How soon can you start building my swimming pool?

Update: 1/15/2022

The information in the article below is based on how the building and construction industry has been for years. During Covid we have had even longer delays on EVERYTHING. Some building departments LOVE Covid and are taking advantage of the situation. Currently, obstacles are not as bad as 2020-21 but many departments are still operating with little to no urgency.

Building supply costs, similar to most goods, are on the rise. In many situations 30%-40% from 2019 and Q1 2020. Electric and PVC plumbing costs have DOUBLED. This is assuming you can put your hands on the materials you need, in the first place. There are very few pool components in 'Stock'. We have found that some materials and pool related components are out as far as six months just to get the components. Most pool factories are out nice months, and more right now on pools themselves. As an industry we hope to get back to that material flow with inventory in the pipeline by Q3 2022 but for now the pipeline is sporadic.

Original Article -

"So how far out are you scheduling right now?" Asked an excited pool owner to be. "It depends" I replied. Many people ask how many pools we have in queue and where they would end up on the list. The truth however is that we don't operate (as it would be totally impossible) on a "first in first out" basis. There is a chance that your swimming pool project could be a lot quicker than simply going to the end of the line. Once we have all the components we need we get started!

EXAMPLE: If you select a fiberglass pool that is in stock, have an easy building department or even no building department at all, AND your site is dry and ready! You go to the front of the line.

Permits

If your permits require this much
paperwork, it could take a while.

If you live in an area that requires a long-drawn-out zoning process, and have a matching uncooperative building department it is very difficult to tell you exactly how long it's going to take to get your permit. That's not us dodging you and not wanting to get pinned down, it's just the truth. Several years ago we had four inground pools take over nine weeks to get permits. I can't explain why, it just did. In some departments for no reason other than they are just slow and in others they have written zoning and building codes to discourage swimming pools. I have a permit right now that took eight weeks in Cincinnati. The project is similar to those we have obtained in just two weeks. To add insult to injury this particular project consisted of us installing one of our fiberglass pools inside a larger existing concrete pool. Of all projects this should have been a pretty straightforward approval. Cincinnati offered us no explanation.

Pool Availability

If at all possible looking at fiberglass pool models and colors in stock makes the most sense if timing is a concern to you. If you happen to select a pool model that is not in stock and needs to be built special order it may take us two to eight weeks depending on where we are in the shipping schedule. This is because we receive a semi-truck ever couple weeks. Each load is a stack of similar models. This week may be Moroccans and / or Riveras the next may be Elegances. If you order a special order Moroccan today, I may not actually get another truck of Moroccans for several weeks or longer.

Site Conditions

On average it takes three days of good
weather to dry up for one day of rain.

This is simple and somewhat obvious but needs to be mentioned. If you have a power line that needs to be moved or trees that need cut down, we need to make sure those items are done BEFORE we schedule the install.

Weather

Last but not least. Weather is without a doubt the most complicated variable we work around. When it rains and the ground is wet, it is very hard if not in most cases impossible to get on the ground and work. Even though we only need a few day to our work, a days worth of rain can need three to four days to dry out and brings most of our production to a stop. Please keep in mind that when we get a few weeks of rain our whole schedule gets pushed back several weeks.

Hopefully this has shed some light on the variables associated with the timing of an in ground pool project. These variables are not unique to our company. All outdoor construction is affected in similar ways. Unfortunately however sometimes customers are told what they want to hear NOT the whole truth and why.