What Happens Before the First Shovel Hits the Ground

The first conversation is only a conversation

A pool project begins with a phone call or a visit, and it shouldn't feel like a sales event. At All American Custom Pools & Spas in Bridgeport, the stated approach is that no one rushes you off the phone or pressures you into a commitment. After that first talk, the company may suggest a meeting at your home.

That on-site meeting is where the real information gets exchanged. You walk the property together, talk about how your family would use the pool, and get into design, budget and timing. It is also a chance to see the company's portfolio and see if these are people you want to work with.

Design and budget before anyone commits

After visiting your site, the designer builds a preliminary plan that addresses what you want the pool to do and how it should look. The plan also has to respect the site itself. Building setbacks, wetlands, conservation areas and other restrictions that apply to your lot all shape what can be built and where.

With that plan comes an estimate of costs and a project plan. This is the stage where budget and design get matched against each other, so changes are easy to make because nothing has been built yet. Questions about size, shape, features and finishes are all easier to settle now than later.

The showroom visit

The company's Bridgeport facility includes an interactive showroom styled as a villa courtyard on the Amalfi coast of Italy. You can see working examples of the craftsmanship, handle pool and spa finishes, and watch demonstrations of water features and pool lighting. It is much easier to choose a finish by standing in front of it than by looking at a small sample or a screen.

This is also where the design gets presented and the costs reviewed, along with your options on design elements and finishes. Standing in the room, it gets easier to say what you like and what you don't, and that makes the next round of design work faster and more specific. Bring along anyone else who will have a say in the final choices.

Contract, drawings and permits

A further meeting at your home reviews any design revisions and goes through the contract. The contracts are described as comprehensive, and this meeting is your chance to go through every line and ask questions before you sign.

Next, All American prepares and submits the construction drawings, along with the permit applications and forms, to your town officials. Depending on the town, the plans can be reviewed by health, wetland, conservation, planning and zoning, and building department officers. Plan on the permitting stage taking 2 to 8 weeks before a permit is issued, and keep in mind that every town and every lot is different.

What your project manager does

Each customer gets a personal project manager who stays with the job from design through construction. That person attends town, wetland, conservation and architectural review board meetings as necessary, so you aren't left to argue your own case in a public hearing. One homeowner wrote in a Google review that the company did all the permits with the town, saving them an unwanted hassle.

• Guides you through the initial design and planning of the pool.
• Attends town, wetland, conservation and architectural review board meetings when needed.
• Obtains all necessary permits.
• Plans the sequence of construction.
• Manages and coordinates every phase of the build.
• Coordinates year-round maintenance after construction.
• Keeps in regular contact and answers your questions.

The stake-out and the schedule

Before any digging, the team meets you on site and stakes out the outline of the pool or spa where it will go. Seeing it marked on the ground gives you one last chance to change the layout or the angle. Then they walk through the construction schedule and note any special instructions about working on your property.

Construction itself runs in seven phases: excavation; forming and steel; the concrete shell, applied under pressure; tile, coping and terrace; the pool finish; start-up; and service. The company puts the average length of construction at roughly forty-five days, though every site differs.

If you are thinking about a pool in Fairfield County or Westchester and want to understand the road ahead, call (203) 433-6808 or book a design meeting. It is a good way to get your questions answered before you decide anything.