Pinkard Turns Pool and Natatorium Challenges Into Opportunities

Pinkard Construction prides itself on being a community builder. A key amenity for many Front Range communities is their community pool. Whether it’s for a recreation district, HOA, or local jurisdiction, Pinkard understands their responsibility to get the pool facility constructed right the first time. This commitment is doubly important for the construction of the pool itself, as each and every new or renovated pool, whether enclosed or outside, has unique construction challenges and opportunities.

Pinkard’s team has undeniable expertise in pool construction. Over their six-decade history they have successfully built or renovated over 50 recreation centers and 60 indoor and outdoor pools, all of them in Colorado. This highly successful track record includes countless examples of overcoming significant challenges through close collaboration with the project’s client, design team, and end user. Along the way, the team has taken those lessons learned to develop a unique and ever-growing “pool checklist” that considers every angle of a pool project, from controlling costs, to assuring the highest quality construction, to engaging with the community.

Adding Value During Preconstruction

During the preconstruction process, the project team faces three primary challenges/opportunities: cost control, escalation, and procurement. Working closely with the client and design team, Pinkard works diligently to balance the client's desires with the budget. Pinkard provides real-time pricing along with life-cycle analysis to enable the client to make informed decisions. Pinkard relies on its vast subcontractor relationships to obtain the most accurate and competitive pricing possible, engaging with multiple trade partners early to provide critical input on materials and options for flexibility in cost control.

Another challenge is pricing multiple design iterations for months before locking down final costs. The project team interprets materials markets and provides accurate future cost estimates. Pinkard’s close relationships with major suppliers keep them constantly updated on pricing trends, which benefits the client's budget. With new material delays showing up almost daily, the team constantly monitors these situations, allowing them to suggest more readily available alternatives.

Breaking ground in August of 2024, Pinkard’s is currently renovating of Broomfield’s Bay Aquatic Park, which centers around the replacement of the well-loved facility’s leisure pool that Pinkard constructed over thirty years earlier. During preconstruction, the Pinkard team suggested replacing the traditional concrete and tile gutters initially specified in the Design Development drawings with an innovative stainless-steel system that not only saved on costs but also shortened the schedule by three-to-four weeks, which the City of Broomfield ultimately opted to go with.

Ensuring Quality During Construction

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) are paramount concerns on any Pinkard job, but the stakes are especially high on pool projects where mistakes and defects can be incredibly costly.

While building Commerce City’s Bison Ridge Recreation Center in 2018, Pinkard identified potential contradictions between the grading work and the geotechnical report that could affect the long-term viability of the pool. In response the team called a “dirt summit” involving 14 stakeholders, including the excavator, pool subcontractor, structural and civil engineers, architect, and owner. After considering all the factors in play, the team agreed upon a modified structural design and more effective, locally-sourced structural infill, which saved Commerce City $950,000 while providing them with a more optimally performing pool.

When constructing the pool itself, the team pays close attention to the pool shell, ensuring the quality of the subgrade prep, concrete supporting structures, accessibility of pipe routing, and pool deck construction. The most important quality assurance measure for any new pool shell is the water tightness test, in which the pool is filled and monitored over several days for any leakage. Since the adoption of the American Concrete Insitute’s formal testing procedure (ACI 350.1) in 2010, Pinkard has never failed a water tightness test.

Given that many outdoor pool projects in Colorado are completed during winter, Pinkard has also developed specialty protocols for scheduling and completing work around the inevitable wet and freezing conditions that can disrupt concrete cure times and the installation of tile other specialty pool products.

Indoor natatoriums present their own challenges. During both precon and construction, the Pinkard team vets and confirms critical details regarding the pool enclosure's ability to resist corrosion and the quality of specialty paints and coatings that seal sensitive surfaces. Pinkard also has the experience and knowledge needed to coordinate and install the required mechanical and pool equipment, such as pumps, filters, dehumidification systems, and specialty equipment like wave generators.

Commissioning, in which we a facility’s various mechanical systems are calibrated for performance and efficiency, is another crucial stage in pool construction, and the team provides considerable attention and manpower to meet strict testing and performance standards for the facility.

Going the Extra Mile for the Community

Given that the majority of pool and recreation projects Pinkard takes on are occupied renovations where part of the facility remains open during construction, Pinkard has developed strict safety and security procedures that protect staff and visitors, as well as minimizing the disruption construction has on programming and people’s ability to enjoy of the rec center.

To account for who is on-site at what time, the team ensures deliveries on time and requires construction crew badging and background checks. The team also carefully considers public access points and areas during construction, always maintaining physical and visual separation between the public and the construction work.

This was certainly the case for Pinkard's 2021 renovation of Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center, in which the team gutted and expanded the existing natatorium to include a new six-lane lap pool, an aqua-exercise pool, a wave pool with lazy river and bubble pit, a zero-depth activity pool with play structure, geysers and water slide, and a therapeutic hydro-jet spa. The facility remained open to the public throughout construction, and Pinkard used safety and operational protocols to ensure guest and staff safety while minimizing impacts on daily operations.

Recognizing that the public inconveniences related to occupied construction are not always popular, Pinkard takes a proactive approach to keeping the local community informed and excited about their projects. At Moorhead Recreation Center for the City of Aurora, for example, the team held hard hat tours of the job site to keep the excitement high and helped organize a "job fair" for local children to see the finished product and to allow our team to discuss our experience building the project.

Similarly at Bay Aquatic Park in Broomfield, when site constraints necessitated that construction vehicles be routed through a residential neighborhood, Pinkard worked with city officials to develop a community outreach program that proactively engaged the affected residents, explaining the decision and including them in solutions for mitigating disruption and neighborhood safety concerns.

In addition to enforcing strict hours and speed limits for construction vehicles in the neighborhood, and posting regular updates (plus a live cam) on the city’s website, the team holds recurring “info + coffee” events in the local park where residents can ask questions about the project and air concerns, which Pinkard can then work to alleviate.

Summary

Developed over many years and many successful projects, Pinkard Construction’s expertise in pool and natatoriums makes it one of the preeminent recreation contractors on the Front Range. From preconstruction to commissioning, they easily navigate the key challenges of cost control, procurement, and escalation, while their attention to detail and commitment to community outreach really sets them apart from other contractors. This approach allows Pinkard to meet the unique challenges of each client’s pool project while ensuring an unparalleled client experience and maximum community benefit.