Everyone enjoys spending time relaxing poolside or splashing around in the refreshing cold water. For many kids it is a favorite summer pastime that seems harmless. Drowning is actually the second leading cause of death for children who are 14 years old or younger. Approximately 3,000 children in this age group make trips to the emergency room in need of treatment for near drowning incidents. People ages 60 and older are also at a higher risk for experiencing danger in the water. Death and other water related accidents can be completely prevented and avoided if the proper precautions are observed and enforced. Whether hanging out around your Dallas home’s backyard pool or enjoying the day at the community pool these tips will keep family and friends safe and smiling.

• Supervise all children at all times, especially children ages 14 or younger.
• All pools should be completely surrounded by a barrier fence that is at least 5 feet tall with gates that automatically close and latch. Children drowning after wandering in to an unenclosed pool account for over half of the children who die from downing every year.
• Drain entrapment is another evil danger that haunts swimming pools. Pools must have anti-entrapment drain covers on all of the drains. There also needs to be a safety vacuum release system. This system prevents children from being trapped under water when they are captured by the drain’s powerful suction.
• It is a good idea to install pool alarms around you Dallas home’s pool area. Pool alarms can be installed on gates to detect when someone is in the area. Specialized pool alarms can also be installed to detect when someone gets in the water.
• Get training and become certified to perform water rescue skills, like CPR and first aid.
• To take extra precautions complete a lifeguard certification course.
• Always keep rescue and first aid equipment readily available and easily accessible in the actual pool area.
• It is important to keep a phone handy in the pool area to make quick emergency calls.
• Keep toys and other pool accessories in secure storage while the pool area is unoccupied. These things can attract unsupervised children and block the view of potential emergencies.
• Encourage children to learn proper swimming techniques and develop strong swimming skills. Parents should enroll children in swimming lessons when they reach age 4. Many local Dallas organizations offer free or affordable swimming lessons.

Inflatable swimming devices, such as rafts, water wings, noodles, and lounge chairs are not flotation devices or rescue equipment and they do not prevent drowning.

I recently had a new pool built for my home and I have to say, I am rather pleased with the result! After meeting and getting quotes from numerous local pool builders in Dallas Fort Worth, I came up with these 4 steps to help you make your decision.

Here are 7 steps that will help you to choose the right pool builder.

1. Find out how long the pool builder has been in business under present name and if they have ever filed bankruptcy under any name. Also, visit their showroom as many fly-by-night pool builders work out of the back of their truck making it easy to skip town.

2. Ask for the name and phone number of their insurance company. It’s important to verify that they have a current liability policy directly from the company.

3. Ask the pool builder to furnish lien waivers from vendors and subcontractors to prove they’ve been paid. This is extremely important! The greatest nightmare for any homeowner buying a pool is to pay 75%+ of the money for their new pool and have the pool builder skip town when they’ve only done 25% of the work. These criminals usually leave the subcontractors unpaid, which means they’ll come knocking on your door for payment.

A lien waiver is a receipt showing that funds have been paid to a supplier or subcontractor, and that they have no lien rights against your home. When your pool is complete, you should have lien waivers from all vendors and subcontractors to prove you don’t have to pay them again.

4. Check the pool builder’s references… not just the ones they give, ask a friend or neighbor if they have ever heard of that pool company and what was the quality of the work. Of course a company is only going to give you numbers of happy customers with good references. You want to hear about the problems and how they were handled. That will tell you about the quality of the builder.

5. Check the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints but make sure you delve in to see what that complaint is. You’d be surprised to see what some people complain about.

6. Get real quotes from a couple of pool builders. Make sure they see your property before giving you the quote or you’re just asking for a higher priced ticket before everything is said and done. Plus, make sure the quotes are for the same design and materials or you’re not really comparing apples to apples.

7. Find out about their pool building process, time lines and materials used. Have them explain it to you like you’re a 5 year old and don’t assume anything. It helps to find a pool builder that will hold your hand through the process.

Here’s my story!

After looking at dozens of pool designs and really looking at the flow of my yard, I set about designing the shape of the pool myself. I wanted a salt water pool to avoid the green hair, bleached bathing suits, red chlorine eyes and two days of the chlorine smell on your skin. That’s what I love about salt water pools, the salt in the pool is less than half the amount in a human tear drop. The salt water system creates natural chlorine from the salt just like the ocean does which means you also save a lot of money on replacing the chlorine all the time.

I designed the pool, spa and waterfall plus all of the underwater benches for people to sit. I had a lot of fun until it was time to find the right pool builder for the job. I spoke to all of the top names that everyone knows here in Dallas Fort Worth but in the end, I settled with a smaller pool builder who I felt I could trust to answer my phone calls and really pay attention to what I wanted. Not to mention, since they didn’t have the massive overhead, the pool quote came in close to $7,000 below the larger builders. Yeah for me! …at the same time, I was concerned about the old saying, “you get what you pay for”.

In the end I was very happy with the quality of the pool I got. A few months later, when the seal on the Pentair filter failed, the owner of the pool company I used personally came to my house the next day to check it out and had the Pentair technician out a day later. I was happy about that, especially after hearing some of the horror stories from my neighbors about the warranty service they received from their pool builders.

It’s hard to know the outcome of your new pool. Like a new home, every new pool is unique and will have something go wrong at some point. At that point, it really comes down to knowing the long term relationship the pool builder has with their customers and how well they respond to warranty issues. I didn’t like exactly how my waterfall came out and even though I’m the one that designed it, my pool builder agreed to send a crew out on his dime to make adjustments to it. Now that’s customer service!

Information on the pool builder I used!

I get a lot of clients that are interested in building a new pool when they buy their home or updating and renovating the one that is already there.

The pool builder that I used was Playmore Pools and they are a small pool builder that only builds in the DFW area. I convinced the owner to give my customers a $500 discount on a new pool or renovation. Before you say, “big deal”, then you will be happy to know that he promised it would be a real $500 discount and not the old trick of raising the price $500 to show a discount. He gives a $500 referral to his customers so why not pass that on to you? You’re already spending a lot of money buying a home and moving so every dollar counts. You can download the $500 coupon from my website by clicking here.

No matter who you use, good luck with your new pool or pool renovation and have fun!

Comment posted by mark1519
at 10/23/2007 5:42:05 PM

Joshua:

I read your comment. Is this a legitimate post representing your true independent feelings about Playmore or is this a veiled marketing/promotional post.

I am truly interested in whether this is a legitimate post.

Mark (mark.alfieri@hsblaw.com)

Comment posted by Joshua Harley
at 10/30/2007 10:01:29 PM

Mark,

This is a true legitimate post. I was very happy with the experience. In fact, I added the “Info on the pool builder I used” paragraph later because I received so many requests from people to tell me who the builder was. That’s when I called the owner and asked if he would offer a discount if I posted his information. I wasn’t sure if I should because I didn’t want to play favorites or make it seem like an advertisement. Case in point, your question.

Anyway, I am still happy with my pool and would recommend him. I also think Riverbend Sandler is a great builder but their price is premium and I personally needed the lower price to get the pool I wanted.

Good luck and let me know if I can be of service.