Construction Process “At Work”

EXCAVATION

Within the spray painted lines, excavation begins by use of a front-end loader, or bobcat, to cut a precise shape and curvature. The actual excavation will be 14” larger than the finished dimensions of the pool in all horizontal dimensions. This is to allow forming material to be placed around the outer edge of the pool and/or spa. All pre-grading for masonry patios and walls is typically done at the time of excavation.

STRUCTURAL STEEL

Reinforcement steel (Rebar 1/2” & 3/8” diameter) is tied to form a mesh framework on the floor and walls of your pool.

PLUMBING

Schedule 40 PVC is used through out the pool. Generally the size of the piping ranges from 2”, 1 ˝,” and 1”. Typically, all pool equipment is set at this time.

GUNITE

Gunite is pneumatically applied through a spraying process to create the pool shell. The pool shell includes the base flooring, wall areas, and bond beam of your pool. By strict specifications, gunite is applied to both sides of the Rebar to suspend the bars within the walls and floor to form a solid structure. Water curing of the gunite is critical and the entire pool shell must be hosed or sprayed with water two times daily for seven day duration. This slows the gunite's curing process, and is a preventative measure that will minimize shrinkage cracks due to premature curing.

TILE/COPING

Several types of coping can be used, usually 12” or 14” in width. The thickness of the coping is generally an 1 ˝” to 2”. However, because of the rough nature of some stone the coping may vary in some places to be either more or less than this dimension. The use of more conventional materials such as brick and cast coping will have consistent dimensions around your pool.

Tile is also installed at this phase around the pool perimeter and other areas indicated on your design drawing. The usual installation of 6x6 inch decorative tile will offer a smooth surface to clean water line tanning oil or similar residue. Customers may provide their own tile, but all tile selections must be frost proof and approved by Town & Country Construction Department.

Choose your tile early to ensure the manufacturer's availability and allow for extended manufacturing and shipping times. Also, your line of selection could be obsolete or discontinued, so choose an alternate color scheme of tile and/or tile selections.

MASONRY

The finishing materials of your choice are applied to the deck area. Decking that surrounds your pool can be concrete, stone, brick, or many other materials. Concrete decking around the pool is 4” minimum thickness. Any deck shape changes, additional deck or deletions should be made at the time prior to forming. Some changes may have additional costs and no changes to the deck will be made after the deck has been poured and installed.

UTILITIES

Gas, Electric and Water line where applicable, are provided and installed by licensed and qualified Utility Contractors. Their work is scheduled and supervised by Town and Country Pools.

CLEAN-UP

Construction debris will be cleaned away from both the interior and the exterior of the swimming pool at this time. We will leave your back yard in a clean and neat condition ready for final landscape grading and planting by your landscape contractor. We can refer you to several qualified landscape contractors. Just ask your Project Manager or your Sales Representative.

FENCING

At this point, or perhaps sooner depending upon the specific requirements of your project, the fence needs to be installed. After the next phase the pool is immediately filled with water, as most of the Building Departments require the fencing completed before water is in the pool.

INTERIOR SURFACE

The pool surface is applied at this juncture. There are a number of choices as to the materials available for “Plaster” as it is commonly called. The most common is white plaster that is pneumatically applied in two coats then hand troweled to a non-slip waterproof surface. There are other surfaces available such as Pebble Tech and Pebble Sheen which come in many color variations and can add a great deal to the pool appearance. When the plaster is completed we will immediately begin filling the pool and/or spa and when full, the pool filtration equipment is ready to be activated. We call this the Start Up process.

START-UP AND INDOCTRINATION

Your pool is now complete and ready for start-up. One of our authorized service professionals will perform the start-up of your pool equipment for the first time.

You will need to schedule an indoctrination session with our service professional that will provide you with instructions on how to maintain your new Town & Country Pool. You will receive valuable “hands on” instructions, explanations and demonstrations on the operations and use of your new pool. This will include the easy methods to back-wash the filter, empty the skimmer baskets, and check your chemicals. Only a minimal amount of maintenance will keep your pool working efficiently and clean for many years to come.