Swimming Pool Company Recommendations - Chiang Mai

[Pearlgirl]

In the next couple of weeks, we are going to have a swimming pool installed and would like some recommendations for a pool company - recommendations and/or experiences with pool construction

[gilbreth]

Hi, best thing to do is to first do up a set of drawings. This can be done anywhere (even BKK). Then, once you have the drawings, you can put it out to several companies for a detailed quote. From there, you can compare quality of equipment, material specs, quality of finishings, etc. Dont forget also, you do not need to go with tile - there are some great alternatives out there...

I will send you the name of a company in Chiang Mai today.

Gil

[Fore Man]

I built a pool for our new home in Chiang Mai. We originally wanted a uniquely-designed tile pool as they are quite beautiful. I was talked out of this idea by a local pool company whose name shall remain private in this post (you can PM me and I will provide it). The owner of this particular firm advised me that a tile pool was asking for trouble in this province--due to the fact that the area is adjacent or very near to a seismic fault. He told us that every time a tremor occurred, that he was engaged by many owners to come out and make extensive repairs to pool slabs...and that required removing tiles to get to the damage underneath. And then the owner still had to pay for the cost of replacing the water that had been removed. He also mentioned that tile pools were hard to keep clean due to hard water mineral deposits on the sides. Based on his advice, we changed our plans and contracted with this company to build a prefab pool, using a stout concrete slab buttressed by vertical fiberglass members that contained a rounded pool lined by thick and durable (so far) PVC material. It uses a salt ionization process instead of the traditional chlorinization method. This has resulted in an attractive pool that works well for us. But it is definitely not as eye-pleasing as the tile design we originally envisioned.

The bad news is that we had major difficulties with this builder. Our contract also included a surrounding raised patio area...built over the crawl space surrounding the pool...and covered with 'sand wash'. This 'sand wash' looks nice enough and provides solid footing; it is also not as slippery as a tiled surface...but it needs to be cleaned with high-pressure water about twice a year. The builder did everything he could to save money on this patio construction. We had to have him tear down his shoddy job on the perimeter railing (based on reinforced concrete and ceramic balustrades) and pay another company--our original home contractor--to do it right. The pool became filthy from improper operation of the pump system and once again we had to badger the company owner to come out and fix it. This process took 6 weeks! The pool and patio construction was the singlemost major problem spot in our entire home construction project spanning 24 months. We had other minor issues not associated with the pool, but they paled in comparison.

In the end, we have an attractive pool that works well but we pay our maid an extra amount to maintain it. We trained her to maintain the pool...she devotes an hour every day to this task. We originally asked for assistance from the builder and were willing to pay his off-duty employees to peform this maintenance regimen for us, but when the owner found out about it, he ordered his employees not to take our money...he had a much higher monthly rate in mind. Greed is alive and well in all facets of Thai business, especially this loathsome man and his company. When a pool light burned out, he insisted on over THB 10,000 to replace it, claiming it had to come from France.

I thus strongly suggest that anybody interested in building a pool NOT use this particular builder. You WILL be sorry. Please PM me if this is a concern to you and I will provide the company name and particulars.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Fore Man

[elizatch]

I have site that offers affordable swimming pool supplies, I already ordered some of their product from that site. they offer a lot of pool supplies and equipments, the first supplies I bought was two pool fountains for the two new swimming pools in my resort. The latest product that I purchase was a pool safety cover for my swimming pool and until now it still in use. its very durable.

Edited April 7, 2010 by elizatch

[Rama]

Contact Jimmy (australian) at Siam Pools in Chiang Mai 0843789319

[ThaiPauly]

Been very happy with the pool I had installed by Desjoyaux in CM

Not the cheapest, but we have had 6 years hassle free with it.

After sales service is way beyond the Thai norm

[LJW]

Contact Jimmy (australian) at Siam Pools in Chiang Mai 0843789319

I live 300 meters from Siam Pools and I think their service sucks. I can never get to talk with Jimmy, and they are extremely hard to make contact with any workers for pool service.

[spshop]

Contact Jimmy (australian) at Siam Pools in Chiang Mai 0843789319

I live 300 meters from Siam Pools and I think their service sucks. I can never get to talk with Jimmy, and they are extremely hard to make contact with any workers for pool service.

300 meters from the shop and is'nt there a mobile number quoted try agian befor you slag someones company off

[jaideeguy]

I had a pool built....designed by myself with research [on google] and my contractor friend and the end product was good and half the price of a contractor. 55 sq mt surface area and tiled. True that tile does get calcium build-up and mine is quite stained after several years.

Get your source water tested before you sink any money into a pool and consider that there are only 4 or 5 good months for enjoyment of pools here.......too cold in the winter and too tepid/warm in the summer.

I posted a couple of years ago on the swimming pool forum......'if you had to do it again, would you??' and the overwhelming majority said 'no, I wouldn't'.

right now, i would sell my pool for less than half of the price that i paid .....or just give it away if possible.

Sorry to pop your bubble, but you should ask yourself 'how much will i really use it?'

If you still want to go ahead with the expensive hole in the ground, then i could recomend the contractor that built mine for less than half the price of a 'professional pool contractor' [same same mentality as car sales men]

PM me if interested.

[dadath]

I had a pool built....designed by myself with research [on google] and my contractor friend and the end product was good and half the price of a contractor. 55 sq mt surface area and tiled. True that tile does get calcium build-up and mine is quite stained after several years.

Get your source water tested before you sink any money into a pool and consider that there are only 4 or 5 good months for enjoyment of pools here.......too cold in the winter and too tepid/warm in the summer.

I posted a couple of years ago on the swimming pool forum......'if you had to do it again, would you??' and the overwhelming majority said 'no, I wouldn't'.

right now, i would sell my pool for less than half of the price that i paid .....or just give it away if possible.

Sorry to pop your bubble, but you should ask yourself 'how much will i really use it?'

If you still want to go ahead with the expensive hole in the ground, then i could recomend the contractor that built mine for less than half the price of a 'professional pool contractor' [same same mentality as car sales men]

PM me if interested.

Hello, I am interested by your message. could you give me the name and as your supplier? I want build a square pool in tile of 8X5 meters.

[mav000]

I am looking to have a pool put in. Leaning towards Siam Pools. Anyone have experience with the Magna System they are recommending? Also, they seem to be against a salt system, recommending the magna system with chlorine. Opinions on salt or chlorine.

[masuk]

I'm not looking for a pool to be BUILT.

I'm looking for a pool where I can swim. Anyone got ideas on where to find a pool, open to the public (for a fee of course), and somewhere in the Maejo to Mae Rim region?

[Pebblepools]

In reading this thread it sounds as if a

couple of you are intending on building "tiled" pools .

For your consideration I thought I would pass along a couple of differences between what we do , which is apply Pebble Tec and or Pebble Sheen in lieu of tiles.

To begin with our product is stronger then tiles and when we apply it it is done with a special bond coat that makes a mechanical bond between the Pebble Tec that is extremely strong. In addition we offer a 5 year warranty .

Another difference is the color of the water , with tiles it is the color of the tile that is showing thru unlike Pebble Tec we it is a "natural blue" that is created by the natural effect of the Pebbles that we use. In addition we can mix glass "Pebble Shaped Beads " that enhances the natural color.

Also our product stands up better to to improperly maintained pools as the base product is high grade Portland cement which is stronger and more resistant to chemical imbalances tile grout or mortar

There is lots of information on Pebble Tec if as it has been around for 30 years ( though new to Thailand ) so do a google search if you have time or feel free to email me with questions or post here if you wish and I will answer what I can

One other thing is we are not a pool builder but we will work with your builder and in most cases we can recommend a qualified builder in your area if need be.

Steve

[DiamondKing]

Steve I like the idea of Pebble tec however is the cost comparable to using tiles for example I am having a pool built and was planning on using tile and that is what I have been quoted from the guys building it for me, I dont know what the cost of the tile because its included in the quote in the contract whichi includes another construction job so if I were to have him switch to pebble tec instead of tiles would the cost be prohibitive to make the switch.

[Chaichara]

The standard light bule 4x4" ceramic tiles cost in retail about Baht 270 per m2. if laid correctly using adhesive and grout specially designed for pool, they will last forever. The popular cracked glaze 'Antique' style tiles are much thicker and need more of the expensive adhesive and grout (wider joint). The retail prices start at around Baht 700.00 per m2 but they are diffucult to work with and pool firms usually load the price accordingly.

[garethp]

I built a pool for our new home in Chiang Mai. We originally wanted a uniquely-designed tile pool as they are quite beautiful. I was talked out of this idea by a local pool company whose name shall remain private in this post (you can PM me and I will provide it). The owner of this particular firm advised me that a tile pool was asking for trouble in this province--due to the fact that the area is adjacent or very near to a seismic fault. He told us that every time a tremor occurred, that he was engaged by many owners to come out and make extensive repairs to pool slabs...and that required removing tiles to get to the damage underneath. And then the owner still had to pay for the cost of replacing the water that had been removed. He also mentioned that tile pools were hard to keep clean due to hard water mineral deposits on the sides. Based on his advice, we changed our plans and contracted with this company to build a prefab pool, using a stout concrete slab buttressed by vertical fiberglass members that contained a rounded pool lined by thick and durable (so far) PVC material. It uses a salt ionization process instead of the traditional chlorinization method. This has resulted in an attractive pool that works well for us. But it is definitely not as eye-pleasing as the tile design we originally envisioned.

The bad news is that we had major difficulties with this builder. Our contract also included a surrounding raised patio area...built over the crawl space surrounding the pool...and covered with 'sand wash'. This 'sand wash' looks nice enough and provides solid footing; it is also not as slippery as a tiled surface...but it needs to be cleaned with high-pressure water about twice a year. The builder did everything he could to save money on this patio construction. We had to have him tear down his shoddy job on the perimeter railing (based on reinforced concrete and ceramic balustrades) and pay another company--our original home contractor--to do it right. The pool became filthy from improper operation of the pump system and once again we had to badger the company owner to come out and fix it. This process took 6 weeks! The pool and patio construction was the singlemost major problem spot in our entire home construction project spanning 24 months. We had other minor issues not associated with the pool, but they paled in comparison.

In the end, we have an attractive pool that works well but we pay our maid an extra amount to maintain it. We trained her to maintain the pool...she devotes an hour every day to this task. We originally asked for assistance from the builder and were willing to pay his off-duty employees to peform this maintenance regimen for us, but when the owner found out about it, he ordered his employees not to take our money...he had a much higher monthly rate in mind. Greed is alive and well in all facets of Thai business, especially this loathsome man and his company. When a pool light burned out, he insisted on over THB 10,000 to replace it, claiming it had to come from France.

I thus strongly suggest that anybody interested in building a pool NOT use this particular builder. You WILL be sorry. Please PM me if this is a concern to you and I will provide the company name and particulars.

I am assuming that this contractor you are talking about is the same one we used, he represents (very poorly I might add) a supposed well respected pool company based in Phuket. Anyone reading this post thinking of building a pool in Chiangmai proceed with extreme caution, in the 6 years we have had the pool it has been empty half of the time, the liner rips, the pipes burst, the concrete cracks, the pool is left empty for months at a time, copied parts used during construction,electric shocks from bad wiring, rusted barriers around kids zone, refusal to answer mails and phone calls and many more all documented and photographed. In his defence Mati probably feels quite safe, as his mother company whom I will happily share with anyone who wishes to know also show no interest. If you wish to see photos of this 3 million baht fiasco let me know, we really would not want anyone else to have to suffer these horrible criminals in Phuket and Chiangmai respectively.

[Ellis72]

Well, dude! Ground Swimming Pools were once a luxury. Now more than ever people are making the investment in these types of outdoor swimming pools. If you prefer a more luxurious pool and experience, there are many options that can be added.So,if any body wants to share any opinion about it then please share me dude!!!!!!!!!!

[SanSaiExPat]

I'm not looking for a pool to be BUILT.

I'm looking for a pool where I can swim. Anyone got ideas on where to find a pool, open to the public (for a fee of course), and somewhere in the Maejo to Mae Rim region?

Sure, You can swim at the Laguna Home Resort. It's a great pool and nice environment.

[masuk]

I'm not looking for a pool to be BUILT.

I'm looking for a pool where I can swim. Anyone got ideas on where to find a pool, open to the public (for a fee of course), and somewhere in the Maejo to Mae Rim region?

Sure, You can swim at the Laguna Home Resort. It's a great pool and nice environment.

in Chiang Mai??

[SanSaiExPat]

"Slag someone's company off..." Sounds like Spshop must be "Jimmy", for sure. Only a poorly educated (Can't spell) banal, defensive, Australian would say something like that. 555 And who would do business with someone who wrote, "..try agian befor..." Oh my God, what a riot you <deleted> are.

Contact Jimmy (australian) at Siam Pools in Chiang Mai 0843789319

I live 300 meters from Siam Pools and I think their service sucks. I can never get to talk with Jimmy, and they are extremely hard to make contact with any workers for pool service.

300 meters from the shop and is'nt there a mobile number quoted try agian befor you slag someones company off

[rickthailand]

"Slag someone's company off..." Sounds like Spshop must be "Jimmy", for sure. Only a poorly educated (Can't spell) banal, defensive, Australian would say something like that. 555 And who would do business with someone who wrote, "..try agian befor..." Oh my God, what a riot you <deleted> are.

Contact Jimmy (australian) at Siam Pools in Chiang Mai 0843789319

I live 300 meters from Siam Pools and I think their service sucks. I can never get to talk with Jimmy, and they are extremely hard to make contact with any workers for pool service.

300 meters from the shop and is'nt there a mobile number quoted try agian befor you slag someones company off

jimmy has not been with siampools for at least 3 years apparently he did a runner with the money