Pool build in san antonio need help deciding

Jump to latest Follow Reply
T

Todd117

0
Jun 10, 2012
20
Ok getting quotes starting this week. This is what I think i want, tell me what you think. I have thick skin so fire away.
20 x 30 Freeform 3' x 6' large tanning lounge with entry steps bubbler on lounge with separate valve and umbrella anchor
Gunite shell flagstone coping 351 sq ft sundeck 2 skimmers 2 main drains 5 returns 1 cleaner line

1.5 and 2" sch 40 PVC
Pentair intelliflow smart pump
Pentair 60 DE Filter
Polaris 280 and Pentair booster pump
Pentair rainbow 320 chlorinator
Pentair intellibrite led light with remote facing away from house
Ez touch computer system with wireless remote
Natural boulder grotto with seat bench 6 1/2 wide and 3' tall
SRS Turbo twister slide wrapped around grotto. Both controlled by remote
Loop lock mesh pool cover
Pebble tec plaster

Ok pbs and posters fire away. Going to get quotes etc from 4 PBs
 
Welcome to TFP!

Actually, what you have listed all looks pretty good. Do you have a diagram to post? I'd like to see where the skimmers are in relation to your returns. I don't see any UV/ozone or mineral systems and that's good.
 
The thing that stands out to me is the tanning ledge size. It sounds like it is going to be part of the steps leading into the pool (I agree a drawing would be helpful). Even if this 3x6 ledge were perfectly rectangular, that is not much room to use as a step and a lounge area. There was a post on one of the forums where someone had a 4x8 ledge and the way it was curved (4 ft wide at its widest point only, so most of it was narrower), it was only useful as a large step. If you really want to lounge, think about the space you would need for that as well as room for people to use the steps to get in and out at the same time.
 
SWG stands for salt water generator. It makes chlorine from the salt that would be added to the pool water. It makes for easy chlorine adding. Does the Pentair rainbow 320 chlorinator use pucks? I would stay away from anything that uses pucks or powered chlorine or you will eventually get too much CYA seeing it's in those chemicals. Liquid chlorine or an SWG is the way to go.
 
bpricedo said:
The thing that stands out to me is the tanning ledge size. It sounds like it is going to be part of the steps leading into the pool (I agree a drawing would be helpful). Even if this 3x6 ledge were perfectly rectangular, that is not much room to use as a step and a lounge area. There was a post on one of the forums where someone had a 4x8 ledge and the way it was curved (4 ft wide at its widest point only, so most of it was narrower), it was only useful as a large step. If you really want to lounge, think about the space you would need for that as well as room for people to use the steps to get in and out at the same time.
Click to expand...

ours is 7x7 and is just right. We wanted it big enough that we could put 2 lounge chairs on it.
 
MikeInNH said:
SWG stands for salt water generator. It makes chlorine from the salt that would be added to the pool water. It makes for easy chlorine adding. Does the Pentair rainbow 320 chlorinator use pucks? I would stay away from anything that uses pucks or powered chlorine or you will eventually get too much CYA seeing it's in those chemicals. Liquid chlorine or an SWG is the way to go.
Click to expand...

the rainbow 320 is a puck based inline chlorinator - would stay away from that especially in texas. However with flagstone coping, I wouldnt get a SWG either.

The best bet is a stenner pump, with a 15 gallon tank, pumping bleach directly into the return line.

salt water pools eat flagstone in texas
 
Sorry this was from another PB with different equipment.

Gary pools pump system 3 hp 2 speed pumping system with 2" plumbing. Turn over rate is 5 to 6 times per daywith four adjustible return inlets???

Hayward high capacity cartridge filtration system 425 sq ft with a 150 gpm flow rate.

Automatic in line chlorine dispenser Optional salt chlorine system.

17x30 382 sq ft pool 12000 gallons

Everything else was pretty much the same.
 
The first PB proposal sounds better to me, and you should make a decision on exactly which type of filter you want (DE, cartridge, or the new hybrid quad DE). If you get a slide, you'll have to be careful with safety stuff include depth of pool where the slide meets the water. Pebble tech is good, but make sure you decide exactly which variant you want. Autofill?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I live in Texas and have OK Flagstone for coping and my spa spillover and have not had issues with my salt water pool eating my flagstone. there are many arguments for and against SWG and flagstone. As stated, after 3 years we have not had any issues but i suspect that at some point we will see some detioration but not soley from the SWG. I love it and the ease it provides for us in keeping our chlorine levels where they need to be. We did have our coping sealed before opening the pool though.

Good Luck with your decisions!
 
Thanks a million for the advise. This would be the OK flagstone, and I have friends that have not had any issues. I do have kids and will most likely do the loop lock cover if that is what you were asking. The grotto is still being debated and may go with waterfall instead. The slide is non debatable I'm being told. Is the loop lock cover good?
 
Todd117 said:
Thanks a million for the advise. This would be the OK flagstone, and I have friends that have not had any issues. I do have kids and will most likely do the loop lock cover if that is what you were asking. The grotto is still being debated and may go with waterfall instead. The slide is non debatable I'm being told. Is the loop lock cover good?
Click to expand...

I was referring to an automatic cover. (read this short article that explains them and the purpose http://aquamagazine.com/content/post/Th ... overs.aspx) One that you open when you want to use the pool, and close it when you aren't using your pool. This keeps the pool covered all the time, not just in the winter when you close it down.

There are several different brands out there, and the best results are when you design the pool with that feature in mind, they are expensive however, mine for instance was $12,000 for 18'x43', but personally I wouldn't want the pool without it.

Here are some companies ...

http://www.automaticpoolcovers.net/
http://www.coverpools.com/
http://www.poolcovers.com/
http://www.travispoolcovers.com/
 
I agree about the auto cover. When we were first considering a pool, I said I didn't care what cover we got. I even said I would settle on a 'manual' driven cover and add the auto feature when we could more easily afford it. What a joke! I could not imagine myself opening and closing our cover 5-6 times a day manually! sometimes I need to cover the pool just for a few minutes while I go in to use the restroom. AND, just last week, I half uncovered it to get a water sample. in the time it took me to put the sample inside, the neighbor's 3 year old grandson ran over and got two steps into the pool. I had a minor heart attack. If you have kids, or your neighbors have kids, you simple MUST get a cover that is EASY to use. it only works if you use it. We purchased our from Aquamatic and installed it ourselves. Reasonably priced (compared to a pool and a life) and wonderful customer service.
 
Well, don't be too frustrated if you're still confused on your pool design.....it's something you can only do once, and which you'll be arguing with yourself about for the life of the pool....It took me about 90 days to go through the design process, 30 days to get an idea of what general decisions I needed to make, another 30 days to get PB proposals and narrow down what I wanted to prioritize within my budget and what risks/long term issues I was willing to take on, and then a final 30 days or so to nail down full details with the winning PB. And, this was the 3rd time I went through the process....the first time - I just wasn't serious once I realized all the costs involved, the 2nd time - I just wasn't motivated enough to go to contract, and the third time.... I had a much better feel for what I was willing to budget and what the pool needed to do. And, it still was about a 90 day process before I was willing to sign on the dotted line with all the various vendors and a rough construction schedule (pool construction usually involves not only the pool, but the equipment, major changes to landscaping, trenching new underground pipes and cables around the house, and numerous automation/mgmt and heating choices)

One thing I'd note is that the more you know what you want, the more the pool builder can help....all the proposals we received initially were great, but if we had went with any of them before finalizing our requirements...it would have been a bad move.....there seems to be about a hundred tiny decisions that I had to think about throughout construction... it really helps to get a pool design 101 book from amazon/etc and read the entire contents twice...and then read quite a bit of the various threads in the various equipment forums here....quiz and go through multiple revisions with whichever PB you are most comfortable with - after enough time - it will start to make sense. Note that nearly all pool designs involve trade offs of features versus build costs versus operating costs versus ease of maintenance versus durability. I focused heavily on durability, ease of maintenance, and operating costs and thus ended up sacrificing quite a bit on features (no sauna or gas heating) and modestly on build cost - and I feel good about those decisions.

Don't let the PB's railroad you into making a quick decision - take your time until you're fully confident before signing.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply