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The Pool Envy Podcast is where real, licensed pool professionals speak up. In an industry overflowing with DIY chatter and surface-level advice, we dive deep into code, compliance, and craftsmanship that set licensed contractors apart. Our goal is to educate and elevate the industry — teaching safety, sharing knowledge, and helping those who build and service pools do it the right way.
You're listening to the Pool Envy podcast. Code, compliance, craftsmanship, hosted by Jason Davies. Let's dive in.
Jason:Okay. Real talk. Every week, I see the same posts. My builder ghosted me. Inspector failed us over a bonding wire.
Jason:Gas company says my meter's too small. After the heater's installed, everybody's mad. Homeowners point at builders. Builders point at the code. And the code can't point at anyone because it's a book.
Jason:So how did the pool industry get here? How did we all end up in this big group project with no plan, no notes, and a test on Friday? Today, I'm gonna walk you through it, no fluff, so you can see where projects go off the rails and how to keep yours on track. If you're new here, I'm Jason Davies with Pool Envy. We do licensed code compliant consulting and repairs with what I call quiet precision.
Jason:Florida license number CPC1460695. Wisconsin electrical and HVAC contractor, 1543940. Texas, TICL, 1350. Rail, 635643. That matters because today, we're talking about why licensing, planning, and communication keeps you out of the Facebook war mode.
Jason:Let's zoom out. Most people think a swimming pool is one thing. It's not. It's a bundle of trades stapled together. Concrete, steel, excavation, hydraulics, and water treatment.
Jason:Electrical, NEC six eighty. Fuel and gas, NFPA 54. Sometimes automation, sometimes networks, sometimes low voltage, sometimes ventilation if it's an indoor pool. That's six to 10 disciplines on a good day. And don't forget to wear your IT provider hat.
Jason:Now here's the kicker. In many places, it's relatively easy to sell a pool and much harder to execute one to code. So the market rewards the fastest yes at the kitchen table. The details? We'll figure those out later.
Jason:Meanwhile, subs get lined up like a daisy chain. The general contractor sells the dream. The hydraulic sub draws something on a napkin. The electrician shows up with a cramped pad with no panel space, and the gas contractor arrives after the heater is set and discovers the meter and regulators are sized for a stovetop from 1983. Everyone's schedule is tight, materials are late, and the inspector's on stop 19 of the day.
Jason:Add in the COVID era backlogs, supply chain weirdness, and the complexity of modern equipment such as variable speed pumps, salt systems, low NOx heaters, heat pumps, and automation, and you've got a recipe. Integration risk goes up. Communication has to go up with it, but it usually doesn't. So when the house of cards wobbles, what's the only visible villain? Obviously, it's regulation.
Jason:I hear this story all the time. The code is nitpicky. It changes every year. Inspectors just want you to fail. Look, most of the core safety stuff has barely changed in spirit for decades.
Jason:Clearances, bonding and grounding, equipotential grids, combustion air, gas line sizing, working space at panels. Those are fundamentals. They're in there because people got shocked, burned, or sued. Now here's the uncomfortable part. We tend to see code only when a hidden miss pops up.
Jason:No bonding plan. You'll see NEC six eighty on inspection day. Undersized gas supply. You'll meet NFPA 54 when the heater won't start. No dedicated equipment space at the panel.
Jason:You'll discover NEC one ten twenty six when the inspector red tags it. The code becomes the scapegoat for a planning failure. Code isn't the enemy. Code is the minimum. And if your plan collapses at the minimum, it wasn't a plan to begin with.
Jason:Let me talk about a few of the things that I see basically on the repeat button here. So where does communication fail in the pool building process? Well, no owner program statement. Nobody asked, what do you want this pool to do? What water temperature do you want in May and October?
Jason:Do you care more about noise or heat up speed? Are you adding a grill, fire feature, generator later? Do you have indoor air quality issues? If we don't capture the mission, we'll miss the mark. No early capacity checks.
Jason:Before we choose equipment, we must confirm electrical service size and panel space, gas meter sizing and regulators, and how the utilities want upgrades handled. You'll be shocked at how many projects we find out on install day that the house simply can't feed the dream. No code warranty matrix. Who owns NEC six eighty? And who owns NFPA 54 compliance?
Jason:Whose name is on the permit? Which manufacturer manual governs this heater in this venting configuration? If it's everybody's job, then it's nobody's job. No drawings or submittals. As sold, as designed, and as built are three different universities.
Jason:If it isn't on paper, it'll be fought out in the yard. Change order chaos. Reality shows up. Prices show up, and then the relationship dies in the driveway because the process wasn't defined. No startup or turnover plan.
Jason:Who's gonna do your pool startup? Who's gonna take care of that plaster? What if the chemistry targets are off? How do you use automation? Who's gonna set up a smartphone?
Jason:A binder with serial numbers and settings is missing. So the first ninety days are all finger pointing. So what I like to say is if you can't show it on paper, someone will show it on Facebook. Let's talk gas because it's the classic Facebook drama. You buy a shiny new heater.
Jason:The builder sets it, the plumber ties it into the existing gas line, everyone high fives. Then the first cool night hits, and that heater doesn't turn on. Is it a control board? I've got error codes. Nope.
Jason:Undersized meter, wrong regulators, or a pipe that was fine for a furnace, but not fine for a furnace plus a heater plus a grill plus a future fire feature and maybe a generator. Here's the order of operations that works. Calculate the total connected load in BTUs for existing appliances plus the pool heater plus anything else that's planned in the next couple years. You want to do this once because it's expensive. Coordinate with the utility for meter regulator capacity before you set install dates.
Jason:Document the gas line sizing and available pressure right at the heater, put it in writing, and then and only then install that heater. If the gas can't get to it, the heater's never gonna work no matter how shiny the box is. So here is the plan we run at Pool Envy. We start with a safety and systems evaluation. It's kind of a consult, if you will, and it's our preconstruction bundle.
Jason:Here's what's in it. Number one, the owner statement, temperature goals, season length, features, noise and energy priorities. Scaled plan with simple single line schematics for hydraulics, electrical gas, plus equipment schedules. Code and warranty matrix, ISPSC, IRC, whatever building code relates to our particular area at the time, NEC six eighty, NFPA 54, manuals from the manufacturer, local amendments, any HOA rules, clearly assigned who's doing what, and again, it's in writing. We like to avoid phone calls because on those phone calls, you have a lot of opportunity for things to get misheard or set expectations that don't exist.
Jason:Writing is always paramount. The capacity checks, electrical service size, panel space, gas meter regulators, our venting and combustion air, echo potential bonding plan. For our submittals and approvals, pumps, filter, heater, heat pump, automation, lights, pool cover, safety alarms, think Florida, fencing, safety barriers, and clearances. And our change order protocol, pricing basis, schedule impact, we make sure it's signed off on before. And remember, before you start digging.
Jason:And lastly, the startup and turnover. Once the pool plaster's in, what's gonna go on after that? We wanna make sure that this homeowner successful, and the icing on the cake is making sure that plaster job looks absolutely fabulous when we're done. So if you take my list here and do that, you'll avoid 80% of the Facebook circus. Now that I'm one of the moderators of a group online, I get to see what goes on, and it's pretty frightening.
Jason:Let me hand you two quick lists that you can literally read to your builder or to your client if you are the builder. So for the homeowners, here's seven questions before you sign. Number one, who's the licensed electrical contractor and the licensed gas contractor of record? Please include license numbers. Number two, will you calculate and document my total gas and electrical load before choosing equipment?
Jason:Number three, can I see the bonding plan and equipment space clearances on a drawing? Number four, which manufacturer manual governs this exact setup and who signs off that we followed them? Number five, what is the change order process on a pricing basis? Number six, what is the startup plan that you guys have? Who is going to take care of my plaster?
Jason:Who's gonna do my testing? When can I jump in? And number seven, for warranty, who do I call first? You, the manufacturer, or both? And what's in writing?
Jason:Now let's switch over to our friends, the pool builders. Here's seven commitments to make and more importantly to keep. Number one, sell the scope, not the vibes. Attach drawings and a code warranty matrix to the contract. Number two, do your capacity checks first and coordinate the utilities before install dates.
Jason:Number three, put the responsible license holders on the permit and attend those inspections personally. Number four, use submittals, no equivalents without written approval. Number five, track changes in real time with price and scheduling impacts. Number six, hand over an as built binder that has the serial numbers, manual settings, photos of what you've done on the job site. This is your lifeline and protection against future problems.
Jason:Number seven, train the property owner and then perhaps schedule a fifteen or thirty day follow-up. Make sure that you have a closing date on this pool and that the drama doesn't need to continue on. So say these out loud on day one and watch the drama level drop.
spyder:This is the Pool MV Podcast powered by licensed expertise.
Jason:Today's episode is brought to you by our own safety and systems evaluation. Before you buy, change, or panic, we map your electrical, gas, hydraulics, and code requirements, and then hand you a plan in writing. Florida, CPC 1460695. Wisconsin, electrical and HVAC 1543940. Texas, TICL +1 350.
Jason:Rail 635643. Book at poolnv.us. On to the pushbacks. Pushback number one. We can't draw all of this.
Jason:It's residential. In my response, the homeowner is about to write a 5 or 6 figure check to you. We can sketch a single line and list who owns NEC 680 and NFPA54. It's the bare minimum, and frankly, you can put it on a napkin if you like. Pushback number two, inspectors are inconsistent.
Jason:Sometimes, sure. I totally get you. They're human. But the solution isn't to complain online. It's to submit clear drawings.
Jason:Cite the standard or the manual and ask for clarifications in writing. Most authorities having jurisdiction respect professionalism. Reframing the fix. Here's the reframe. Regulation didn't break your project.
Jason:Missing planning did. The code is a seat belt. You can hate the seat belt all you like. But when you crash, you're gonna wish it was on. So the fix is simple to say and discipline to do.
Jason:Capture the mission, which is the owner program statement. Verify capacity upfront, electrical service, panel space, gas meter, venting, and bonding. And then put this on paper, including your drawings and submittals. And the name of the responsible license holders involved in the project, define change orders, and start up in writing. If you do all of those things, frankly, you're gonna take a lot of pressure off of yourself and put it where it belongs, back onto the checklist.
Jason:If you're a homeowner, mid project, and it's messy, we can come in as the adult in the room, book a safety and systems evaluation at poolnv.us, and we'll map reality, not wishful thinking. If you're a builder and you want less chaos, steal my checklists, please. The industry gets better when we all communicate like pros. Also remember, our job as builders in the industry, we have a responsibility, and that is to listen. We're not here to make assumptions for our homeowners.
Jason:We are here to guide the process and let them make the decisions. Quiet, precision, licensed, code compliant, no drama. Licenses, Florida, CPC 1460695, Wisconsin Electrical and HVAC 1543940, Texas TICL 1350, Rail 635643. Have a great week, everybody.
spyder:Thanks for listening to the Pool Envy podcast, where licensed pool professionals speak up. Hosted by Jason Davies, licensed across Wisconsin, Florida, and Texas. For more insights, subscribe and join us next time.