New Build - pool and equipment review

[spool]

Hello all, snow season is ending here in New England. We had a rough winter so we're really looking forward to spring/summer. We're hoping to start our pool project as soon as the yard is dry enough for heavy equipment. I've spent a lot of time interviewing multiple pool builders and think I've made my selection. I'd like for the TFP experts to take a look at the specs and provide some feedback.

19’ x 44’ Rectangle gunite swimming pool w/raised spa
∗ Depth profile 3’-6” to 8’ (depth can vary)
∗ White marcite plaster

7’x7’ Spa
∗ Raised 18” with Tile Veneer
∗ 4 Hydro Therapy Jets
∗ 2 Microssage Therapy Jets
∗ Tile Spillway
∗ 1 – One Amerilite Spa Light
∗ Step w/Full Bench
∗ Dual Anti-Vortex Main Drain
∗ 1 H.P. Air Blower

Equipment specs:
∗ Pentair Clean and Clear Cartridge 420 Sq Ft Filter
∗ Pentair Intelliflo Variable Speed Pump
∗ Intellichlor Salt System with 600 lbs of Salt Included
∗ Easytouch 8 Automation System
∗ Controls: Lights, Filter, Pump, Heater, and Cleaning System
∗ 2 Amerilite Pool lights
∗ 4 Surface Return lines with eyeball fittings
∗ 4 Floor Heat Return lines with eyeball fittings
∗ 2 Automatic Recessed Skimmers
∗ Dual Anti Vortex Maindrain
∗ 2 Flush mounted rope rings w/ rope & floats
∗ Deluxe Cleaning Package: 18” brush, skimmer net, 16’ pole, thermometer, deluxe vacuum and test kit
∗ Polaris 3900 Sport with Booster Pump
∗ Mastertemp 400,000 BTU pool heater

Upgrades I'm considering:
- Upgrade lights to Intellibrite 5g color LED - (2) pool, (1) spa. I'm wondering if 2 LED's in a 44' pool is enough. Lights will be facing away from the house, should I increase number of LED's in pool?
- Screen Logic 2 – control pool/spa from ipad/iphone. I'm a gadget guy - love toys, I want to be able to remotely control my pool from any iOS device.
- Magicfalls 4’ waterfall w/booster pump. Considering a 12" raised wall with water feature. Wife wants to hear the sound of water falling. There is a spillway from spa to pool, but not sure I'm wanting to continuously dump hot water into the pool?!? Also not sure if I need an additional booster pump. If I'm reading this right, there is the variable speed, a booster for polaris 3900, and then another for the water feature? Seems like there should be a more efficient way to do this...

Things we're still undecided on:
- Decking - concrete or paver
- Pool plaster
- Automatic cover

Edit - adding concept photo. More below.

 

[martinkennedy]

Number of lights is a personal choice. I have 4 and 1 on the Baja shelf. My pool is 40ft also

 

[JasonLion]

That looks like a good setup, something that used to be rare, but is becoming more common these days.

2 color LEDs in a very large pool is not going to be enough. The white lights are much brighter and should be alright. But the color lights are comparatively dim.

On a shared equipment (pool/spa) setup the spa is not kept hot, and must exchange water with the pool every day. So running the spa spillover is not just standard, it is required (for an hour a day, more is fine but not required).

I recommend getting a robotic cleaner. It will use way less electricity than the booster driven cleaner and be more appropriate for a large pool.

A 4' waterfall kind of does need it's own pump. There is no way you could run the waterfall and spa at the same time with a single pump, and even without the spa it would be marginal with one pump for pool and waterfall.

 

[pooldv]

My 3hp VS pump does fine running filter, solar and waterfall. No spa though. Don't see how you could get all of that done with one pump.

 

[spool]

The classic rectangle was a must for my wife. She wouldn't even consider a free form pool. It wasn't worth fighting so I spent time making it work. In the end I'm really happy with the design. Below are a couple pics of the yard (currently) and what it should look like in the summer. These concept designs are few revisions behind but give you an idea of what we're shooting for. We altered the design slightly to make walking around the pool and transitioning between levels easier. We have almost 5' difference in height between the back of the garage where pavilion would be and where the pool is that we had to design around.

Back yard today, snow is easily 4+ feet deep. Kids loving their new snow/fire pit!

Concept design, can't wait for the summer!

 

[spool]

On a shared equipment (pool/spa) setup the spa is not kept hot, and must exchange water with the pool every day. So running the spa spillover is not just standard, it is required (for an hour a day, more is fine but not required).

I recommend getting a robotic cleaner. It will use way less electricity than the booster driven cleaner and be more appropriate for a large pool.

Wow, I had no idea on the shared equipment spa temperature. I'll have to ask the PB. I made the assumption I could control the temperature in the spa seperately.

Appreciate the advice on robotic cleaner,I'll have to read up on them. What are the most popular models?

 

[spool]

Filter and SWG sizing - I dont see a model listed for the SWG so I'll have to ask. Is the IC40 sufficient? I rather make a request on both the SWG and Filter. Don't know much about the Pentair clean cartridge 420, but I often read in the forum - the bigger the better.

 

[JasonLion]

You will have complete control over the spa temperature, you just need to turn it on roughly 30 minutes in advance so it can come up to temperature.

Your filter is already fairly large, certainly sufficient, but larger is better (aside from costing more).

The IC40 is sufficient, however we do recommend getting something larger, say an IC60, for a pool that size. That will give you a little more flexibility on pump runtime and save a little money in the long run.

 

[bmoreswim]

That is going to be a great looking backyard. I must say, that snow fire pit is awesome! Reminds me of a few years ago here in MD - love those big snow years.

I'll comment on a few things:

Lights - Two LED's will be borderline OK with white plaster in your length pool (darker plaster eats light). It won't be bright though. 3 LED's would be recommended. I have 2 in 38' with medium gray plaster and it's fine but not really bright (as an average among all the colors - it's fine on the white setting).

Autocover - You've got one chance to do this if you want to and it's now. Your layout is ideal for it with the autocover pit on the left side, closing towards the spa. The long coping stones (if that's representative of what you will be getting) will work though you may need to shorten them to 2' in length on the brackets because of the weight of each stone when lifting them out to occasionally clean the pit. One item to consider though, and others can opine...since you will need to have daily operation of the spillover for circulation purposes, that poses a problem with the autocover being closed. You would need to have the cover open each day for a period of time to make that work the traditional way (i.e. spilling over). However, I'm wondering if through automation and piping, if you can arrange to have a different method of circulation other than spillover for when the cover is closed. Not sure if that is feasible though. (BTW, you will want to have a lockout programmed for the spillover to not work if the cover is in the closed position so you don't empty the pool onto the cover and destroy it.) You don't want to have the cover just slightly opened to have the spillover work because of the safety issue of someone small slipping in and being caught under the cover. I'm not sure how this water exchange issue is normally addressed with an autocover. That said, an autocover in your climate would be a great way to assist with maintaining/increasing water temperature and also cleanliness.

Benches - Consider an addition to the deep-end bench going on the short side of the pool at rougly 40-42" in depth. It's a standing bench and is GREAT for playing catch from the deep end, etc. We have them in both deep end corners. The more benchwork better in my opinion. You can see our pool with them in my signature. Our deep-end benches (the lower parts) are about 30-36" deep but a little deeper would be better in my opinion.

Depth - 8' is a nice deep-end with no diving board (and I don't see one). If you do have a board, I'd suggest 8 1/2 - 9 1/2' for more safety margin as your length can support it.

Steps - You might want to consider rounding (i.e. wedding cake) the steps in the shallow end as that will create a lot more space on them which is a popular hangout for sitting. But the round step look may not be aesthetically your choice either.

Best of luck! It's exciting, if not a bit trying too.

 

[spool]

Thanks bmoreswim. Lots of great information. Your pool is stunning. Those lightning pics are incredible.

We're definately going with a darker plaster or pebbletec. My wife and I both agree we want the water to have a dark blue effect. Our neighbors have a dark grey that we like. I'll definately increase to 3 lights in the pool.

Do you operate the pool cover on a daily basis? I was considering the auto-cover to prevent heat loss and try to extend the swimming season. I've read a lot of reviews about them being high maintenance and wasn't sure I want to spend big bucks for a big headache. I'll be adding spa re-circulation capabilities to the PB list.

Great feedback on deeper benches. Hadn't considered that, definately see the value. We're not completely satisfied with the entry steps yet. Will discuss more options with the builder.