Bad Agg. A new issue, recently recognized, is a problem with potential “bad aggregate” being added unintentionally, to concrete mix in Central Texas. Materials being mined in our area from any local quarry, can unknowingly get into the concrete mix for house slabs, high rises, commercial jobs and yes, backyard swimming pools. The concrete disease is referred to as ASR, which stands for Alkali Silica Reaction. A quarry can dig into an area of highly reactive aggregate, when the reactive agg is mixed up and used in concrete (and no preventative measures taken) If no prevention is taken, ASR can begin to rip the structure apart due to the chemical reaction.

Although ASR proceeds from a well-known chemical reaction, your chances of getting ASR can seem like your chances of getting cancer- just a piece of terrible bad luck. Your exposure to the severe problem is relative to the quality of materials delivered to your site and placed into your pool. The bad ag material can literally crack your gunite structure end to end.

There have been several good pool builders in the Central Texas Region that have gone out of business due to having multiple shell failures in very recent years. The only way to fix the problem is to tear out the entire site and start over from scratch. This equates to a fast death of a quality pool company attempting to replace a dozen pools, very sad.

The vaccine for the ASR cancer nightmare is very simple. For years FLY ASH has been recognized an additive for prevention to the ASR issue. When the concrete cures, it leaves small voids, and the FLY ASH goes in and occupies those voids and grows small crystals to fill that space so water can’t enter. FLY ASH also helps lower total alkalinity that helps as well.

FIELDER CUSTOM POOLS DEMANDS FLY ASH TO BE ADDED TO ALL OF OUR CONCRETE. SHOTCRETE, DECKING, FOOTINGS, RETAINING WALLS ETC.
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There will never be a 100% guarantee that a deck won’t crack, or a pool could have an issue as well on occasion. But rest assured, we at FIELDER CUSTOM POOLS are delivering ONLY the highest quality pool available in our industry, to you, right here in the Texas hill country. We build it right or we won’t build it at all.
This is simply info for you to ponder as you decide on who builds your backyard dream pool
HAPPY SWIMMING
DICKIE AND KAMIE FIELDER
FIELDER CUSTOM POOLS
FIELDERPOOLS.COM
Info credit to: Aqua Magazine April 2023 Issue
 

Seems this pollen season will never go away!

Here’s a few notes that will help till the sky clears up.

#1   Check your water chemistry at least 3 times a week for balance levels.
#2   Keep your Ph level at 7.4 ppm
#3   Add Chlorine shock 2-3 times per week. (The pollen is eating up the chlorine quickly right now. So if you don’t stay ahead of it, you’ll certainly have a green pool w/ live algae on the entire interior of your pool). Check your container for proper amounts to add to pool.)
#4   Even if you have a UV or Ozone system, shock the pool! Neither will take total care of your water, alone.
#5 Have your filter professionally cleaned. Sand filters, every 5 years typically. DE Filters, annually. This can be a big problem if service is ignored.
#6   Dip pool with dip net 2 times daily until blooms quit dropping. Clean skimmer baskets and Polaris bag daily to keep the water flowing thru filter properly. Don’t forget to backwash and add your DE to you skimmer!!
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Hope this helps.             HAPPY SWIMMING FROM FCP

2 parts Deep Eddie Cranberry Vodka
4 parts Fever Tree (Refreshingly Light) Ginger Beer
1 part Liber & Co. Blood Orange Cordial
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
Twist of Lime and/or fresh cranberries for garnish (optional)

Instructions:
1.  Pour vodka over ice into a cocktail shaker
2.  Squeeze in juice from half a lime, add Orange Cordial, and shake vigorously.
3.  Strain into a copper mug (or your favorite Yeti) filled with ice and add Ginger beer. Gently stir to combine.
4. Garnish with lime twist or cranberries

VALUABLE FREEZE PROTECTION INFO FOR YOUR POOL
Hello to all and Happy New Year from all of us here at Fielder Custom Pools
It’s winter believe it or not, here in mid January but has felt more like spring weather right?

Don’t be fooled and caught unprepared. Now’s the time to inspect, adjust, insulate and be prepared for a hard freeze. Remember last February’s snow and ice storm? It caught all of us off guard. The electric grid failure was the worst problem of all. All of our pool systems come with freeze protection but if the power fails, your in trouble, unless you follow these rules.

#1 Check the insulation on your auto fill valve (RPZ) located next to a close faucet to the pool. Either close the valves and open the pet cocks to drain water from RPZ, OR wrap all pipes with old towels, blankets tightly. This is an expensive service call to replace the RPZ and pipe if frozen and cracked. Importante!

#2 Check your freeze settings on your controller or time clock to 38 degrees. If set properly the pumps will crank at that temperature and run continuously until temperature rises above 38 degrees, assuming the power stays on.

#3 REMEMBER THIS ONE! If the power goes out during a severe freeze like last February? You have to go to the equipment immediately (as I did last year on our own pool, at 1:00 AM in a blizzard) and turn off the pool breakers, pull all drain plugs from every pump, filter, DE unit and the heater if you have one. IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOUR EQUIPMENT IS BELOW POOL AND SPA ELEVATION, CLOSE OFF ALL TWO AND THREE WAY VALVES ON THE SYSTEM TO PREVENT DRAINING WATER FROM THE POOL AND SPA!!!! Collect all plugs removed and keep them in a safe place for reinstall after weather warms up. OR if you know a severe freeze is coming in advance and your leaving town, simply drain all equipment and turn off the pool breakers and open all 2 and 3 way valves so they’ll drain as well. NOTE: Close the 2 and 3 way valves if equipment is below pool elevation to prevent water draining from pool. Its simple to crank back up after the thaw and will save you thousands of dollars. Most pool equipment isn’t covered by homeowners’ insurance unless you have specified that to your carrier.
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So be prepared and not caught off guard, it’ll save you lots of money, we promise!
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to call us for support.
 
HAPPY SOAKING AND SWIMMING
DICKIE, KAMIE AND THE ENTIRE FCP TEAM

It’s not as crazy as you may believe. In fact, it’s the very thing you should do! Most clients don’t even start to begin the process until it gets hot, and that’s too late to enjoy your new pool much the 1st season. Here are a couple of reasons to bust it out now and get your aqua groove on the move!

• You not only have a design (w/ revisions possibly) and a builder to select (WHICH TAKES TIME). After contract signing, there are almost always delays waiting on permits AND HOA approvals, which could take as much as 6 weeks or so in certain jurisdictions. So, you are already into around 2 months invested, BEFORE the fence has even come down!

• Once the actual excavation begins, you should expect around 2 months to construct your project for most jobs, assuming you’ve chosen the right pool builder. Yes there can be “real, unavoidable delays”, like rain and muddy site days, freezing temperatures preventing concrete pour, pipe installation, waiting on inspection days, trenching, etc. So now you are at 4 months invested, which is blistering quick with the correct pool builder.

• Once the project is finally complete, pool is full of water and equipment started up you can take the first dip in your new family aquatic addition in the backyard. But you’re still not done! You have to consider outdoor furniture, landscaping/sod, sprinkler system rebuild/install, planter/tree lighting etc. Once all these finish items are completed, you can truly relax and enjoy the most exciting addition you will EVER make to your family home, lifestyles and togetherness shared with family and friends for years to come.

So, it’s in your best interest to build in the winter and get moving NOW so you can enjoy your investment ALL SUMMER LONG. If you wait until January, you could still be behind the 8 ball with spring rains etc., causing untimely completion and frustration. IT’S A SWIMMING POOL! It should be relaxing, NOT a source of stress. At Fielder Custom Pools, we take the extra steps to insure each job is timely completed and at budget.
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Give us a call today and let us do all the heavy lifting and get you swimming all summer long!
HAPPY SWIMMING AND HOLIDAYS FROM THE FIELDER POOL TEAM
512-413-7467
512-751-8290
www.fielderpools.com

In recent months, we have become more aware than even before, the sad consequences of choosing the wrong pool builder to construct your pool. We’ve done this pool building thing for a while now, over 40 years actually. We win jobs and we lose other jobs for various reasons. Prospects, God bless them, have to take in all the information given them during the course of design, information, internet research, reviews, BBB info, expert friends that own pools etc. etc. etc. Today’s prospect relies on many available resources to help them determine the best fit for them, isn’t America great? Truth is, many, many pools are contracted and built every day that don’t measure up to customer expectations at completion.

Cases in point, we lost a job in a neighborhood last year where we have constructed 3 pools on the same block. The lost customer bought a competitors pool and thought they had made a smart decision and saved a lot of money. Yesterday, we became aware from a recent victim, they were promised and contracted, a great pebble finish on their pool interior. What they actually got was a quartz finish, which is much less than a quality pebble finish with a greater warranty and customer satisfaction.. What happened to material selections with the customer, in writing? We also recently, had a competitor tell the prospect they could build a pool 30 percent cheaper than Fielder Custom Pools, I WISH! This is ridiculous, I can guarantee, there’s NOT 30 percent profit in any pool!!! That’s where the brilliance ends. After finishing our 3 pools, the thrifty client has been under construction for 10 months!!! At our last drive by, the plaster still hasn’t been installed and their pool sits waiting for water. The customer actually used OUR CUSTOM DESIGN, which is a NO-NO, believing they were getting a better deal. We’ve all heard these nightmare stories and it is completely unacceptable to Fielder Custom Pools.

BUYER BEWARE, what you believe you are receiving from some fast talking, promise making designer with a large company or even a small one, isn’t always going to work out as hoped for. You make your choice at your own peril, good or bad.
No one is perfect though. There is the human element and events, scheduling and weather issues that can always effect the time line for timely completion. Regardess, the job should continue timely and scheduled to fill as soon as possible, start it up and allow you to enjoy what you’ve paid handsomely for, right?

We’re not here to slam anyone. Competition is always good, it keeps the market under control and offers the hard working client, the opportunity to make a smart decision. God bless you all in your decision making journey.
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HAPPY SWIMMING!!!!
The Fielder Custom Pool Team