011. TR Talks- Eric Evans

​[00:00:00]

Geeta: Hello, this is Geeta with TR Talks, and I'm here today with Nick Nicholas IP from the team.

Nick: Hi everyone.

Geeta: Hello Nick. And we are speaking with Eric Evans of Starling Pools today. And Starling Pools is a very well established, business. being operated since 1974. They 

no longer build pools, but offer services such as pool openings, closings, equipment installs, liner installs, safety cover installs, weekly maintenance, and they're also a retail store and they offer free water testing and analysis in [00:01:00] person, 

and 

they sell and install hot tubs.

So we're looking forward to, speaking with Eric.

On everything to do with pools.

Nick: Hi Eric.

Eric: hello.

Nick: you?

Eric:

Good. Thank you. How are 

Geeta: you so much for joining us, Eric. We really appreciate it. And pools, as you know, and you probably know just over the last couple of years, just how much in demand they've been. thanks to C O V I D, 

So you've probably been super busy in the last few years.

Eric: Yeah. I think actually the pool industry was the one industry that got better through Covid. Like we, saw such a huge increase. in our customer base and it is just been insane. I know that the people who are building pools right now well, they did have at least like a two to three year wait

at the height of.

Nick: yes.

And

Geeta: I know that, you're no longer building pools, but, that's another thing that has increased a lot. People with larger lot sizes. they have been actively looking for quotes for people to, to come in [00:02:00] and, build a pool.

Eric: Oh yeah. And even, the smaller lot sizes too, like we're seeing a lot smaller backyards having FiberCo pools put in cause they're a lot smaller and they're easier to contain. So there's just a huge demand for, pools at the moment 

Nick: That is 

Geeta: right. 

What do home owners need to know about pools?

Geeta: And actually now that you mentioned fiberglass. so that leads me into my first question. what are the different types of pools? What can you share with, the listeners on, something they need to know if, let's say they are considering. becoming a homeowner with a

Nick: pool?

3 Major types of pools

Eric: Yeah, so I mean, there's three major types of pools. you a liner or a fiberglass. Concrete pools are not as common as they used to be. They were really common back in the day. most people now who have residential pools, they are usually, it's a vinyl liner and they usually have a pattern printed on them, and it just feels like a smooth, piece of.

like fabric almost that lines the pool. And then there is fiberglass, which is basically, like, you know, those bathtub inserts you can buy. It's basically like an insert of a pool [00:03:00] that they drop into the ground and fill with water.

Nick: these are in-ground pools though, right?

Geeta: Or,

Eric: yeah, these are all in ground pools. We really don't do an awful lot with above ground pools. just because, you know, we specialize mostly within ground, above ground, and on ground. Pools are a lot easier to do yourself. You can, construct them and take them down by yourself.

You don't necessarily need a company to help you with those, not all the time.

Whats the average lifespans of these in ground pools?

Nick: Okay. and what are the like average lifespans of these, in ground pools? I guess our main discussion today will be in ground as well, so, what do you see like in terms of the lifespan on these.

Eric: So, I mean, honestly, it really depends on the initial construction, if it was done properly and how well you maintain them. The pools themselves, they last. A long time, you know, like 50, 60 years, as long as you maintain them, it's usually the equipment that you need to switch out every few years. But the actual body of the pool itself, providing you take care of it and it was installed correctly, I don't think you ever really need to worry about them not lasting.

That would be more of an above ground thing. You would [00:04:00] have to be concerned.

Near the lifespan of a pool, do you need to get a new pool or fix it?

Nick: Okay, so if, the lifespan is towards the end, does that mean we have to completely take it apart and put a new one, or is that more like we can just do some patchworks and kind of revive 

Eric: it? Yeah, I would say patchwork, to be honest. Like, I mean the, the biggest thing over time that you might need to think about would be the concrete around the base of the pool. Like on the deck, that can come up, but it's not like you'd never have to really dig up the pool and redig the hole again.

Once it's in the ground, it's pretty well there to stay. the only time you're gonna kind of do any work like that is if you're filling in.

Geeta: Right.

And so as you mentioned, it's more so the equipment installs that you would need to focus on. So tell us a little bit more about, you know, where you would come in when it comes to pumps, filters, heaters, the salt systems, et cetera.

Where you would come in when it comes to pumps, filters, heaters, the salt systems, et cetera.

Eric: Yeah, so we obviously install all of the above. most of the time, you're gonna look to get between three to 10 years for equipment, depending on the equipment itself, depending on what you're asking it to do. so for example, a sand [00:05:00] filter will last you maybe 10 years. You'll have to change the sand out throughout that time.

a pump again, you could get five to 10 years, the liner about 10 years. But everything really depends on how well you've taken care of. If you are on top of your maintenance, if you, change things when you're supposed to, like your sand filter and you know, if if you keep up on the maintenance side of it, you can get a lot more of a lifespan on your equipment.

What some tips for pool maintenance?

Geeta: Right. And which leads us to, what are some good tips for maintenance or what do you find that most people are not doing, which should be common sense to you, but you know, they're just missing doing it. and what's the most common error you 

Nick: find?

Water Chemistry

Eric: Well, honestly, I think, the biggest problem that we see is the water chemistry. And it sounds silly, but, if you don't take care of your chemistry, that can have really, really bad effects on your equipment. For example, if your water is consistently corrosive, which means your akaline is low, your pH is low.

If you run your pool like that constantly, you [00:06:00] can actually strip the copper out of your heater and you can ruin the heater in, in like space of one season, we've seen it happen again, all the, equipment inside the pool. if your water isn't balanced properly, it can rust and corrode and scale conforming it.

So honestly, chemistry is your best bet to making sure your equipment lasts the longest time.

Geeta: And so what would you tell Pool owners to be doing?

Eric: well definitely test your water. we here at the store, we offer free water testing. So you bring in a sample, we run it through our system, and, laser and reagents determine what needs to be done. And then a computer program gives you the results and it's actually really impressive. It gives you the results down to like the gram, how much of each. You need. So we can run a test within about 30 seconds. We'll print out the results and we'll go through it with the customer and we'll just say, okay, so your is low. You need to increase that by adding, you know, however many grams of this product. And then you need to do this, you need to lower your [00:07:00] pH.

And so by doing this on a weekly basis, It helps obviously . Makes, the pool experience more enjoyable for everybody because the bath feels more comfortable, the water is clean and safe to swim in, and it doesn't have as much of an impact on your equipment.

Geeta: Oh, that's great. I was, about to ask you how often should they do it, and I heard you just say if they do it on a weekly basis, so that's, pretty frequent.

Eric: Yeah, I mean, you don't have to do it weekly. usually what we'll see with customers is in the beginning of the season, so like April may when people are opening up their pools, then we see them every three days to every week. but once the season is in, once you've got the majority of the pool balance, then we generally see people once every two weeks or a month. And you can test at home too. There is, test strips that you can buy. They're not as accurate, obviously, as a proper water test, but it's a good way you dip the test, strip in, and then you can compare it on the back of the tube and it'll give you a rough idea of where your levels are at. So you, as the homeowner would know, okay, my chlorine is low, I need to increase this, et cetera, et cetera.

Is there extra maintence for Canadians?

Nick: And, [00:08:00] Eric, us being in Ontario, you know, we have like three to four months of winter. is there extra maintenance that we have to do because we have those winter months, that we have to handle, or cover up the pool, or is there any, tips you can share with us on that?

Eric: Yeah, absolutely. So definitely in Canada we have a, a much shorter season, so we all close pools here. And that's something that's done usually around September, October. And when we say we close a pool, we're basically saying we're shutting it down for the winter and it's basically going into hibernation.

So this is done by draining a certain amount of water, blowing out the lines, to make sure that nothing freezes in the winter. So we drop the levels of the water. Clear out all the lines and, block everything off, shut down the equipment, drain the filter, and basically just packing up the pool for the winter.

and then you put the cover on and then you don't have to worry about it until the spring.

What would it cost to do the opening, closing or maintenance package ?

Geeta: Okay. And,

 so that's great. And that would then bring me to this question of what could it cost, [00:09:00] basically to do the opening, the closing, and any other kind of maintenance package that you might have or another company might have to offer.

Eric: Yes. So I mean, on average, each company is different and offers a different service. But you could be looking, I would say, to open and close the pool average out around, you know, if you can expect to pay about a a thousand dollars a year, that's on the higher end of it, but it's better to kind of, You know, overcompensate.

the openings usually costs a bit more because more is involved in an opening. there's a lot more cleanup because obviously during the winter months, snow falls in the pool, all kinds of, slime and gunks and the cover goes in there. So it's definitely a bigger job. But, yeah, each service, I would say an opening, you couldn't expect to pay anywhere from $350 to $500

and for closing, you know, maybe $300 to $400.

Converting Pools to Saltwater pools

Geeta: Okay. And 

you know, I know a lot of clients, that have converted their pools to saltwater pools. is that. Something that you assist with. And if [00:10:00] yes, what is involved with that and what would you recommend?

Eric: Well, interestingly enough, so with a salt system, a common misconception is that it. A salt pool. Now there is salt in the water, but it's still technically a chlorine pool. So, when you install a salt system, basically what you're doing is you are turning salt into chlorine. So you're still swimming in chlorine water.

It's just you are producing your own as opposed to buying pucks or liquid chlorine. And the salt cell basically splits the salt molecule in half, and that creates a chlorine gas, which is what's sanitizing the water. We do have a lots and lots of customers who prefer it. They say they feel a difference in the water on their skin.

Pros and cons of a Saltwater Pool

Eric: but if you're deciding to convert to salt for an allergy reason or because you don't like chlorine, then you know, it's still is technically a chlorine pool. There are some pros and cons to both, salt cells. You need, the water needs to be at certain temperature before they can.

So that can sometimes cause problems in the beginning of the season when the [00:11:00] water's still really cold. if there's too much salt, they don't work. If there's not enough salt, they don't work. So, you know, they are great. They do a good job. If there's ever a chlorine shortage, you don't need to worry about them. But, yeah, so there's pros and cons to both. We are seeing more and more and more people converting to salt systems each year. It's becoming more and more popular.

Geeta: And

 is the cost of maintenance any different?

Eric: Not really, to be honest.you still have to balance your water, and that is another thing that we get a lot of customers in who for some reason are under the impression that if you have salt, you don't need to balance your water. That's not true at all. You still have to balance it, you still have to maintain it as you would normally.

 the only difference is you are creating your own chlorine. But in terms of cost is a bigger output to begin with. A salt system can run you from, depending on the size of the pool, anywhere from two to $5,000, depending on the, type that you want. and then you would add the salt throughout the season to keep your levels up, but you still have to do the same as, far as the other chemicals are concerned.[00:12:00]

You might see a slight, saving, but it wouldn't be a substantial saving. In our opinion anyway.

Nick: Okay. 

thanks Eric. 

now 

Rules for building a pool in their backyard

Nick: for maybe me, myself or maybe our clients are, also listening that maybe wanna get a pool in their backyard. Is there any laws they have to follow when it comes to building a pool in their backyard.

Eric: Sorry, did you say any laws? Well, there's definitely things you need to be aware of. certain areas, have certain rules. . for example, in Toronto, you can't backwash. which, when we say backwash, we basically mean we're cleaning out the sand filter. It's something you do on a weekly basis in the Durham region.

You come backwash into the street or into your backyard, that's fine. Toronto, you're not allowed to do that. So you have to know that before you install the pool and you'd have to get a cartridge filter. getting back to salt cells, if you back onto a ravine. You can't backwash a salt system into a ravine because you could then kill an ecosystem if you put salt water into fresh water, like a stream or like a ponder or anything like that.

So there are certain rules, [00:13:00] depending on the region. That's something you would want to check into if you are having the pool installed. Usually, if the pool is preexisting and it's been there for a while, you know, they've probably already taken care of those things. But if you're buying a home with a lot and you do plan to get a pool installed, I would definitely do your research, about what your region or your area requires as a pool owner.

Geeta: Yes. and so thanks for that, Eric. And now you mentioned if somebody's buying a pool. And that brings me to the question, very often, you know, when we do have buyers that are purchasing homes with pools, I don't know if you've, you know, ever, been to a pool inspection. or if your company does that as well.

 does your company do pool inspections? when it comes to, buyers coming in, 

purchasing 

a 

home 

with 

a 

pool?

Eric: Oh yeah, we do offer a pool inspection. I would say honestly, if you haven't owned a pool before, it's definitely money well spent 

to 

get a pool inspection. 

especially if you are buying a pool in the fall or the winter, because you don't [00:14:00] know what's under that safety cover you know, if you can't see it, a pool inspection is just a, it's a really good way for not only The buyer, but also the seller because, you know, they know, okay, well if we need to do da, da, da, da, we have all these things we have to fix. We're gonna have to put that work in now, or we have to reduce the price of the house, I guess. So I would say it's a really good idea to find a pool company that offers that.

The one that we do, Ken, the owner and service manager here, he comes out and he does a full report, including pictures, and he'll basically say, you know, this is what needs work. and he'll list off everything that isn't right. And that gives the homeowner, you know, a lot more, comfort when they're putting in an offer on a house.

If they know that they've gotta possibly spend another 10 grand over the next two years.

Cost of a pool inspectiom

Geeta: No, absolutely. And, I think that, it's something, as realtors, we, really do insist on, especially when there's a, pool involved. and, you know, because there's just something that you may not know, which is why we wanna have the experts come in like yourselves. Now, what [00:15:00] could an inspection like that cost, to a purchaser or a seller, if they're 

choosing 

to do it 

before 

listing? 

Eric: They're not actually as expensive as you'd think, Again, it depends entirely on the company, but I think you'd be looking around three. To 500, maybe a thousand, depending on the size of the pool, depending on what's involved. Obviously if you have like a spill of a spa and a huge water feature and you know, it's like a, huge setup, that's obviously gonna cost more, but I think around $500 is around an average price for that.

But in my opinion, it's money well spent, you know, especially if it could save you from, you know, purchasing a home with a pool that is now gonna cost you $10,000.

Geeta: Oh, totally 

agree with you. It is definitely money, well spent. And, you know, as, far as inspections go, it's pretty much in line with, what the home inspection would cost as well. and I think that, in terms of, because I know you, sell and install hot tubs as well. That's always a question.

people sometimes get very [00:16:00] nervous around hot tubs, and whether or not they want to purchase something with the hot tub. Left behind and most often, the sellers are leaving the hot tub behind because, who's taking that big thing with them, . so do you have 

any thoughts 

or insight 

on that?

Eric: Yeah, I mean, you're right. People don't generally move with a hot tub, a spa. It's, generally stays put. as far as buying a house with a spa, if you can find a company that will come and inspect it, do it as well if you can, because. It's not gonna cost you the same as a pool. Certainly. And if you do decide to just get rid of it, that's a much easier process than getting rid of a pool.

But again, you you don't wanna take something on if you're gonna have to spend thousands of dollars on it, especially if it's not a feature of the house. Like generally speaking, I, I'm sure you guys know more than us, but we find that. The pool is either the yes or the no factor of the house.

They either say, oh no, I don't want the pool, or, yes, I really want the

pool. 

Geeta: there's no

in between. 

Eric: Yeah, exactly. The spa or the hot tub that can be removed if needs be. So people generally buy the house based on the house and the [00:17:00] spa is there. but again, have an inspection. They are a little bit cheaper than a pool inspection, obviously, cause it's left too.

spas, depending on who makes them, sometimes they're an easy fix. You just have to take a panel out, fix some piping. Other times it could just be a complete, you know, let's just cut this and take the whole thing out and if we want a file, let's start again. but I would definitely, have it looked at for sure.

Geeta: No. 

Absolutely. And so listen, that was pretty much, most of the questions that we wanted to ask you. I don't know if you have anything else that you wanted to add. actually, you know, before we started we were talking about, filling pools and getting those filled. And I think maybe if you could share that again.

in terms of if somebody wanted to not take on a pool and actually, fill it, you had some insight to share with that, so maybe 

if you could 

repeat 

that, 

that would 

be great.

Eric: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, and that does happen. People say, I fell in love with the house. I don't want the pool. you know, I'm, I'm not gonna be out there doing this work. I wanna get rid of it. you can get them filled in. it's not a case of just pouring dirt into it. They do have to be properly [00:18:00] removed.

you need to take all the piping out. So it is a job. It's gonna cost you roughly around 10 grand to have a pool. because again, you have to remove all the equipment from underground. You have to make sure that everything is properly disconnected and removed before you just start throwing dirt on it.

it, again, an option. If it's something that people really don't want, if they just say, no, I have no interest in this. You can, we don't offer that service. But there are lots of pool companies out there that manufacture pools that will also come in and remove them for you.

Geeta: Absolutely. And Eric, just as we end, tell us about which areas 

you 

service.

Eric: Yeah, so we offer service in the Durham region, so we go east offshore and Curtis, we go west to about Pickering. we mostly do Whitby, whitby in the surrounding areas. We don't really go too far out of this area just becausewe're really busy in this. so yeah, we tend to look after people mostly in the Durham region, so anyone from Pickering to owa and yeah, that's our kind of jurisdiction.

Geeta: That's amazing. Well, that's great to know. [00:19:00] And you know, if, we were to ask you for some 

referrals in 

different parts 

of the city, 

would 

you 

be able 

to provide 

them 

Eric: Yeah, absolutely. We don't work alongside any other pool companies, but we certainly know of people. And one thing I did want to mention is, this is a piece of advice that we offer customers who come in and ask us about pool installs and stuff. If you are planning to have a pool

built in your backyard. We tell people make sure that you go with a company that has an actual address. and the reason for this is if you hire somebody who's working out the back of their van, if there's problems, you can't always. Get in touch with those people. Whereas if you've gone to a legitimate business with a mailing address and a store, if there's problems, you have somewhere to go back to.

You can, face to face somebody. A lot of people, get taken advantage of because, they hired the first person that they found on Facebook marketplace and obviously when there's problems that personnel disappears.

Geeta: That is such a great tip. And you would think that it would be common sense, but people would just assume that [00:20:00] there's a physical address, 

but it's 

not 

always 

the 

case.

Eric: Yeah. And it's honestly, we've found that, you know, cause if, we install a piece of equipment and it malfunctions or there's a problem with it, you know, our customers, they know, they just have to give us a call or come in and explain what's happening. We'll be right out to fix it. It's really terrifying when you spent, 60 to a hundred thousand dollars and now you can't get in touch with a person and there's no one who's gonna help you at this point.

Now that's more money out of your pocket. So do your due diligence. Check the company, and make sure that they've been doing this a while. They know what they're doing and that's the same, I think the main thing about pool ownership is just do your homework. research what you need to do, ask questions.

We get so many phone calls, people, I just bought a house. Can you help me? Absolutely. Come in, have a chat with us or sit on the phone. Most pool companies will be more than happy to answer questions for people. And you know, we get people, say, we had a lady call and she said, I'm, you know, I'm 68 and I'm, I want her by this house, but how much work is this pool gonna be?

She'd never owned one before. And we had a [00:21:00] good chat. We were on the phone for about an hour and she said to me, you know, I don't think I'm up. and I said, good. that's a smart decision to make. Now don't buy this house and then, have to make this decision two years down the road that it was too much.

Do your homework, decide whether it's the right thing for you or not. And if it's not, then you know, don't bother.

Geeta: Exactly, and it's all about that education piece, right? you're 

just educating people so that 

they can 

make 

that 

decision 

for themselves.

Eric: ..Absolutely. And education in pools, there's a lot more to it than you'd think. When I first started working in pools, I thought it was a hole in the ground filled with. I had no idea the work that's involved in them. And, you know, they are a lot of work, but they're also, lot of fun.

They can really make a house a home. People love them and once you get into a routine of maintenance and you take care of them, they're very easy to look after. But it's just about that initial educating yourself and knowing what to do in the beginning.

Nick: And thank you so much, Eric. we're really glad to have you on the show here.

And, for our listeners, can you tell us the company [00:22:00] contact information address, for starring pool so they can know where to contact you.

Geeta: you.

Eric: Yeah, absolutely. So we are based in Whitby and we are on highway two. The address is, 1645 D Street East. And, we're right next to Lake Ridge Road. That's what people wanna know. we are open seven days a week throughout the season. We are open all year round, but we do close. like we reduce our hours during the winter.

A lot of pool companies are closed in the winter. We stay up no year around. we're Starling calls and spa.com is our website and our phone number is (905) 668-7431. So yeah, if you have any questions or you want to know anything, you can give us a call and we're always happy to help.

Nick: Thank 

you so much Eric. And please, everyone that are listening, follow and share this podcast with your family and friends, comment, ask questions, and make requests to topics you'd like us to follow. thank you so much, uh, everyone, 

and 

we'll see 

you 

guys, next 

week. 

Bye. 

Take care.

Bye.