Everything You Need to Know About Your Pool Cage Restoration
Our contract began to get so long that it scared some people away. I have never gone to court so I am not concerned with legality. My goal is to talk bout all the the things that have happened during a project and how I have handled them I have always been able to leave my projects with a satisfied reasonable customer.
So here are odd things that have come up in the past:
If there is work that is needed to be done that was not discovered during the estimate we will give you a price on that before we continue unless it is less than 100.00.
Estimate is based on all track not being covered, being fully accessible, not damaged, and not filled with roots or lime deposits. We try to detect any of these issues before work is done but can not guarantee it. Free estimates do not include going up on the roof.
AFTER ACCEPTANCE
If you can not walk between the cage and your hedges/plants nor can we. If this is the case – please let us know when the trimming is done.
Estimate is based on spline coming out of track normally. If spline is dry rotted to an extent that it will only come out in pieces and takes an excessive amount of time that will be billed extra.
What areas do not get spline? The center bars on corners and center perlings on the flat part of the cage do not get spline.
There are only two areas that do not get spline. The first is the center bar in the 4 corners of the roof of the cage. The second is the center perlings on the flat part of the cage. This is normal and does not effect the durability. Splining these areas is not needed, hence most customers see no need to pay extra to have it done.
Screen or paint: Unless otherwise agreed customer is responsible to have the work area clear. This includes space between the cage and landscaping. If we are able to do pruning to correct it we will do that up to 100.00 before asking.
There is no warranty on round spline cages. They stopped making round spline 25 years ago because it had a tendency to pop out.
We are not responsible for storm damage, acts of God or hints that are not within our control. This includes things unforeseen that the free estimate was not able to detect.
If small touch ups are needed that can not be done on final day we will return to complete them.
There is no company that we know of that actually does two coats of paint. That means it dries and and 2-3 days later a second coat is done. The paint is one coat multi pass layered at the same time. A multi pass same day painting. We have maintained our five star rating with an average of 2-4 hours of sanding and wire brushing. This is what the estimate includes.
Will the paint job look the same as when it came to the factory? No.
Why Not?
- In the factory it is in a controlled environment.
- The temperature is at a set 72 degrees.
- There is no overspray on adjoining metal.
- There is no debris in the air. We can not control wind Bourne debris that may stick to paint , just as when a house is painted.
- The metal is new.
- It is powder coated by a robotic machine.
- The paint will not finish curing for 2-4 weeks.
What other things should I be aware of?
Taping off:
The tape will follow the contour of the house. For those that have stucco or textured paint job on their house the tape line will follow those ridges and when tape is taken off the line will have followed those ridges.
Shading:
The cage is painted evenly. If it looks like it is uneven, most of the time that is because of the lighting. One part could be in the shade, one part in in direct sunlight, one part in full sunlight. The paint will look different in different lighting conditions.
The concrete ledge on outside of pool is not included in estimate. If you want it done it is as a favor and is not under warranty. Cage paint is not covered under acts of God.
CAGE SANDING:
The goal for sanding is to sand only the areas that need sanding. We have estimated a certain amount of time on each cage for this.
Painting is all in the prep work. That is where the real cost is. Our customers do not want a cheap job, nor do they want to pay excessive amounts that are not practical. We strive to reach that happy medium. Each job is estimated for a certain amount of time for prep work. If a customer chooses to increase the level of prep work or sanding please call the office so we can give you a price for that.
The whole cage is not sanded, only the trouble areas. The goal is to have a good surface for the paint to adhere to. This does not mean contour sanding. If there is contour on aluminum and it is sanded out it will usually result in a hole in the metal which of course is not desired.
PAYMENT
Payment is required at the end of the job. If it is agreed that some minor touch up is needed the customer may hold back $200.00 until those items can be accomplished.
Failure to pay when job is complete voids our warranty.
WE DON’T WANT THAT! If you are not able to be there at completion of job we suggest having a check in a pre stamped/addressed envelope ready to put in the mail.
It is normal to have small touch up or punch out issues that could not be done for want of weather or materials. If this is the case, payment is still due but we may agree to hold up to $200.00 from payment if we think this is merited.
Estimate is based on having no time delays to access job. Time delays not caused by us will be billed to the job. If you do not have weekend access or access on Holidays other than Xmas, New Years, Easter, July 4 or Thanksgiving please let us know.
WARRANTY
At the end of job you will be given a sign-off sheet. If there is anything not completed, it will be listed here as the only remaining work left to do.
Drip marks from water:
Once power washed a normal cage dries within 5 hours. We wait 24 hours before painting. If your cage retains water in the beams due to condensation and leaks out after the paint job we have no control over that but we are prepared for it. Before removing scaffolding we look for any drip marks to touch up. After the scaffold is down and the screening is complete if there are any other drip marks we will touch them up before leaving. We will also leave extra touch up paint.
OVERSPRAY:
We take every precaution to prevent over spray. It is not unusual to have some overspray somewhere. We prepare for that and carry cleaning supplies. If wind or an act of god displaces a covering while we are spraying, we will be happy to touch up paint that area if provided the paint needed. It is a good idea to have any touch up paint that may be needed before job begins.
EXPECTED OVERSPRAY:
Paint spray will travel to other parts of the cage when spraying. That is why we paint the top parts first then the lower parts so over spray from doing the top parts will receive a fresh coat of paint which will greatly but not totally smooth out spray from doing the top parts.
If painting over a previously painted cage those sections are not under the same warranty, please call for more information.
Cleaning cage before 30 days voids warranty.
TAPING:
We use tape designed to not pull paint off professionally painted areas. Paint jobs that did not have primer, were not prepped properly or had sub standard paint can sometimes lead to paint coming off on the tape. Properly painted surfaces will not come off from the tape we use. We are not responsible for paint that comes up from tape. This does not happen often. When it does it is usually small areas. If touch up paint is provided we will gladly touch up these areas for you.
CHANGING OF SCREWS
The price given for the screw job is not for the number of screws but the the job itself. The number of screws listed is for our internal reference, not for pricing.
The estimate includes replacing screws with a screw gun (304 marine grade stainless steel powder coated to negate interaction between two metals). We count and list the maximum number of screws that will be replaced. If the screw head pops off or is stripped we will place a screw next to it. The estimate for bottom screws or those going into concrete includes the standard #14 2 1/4 inch tap con (Different screws are rare but would incur an additional charge). PLEASE NOTE THE PRICE FOR CHANGING SCREWS IS THE DOLLAR AMOUNT LISTED. IT IS NOT BASED ON NUMBER OF SCREWS IT IS BASED ON THE TIME TO CHANGE THEM.
CAULK
The estimate does not include caulking the cage. If this is chosen it will be a separate line item. We use “solar seal” caulk which is designed for aluminum and is a single bead 1 pass caulk.
TIME TO COMPLETION
It is in our best interest to start and complete a job without interruption. We do not leave jobs to work on others jobs. If there is an interruption it is due to something beyond our control. Please understand we do not control the weather.
Winds over 11 mph, rain, high humidity or excessive heat or cold can prevent us from screening or painting.
Sometimes we can not make the decision to delay work due to weather until the last moment. This means it is not possible to call all customers immediately if there is a weather delay. When this happens we are normally busy trying to find alternative work for our techs to do so they are not out of work.
ALSO Please note, our techs are given work orders on what to do and how to do it. They are not permitted to discuss work order changes or procedural changes with the customer. That must be done through the office.
CARE OF POOL DURING RE MODELING
Customer is responsible to monitor the pool during remodeling.
Remember the screens will be out and debris can get into the pool. We suggest the pool pump either be turned off or someone look to see that debris has not gotten into pool that could affect the pool equipment.
Screws in pool– All effort is made to prevent screws going into a pool. When changing out hundreds of screws it is possible that some could get into the pool. If this does happen we will try to get them out with a pool net we carry with us.
Clean up is done at the end of the job. We may have ladders, tarps etc. in the work area until the job is done. There is often a delay of 1-3 days between painting and screening of a cage.
Discounts are not given for delays in completing the job which is caused by acts of God or unforeseen events.
POOL CLEANING
The pool will be covered during the paint process but not during the screw change or screen process. (I know it is hard to believe, but all pool owners North of the snow line have no screens at all!) So, yes some debris will get into the pool because it will not have screens around it during the process. We do have pool nets we use to get any large items out of pool but please schedule for your pool company to do a cleaning once job is complete.
PLEASE NOTE:
Having said that; PLEASE REMEMBER After ten years we still have a five star rating and most of our business comes from neighbors who have seen our work.