Another in Texas - Cypress

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The equipment is not my major area of help. I am the money spending cheerleader! LOL Oh I can also help you clear your pool if it ever goes green. BUT since you know all about TFP your pool should NEVER go green!

Kim
 
Oh, I forgot. I think we're going to eliminate the fire pit. All the numbers below the price are options we discussed not included. The fire pit was included but we'll take it out and do one of the nice $400 propane fire pits we can put wherever.

I asked if the payment schedule was negotiable and he told me absolutely. Liked that! He seemed to be a real straight shooter.


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If it were me, I would up size the DE filter (no one ever said I wish my filter was smaller) and the SWG to in IC-60, next question why are you going with natural gas heat over a heat pump? In our climate with relatively low electrical rates a heat pump is almost always a big win in long term operating cost over Natural gas, this assumes daily swimming and not just heating the pool for holidays and special occasions in the off season. There is no mention of plumbing size that will be used, hopefully at least 2 inch PVC. I am also not sure about the second pump for the water feature, I suspect you could get away just fine with a single variable speed pump and remote controlled valve for the water feature, although this might limit your ability to run the water feature and the spa jets at once. I also don't like seeing the use of a blower for the spa as needing a blower is often a sign of sloppy / poor spa design (sort of a crutch to get around proper engineering) as unless you really like lots of bubbles and have a spa bubbler system installed you should be able to get plenty of air in your jets with air induction ventruis. I would also want to get the specs on exactly which intellibrite lights are in the quote. Personally I don't care for pressure side cleaners, but that is a whole other can of worms, so I will skip it.

Ike
 
I'm honestly not a big fan of tables like the one you show built into the pool....I just don't see the use in them (it's not like you'll be eating dinner on it) and the undersurfaces are perfect places for algae to grow. As well, you want to be careful with lots of steps, ledges, etc. Remember that your pressure side cleaner will only run along the bottom surface of the pool and very few are good at climbing up on steps. So every step, ledge, etc, will simply be another surface you have to brush and manually vacuum. I guess it's kind of late in the design process for that type of critique, but it's not something that's obvious until you actually have a pool a realize all of the "hidden" maintenance issues.

It is a beautiful design though.
 
Thanks for those questions to ask Isaac! We didn't actually specify any of the equipment so this gives me good things to ask about while sounding intelligent on the topic! I didn't choose the heater either, that's just what he was including in the bid.

Joyful, we just had him add the table today during the meeting. I know the cleaner won't reach it but it's not a large area to have to brush/clean. I will use it and I liked the idea for playing cards on it. We have a lot of waterproof decks of cards and uno. [emoji2] We won't eat on it but playing games we would do! I think it was Amanda...? She said her table was one of the best decisions they'd made so I started really thinking about it!!


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twinkiesmommy2009 said:
Joyful, we just had him add the table today during the meeting. I know the cleaner won't reach it but it's not a large area to have to brush/clean. I will use it and I liked the idea for playing cards on it. We have a lot of waterproof decks of cards and uno. [emoji2] We won't eat on it but playing games we would do! I think it was Amanda...? She said her table was one of the best decisions they'd made so I started really thinking about it!!
Click to expand...

I get that. I guess this is one of those subjective opinions. I'm not a congregate-in-the-pool type person. I like to swim, jump (cannonball, really) and throw the kids around the pool kind of person. Sitting on the pool ledge and playing Uno is definitely not my thing.

To each his (or her) own....


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My husband is like you. I have disabilities though so I like to let him throw the kids while I watch, relax, take pictures with my phone (since I have the waterproof Lifeproof case), and play games! [emoji5]️

We're trying to keep everyone happy. Lol. It's challenging!!!

I thought I was leaning towards Hayward and then this builder only uses Pentair. Do you think that's a big deal?

Isaac, go ahead and open the can of worms... Can you give me a quick rundown on what you think the pros/cons are for the pressure cleaner?


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I have the same natural gas heater on your equipment list (MasterTemp 400k BTU/hr) and I love it! It heats my spa up in less than 20mins time. My electric rates in Tucson are about 3x the cost of Nat Gas when you look at equivalent units of energy (therms & BTUs versus kWh's) so a gas heater is much more cost effective than a heat pump. You'll have to ask your PB if he does heat pumps and, if so, see if your utility rates make it the better choice. Heat pumps are typically slower to heat spas up because comparable size units typically have lower BTUs, but, if the utility rates are low enough compared to Nat gas, then the HPs can be a more energy efficient option.

Talk to your PB about it. They typically know a lot of the local market utility comparisons.


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Just a few general thoughts here, on Pentair vs Hayward on average I would say Pentair has better build quality at least fit and finish than Hayward, but usually Hayward gives you better bang for the buck. I don't really think you can go wrong with either one. As to the natural gas vs heat pump debate there are a number of threads on here that go into the subject

Heat / Cool Heat Pump

Electric or Gas for pool heater

As to the can of worms, in general I prefer the idea of robot cleaners, the good ones do a better job of cleaning than other types of cleaners, they consume less power that is consumed by running a pressure side cleaner (pressure side cleaners generally either need a booster pump, or for you to run your multi-speed pump on high while cleaning), sorry I don't have a lot of time to go into it now but you can search the forum on pressure cleaners vs robots.

p.s. remember with heat pumps you are moving heat around so they can be way over 100% efficient compared heaters that simply generate heat, they can also be used to cool your water in the summer.
 

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JoyfulNoise said:
I'm honestly not a big fan of tables like the one you show built into the pool....I just don't see the use in them (it's not like you'll be eating dinner on it) and the undersurfaces are perfect places for algae to grow. As well, you want to be careful with lots of steps, ledges, etc. Remember that your pressure side cleaner will only run along the bottom surface of the pool and very few are good at climbing up on steps. So every step, ledge, etc, will simply be another surface you have to brush and manually vacuum. I guess it's kind of late in the design process for that type of critique, but it's not something that's obvious until you actually have a pool a realize all of the "hidden" maintenance issues.

It is a beautiful design though.
Click to expand...

We do eat dinner on it, I would recommend a table to everyone! It's a place to gather, place drinks and play cards. We have three returns so stuff doesn't just sit there. I also don't mind the brushing, we love our table. Lol
 
amandahein3 said:
We do eat dinner on it, I would recommend a table to everyone! It's a place to gather, place drinks and play cards. We have three returns so stuff doesn't just sit there. I also don't mind the brushing, we love our table. Lol
Click to expand...

That's fine too. As I said in a follow up post, it's somewhat of a subjective opinion. I'm a splash in the pool, throw the kids around kind of dad. I like to run, jump and swim with the kids. Anything that consumes real estate in the pool is a waste of "fun space" for me. We have a small Baja shelf in our pool and I'm very happy it only takes up a small space. I'd much rather have more pool volume to play in and leave the eating, drinking and card games to the deck furniture.

To each his/her own.....


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Hi everybody! We're still around and I started catching up on some of the builds last night. Wow there has been some amazing progress! Loving seeing everybody's finished pools. Our appraisal is being scheduled now and we're narrowed down to two builders we love. We're also doing a shower upgrade, granite counters and laminate wood floors in the house at the same time so that has held us up a bit. Hopefully we're in the home stretch for making final decisions and signing contracts. I'm supposed to get our final design revision this weekend so I'll post then. I hope you guys still like to give feedback! [emoji5]


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Updated design and a new bid. Plus a dilemma!








So, we really like both potential PBs, and they both have excellent reputations. To make it harder, they are neck and neck in price, features, and equipment.

Thoughts? Questions we should be asking?

Here is the comparison spreadsheet I did.




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