Im telling y'all, just go with Foley. And this is coming from a Gold Medal neighbor.

duck79 said:

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We live in the Prosper area as well and are going thru this right now. We have narrowed our choices down to Foley, Joy and TLC in Sherman. Joy and TLC are a little cheaper than Foley but Foley seems to be a little more turn key. Many people in our neighborhood have used Prestige but I only received an automated response from them. They have all told me that this is the busiest they have ever been so I don't think when you choose to build matters right now. Most are predicting 4 months but Foley guaranteed 90 days from the time dirt is moved.

We are looking at a 30x14 size, so nothing big either. We are probably going to finance 50% and the timeframe we have mostly seen is 10 or 15yrs.

I also called Gold Medal and they asked for my budget right away(the others came out and listened to what I wanted before I asked them what it would cost). GM told me I would need to add 10k-15k because my community is old farmland and it needs support. I had 7 companies come out and all of them said that wasn't needed but they are so busy right now they can get away with saying that.

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Awesome...thanks for the info.
- If we're looking to start building next fall, is it too early to start calling them for estimates and design ideas? Reason being, I'm preparing early to set us up financially...also looking to finance 50%.

- Speaking of financing, do they pool companies typically have their own finance companies they recommend? Required percent down payment?

I'm not sure how long the bid is actually good for to be honest. We may be waiting until the fall as well. At this point, you are unlikely to get in the pool before winter anyway due to how busy they are. I have been told multiple times that companies went from 10-15 leads a month to over 150.

Each has a recommendation for financing but we have also looked outside those at other options we come across. In the Foley bid, I think we had payments due in 25% increments as certain things were completed. They all have asked me to look into financing before we start the design process discussion.

Going with foley.... can't decide if we want to go with a heater or not

We did not do a heater with our renovation this winter and we've already reached back out to have it added. We thought it was an easy thing to cut out once we blew the budget. In retrospect, should have kept it.

It's not about swimming in February, but making sure it's warm for all of May and September, and hopefully creeping into April and October. Our pool was too cold to get in comfortably until end of May this year. Won't be an issue this Fall or next Spring.

gigemaggies88 said:

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Going with foley.... can't decide if we want to go with a heater or not

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what's your budget?

they're doing my site survey today and I've got no idea what I'm wanting will cost.

duck79 said:

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I'm not sure how long the bid is actually good for to be honest. We may be waiting until the fall as well. At this point, you are unlikely to get in the pool before winter anyway due to how busy they are. I have been told multiple times that companies went from 10-15 leads a month to over 150.

Each has a recommendation for financing but we have also looked outside those at other options we come across. In the Foley bid, I think we had payments due in 25% increments as certain things were completed. They all have asked me to look into financing before we start the design process discussion.

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what's your budget/what did they come back with?

we're looking at doing a basic sport pool (free form) but are wanting a spa, tanning ledge, and some stools/table in the pool to sit at (think like a bar top, but in the water).

I'm just trying to prepare myself if this is a 65k pool or a 95k pool.

I would guess from what you described maybe 85-92k?

All depends on size and depth but I'd err towards the higher end.

I would not recommend anything permanently in the middle of the pool like a stool or bar top that is solid. Your Polaris will either get tangled up there or skip it entirely and you'll be sweeping/vacuuming all the time. A better solution would be a bench along the perimeter with a removable table. Or your can spring for a floor cleaning system (think of it like a sprinkler system in your pool, sprayers push everything to the main drain) if you want to have the island bench/top. But they can add anywhere from 6-10k to the cost of the pool depending on size.

My brother and I own TruBliss pools in the DFW area. PM me or contact me through our website if you are interested. I would be happy to talk you through what we offer.

Gold Medal did our neighborhood pool and it's immaculate

AeroAg96 said:

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My brother and I own TruBliss pools in the DFW area. PM me or contact me through our website if you are interested. I would be happy to talk you through what we offer.

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We're relocating to the area and have a couple houses in the area of Grapevine lake - one with (nice, pebbletec pool) and one without. The without is much bigger, but we'd like an apples to apples compare. Do you know anything off-hand about the area? It's old farmland right near the lake - does that soil change things? Are there advantages to fiberglass? I have gunite before with zero issues, but that was Florida (inside a lanai). Looking for 30-35 feet (small lot) that won't break the bank - with spa.

I got a heater on ours and it was the right move, it's only 5000 gallons but I went with the 400000 btu pent air and can take the whole pool from 60 to 104 in 4 hours for less than 15 bucks, we swam when it 40 degrees out yesterday

CapCityAg89 said:

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AeroAg96 said:

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My brother and I own TruBliss pools in the DFW area. PM me or contact me through our website if you are interested. I would be happy to talk you through what we offer.

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We're relocating to the area and have a couple houses in the area of Grapevine lake - one with (nice, pebbletec pool) and one without. The without is much bigger, but we'd like an apples to apples compare. Do you know anything off-hand about the area? It's old farmland right near the lake - does that soil change things? Are there advantages to fiberglass? I have gunite before with zero issues, but that was Florida (inside a lanai). Looking for 30-35 feet (small lot) that won't break the bank - with spa.

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Sorry - I just saw this. No, the soil will not matter if the pool is installed properly. If you go to our website (trublisspools.com) there's an article I wrote that talks about advantages of fiberglass. To me, there are two big advantages - durability and cost (install and maintenance). I would be happy to talk with you about it - just PM me here or contact me through the website. Hope to hear from you soon.

CapCityAg89 said:

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AeroAg96 said:

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My brother and I own TruBliss pools in the DFW area. PM me or contact me through our website if you are interested. I would be happy to talk you through what we offer.

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We're relocating to the area and have a couple houses in the area of Grapevine lake - one with (nice, pebbletec pool) and one without. The without is much bigger, but we'd like an apples to apples compare. Do you know anything off-hand about the area? It's old farmland right near the lake - does that soil change things? Are there advantages to fiberglass? I have gunite before with zero issues, but that was Florida (inside a lanai). Looking for 30-35 feet (small lot) that won't break the bank - with spa.

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If there's anything DFW is known for, it's terrible soil conditions in most areas. With that said, most areas don't have issues with gunite pools popping up or cracking when properly installed.

I'd recommend a gunite pool as the life of the pool is greatly increased as compared to a fiberglass pool. The trade off is fiberglass is cheaper than a gunite pool. But a gunite pool can be remodeled to fit the style of the times if tastes (or owners) change.

If the dirt is in-situ soil ( naturally compacted) you probably wouldn't have any issues. If it's a bunch of new fill then I'd probably recommend piers with a gunite pool.

If you need any help with anything or have any questions feel free to reach out, I own a pool company in Fort Worth. I don't have a website but here's my email

northwestpools at hotmail dot com

Corps_Ag12 said:

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CapCityAg89 said:

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AeroAg96 said:

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My brother and I own TruBliss pools in the DFW area. PM me or contact me through our website if you are interested. I would be happy to talk you through what we offer.

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We're relocating to the area and have a couple houses in the area of Grapevine lake - one with (nice, pebbletec pool) and one without. The without is much bigger, but we'd like an apples to apples compare. Do you know anything off-hand about the area? It's old farmland right near the lake - does that soil change things? Are there advantages to fiberglass? I have gunite before with zero issues, but that was Florida (inside a lanai). Looking for 30-35 feet (small lot) that won't break the bank - with spa.

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If there's anything DFW is known for, it's terrible soil conditions in most areas. With that said, most areas don't have issues with gunite pools popping up or cracking when properly installed.

I'd recommend a gunite pool as the life of the pool is greatly increased as compared to a fiberglass pool. The trade off is fiberglass is cheaper than a gunite pool. But a gunite pool can be remodeled to fit the style of the times if tastes (or owners) change.

If the dirt is in-situ soil ( naturally compacted) you probably wouldn't have any issues. If it's a bunch of new fill then I'd probably recommend piers with a gunite pool.

If you need any help with anything or have any questions feel free to reach out, I own a pool company in Fort Worth. I don't have a website but here's my email

northwestpools at hotmail dot com

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Not wanting to get into fiberglass vs gunite discussion at all. Everyone has their own opinion and preference. I did feel the need to make a quick comment though - the fiberglass pools we use have a lifetime warranty with them. So for high quality fiberglass pools, life of the pool is not an issue.

If anybody is looking to build a pool, I'd suggest staying away from Pulliam based on my experience. Between the complete lack of oversight resulting in many problems being missed and then having to argue about their responsibility to cure the defects of the subs, I can't recommend strong enough to stay away.

That's sad to hear as they used to be a great pool company. They did my parents pool 15 years ago and did an outstanding job.

That's actually why we used them - great recommendations from people who had pools from over 5 years ago. We have talked with a couple people since and they expressed the same frustration.

I've actually passed all this on to their owners as an attempt to give them a heads up about their managers' failing to provide adequate oversight, but it appears that they are so swamped with business, that a few upset folks don't make a difference.

Heater should be a no brainer. It does so much to extend the use of the pool each year