New Pool in MA coming Soon

oohnoo said:
Looking real good. You're probably like me with my build. You're going to open it and close it the same day...lol


LOL! Yup. Was hoping that maybe we would have some early fall warn weather but the 40 degree temps this morning are telling me we are due for a rough fall and winter this year. The good news about doing it this late is I am waiting to do the patio until the sping time. Lot's of pool builders around here say its ok to pour the patio/deacking after the backfill but I was always thinking it was a bad idea. At least this way, I don;t have to argue!
 
Backfilling finally began after several days of soaking rain which potponed it. So annoying that we go all summer without rain and as soon as I decide to do a pool it's been non-stop. I will call the backfilling and grading process about 50% done. I love the way it is done from the house side but, as expected, because we had to build up the far side, I am left with a few decisions on how to grade the land. I would prefer to not build an expensive retaining wall so we are trying to see if we can grade it to a point where I can still drive a tractor past it, have it look OK from my neighbor's side and not wash away during a rain storm.


So here are some pics

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Here are tha areas I am still trying to figure out.


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Still have a lot of leftover dirt.


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And because I absolutely had to

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Here is a view from today as rain pours down on us again. At least my land will settle some!!

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Lot's of progress since my last update. I'm basically at the "done" stage for now until the springtime when I have the patio done and my landscaping. So here is the work hat they did to get me to this stage.


Finally had nice enough weather to get the rest of the cement floor and walls done

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Had a post light installed

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Liner and water

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Pool completely filled (25,000 gallons)

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Some shots of the pool at night. The pool light itself has not been installed yet. That will hopefully add some light or I'm going to put in a few more post lights before the patio goes in.

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And had my temp fence put up for the winter.

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The one remianing item needing immediate attention is the mega trench in my yard which is from the installation of the natural gas lines to my heater. Inspection is tomorrow so I will be back to almost normal by then. And they can actually hook up the heater and I can maybe salvage a few days of swimming before the cover goes on for the winter. It's been 65 to 70 here in MA and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it continues for a week or so.



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So looks like my pool has a leak somewhere. I've been losing water and have marked various spots on one of my skimmers to see how much I'm losing. I've lost a good 3 inches since the hurricane passed through MA last week.

My pool builder is out there today checking the skimmer seals and the pipes. Glad I went with this guy because he's put my mind at easy about the situation. The goal is to find the leak today, fix it and then close the pool tomorrow.

On a positve side, I've figured out the chemical situation for keeping my pool clean. I've successfully kept it sparkling for a few weeks now which is a few weeks longer than I could ever keep my father's pool clean when I was growing up.

I've decided to use trichlor 3" tablets as my chlorine management, Borax for PH only and baking soda for total alkalnity and PH. I know there are other tests I need to be doing but these are the 3 main ones that I'm familar with so far. I was successful at getting my TA and PH to normal ranges by using baking soda only and my chlorine has been very constant in the good range.

The water that was delivered was already treated for the most part so I kind of had it easy. However, I've been told by a few pool stores around my area to expect low PH in general here in New England. Not sure if they are telling me the truth or trying to get me to spend $$ on their chemicals. Whatever the case, I'm sticking to my chlorine tablets/Borax/Baking soda method until I need to figure out some other issue. Outside of shock, those 3 chemicals are what my father has been using for 35 years with zero issues in his pool.
 
mpkelley20 said:
So looks like my pool has a leak somewhere. I've been losing water and have marked various spots on one of my skimmers to see how much I'm losing. I've lost a good 3 inches since the hurricane passed through MA last week.

My pool builder is out there today checking the skimmer seals and the pipes. Glad I went with this guy because he's put my mind at easy about the situation. The goal is to find the leak today, fix it and then close the pool tomorrow.
I wouldn't close it until you have time to validate that the leak is fixed by watching the water levels.

mpkelley20 said:
On a positve side, I've figured out the chemical situation for keeping my pool clean. I've successfully kept it sparkling for a few weeks now which is a few weeks longer than I could ever keep my father's pool clean when I was growing up.

I've decided to use trichlor 3" tablets as my chlorine management, Borax for PH only and baking soda for total alkalnity and PH. I know there are other tests I need to be doing but these are the 3 main ones that I'm familar with so far. I was successful at getting my TA and PH to normal ranges by using baking soda only and my chlorine has been very constant in the good range.

The water that was delivered was already treated for the most part so I kind of had it easy. However, I've been told by a few pool stores around my area to expect low PH in general here in New England. Not sure if they are telling me the truth or trying to get me to spend $$ on their chemicals. Whatever the case, I'm sticking to my chlorine tablets/Borax/Baking soda method until I need to figure out some other issue. Outside of shock, those 3 chemicals are what my father has been using for 35 years with zero issues in his pool.
So I'm confused. You said you weren't able to keep the pool clean for more than 3 weeks at a time - but your dad hasn't had problems for 35 years - are all those since you left the house. :p

Seriously - there are plenty of people who get by with Trichlor but do yourself a favor and understand why they get by. They use a weekly shock to try to kill algae rather than maintaining their FC high enough to do the job. Also the more successful one's typically have a lot of backwashing and a lot of winter water change. Over time even many of those end up here and find the CYA has gone through the roof - and ultimately they can't control the algae any more.

If it works for you - that's great - but it may not one day. If it doesn't then remember to stop by and we'll help you out. Oh and on the tap water - check the pH. If it is low I would be surprised. On the other hand Trichlor will lower pH and cause you to need to add Borax or pH up or whatever you select for pH maintenance.

EDIT: Do you know what TYPE of shock your dad uses. There are five commonly available chemicals that are often labeled as "shock". Trichlor (terrible idea since it doesn't dissolve well and adds CYA), Dichlor (worse idea since it adds so much CYA per unit of chlorine - but it dissolves easily), CalHypo (good idea if you have vinyl or need calcium hardness - up to a point; may also need some help to dissolve fast enough), Potassium Monopersulfate (non-chlorine shock - expensive but doesn't do any real harm; dissolves well), Liquid Sodium Hypochlorite like bleach or 12.5% pool shock (does virtually nothing wrong other than weigh a ton per unit of chlorine). If he's using liquid shock that helps. If he has been using CalHypo hopefully he hasn't had scaling issues. If he is using one of the CYA carrying chems on top of the pucks - I have no idea how it's worked so well for so long.
 
I have no clue what he uses for shock. He is the neighborhood pool master when it comes to keeping a pool clean. Just about everyone goes to him for help.

Me, on the other hand, never paid attention to what he did so I'm still learning. If he and my mother went on a week vacation and left me in charge of the pool, it usually was a bad result. It was probably lack of attention on my part. No clue.

His pool is vinyl. Was installed in '83 and he just had his liner replaced for the first time about 3 years ago. Whatever he is doing has worked.

Now, being in the northeast, we do tend to drain a lot of our pool at closing so perhaps that's why he never had a problem with using trichlor.

I'm still in learning mode and I'm at least glad that I was able to get my chemicals balanced and maintained on my own using mostly household items. I was going to use bleach as my chlorine but seeing that the pool is close to being closed, I used chemicals that were given to me for the short time I have it open. It's too cold to swim anyway.

With regards to the leak, my pool guy drained the pool to just below the skimmers and has the pump running through the night (skimmers shut off). He marked the water level and will see if it still leaks. He thinks its around one if the 3 skimmers but he also dug out some of the piping just in case it's underground. He's a good guy and won't cover it until he knows and fixes the issue.

I'm sure ill have a ton of questions next season with chemicals. While I have my temporary way of doing things, I have a long winter to research other ways of doing it.
 
There is NOTHING wrong with using trichlor as long as you understand the impact on your chemistry. If you plan to use it as the primary source of chlorination - just understand what it will do and how you need to react. If you use it as a supplement - the same applies.

Glad your pool builder seems really dedicated - that's not something that should feel so rare...
 

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Great build thread you've got going!
A couple of comments; We installed a new pool last winter and also went with Cardinal's Oasis design albiet the slightly smaller 36' model. We love it! Ours only goes to 7' on the deep end but that's more than enough for cannon balls. We get lots of compliments on the irregular oasis shape.

Regarding your build:

- I think your selection of a NG heater was wise. It's gonna be a lot cheaper to run than propane. I would like to caution you a bit however on how much you will be able to extend the swimming season in MA. I'm in Nashville and we let the kids swim 1 time in the 2nd week of October. That was it for the entire month. We've got a Hayward 400btu heater that'll increase the water temp ~2°F/hr (~22,000 gal). The problem isn't warming the water, it's the fact that the air temp is so cold @ 65-75° that you can't allow your skin to be exposed to air or you feel like you're gonna freeze. It's not just about entering or exiting the pool. Even floating on the surface or treading water with a wet head of hair brings on the chills. My kids splashed a bit and then huddled around the retun jets for warmth. At best, I could see us using the pool up to Halloween in an El Nino year. Otherwise we'll probably shut'er down at the end of Sept. Whatever you do buy a $100 solar cover and cut it to shape. It saves a ton by preventing evaporative cooling.

- On lighting, it looks as though you have a single colored led light in the deep end. I was counseled here to get a second one for the shallow end. PB assured us it wasn't necessary. In hindsight I kinda wish we had. Not a big deal but the shallow end is certainly darker than the deep end. Not so bad as to be a hazard and it doesn't detract aesthetcally or anything but I understand why folks recommended it. Your pool is 4' longer than mine so I assume you may have a similar issue. The steps in particular block the light.

- On chemistry we went swcg and I've got to tell you it's been a godsend. For the 1st month I was adding MA every 2-3 days to control pH but after using the recommendations I found here, I got my TA under control and I'll be surprised if I go through a whole gallon of MA next summer. My pH is that stable. I think I added 1 bag of salt in late September but otherwise I've added nothing to the pool. Nothing! My schedule includes daily visual observations, pH checks once a week or so and full up TF-100 tests every 7-10 days or before and after large bather loads (little league parties, family gatherings, etc).

- You mentioned getting a programmer/timer for the pump. Do that! Ours has the Hayward automation with a Polaris 280. It turns on for 30min every morning and other than emptying the bag I don't even give it much thought. It's about as easy to program as a thermostat. We didn't even winterize our pool this year. We just covered it with the solar cover dropped the swcg to ~5% and programmed the main pool pump to run for about 4hrs/day. Chlorine levels are great, energy use is nil, and opening in April will be a snap.

Again, great build and keep the pics coming.
 
Thanks for the suggestions! Nice to hear from people in the northeast. I kind of figured that a heater will only be useful through September. I'm hoping that I can open the pool in April so I have an April to September season. When I lived at my parents, it's was more of a June to August season since my father did not have a pool heater.

The light......I so regret not doing a second light. My PB said it wasn't necessary but hearing your story I'm kind of ****** I didn't. Winded if they can still add one

My PB talked me out of SWG as well. That's another decision I am rethinking but that is easy enough to add at a layer date.

My electrician did install a timer. Best thing ever! Easy to set and now I don't have to freak out when we go on short vacations now.

And thanks for the solar cover recommendation. I think that is a great idea to have to help keep some heat in the pool in the colder weather as well as generating additional heat when it's sunny out. I never would have thought about cutting it for the shape but it makes sense.

Finally, good to hear I'm not the only one with this shape. It's just different enough from other shapes like mountain lake or kidney that I really liked it. Straight enough to do laps but still has a nice shape to it. I think the 10' long bench is going to become my relaxation area!

Any tips on what to do for decking? I was thinking of standard poured concrete and have a built in fire pit. The only advice given to me so far is do a bigger deck that I plan as space gets filled up quickly.
 
With the spring finally here, I am finally getting some additional planning for my pool area. According to my PB, this is what I need to do in order

1. Bring in additional fill since the rough grading has settled quite a bit over the harsh winter
2. Get retaining wall built along the drop down that comes into the pool area from my main yard
3. Finish grading around the pool for where the patio will go as well as rough grading for final landscaping
4. Install patio
5. Install permanent fence
6. Final lanscaping

Sine the landscaping part is rather instrumental in this process, I began getting quotes from places and this is where my shock of this overall process turned into horror.

The only place to get back to me so far came out to review the area and determined that the large hills on the backside of the pool area can be regraded so I don;t need a huge retaining wall. So that is good....or so I thought...will keep costs down...right?

So the quote came in and it was $21, 300.....

the quote included

1. Approximatley 70 plantings (trees, bushes, flowers and shrubs) - $5000
2. Materails such as fill, top soil, mulch, hydroseed - $3755 (lots of mulch...24 yards)
3. brick walkway (100 sqaure feet) - $1,650
4. Flat sone work - $450
5. Labor - $10,500

Now I understand that heavy machinery will need to be brought in to regrade the land along the backside but I was a bit shocked when I saw the estimates. I have several other companies coming out to give me estimates so I am very interested in getting those to compare.

The current guy has done a drawing of the entire plan and has told me that it is probably much "fancier" than I have pictured stuff in my head and that most people don;t do everything all at once since money could be an issue as well as people changing their minds a lot of times on what they want. When I get the deign, I may post it here to get people's thoughts. I really have no clue what I want so getting someone to "design" it is something I need. I suppose that it part of the overall cost too! of course, the guy I brought in seems to have expensive tastes as he is recommending a real stone wall coming into the yeard rather than a manufactured stone type wall of wood. So that will add anohter $8000 or so to the cost to get my landscaping done.

Plus the patio....if I do stmaped concrete, I am around $8k to $10k in cost so my outstanding items for the pool will be in the $40K range putting my pool cost to around $80K.

Awesome. Glad I didn't buy that house down the Cape. LOL!!
 
Had my pool opened today even though its very early here. Pool builder wants to check for leaks and other issues before we get to patio. Plus, I need more fill as everything settled quite a bit over the winter.

Got the heater going today as well. Never used it last fall as it wasn't hooked up until after pool was closed. So running 48 degrees right now. Just a tad cold! Lol.

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Hi, I am choosing liners, and yours is one that I'm considering. I am wondering if you could post a few more pictures that show the color of the water? It looks like, from what I've seen above, that the water is a rich turquoise color--would you say that's true in real life?

Thanks so much! You are going to have a beautiful pool!
 
I have finally made my deicison on the next phase of my pool build. After being horrified at the landscaping estimates, I needed time to figure out where I spend my money. It came down to either the hardscapes or landscapes. I have chosen the hardscapes. So here is what is planned in the next two weeks or so.

1. Regrading the land around the pool to get it ready for the deck to be poured. The current grading has settles so much that it needs a bit of work. I am also extending the level surface out quite a bit to make the fenced in area larger (this leads to number 2)

2. Rather than grading the slopes down to the edge of my property (since the pool was built up), I am having a large retaining wall built. This will give me back some of my rayd that would otherwise be unusuable due to the extreme slope that is there now. So I will have a 55' or so wall built out of stone (fieldstone I believe it's called) that will start around 3' high and go up to 7' towards the back of my yard. I looked at manufactured stone/bricks but the area I live has a ton of natural stone walls (including my property) that the filedstone look will keep it in line.

3. Second retianing wall will be installed at the entrance to the pool area. Approximatley 50' long and 2' high. Natural stone/filedstone as well. There will be steps leading down into the pool area as well.

4. Deck - I decided to go with stamped concrete. Originally i was just going to do brushed concrete but too many people (including my wife) prefer the stmaped look. My fear is choosing the wrong pattern or color combo so I am leaving that up to my wife. It seems a silver/gray combo color would look best with out house and surroundings. I am hoping that this does not get too hot. I looked at doing pavers since those seem to offer the best benefit in case I ever have a plumbing issue but there is no way I can swing the cost of that as it is more than twice the price of the stamped concrete.


So my next phase is complete in the planning stages. Work is supposed to start today on the re-grading and I am meeting with the guy who will do the hardscapes tonight.
 
We ordered our liner last night--and it is the same one you have. I am pretty sure I will love it. I am so glad I saw this thread, and would love to see more photos of your pool. Thanks!

I think you are wise to focus on the hardscape first. That will be the bones of the design, and the plants can come later. If you have the planting design, you can even do the planting yourself when you are ready, and save money. Personally, I would do hardscape and structure, then trees, then shrubs, then perennials. But I'm no expert, just a gardening enthusiast ;)
 

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