constant so in a pipe we look at:

P1V1 = P2V2

So in a case with a pool where a pump is pumping at a constant volume rate the pressure would change. So here if a pipe diameter decreases the pressure would have to increase. Depending on the size difference you can calculate what the exact pressure change will be.

Eric