12 May 2024 Equipment and Controls While Thin Set Dries

Are you using regular GAC or catalytic GAC? If you can find a source of catalytic GAC, that may help reduce the H2S to sub-Robin levels …
 
Are you using regular GAC or catalytic GAC? If you can find a source of catalytic GAC, that may help reduce the H2S to sub-Robin levels …
I have some GAC and it's currently in the filter. Undetectable S odor to me but Robin's gas chromatograph nasal receptors seems to easily smell it. I've found catalytic GAC in reasonable quantities also. The filter I wiped out had a combination of KDF 85 and catalytic carbon but it's not cheap! So I'm hoping to find a lower cost approach. She's tolerating for the time being since it's way better than the 2.5 ppm but I don't know how long this reprieve will last... If you ever meet her please don't let her know I'm delaying this because I'm trying to cheap out!

Chris
 
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I think Robin may have been the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” in a previous life 😉 perhaps that explains the choice of her given name 🤔

What is the pH of the well water ?
 
I think Robin may have been the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” in a previous life 😉 perhaps that explains the choice of her given name 🤔

What is the pH of the well water ?
Ph from the well is 8-8.2 but quickly drops to ~7.3 after aeration.
 
Ph from the well is 8-8.2 but quickly drops to ~7.3 after aeration.

Lower pH is better for H2S removal as the solubility of H2S in water is very sensitive to pH. When using aeration processes to remove H2S, a pH of 6 will drive most of the hydrogen sulfide into the gas phase. Unfortunately you can’t easily do that in a drinking water well but if your pH drops that low, it may just need a longer contact time for removal.
 
Lower pH is better for H2S removal as the solubility of H2S in water is very sensitive to pH. When using aeration processes to remove H2S, a pH of 6 will drive most of the hydrogen sulfide into the gas phase. Unfortunately you can’t easily do that in a drinking water well but if your pH drops that low, it may just need a longer contact time for removal.
We have two wells both in same formation. I'm using the one dedicated to irrigation so I can spray for max aeration no problem. We've been just waiting for tile thin set to cure... 14 days. Tile guy want to plaster earlier but no way! His finishing crew did tremendous job and I want it to stay that way for many years. I pulled the product technical sheets that clearly say full 14 days for submerged tiles in pools. Photo's of current status below. Pavers are almost complete just waiting to get the engineering for the enclosure footers approved so we can inspect and fill with concrete. Then we can lay all the outer tiles. Enclosure base plate will fasten through the marble pavers, it's currently in line at the fabrication facility. Won't show up for about 6 weeks but Robin can get a lot of spa time for her back while we wait. We'll just have Gracie stand guard for alligators!

Chris

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Curious about the gutters for the overflow edges - how are they being finished ? I noticed they run to the infinity edge trough … how will they empty down that wall and what finish will be there?
 

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Curious about the gutters for the overflow edges - how are they being finished ? I noticed they run to the infinity edge trough … how will they empty down that wall and what finish will be there?
Great question Matt and I've had that a lot. We'll seal and glue a 2" PVC pipe at each end of the gutters that will flow directly into the top of the basin. We've gone back and forth with different experts and contractors about the finish in the basin. Plan right now is to use water proofing material that is dyed black. There are 3 colors available and this matches well with the black grout. I've had several suggest we should plaster it but I don't think this is a good idea since it will often completely dry out and the kind of plaster I'm using shouldn't dry out. I could also add black tiles similar to the ones on the wall but that's a lot of expense that nobody sees. Once we get the enclosure in it will be hard to see that even from the lake side of the pool. Part of the reason for the PVC drop is that I need a valve at each end. This is to put the pool in "infinity only" mode where the valves close and pump goes to high speed. With the valves closed the gutters will fill up and pool water will rise about 3/8" to force all the water over the infinity edge. My wife really wants to see/hear max infinity wall flow at times. No idea if this will be needed or used extensively but was easy to implement. the outer 6" beam tile is slanted up to accommodate the pool level increase to make sure water doesn't go all over the deck for "infinity mode"

I'd be very interested if there's a better material for basin covering that you can suggest. The top edge and vertical edge of the basin above the basin itself will be attachment points for the enclosure base plate and vertical supports at both ends of the infinity wall so I'm just planning to paint them the same as the inside of the basin with two coats of water proofing material.

Chris
 
Some stone waterfalls built around here use natural boulders and a special waterproof mix of mortar. If the waterfall has small basins built into it, then the basin can be hand-formed using hydraulic cement with a final layer of water barrier applied. The water barrier is typically a cement based material that is grey colored. It can be wet or dry. Hydroban and MasterSeal are two such products.

If it were me I’d probably start with the gunite shell and then apply a layer or two of the hydroban material to see how that holds up. Tiling would be nice but that’s a big additional expense and not as easily repairable should it need it.
 
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Some stone waterfalls built around here use natural boulders and a special waterproof mix of mortar. If the waterfall has small basins built into it, then the basin can be hand-formed using hydraulic cement with a final layer of water barrier applied. The water barrier is typically a cement based material that is grey colored. It can be wet or dry. Hydroban and MasterSeal are two such products.

If it were me I’d probably start with the gunite shell and then apply a layer or two of the hydroban material to see how that holds up. Tiling would be nice but that’s a big additional expense and not as easily repairable should it need it.
Thanks! As you can see in the photo we've tiled the visible part of the wall down into the basin about 6". Angle makes it a little hard to see but it's definitely below the top of the basin. Only people that will see it much are golfers passing by on their carts. Plan for the rest is exactly what you recommend.

Chris

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What’s covering the perimeter drain channel? Don’t want to stub a toe …
Matt,
You're asking all the great questions. I struggled with this for a LONG time. Way back in the design development stage I started looking for solutions and learned a lot about channel drains. There are many different types but most are 3" or larger. My gutter is 2" wide and 3" deep. I was trying to keep the width this small to avoid tripping and stubbing and at the same time move enough water. With 1/2" head the 2" moves plenty (~10 gpm/linear ft). So I settled in on 2" nominal. Then I still had to find a channel insert. There are only two brands that I could find. I'll be checking samples for the best fit next week before I buy ~120'. Even though I have nominal 2" wide there will be two coats of black weather proofing material so inside width is actually 1.8" or maybe a little smaller. Deckodrain and Stegmier both make slim channel drain solutions specifically for pool decks. They look like the products below and even make a side and end cap adapters to pipe. Mine will have an adapter down to 1.5" pvc pipe at each end and this flows down the back wall to the basin. It will also have a valve in each pipe that I can actuate to go into "max infinity wall mode". I learned so much about all kinds of detailed stuff I had never even thought of figuring out the gutter system. One thing I'm still a little concerned about is there is a vertical aluminum beam for the enclosure that will bolt into the edge of the pool above the basin edges. This is a pretty substantial beam because it's at the outter edges of the 32' unsupported picture window in the screen. I'm blaming @kimkats for this since my wife absolutely fell in love with that concept years ago when Kim first mentioned it. I never imagined I'd be doing one 32' wide though! Anyway, somehow I need to run a 1.5" pipe through it without weakening it too much. May need a 1/8" or 1/4" stiffener plate with a hole for the 1.5" pipe for this. In some cases I just lucked out with some products that I found that will work. Both of these drain systems come in 4 colors and both come in black which is a perfect match for the grout and the multi-colored beam tiles.

Chris

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One thing I'm still a little concerned about is there is a vertical aluminum beam for the enclosure that will bolt into the edge of the pool above the basin edges. This is a pretty substantial beam because it's at the outter edges of the 32' unsupported picture window in the screen.

Do you have a picture of this area and/or an engineering design drawing for the beam attachment? Is the screen enclosure permitted separately from the pool build?