Recent content by gerzak

Gas is just out of our budget, and we have solar electric, so we try to use electric appliances whenever possible. I’d even be willing to eventually add solar if that made sense. Plus, my pool has about R-20 insulation on the walls, so if I use a solar cover, I expect to be able to hold heat...

Hey all, I realized that I need a heater for my small pool that I built last year, not just to extend the season, but even to get it up to a nice temperature during the height of the summer. The pool is 9 x 13 and 4 feet deep. The plumbing pipes and the pool walls are all moderately insulated...

I like the custom box idea. I’ll consider saving up for that for next year. This year I went a cheaper route, with a simple heavy duty tarp—but I stretched it over a platform made of repurposed industrial aluminum racks that look sort of like lightweight ladders. The nice thing is that it stays...

Thanks! It’s my first pool build, so I can’t really compare it to anything, but the process of putting it together was pretty straightforward. The frame is really well-made, and the liner went in without much trouble. The frame was also sturdy enough as a good base for the deck that I built...

So I finally finished building my semi-inground pool…just in time to figure out how I plan to close it up for the winter. :) It’s 9x13 and 4 feet deep with a vinyl liner. The bench top is about 18 inches wide, and the height above the ground is about 20 inches. With the narrow ipé wood...

Yeah, I’ll definitely get around to replacing the pvc fittings soon. I’ll likely just order some online as I haven’t found any locally.

Yes, I just realized that there was a difference between DWV and schedule 40 fittings after I got the whole thing built. 🤦🏼‍♂️ I had checked the pipe at the big box store, so I figured the fittings would be similarly rated—so many things to learn during this process! The good thing is that I...

Thanks for the compliments! I did my best to figure out the ideal way to build this system, but I figured it would need at least a little bit of tweaking to get it just right. I'll make a couple modifications based on your suggestions and let you know how it goes.

Thanks, Herman. That is all super helpful. I wish I discovered this forum earlier! I got impatient over the holiday weekend and went ahead and plumbed everything before I got your response to my questions (the family is anxiously waiting for the pool to be done with the hot weather we've been...

plunge pool suction and return lines before backfilling; the pipes drop to about the level of the bottom of the pool as they go underground, and then come back up a couple feet (but still below the pool waterline) where they enter the shed.