Here we go in New Braunfels, TX!

[jfdub]

Wow, I've barely scratched the surface of all the knowledge in this forum! I just found this while looking for how to self-maintain my pool once it is finished and what a wealth of information - thank you to all who contribute to this great community!

Our story is that we moved to TX about 3 years ago and have been dying to have a pool ever since we moved into our new home. We finally can afford what we've been dreaming about so we signed last Thursday with a local PB. We got designs and estimates from 4 PBs and LOVED the design of the one we chose and they came in at a very competitive cost! We really wanted to go with a natural look and I think they nailed it. They came out tonight to paint the lines of the design and we start excavating tomorrow morning.

We have the following:
Pentair CCP420 cartridge filter
Pentair VS pump
Pentair 1.5HP pump for features
Pentair Easytouch pool automation
Pentair 400 heater
A&A in floor cleaning
Probably should give you more information but that's all I can remember right now!

Questions I have are:

1. Should there be more lights? We have one in the cave, one in the pool (right about where the left arrow is on the 33' measure line in the design pic) and one in the spa. The builder thinks too many lights is overkill but we don't want to be disappointed with the light or darkness of our pool (we're going for the 'resort' look and would like to have lights on for ambiance at night while we're on the porch/see it from the family room).
2. Flagstone overkill? We like the look of flagstone but don't want it to look like a flagstone frat party puked all over the backyard! Is there another (nice, quality) decking surface we should consider?
3. Landscaping? I'm totally lost on what to plant around the pool - I'll definitely talk to a landscaper but any ideas for zone 8 in the US? Need hearty plants and going for a resort feel and need some groundcover with flowers preferably.
4. Anything else? We've never had a pool built before and although very excited I'm trying to make sure I've thought of everything (I know I haven't!). So, any lessons learned from those of you out there who have done this before?

Thank you so much for reading and for any advice you have - feel free to ask clarifying questions. I want to get this right! I'll post progress pics as we go (nothing has happened yet)!

~~

 

[Nursenini]

Welcome to TFP!! You have come to the right place to get your questions answered, and learn how to maintain your pool. The design is great! Can't wait to see this all unfold.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Some things to think about..

1. I'd go with a larger filter, which will mean you will have longer between cleanings and the cost difference is not that great.
2. I'd go with two VS pumps. You will find that you'll want to control the water features. Some times a trickle and some times a Niagara Falls. A VS pump will allow you to easily do that and the cost difference when rolled into the total cost of the pool will not even be noticed.
3. You need to think about how you plan to chlorinate your pool. I suspect your builder has plans for a tab feeder which can take you down the wrong path.
4. I would eliminate the in-floor cleaner and go with a robot. I'm sure you see other points of view on this suggestion.

Watching your pool being build is great fun. Enjoy...

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Since it doesn't normally take too long to get from the hole stage to the plumbed stage, here are a few more thoughts..

1. Make sure they plumb your pad with plenty of room between things. If you don't tell them this up-front, they will leave you no room to repair or modify things in the future.
2. No matter what pumps you get, have them installed with coupling so that they can be removed. They will not always do this unless you ask.
3. Make sure that all plumbing is run individually to the pad. Each item should have a valve that can isolate that individual run.
4. Not a plumbing item, but make sure they wire your EasyTouch with plenty of power as you may want to use it for other things later.

Jim R.

 

[zea3]

Personally I would keep the flowering plants away from the pool. They will attract bees. If you are planning to use a salt water chlorine generator then you may want to rethink the flagstone on the tanning ledge. It looks like it will be a beautiful pool when completed.

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP and congrats on the new pool!

The problem with flagstone is that it is HOT! We have flagstone coping, rocksalt colored concrete deck and flagstone paths. You cannot walk barefoot on the flagstone in the summer and you can on the colored concrete. Also, the colored concrete is cheaper and maintenance free. There are pics in my build thread, link in sig.

 

[Texas Splash]

Hey there neighbor. I agree with zea3. Even without plants the wasps & bees love the water. Of course the wasps just lay on it and drink. But while they look nice, many flowers tend to leave leaves and plant residue in the water, even the dirt or mulch can find its way to the water - especially when we have windy days like yesterday. Woo! The Sago's are a good choice for sure. While I don't have a SWG (salt water) system for chlorination, your pool is such that you might want to that up-front cost just so you're not adding chlorine manually each day. Not a big deal if you do add manually (I do), just something to consider. The long term cost (about 5 years) ends-up about the same. It's all about convenience really. Or you could request liquid automation (i.e. Stenner pump) for your chlorine. Don't let them try to add a UV or Ozone product to your package, trying to persuade you that it will keep your water cleaner. The TX sun will do just fine for your outside pool to remove any oxidized organic material. Lights? I guess it depends on what kind they are. My pool is 40' long and we have three smaller (3.5" LED lights along one side and they do fine. The lights are also programmable for different colors which is nice. I'm not a big fan on in-floor cleaning, so I would tend to agree with Jim and consider saving that cost for something else.

Ask 100 people and you'll get 100 different opinions right? Regardless, this looks like an awesome project. Looking forward to the pics later.

 

[Texas Splash]

Oh, and welcome to TFP!

 

[kimkats]

OH fun! That is such a pretty design! I love it!

Can you take a picture of the yard it is going in please? Even if the paint does not show up real good it will at least give us an idea what you are working with. Use photo bucket or such to upload the pics.

Unions on everything at the pad so you can take it apart as needed.

Jandy valves like said above so you can control everything as wanted or needed.

lighting--you can always put in a post light on the outside like this:

Home Decorators Collection Brimfield 3-Head Aged Iron Outdoor Post Light-HB7019A-292 - The Home Depot

How deep will this pool be?

NO one has ever said they wished for LESS patio so...........go big like you have it. I see a comfy lounger and some chairs with side tables awwwww that is the life kind of things!

Kim

 

[jfdub]

Thanks for all the responses, you guys are Awesome! Going down the list and a few more pics.

Some things to think about..

1. I'd go with a larger filter, which will mean you will have longer between cleanings and the cost difference is not that great.
2. I'd go with two VS pumps. You will find that you'll want to control the water features. Some times a trickle and some times a Niagara Falls. A VS pump will allow you to easily do that and the cost difference when rolled into the total cost of the pool will not even be noticed.
3. You need to think about how you plan to chlorinate your pool. I suspect your builder has plans for a tab feeder which can take you down the wrong path.
4. I would eliminate the in-floor cleaner and go with a robot. I'm sure you see other points of view on this suggestion.
5. Make sure they plumb your pad with plenty of room between things. If you don't tell them this up-front, they will leave you no room to repair or modify things in the future.
6. No matter what pumps you get, have them installed with coupling so that they can be removed. They will not always do this unless you ask.
7. Make sure that all plumbing is run individually to the pad. Each item should have a valve that can isolate that individual run.
8. Not a plumbing item, but make sure they wire your EasyTouch with plenty of power as you may want to use it for other things later.

1. PB said earlier that the next step up is a 'commercial' filter but I've asked what the cost difference is to jump to that (from CCP420 to CCP520)
2. Good point! Asking about cost to upgrade that as well.
3. PB said earlier "in-line chlorinator" but I didn't press on specifics - I've asked what model/brand he's including
4. I also have a friend with an older in floor cleaner and he says to stay away as well. This is definitely an upgrade from his (he can't have people in the pool when it is cleaning and ours will allow that). What has me hooked (and you experts please chime in on this) is the circulation aspect. I like that not only does it clean, but in the process it is helping to circulate the chemicals ALL over the pool - am I crazy?
5. They say they're leaving 2' between the equipment and the wall needed for HOA approval - I'll ask for more and room behind the equipment as well
6. Coupling - Check!
7. Will do!
8. Will ask about this - what else would I want to do with it later? My PB says the system only has 8 functions to include pumps and lights - I already know I want more than that. Are there other systems out there that control more than 8?

Can you take a picture of the yard it is going in please? Even if the paint does not show up real good it will at least give us an idea what you are working with. Use photo bucket or such to upload the pics.

Unions on everything at the pad so you can take it apart as needed.

Jandy valves like said above so you can control everything as wanted or needed.

lighting--you can always put in a post light on the outside like this:

Home Decorators Collection Brimfield 3-Head Aged Iron Outdoor Post Light-HB7019A-292 - The Home Depot

How deep will this pool be?

NO one has ever said they wished for LESS patio so...........go big like you have it. I see a comfy lounger and some chairs with side tables awwwww that is the life kind of things!
​

1. Pictures attached (I knew the quadcopter I got for Christmas would come in handy!)
2. Definitely unions and telling DW to ensure we inspect as it is being put in
3. Valves, check!
4. Lighting - DW loves that idea, thanks!
5. Depth is 3.75' - 6' - 3.75'
6. Patio Patio Patio!! We can't wait!!

Hey there neighbor. I agree with zea3. Even without plants the wasps & bees love the water. Of course the wasps just lay on it and drink. But while they look nice, many flowers tend to leave leaves and plant residue in the water, even the dirt or mulch can find its way to the water - especially when we have windy days like yesterday. Woo! The Sago's are a good choice for sure. While I don't have a SWG (salt water) system for chlorination, your pool is such that you might want to that up-front cost just so you're not adding chlorine manually each day. Not a big deal if you do add manually (I do), just something to consider. The long term cost (about 5 years) ends-up about the same. It's all about convenience really. Or you could request liquid automation (i.e. Stenner pump) for your chlorine. Don't let them try to add a UV or Ozone product to your package, trying to persuade you that it will keep your water cleaner. The TX sun will do just fine for your outside pool to remove any oxidized organic material. Lights? I guess it depends on what kind they are. My pool is 40' long and we have three smaller (3.5" LED lights along one side and they do fine. The lights are also programmable for different colors which is nice. I'm not a big fan on in-floor cleaning, so I would tend to agree with Jim and consider saving that cost for something else.

1. I've seen wasps as a problem with some of our friend's pools (like you said even without the flowers) - we're doing our own landscaping so we'll definitely keep the flowers to a minimum!
2. Salt water - actually our PB voids the warranty if you choose SWG. We weren't really going for that anyway and like you I don't mind doing it manually, I want to learn as much as I can about the chemistry of the pool and actually already bought a taylor TF100 test kit based on the recommendations on this site!
3. I'm also asking about the in line chlorine - don't really understand it yet but google is my friend
4. No UV or Ozone and the PB steered away from it (I guess that's good)
5. I think we'll be ok for lights - ours will do different colors as well and I'm really looking forward to that!

Thanks again for all the responses and encouragement! The diggers were supposed to be here this morning but they're not and haven't heard from the PB so I'm a little frustrated with the lack of communication. I'm willing to overlook lateness, etc... but not calling/informing is troubling but they only have 10% down right now and a 30% incentive to finish the hole ASAP so hopefully they'll get their butts in gear!

PICTURES! As you can see by the layout of our yard the look we're going for is as if the waterfall is a stream that started up the hill. The pool will be dug into the hill and we want it to look as natural as possible. The cave waterfall will come out of the hill as well as the spa waterfall - can't wait!!

Here we have the overhead shot from about 40' up with the quadcopter

This is taken from the back porch and is the left side of the painted pool location

This is the right side

 

[Texas Splash]

The in-line chlorinator is just a vertical tube used to stack 3" chlorine tablets into. PBs like to make it seem great and effortless. Typically you'll find here we keep those empty (if installed) and discourage the use of tabs as they tend to increase CYA quickly because one of their main ingredient's is stabilizer. You'll get plenty of good sanitation with regular bleach from HEB or Wal-Mart (generic is fine). Circulation won't be a problem with your pump(s), so I wouldn't let the PB push you too hard on the floor cleaning approach just for that. Actually, ensuring you have a good amount of returns (eyeballs) back to the pool (and their strategic placement) is more important to avoid what we call "dead spots" in the pool where water doesn't move well. Lots of good info already, and I'm sure this is very exciting for you all. Continue to post questions as needed. Enjoy the sunshine - without wind today.

 

[bmoreswim]

Looking good!

Have you developed a plan for water from the hillside to move around the pool?

 

[ummgood]

A couple more comments...

You want your lights not facing towards the house. In my opinion you need probably 2 lights to light up your pool itself. I would put them in the wall of the pool both facing away from your house. Is the light in the grotto smaller to just light up that area?

Welcome to the forum! I live in Austin but my wife's brother lives in NB and my inlaws are not far from there in Seguin.

 

[Jimrahbe]

JF,

When I said "Not a plumbing item, but make sure they wire your EasyTouch with plenty of power as you may want to use it for other things later.", I was talking about the electrical service going to your EasyTouch, not the number of things it can control. The EasyTouch is basically a Circuit Breaker panel with an automation system built in. It has the ability to accept a 125 Amp service. In my case, because I didn't pay enough attention, they only wired it with a 30 Amp service. My long term plan, which of course I didn't tell the PB, was to add a stand-alone Hot tub. I would have liked to use the EasyTouch as the source of power, but with only 30 Amps available, that is now not possible unless I rewire the input power. If I had thought ahead, the extra cost to have it wired with a 125 Amp service would have been minimal.

As far as your EasyTouch only controlling 8 things, that is not exactly correct. It is true that the EasyTouch 8 has 8 relays that can be used to control external devices, but it also has several internal circuits that control Intelliflo pumps, heaters, valves, etc. Another reason to ditch the single speed water feature pump, and go with anther Intelliflo, is that the single speed pump will use one of your 8 relays, while the Intelliflo will not. It is controlled by a serial cable.

Programming or Reprogramming the EasyTouch is not for the faint of heart, as it is not very user friendly. I recommend that you add the ScreenLogic2 option. This will allow you to easily program the system to do what you want.. all from your PC or phone.

Jim R.

 

[twinkiesmommy2009]

Welcome!! My MIL and SIL live in NB so we're there a few times a year. You're a few steps ahead of me so I can't say a whole lot about the pool specifications but I had some thoughts about your landscaping. If you have any pets, especially dogs, I would avoid the sago palms. They are absolutely toxic to some animals and one of our neighborhood residents recently took up the cause to spread awareness after their fur baby died because of their sago.

8 Plants That Are Poisonous to Cats and Dogs

We're looking into these musa basjoo banana trees and I've heard great things about them if you wanted to check it out.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2570#b

Love your design! That's going to be beautiful!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kimkats]

That yard it made for a pool! I LOVE that you already have the best test kit there is! NICE!

Did they ever call or show up?

Kim

 

[jfdub]

That yard it made for a pool! I LOVE that you already have the best test kit there is! NICE!


Did they ever call or show up?

Thanks! At first I wasn't sure what to do with that steep grade but it's morphed into something pretty cool! No, they didn't show up but the supervisor called and said that because of the rain yesterday the excavators weren't able to finish the job they were supposed to finish yesterday. So they should be here Friday.

Welcome!! My MIL and SIL live in NB so we're there a few times a year. You're a few steps ahead of me so I can't say a whole lot about the pool specifications but I had some thoughts about your landscaping. If you have any pets, especially dogs, I would avoid the sago palms. They are absolutely toxic to some animals and one of our neighborhood residents recently took up the cause to spread awareness after their fur baby died because of their sago.


8 Plants That Are Poisonous to Cats and Dogs


We're looking into these musa basjoo banana trees and I've heard great things about them if you wanted to check it out.


http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2570#b


Love your design! That's going to be beautiful!

Nice! I'm glad you're able to visit our wonderful little city from time to time - ever make it to Gruene? Thank you so much for the links, we do have dogs and that would be disasterous! The davesgarden link is exactly what I've been looking for - Texas plants that'll survive the occasional freeze we get here sometimes. Thank you!

JF,


When I said "Not a plumbing item, but make sure they wire your EasyTouch with plenty of power as you may want to use it for other things later.", I was talking about the electrical service going to your EasyTouch, not the number of things it can control. The EasyTouch is basically a Circuit Breaker panel with an automation system built in. It has the ability to accept a 125 Amp service. In my case, because I didn't pay enough attention, they only wired it with a 30 Amp service. My long term plan, which of course I didn't tell the PB, was to add a stand-alone Hot tub. I would have liked to use the EasyTouch as the source of power, but with only 30 Amps available, that is now not possible unless I rewire the input power. If I had thought ahead, the extra cost to have it wired with a 125 Amp service would have been minimal.


As far as your EasyTouch only controlling 8 things, that is not exactly correct. It is true that the EasyTouch 8 has 8 relays that can be used to control external devices, but it also has several internal circuits that control Intelliflo pumps, heaters, valves, etc. Another reason to ditch the single speed water feature pump, and go with anther Intelliflo, is that the single speed pump will use one of your 8 relays, while the Intelliflo will not. It is controlled by a serial cable.


Programming or Reprogramming the EasyTouch is not for the faint of heart, as it is not very user friendly. I recommend that you add the ScreenLogic2 option. This will allow you to easily program the system to do what you want.. all from your PC or phone.


Jim R.

Yikes, thanks for the heads up. I work in IT so my heart isn't faint but not sure I can get into that level of reprogramming! Looks like I have some studying to do and I'll definitely ask for the ScreenLogic2!

A couple more comments...


You want your lights not facing towards the house. In my opinion you need probably 2 lights to light up your pool itself. I would put them in the wall of the pool both facing away from your house. Is the light in the grotto smaller to just light up that area?


Welcome to the forum! I live in Austin but my wife's brother lives in NB and my inlaws are not far from there in Seguin.

Good point and we made sure to get the light shining away from the house, except the grotto/cave light which I believe is a full on pool light but they're angling it away from the entrance so you can't see the source. I might ask them to install it facing up into the waterfall to add some flair to that piece of it. I love that there are so many people from around here - I guess it shouldn't surprise me that building pools in Texas is a very common thing!

Looking good!


Have you developed a plan for water from the hillside to move around the pool?

Thank you! The plan right now is to install 2 3-4" PVC drains under the decking on the right - that's where the streams hit in the big rainstorms here. There are also drains/piping under each area of decking to allow for water transfer from one side to the other depending on water flow. I may ask for more because why not, right?

The in-line chlorinator is just a vertical tube used to stack 3" chlorine tablets into. PBs like to make it seem great and effortless. Typically you'll find here we keep those empty (if installed) and discourage the use of tabs as they tend to increase CYA quickly because one of their main ingredient's is stabilizer. You'll get plenty of good sanitation with regular bleach from HEB or Wal-Mart (generic is fine). Circulation won't be a problem with your pump(s), so I wouldn't let the PB push you too hard on the floor cleaning approach just for that. Actually, ensuring you have a good amount of returns (eyeballs) back to the pool (and their strategic placement) is more important to avoid what we call "dead spots" in the pool where water doesn't move well. Lots of good info already, and I'm sure this is very exciting for you all. Continue to post questions as needed. Enjoy the sunshine - without wind today.

Thanks, I was actually in your neck of the woods meeting a customer at the Rudy's in Selma - enjoyed less wind and I'm ok with the cold for now . I'm definitely using the bleach method and can't wait to have some pool water to test with my spanking new TF-100 kit - we're such geeks about this stuff, eh?!

 

[jfdub]

Another question, does anyone have ideas/tips/lessons learned for a pool/garden shed? We're considering something like this with the equipment in that area off to the right with the double doors. It would hold all the pool supplies/chemicals (except bleach which will be in the house) and my lawn stuff.

All you guys out there with years of pool experience - anything I should be thinking of to help with pool toy storage? The shed will likely be about 25' away from the pool so I can make the kids hike up there if I have to but if there's something that makes sense around the pool to hold them I'm up for it.

Thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

If not already, have a light installed.

 

[kimkats]

Toy storage=PVC-------you can make most of this on your own.

pvc pool float storage - Google Search

I love shelves instead of big boxes for "toys" as things tend to settle to the bottom never to be seen again in boxes.

Kim