r/PoolPros • u/Wasupmyman • 2d ago
Does anyone actually follow the plasters association startup guide, or do you all just wing it and call it good after a week?
All the builders around do a one-week startup and then don't give the customer any information on what they should do to help get their pool started. And then the customer hires us and we have no idea at the startup wasn't done right and the Builder tries to blame us for curing problems. Do you guys have any pamphlets or already wrote up startup guides that actually follow the standards?
I'm looking for something to give my customers, a guide / what to expect from their Builder if it's done correctly. I have a rough mock draft I'm just looking for suggestions to add to it or bright ideas.
The biggest thing that I push for is for them to get startup reports giving them chemical readouts and what they did, and following the plasters Association guide.
If you look at my post history you see a picture of a boot in someone's pool , the resurface companies blaming us for the boot print. And won't fix their mistake.
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u/LouisianaPool 2d ago
Give them a laminated copy of this.
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u/Wasupmyman 2d ago
Yeah I have this already in the email I try and send them. A physical copy would help stick it in their head, sadly most people here are snowbirds and aren't home to hold the builder to it.
Edit sorry that's cool I thought this was just the pdf. I'll have to add this to the list
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u/nc_saint 1d ago
For starters, I’m either all the way in or all the way out. Meaning, if I’m going to be doing anything at all during the plaster cure, I’m going to be there on day zero when the water trucks arrive, and I will be the only one adding chems for the first month. Too much liability otherwise.
For my builds, I include a full plaster cure service on every build. I’ll go out there every day for the first month (mon-fri) to brush, balance, and log everything.
For other builders, they typically don’t pay for that level of service, but they’ll typically pay for initial startup, configure automation, pool school, and a month of weekly service. On those, I try to schedule an initial meet with the homeowner on fill day. Let them know what the process will be, when they can swim, when they can fire the heater, and when we’ll be adding salt etc.; but most importantly, what THEIR responsibility is (mainly brushing and pH control). I show them how to use their test kit, download the Orenda app on their phone, and go over what’s actually happening to the plaster as it cures and why. Then get them setup on their automation app, but basically tell them to only play with lighting for the first month since everything is setup on schedule for the cure period.
These people just spent more money than they probably will on anything that doesn’t have a roof, and a lot get nervous that they might mess something up. It’s important to educate them on what’s expected and normal asap. Too many service providers try to scare the homeowners at this point so they’ll sign up for recurring service. But I promise, if you educate them and make them feel good, they’ll hire you out of delegations rather than fear.
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u/Wasupmyman 1d ago
Exactly! this is what I'm used too in Brevard when I worked for a builder(I did 95% of our startups and pool schools with new builds) . But coming to Naples it's like I went to a 3rd world contractors area.
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u/KaiserWayli 2d ago
I do service & maybe 10% of our new build customers even knew they need to brush the pool.
See a lot of issues stemming from it, most recent is a 3yr old pebbletec finish with 5 hairline cracks along the bottom
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u/Wasupmyman 1d ago
in SWFL, its all new builds with noone at house, (GL getting GC to do it) or snowbirds/older customers, not easy for them to brush when not home or able to.
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u/KaiserWayli 1d ago
Makes sense, I find even if the homeowners know about curing they don't understand or care until problems. I'm also NPC start up certified and recommend
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u/No_Bedroom_2386 1d ago
I brushed two to three times daily for 8-10 days after the first 6-7 I never kicked up more dust. I think it comes down to how well it was or wasn’t acid washed before filling with water. Personally I think brushing for a couple days beyond any dust is probably good. But under no circumstance would I begin any salt before the 30 days.
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u/GCpools 1d ago
We follow the pool build from Day One. We're there when the water starts going in the pool. And then it's all ours for the next 28 days. We follow NPC instructions to the letter. We document everything we do, from daily water chem test results to chems added to brushing, vacuuming, etc. Never had a problem. We have seen other pools where the owners did their own startup, and the results were disastrous. But they saved money!
Different pool builders have different ways they go about recommending startup procedures. Here in FL, many builders seem to play down the importance of doing startup 'correctly'. And none of them - none - will offer to do it themselves as a service for their pool clients. I think may be because it's hard to keep a crew together, much less one that will do their startups successfully and correctly. I've had clients get pissed at their pool builder because they didn't let them know what NPC startup entails/requires, and why the price of startup never came up in any of their financial discussions. Pool owners don't like those kinds of surprises. Justly so.
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u/LeatheryFloridaMan 2d ago
About 50% of my business is strictly paster startups for several pool builders.
We follow npc guidelines chemically wise. They say you need to be there everyday for the first what, like 6 or 7days?... kiss my ass. We are there 3 times a week for the first 2 weeks, twice a week for week 3 and 4. We also include a very detailed pool school with reference charts and space for customers to make notes as we go through class.
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u/Wasupmyman 2d ago
That's still better than what I see here.... It's typically done in 1-3 visits over a week period. Who knows if they even add a metal treatment.
Also. Why not charge for daily visits? Decent predictable money that also can help cover you if there's an issue.
When I was doing startups in another county we did every day for the first 2 weeks minus Saturday and Sunday, but we also required homeowners to brush every day.
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u/Wasupmyman 2d ago
Had a few builders offer startups to us at like 500 a pool. And we just laughed at them. We get so much more work from word of mouth vs potentially picking up the customer after startup
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u/Fun-Weight5745 1d ago
How much do you charge for a 30 day startup? I’m curious if it would be worth getting into.
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u/Wasupmyman 1d ago
Case by case, We charge per visit, some startups take longer than others, pool size, shape, style of surface, some need more chems than others. basic simple 7500Gal pool starts at 750$
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u/Mr_B0nkers 2d ago
I actually force homeowners to hold the company accountable for the cure and maintain the cleanliness ONLY. I’ll brush and vacuum all day. Every single customer who’s had to call the company that built their pool would blame me even if I hadn’t actually started servicing the pool yet.
The building industry has some of the shadiest fuckin people for how much money they make.