New pool build - Land O Lakes, FL

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Amanda_FL

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Jul 28, 2015
5
Land O Lakes FL
Greetings everyone! We are about to begin our adventure building a new pool. We've been researching since January and I've been lurking on this form for a while reading as much as I possibly can and asking friends and neighbors who currently own pools for advice and what they would have done differently. This forum seems very active with really positive people helping you along this exciting/scary venture. I'm excited to begin this journey with such a knowledgeable group of people.

This pool will be for an adult home. The only consideration is for my miniature schnauzer who we are making a sun shelf for as he likes to play in a kiddie pool today.We have chosen our pool builder and are in the process of finalizing our design over the next couple of weeks. Construction most likely will begin in November. At least the rainy season will be over by then! Below is an outline of what we are getting and an image of the design.

Any feedback is welcome... thus far this is my list of things I want to change about the design:


  • Change from 3' to 5' depth to at least 3'6" to 5' (maybe 6'). I read a lot of feedback here on the forums and 3' seems to be too shallow in many opinions. I'm not sure on depth for deep end yet as I think I just want to make sure my head is submerged. I'm 5'6".
  • Possibly add a second LED light as I fear the spa will cast a dark shadow over the sun shelf area making it difficult to see as you enter at night.
  • Addition of hand rail for easy access and exit or change design so that steps are next to the spa using the edge as a natural hand rail.
  • I have concerns with the view of the spa and not being able to see the water feature as it overflows from inside the house. The lower part of the design that is a zigzag pattern past the brick paver deck area, are all sliding glass doors from the back of the house. I'm thinking of adding a pop up to the side with a water feature or a water bowl pouring over so you can see it from inside the house. I want the spa there because it is close to the house and out of view from neighbors, closer to company when they are over and lounging in seating area, and protected from the wind.

Pool Specs:


  • Free form pool - 3' - 5' depth - 395 sq.ft
  • Sun shelf with bubbler and umbrella sleeve
  • Brick bullnose coping with waterline tile
  • Brick paver decking with 12" x 12" enclosure footer
  • Pebble Sheen interior finish (Blue Granite)
  • Jandy JEP 2.0 variable speed pump - 2HP max
  • Jandy DEV60 DE filter
  • Jandy AP1400 salt system
  • Jandy PDA PS4 Automation system
  • Jandy color LED light - located in deep end
  • Screen enclosure - Bronze - 2 doors - 20/20 screen walls only
  • Two main drains, skimmer, 3 returns, vacuum line

Spa Package:


  • 12" raise
  • Double bullnose coping
  • waterline tile
  • Pebble Sheen (Blue Granite)
  • Spillover
  • 6 Therapy jets
  • Jandy color LED light
  • 1.5 HP air blower
  • 440k BTU gas heater

Well I was going to post an image of the design here... but... I just read the fine print at the bottom and it is copyrighted. I will ask my pool builder if he minds when we meet again in a couple of weeks. So for now, here is my hand drawing when I was communicating ideas I wanted with the builder.

pool sketch with spa close to house.jpg
 
Welcome to TFP!

Well, I will make a few comments - but they are just my opinions, you know what they are worth.

I agree with your deeper depths. We have a diving board, so 8.5 feet on the deep end. We spend very little time in the 3' area and most of the time in the middle, about 4.5 before it drops off into the diving well.

I'm not a fan of DE filters. I love my sand filter, but I would be happy with a big cartridge filter. The big ones have multiple cartridges in them and only need cleaning a couple times a season. In your area of FL, maybe 4 or 5 times a year?

I would want the drains and skimmer to have home run piping back to the equipment pad with individual valves so that a problem with one of them can be isolated.

Many on the forum here Wil disagree with me, but I feel automations systems just end up,causing more problems than they are worth. Nice when they work, but can be a nightmare to troubleshoot.

Water features and moving water are nice, but they cause pH rise due to the areation they cause. As long as you understand that and are prepared for regular (a few times a week?) muratic acid additions - no problem. Oh, the salt system causes pH rise also.
 
tim5055, Thank you for the warm welcome and response. I was actually researching the filter this weekend. It seems there are 2 camps when it comes to DE vs cartridge. Currently I have a koi pond and I loathed having to clean filters and switched to a bead filter because of it. If you are not familiar with bead filters they are basically a converted sand filter with a bead medium that allows bacteria to attach. It has a blower on it to break up the medium for flushing. Of course cleaning a pond filter is much worse than a pool due to all of the bacteria and muck and I had to do it every two weeks. So maybe a pool cartridge would not be as bad. I was just liking the idea of not having to touch the DE more than twice a year. If I may ask, why do you prefer cartridge over the DE?

So I'm not sure I understand what you mean about the piping. What does "home run piping" mean? I understand individual valves. Would this cause me to need a larger automation system for auxiliary input?

So here is the deal with the automation for us. We are two women and have no desire to brave the critters outside our screen enclosure at night and I'm sure that is when we will use the spa the most. We live on a conservation lot and have deer, bobcats, foxes, opossums, raccoon, wild turkeys, hogs, and coyotes running around. Not to mention the creepy crawlies. :-(

I knew the salt caused the pH to rise. I was not aware that aeration caused that as well. Thank you for the information.
 
Many pool builders to save money will run a single pipe from one drain to the next drain then to the skimmer and only then back to the equipment pad. So, all three share one pipe. In home run piping each device has its own dedicated pipe that "home runs" back to the equipment pad. If each has a valve, then if there is a problem/leak in one of them you can turn it off and you are not out of business. Now, the two drains MAY have to be piped together to be VGB compliant. You can read more here: Install VGB-Compliant Drain Covers | Pool Safely

The filter is just a personal choice. I find sand filters easiest, as generally all you have to do is backwas when it gets dirty. Second easiest in my mind is a cartridge, you pull out the cartridges and rinse them off. DE filters require a little more work in pulling them apart to clean them, but again - this is all my opinion.

I understand your thoughts about automation and is more than enough reason to go with it.
 
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