Finally under construction in Midlothian, TX

[Karmann]

After lurking on TFP for a while researching what type of pool to build, speaking with builders and starting our construction a few weeks ago I feel I should introduce myself and share some pictures.

I’m a complete pool owner newbie, so I ask a ton of questions and tend to overthink sometimes to foresee any future issues and prevent them in the beginning.

I have to thank this site a ton for the valuable resource it’s given me to answer most of my questions.

I’d love to hear some thoughts on my questions below

- Best pool brush on the market opinion, anyone use a king-fin did you like it?
- Does having almost solid rock beneath my pool benefit the gunite structure and help prevent soil movement?
- I went with a heat pump for my spa since there isn’t any gas line in my city and I didn’t like the thought of a propane tank, I won’t be using the spa in freezing temps so does this sound like a decent idea?
- My heat pump has a chiller option for cooling the pool in the heat of the summer, how much of a delta should I expect from ambient temps?
- If you could redo your pool build again, what would you do different (on the advice of my brother I went with extra decking and larger spa)?

When we started

Digging Finished

Steel and plumbing mostly done

Gunite done

 

[Karmann]

here is a diagram of what the completed pool will look like (we made a slight change for a full spa seating bench)

as a reference our patio is about 42' long

 

[elborikua]

Looks very nice. Pool is about 16x32?

 

[Karmann]

very close, it's suppose to be 17x38' per the contract and depth will be 3.6'-5'-4' since none of us are swimmers we're really looking for a playpool

 

[Karmann]

My tile and stonework started yesterday here are some more progress pics...

I'm super happy with the progress since i'm less than 3 weeks away from when they first broke ground.

 

[bpricedo]

That is an unusual treatment around the rim of the spa, I haven't seen that done before but so far I like it! Maybe it is also because I really like your tile. Is the mosaic on the spa the same as the waterline tile? What tile is it?

We also picked a gray/rust natural looking tile from Master Tile, Afrika series, Nairobi. We will start construction before the end of the month.

 

[Karmann]

Thank you, the pool builder called it a rolled edge and our thought was it would be more comfortable on our backs than normal rock coping when lounging in the spa.

The spa tile and the pool tile are from the same series and we think it will go well with the mossy rock flagstone and boulders surrounding the spa. I think it's a little off color from the multi colored Oklahoma flagstone we used for the coping but I’m being optimistic since I've seen them together in a same pool before and it didn't look too bad.

I think the tile is from Noble Tile, but I don't see it online.

I've asked the builder to get me samples and part numbers in case we need them in the future so I'll post the info when I get it.

 

[imrodee]

That's a beautiful design. We are near Midlothian, and our builder does that rolled edge too on the spa.. I love the tile you chose. It goes great with your rock and flagstone.
So many choices...

They just broke ground on ours today. Right at about 2 feet, the excavators ran into solid rock - ugh. They are hammering it out right now. I guess we won't have to worry about the pool shifting too much down the road. As soon as I have some good pics, I'll post some.

Good luck!

 

[Yukon Jack]

That looks great - bet you can't wait for the first jump into it!

 

[elwood58]

Hitting rock in Texas is a good thing. The pool structure will have a solid foundation, so much less shifting to happen. If they did not hit rock, they would be recommending soil injections. Either way, it costs some money, but you should have a great result.

 

[arvven]

Congrats on the pool and thanks for the pics!

Heat pump with the chiller option is the coolest thing I've heard! I myself am waiting for the pool to start. My thread is new-construction-in-dallas-tx-t48111.html

I have already been doing research on cooling the pool, b/c I read so much about this time of year and 85+ pool temps worry me. I would be glad to read the options on this myself.

 

[imrodee]

Hitting rock in Texas is a good thing. The pool structure will have a solid foundation, so much less shifting to happen. If they did not hit rock, they would be recommending soil injections. Either way, it costs some money, but you should have a great result.

I was hoping! Thank you! Going to download pics and start a new thread. Still watching the progress on my Midlothian neighbor.

 

[Karmann]

I'm glad to hear having so much rock under my pool is a good thing. My builder was actually one of the few that didn't charge a premium "on paper" for hitting rock.

 

[Lershac]

You are going to love that chiller option. Nothing like working in the yard all day and taking breaks to hit the 82 deg pool for a quick cool off. Very refreshing.

But I dont see a gas heater in your specs. That heat pump will take a loooong time to heat the spa, and wont do it at all in teh colder weather.

While they are running the gas line, get it stubbed out near the equipment pad for a possible future upgrade.

 

[Karmann]

thanks lerchac, I was hoping someone in here would chime in that the chiller option on our heat pump is worth it.

Our city doesn't have gas lines and I went with a heat pump instead of burying a propane tank. I understand it could take a few hours to heat the spa and we can't use the spa in below freezing temps but this was considered ok with us instead of dealing with propane lines and heater refills etc...

The Jandy AE3000TE unit also has a defrost option to run in cooler temps but we don't really expect to be using the spa in December/January months. We'll see how this season goes I guess, fingers crossed we're happy with the heat pump

 

[Karmann]

stone and tile was finished today and i must say we're pretty happy with it

 

[Flatlander]

Wow, very nice!!
Flagstone deck and SWG work because of sealer?
I'm afraid to show my wife the pics!

 

[Karmann]

Wow, very nice!!
Flagstone deck and SWG work because of sealer?
I'm afraid to show my wife the pics!

yes, the plan is use a sealer 1~2x a year as normal maintenance to having natural stone.

My brother has the same setup and honestly hasn't sealed his stone in over 6 years and there isn't any abnormal corrosion like you might see with limestone in a salt pool. He did tell me that we washes down his deck and stone on a regular basis when the pool gets high usage, but has never used a sealer.

I'm going to play it safe and seal my stone with the water based sealer my PB recommends that will run be about 75.00 every time I seal the stone.

 

[imrodee]

That looks beautiful!! I am now second guessing my tile choice.. LOL! THANKS!

My brother has a salt water pool and hasn't had any issues with his stone either. He sealed it when it was new 10 years ago... and that's the only time. Hopefully both of ours will hold up as well!

 

[cramar]

Wow, that's looking nice, I really like the rounded spa edge.

Are you getting a beige liner, beige would look so great!