Steerpike

Whenever I have major work done by contractors, I find myself noting lots of problems with their work, especially if I (God forbid!) read instructions.

Sometimes, I can give them a pass because the instructions are overly demanding/idealistic, but often times, they just cut corners and it bugs the shit out of me, considering the amount paid and the amount of time the work is expected to last.

My most recent example is painting. I had the outside of my house painted; this was during the unusually wet spring we had in Northern CA. The painting company dispatched the 'crew' to my house during obviously wet days (more of a heavy fog than rain, but still, water was pooling on horizontal surfaces). I talked to the crew members, and they didn't want to work as it was wet / slippery on ladders, etc but they said I had to talk to the 'owner' to get them to stop work (wait for dry weather). So I had to 'demand' that the guys stop work. This became a daily game, as it was raining all the F**ing time this spring. In the end, I was marginally successful in stopping them from painting during ACTUAL rain, but they had no qualms about painting the 'next day', even though there was still standing water on horizontal surfaces. I also noted that we had downpours right after they painted. I discussed this with the owner, and he told me how wonderful modern paints are " ... as long as they have a few hours to dry, it's not a problem if it pours down after that" he said. He had no story to tell me about applying the paint to wet surfaces ... .

I can appreciate the challenges professional painting companies have with (unseasonable) wet weather; they have busy schedules and unexpected rain really screws everything up. But applying paint in wet weather strikes me as a complete no no.

They also play fast and loose with the concept of priming; not to mention sanding! The paint instructions clearly state that a primer is needed for any bare wood, and that you need to loosen/remove any existing 'unsound' paint. But all they did was a very quick pass with a scraper, and then jumped in with the 'top coat'; no primer was even delivered to the site. "These paints are self-priming" they told me, contrary to the manufacturers instructions.

mrken30

Oops, my mistake I didn't know about free labor, I always factor in my time as labor costs. Time is money as they say.

I was also assuming baffles may have been damaged and need to be installed/replaced if the soffits have been blocked. I hate that job.

petitefrancaise

Oh, well I just go up there in the autumn/spring and uncover one at a time, install the baffles and cover over the top of the wall with insulated foam board stuff. I've got most of them done now. I hate it with a vengeance.

I am going to have to get the trees pruned/trimmed. Saving the pennies to pay someone to do that job.

mrken30

Arborists are so expensive around here. I wish I was more confident, but anything above 20ft I pay someone.

tom169

Today we got the water bill for filling the pool. It was $250. Less than both of us thought!

petitefrancaise

brilliant!

how's it going? I'd hate living anywhere hot without a pool. I just have to remind myself of that whenever I have to figure out a problem.....

tom169

The pool is going well, thanks! I accidentally let the chlorine floater run out and some algae started to grow. Shocked the pool and it all went back to normal.

It needs re-plastering and re-tiling, but that will wait until the winter months. Until then it looks a bit ugly.

petitefrancaise

think about using bleach and testing your own water like they recommend at troublefreepool.com It will prevent a lot of problems down the line. Much cheaper too.

chawkins99

tom169

I plan on switching to this method when i've depleted all of the chlorine tablets I bought way back when I was setting things up.

I installed a Nature2 system in and I can run the chlorine at low levels (~0.5).

As for testing I have my own K-2006 testing kit.

chawkins99

Aarghh!!

Aarghh!!

Aarghh!!

As PF: All you need is bleach.

If you're lazy (like me) a SWG (salt water chlorine generator).

chawkins99

No you can't. Seriously, you need to do some reading:
https://www.troublefreepool.com/cont...ater-chemistry


This is a good start.

tom169

I've done plenty of reading up on this. Have you looked at the Nature2 system?

petitefrancaise

The testing kit is good and similar to my own.

However, adding metals to the pool? Green hair? Stains?

If you have cya in the pool ( you do from the chlorine tabs even if you haven't added it) then I don't think 0.5ppm chlorine is sufficient to keep bacteria levels down/
https://www.troublefreepool.com/thre...eral-Sanitizer

has some info.

I've had a pool for 15 years. No probs really in France but the heat and evaporation in TX means a quick elevation of problems. Stuff like the metals, calcium and cya don't evaporate.

I use pucks when I'm away from home otherwise, I adjust pH weekly and add 1/2 gallon bleach per day to 26k gallons.

petitefrancaise

Oh dear,poor Tom169!

We're not ganging up on you but seriously troublefreepool is a lifesaver.