Another Pool Build in Cypress, TX

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SuzfromTexas

SuzfromTexas

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Apr 7, 2015
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Houston, Texas
Hey guys, everything is ready to begin our new pool! Now we just need a break from the rain. Since January I've been researching like crazy from this forum, other forums, and anywhere or anyone who will answer my questions. I especially love how active this forum is; it's awesome! There's no sign of a pool in our yard yet, but we've completed the prep work. So far we've had the landscaper and paver company out to visit; 2 trees taken down, the patio jack-hammered out, half of the breezeway fence knocked down, the swing-set pulled up, the utilities marked twice due to rains, and the gas line re-routed!

I'm listing my specs in hopes you can give any advice and/or reassurance. I'll also try to post the design picture and diagram.

* 34'6" x 13' to 23'
* 573sq ft; 104ft perimeter
* depth 4' to 7'
* sunshelf 6'4' x about 11' w/ 2 bubblers
* 7' round spa raised 12" and an 18" raised beam w/ a 36" sheer descent and 12 hydro air jets
* 2- 18" columns w/ a 12" raised beam planter w/ a 36" sheer descent between columns
* a bump-out bench deck level w/ a 6" raised beam and bubbler
* a deep end underwater bench
* spiral-like steps that hug the spa w/ low-height risers for my mobility issues
* I'm also hoping to add a narrow walking ledge in the deep end to use for therapy
* Jandy equipment:
* 3- 12v LED color lights, 2 in the pool, 1 in the spa
* 2HP 2speed pump
* 1HP 2speed pump
* an additional spa pump
* CL 580 cartridge
* LX 400K BTU heater
* AquaPure Salt
* Rainbow 320 Inline chlorinator
* Polaris 280
* Aqualink PDA PS8
* travertine coping
* pebble sheen
* deck (size TBD)of Belgard pavers
* Anything else you'd like to know??

This is our first pool, and we're starting pretty late in life. But I've always wanted a pool, and I decided it was long overdue! It is so exciting, and yet I'm a little jittery about all of this. The research for a pool builder and trying to learn what I can has been daunting. I'm the one who has pushed for this, so it's up to me to see it turns out, well hopefully, fabulous! I have this one shot in my life to get it right. Your help and support will be appreciated more than you can imagine!

I hope the attachments worked! We'll count this as my practice round.... Here's the initial design by the PB w/o the changes/additions to the spa, sunshelf, raised beam planter, bump-out bench and spiral type steps. It changed over the weeks as I learned more and found more design ideas. The designer is very patient! Also attached (I hope) is the 2D drawing of the pool with the updated features. I don't have an updated computer-designed picture. Thanks again for your help!!! Suz
 

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Great first post! Location, signature and pics all in one! Awesome. You've done your homework, I don't have anything to add at the moment. Looks great! :goodjob:
 
Hi Suz!
Yeah! Another Texan, and welcome to TFP! You gotta be excited aren't you? There are quite a few TFPers around the Cypress area.

Good lookin pool you are gonna have there!

The equipment looks pretty well selected for the most part. Looks like its well thought out. Not often we see a new pool bid with 2 speed pumps, which are great choices!
We usually see either single speed or variable speed pumps on new quotes.

I have a question or 2 though more out of curiosity than anything...

If you are going with the Aquapure salt system, why the inline chlorinator?
The inline chlorinator uses Chlorine tablets which you really dont want for your main chlorine source. They can be handy if you are away from home for a short time, but an inexpensive 10$ tablet floater would be a better choice for short periods when tablets might be used, than the Rainbow would be... you could save however many $ by eliminating that.

Next, have you researched the option of having a robot cleaner in place of the 280?

And just to note, you may want to apply stone sealer to your travertine coping. The salt water, even though slowly, slatwater will erode the travertine a bit... some folks like the slightly eroded look though. I personally love the travertine and I think it adds character.

And yeah, there is one more thing I would like to know!
When are you inviting us all to a pool party? !!
 
Thank you, poodv! It's great to hear from a fellow Texan!

Divin Dave, thanks for checkin' things over and your input. It's good to hear you like the 2 speed pumps. Before I met my PB, I was thoroughly convinced by other PB's that VS pumps were the only way to go. Our PB did a good job explaining it, and at the time I got it. But now I'm fuzzy on it. Don't worry about explaining it to me again. Just one more thing I'll probably forget! LOL!! I trust my PB totally (why I went with him) and this forum. So if you and he say the single pump is good, that's all I need to know.

The inline chlorinator.... again, I'm not sure I remember correctly, but I think it was explained to me that it makes things simpler for the initial startup for going with the Salt system. Also, I was told if we find down the road we don't like a salt system, it would be easier to convert. Your idea makes more sense to me, so I will definitely talk to our PB about that. I just looked at tile and stone choices yesterday, and I'm ready to shift $ to some fun "pretties".

I'm glad you brought up the robot cleaner. Several PB's suggested the robots. I dropped the idea of a robot, because I have concerns about lifting one in and out of the water. Last night after your post, I spent a good bit of time researching them. It sounds like it would be worth finding someone to lift the robot for me. I have a few questions about the robots, but I will jump over to that thread. Of course, after a year with my pool, I'll be able to throw away the cane and do it myself!! I used a neighbor's pool last summer for exercise, physical therapy, and just relaxation. I was amazed at the progress I made physically. So here's hoping!

Pool Parrrrtyyyy!!! You bet you and the other TFP-ers are invited! (oops, that doesn't sound quite right!). For Texas, Longview is just a hop, skip, and a jump to Cypress!!! Ya'll might need to bring your own chairs and floats, but we'll provide the eats and drinks!! Thanks again for the suggestions.

P.S. are ya'll in Longview getting the rains like us? Our winter and spring have been unusually wet. Not complaining, it beats a drought. Take care, Suz.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, forgot to ask... What's up with the GIANT photo I attached of our pool diagram?? I thought I attached it the same as the other photo. It makes it look like an amoeba or some alien starship!
 
Yes, LOTS of rain up here finally. The lake by us has gone up about 9 feet. And it is still down 5! Greenest spring we've seen in a while. It is good to have rain, but boy does rain make a pool cold!
 
Pooldv, I'm so glad your lake is going up - 5 more feet to go! For Texas, I hope Lake Travis is coming back up - it looked ghastly last time I checked. I learned to ski when I was six on Possum Kingdom and grew up boating and water skiing on Travis, Lake Austin, and Lake Meredith - great sentimental attachments to our Texas lakes.

My heart breaks for California. I know how sad it is to see our lakes, tanks, streams, and ponds empty or low. Their situation is far worse. I know all of us in Texas are pulling for California and wishing for a gradual increase in rains. They certainly don't need flooding to add to their miseries. All the best, California!
 
I'm finally back posting after a busy, busy pool build week! Our forecast at the beginning of the week was for rain all week (80-90% each day). But as weather often does, it toyed with the weather forecasters... Monday was beautiful. Then Tuesday, my email message alert on my phone woke me around 8:30am. The email said, "The guys are on their way to start digging your pool!!!!" No lie - in five minutes I heard the big trucks rolling up in front of the house. Wow!!! It was beginning.

They used the bobcat to pull up the 4' stump left from a tree, and then the rain began. We waited a few hours watching the radar app. It kept looking like the rains/storms would soon move through, and finally they did when our pb was just about to tell everyone to go home. Man, those guys got to work! Our pb spray-painted the outline of the pool on the ground, stakes were placed, and measurements were taken for the levels from key areas. Then came the real dig! The guy running the bobcat was amazing - like Mario Andretti!! It was unbelievable to watch him maneuver that bobcat. We wanted to line up bottles along either side of his route to the pool area - we were ready to bet he wouldn't have knocked down one of 'em.



The day wasn't over, so the rebar gang came on board and began what looks to me like a cage. Again, so amazing to watch how well the crews do their jobs. These guys stayed until dark.



On Wednesday, the pb's son, brother, and other non-family expert came to 'stub out' for the plumbing and electricity. I think that means making place holders in the cage so when the gunite is shot, all the plumbing and electrical connections can be made. Right? That's how I interpret it, at least.



I have to throw in a couple of our outdoor cat, Killer, investigating "His Backyard". He isn't too happy about all of this destruction to his domain, but he's a good sport - we expect he will soon have his lady friends over for a lounge by the pool. BTW, Killer has been neutered since very young, but he still sprays, fights the toms, and enjoys platonic friendships with the gals.


Killer headed to go on his rounds.


Thursday at 6:20am (hey, wait a minute, I'm retired!), the gunite trucks and a huge crew rumbled up to our house. For goodness sakes, it was still dark! But you guys know.... I was smiling ear to ear even though my eyes were only half open. Another hard working crew!!! I know this sounds like a diva, but by the end of the day, I was exhausted just from checking on things. I cannot imagine how these guys go home and get back up again. Pool building takes a huge amount of strength and energy - talking about the workers, not me!!!:salut:



Yesterday, I woke up nearly in tears. I've never been able to see something on paper and translate that to real life. Right now, I'm pretty disappointed that the pool doesn't look at all like I thought it would. I've read other posts of people who see their pool with gunite and rave about it. And I've thought they looked great, too. I think I really made a lot of mistakes in the layout. But it's mine now, no body else's doing, so maybe with time it will grow on me. In my mind, I was getting a sleek Starfleet ship, and instead it's a Klingon battle cruiser. I'm pretty sure at some point a Klingon is going to pop out from behind the spa with his Batleth.

Later in the day we went tile and stone shopping. Impossible! That whole "I have no eye for design and color" problem of mine. We (mostly I) still haven't found what we need for all the surfaces. And while we were out in the raging storms, our pb called and said he would be ready to tile on Monday. You've got to be kidding?! I thought we would have more time while the gunite cured. As they say, that's what I get for thinking. Again, I have in my head what I think I want, but it's so hard for me to translate that into concrete, actual materials and then make them look great together. For this kind of money, I want to look out our back windows and say, "Wow! That's gorgeous!". I need a professional pool decorator (or whatever they're called) to take me by the hand and help me with all of this! I'm drowning, and my pool isn't even filled yet. Don't misunderstand me, I realize in the scheme of world problems, this ranks at the bottom. Still, I hate to spend so much just to cool off and not enjoy looking at it.

And now, I'm up to Today. I woke up to see what looks like rust stains running down two of the walls. But I posted a couple of pictures on another thread and feel reassured they must be from the rains combined with the red in our clay. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'll repost one of the photos here so you can see what I'm talking about. It also gives you a different view of the pool.


Sorry this is so long, but it's been almost a week since I posted an update. Each night I was just too tired to write and to do the whole sending camera photos and attaching. (I'm also challenged when it comes to technology things.) But.... to those of you who have read this entire post, Thank You! Don't leave me now. I'll try to make briefer and more timely posts of each new step of the build. Take care! Suz.
 
Suz! I would LOVE to have your pool! I love how it is shaped! What you are seeing is the mess as it is now not what it will be when you are done and floating in it!

Love Killer overseeing things! We have one that can and will climb a ladder to inspect what you are doing. LOL The roofers loved him!

Kim
 

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Suz:

I wish I was closer, and I'd be more than willing to take you tile, stone, etc shopping. Picking out tile can be overwhelming, but that is what makes it fun and exciting. The options are endless, and give you the opportunity to your stamp on that CUSTOM pool, and space.

A short story…..When we had the option to change out the tile on our pool, the PB sales guy pulled 6 tiles out of his car, and said these were the more popular. My husband could have predicted my reaction. I'm not a "buy out of the trunk kind of gal". I'm sure my reaction on my face was priceless. I told the PB Sales guy, give me an hour in a real tile store, and I will come up with the complete tile & stone selection and still stay on our budget. It is not easy to make a selection from looking at one tile, and I agree can be stressful, but don't let it get to you.

You have to lay them out (in the sun is better, and next to the Pebble Sheen finish is best) and see the flow of colors in them. Most stores will let you borrow several in groups of 3-5 depending on the tile. Take them home, and actually lay them next pools that have your Pebblesheen color, then look at them in the sun, and in shade. You will know right away the right mixture of color and texture when it hits your hot button.

Also, did you choose to have the shells added to your Pebblesheen finish? I hope so. Those little shells really glisten in the reflection of the water ripples and the sun and shows off your pool finish. You will be glad you made that choice. Let us know what color of sheen you chose.

This pool has such great curves and elevations. It’s going to be gorgeous when you are done, and such a focal spot for your outdoor living space. It’s going to lure you outside like a magnet. I can't wait to watch the build!
 
We have been known to help pick tile and such on TFP. We just LOVE to help someone spend their money!

Go pick up at least 5 of your top choices, lay them out together, take pics and post them here. We will try to help you pick if you want.

Kim
 
Thank you everyone!!! This forum is my only place to go where people understand. My friends don't have pools, moved into a house with one, or had one built 25 years ago. That makes it hard for them to empathize.

Kim, I think you're right about the mess causing part of the stress. I didn't think it was bothering me, but now that you mention it, I believe it is. I love the story of your cat climbing up the ladder to oversee the roofers. That's priceless - you need to post photos of THAT!!! Do any of your cats go in the pool? We have one who might - we're curious to see what happens with him and the water. Our others probably won't go near the water. I'm going to take you guys up on your offer to help with the tile selection - help me spend that money! If I'm going to spend it, I should be happy with it, right! As soon as I post this, I will take all my stuff outside and get the photos. The terrain in the back is pretty rough right now, so I'm using 2 canes - just call me Hop-Along! So... this will take me some time. But I can't wait for everyone to weigh in with their suggestions and favorites!

Thank you, Sunbaby! I'll take all the reassurance I can get. It will be exciting to see it finally filled with water - although, with all the rains lately, we could go wading in the deep end! Have you had your Big Dig yet? I saw your thread about your concerns with your driveway, and the day we had ours, I thought of you. Oh my, I'm not sure we will ever get all the mud and dirt scraped off the driveway! We also have a very long driveway. By the end of Dig Day, I swear it looked like a dirt road - so odd looking with all the neighbors' clean concrete driveways!!

Golderdog, man if I had the time and you had the time, I'd be willing to fly you down here to help me! I'm that desperate! You're exactly right - I want the pool and backyard to be OURS. I haven't quite gotten to the "fun and exciting" part yet. All I can think of is how many times I've messed up with the interior of our home - some true disasters! But most of those were easy to fix - new paint, different bedspread, move some pictures around, etc. These pool decisions.... well, I will have to live with them. I am holding onto the fact, that I've always been much better with landscaping and gardening. So maybe that will include the pool - I hope.

Wow, what a story! One hour to pick out everything. That's fabulous! You sound like my sister - she can purchase things so quickly. My trouble is I overthink stuff. But I agree with you - as much as I worry over making these decisions, I could never choose out of a trunk. I would have been mortified! Friday, I told our pb that I would not decide on the waterline tile until I could see some completed pools. You're right, I have to look at the selections near the pool with the finish I like. I have not seen any pools in person yet, only onllne which isn't the best view of the different colors. Going on only that, we're thinking about the PebbleSheen Blue Granite. We don't want too dark (gotta know from a distance if there are any creepy crawly things on the bottom), and I want to avoid green tones. Hopefully, our pb will give me some pools to see tomorrow. And no, I wasn't planning to add the shells.... I have no idea how expensive that would be, and I thought I read they don't last. Is that true? How long have you had yours? What color finish is your pool? Now after hearing you describe how they glisten in the sun and ripples, I think I have to have them! Within reason, I want to pull out the stops on this venture. But I don't even have any estimates yet on the pavers and landscaping - I do have the companies lined up.

Thanks again for the encouragement from you guys. Ya'll are the best! I'm headed out now to take some pictures of the tiles I have so far. Enjoy the day! Suz
 
OK, I took a ton of photos since I can barely see my phone screen in the bright sunlight. Then I had to cull out the best ones. Here is the plan so far for tile and stone. I'll list the materials - might be easier:
* deck: Belgard pavers, Danville Beige (I'm still thinking about travertine pavers, but there's a lot of debate over how slippery they are when wet)

* coping: travertine toreon

* columns, back of bump out bench, and face of spa: ledger stone (probably a lighter shade, sand)

* front of raised beam/planter at back of pool, inside of spa raised beam, and seat of bump out bench: a porcelain tile in a beige travertine look

* spa spillway: either stacked ledger-type stone or the LightStreams glass tile, same as spa waterline tile

* toe tiles: probably some of the same LightStreams tile, one tile on each outside edge of each step (maybe 3 on the bottom 2 or 3 steps since they are a bit wider)

* sun shelf, outside edge: trim with LightStreams shell beach glass (not sure our pb will go for this; or it may be overkill; but I just love those gorgeous glass pieces)

** waterline tile, pool: TBD with ya'll's help (to go with whichever LightStreams tile we all settle on)

** waterline tile, spa: LightStreams glass tile, either Peacock or Steel Blue

Now for pictures: Here are the two in the running for the spa waterline tiles: Peacock on the left; Steel Blue on the right


We found one pool tile for the Blue Steel spa, Blue Lagoon (NPT)


Several possibilities to go with the Peacock spa tile:
Number One: Valtaoblue6 (MasterTile)


Number Two: Turquoise RF 81 (Noble Tile)


Number Three: Circe NPOS 634 (Noble Tile)


Number Four: Abyss NWAO 678 (Noble Tile)


Coping, Tile, and split face we may have to use if we can't use ledger stone (no samples of ledger stone)


Sun Shelf trim: Shell Beach by LightStreams


I had given a recap to make voting easier, but when I was almost finished, it started HAILING here. For some reason, all that stuff wasn't saved. I hope the hail didn't damage the gunite, but it seems pretty solid. So anyway, I'm trying to hurry and finish so I can send before I lose it again. And I want to check what I can of our roof. It was only pea to mothball size, so we should be good.

Thanks for your help and Take care! Suz
 
Suz: We have Blue Granite and love it. We've only had it about a couple of months. I nearly over-thought the pebblesheen. We looked at 6 pools with several finishes. One other thing to consider is depth of your pool. Blue Granite is a very nice medium blue tone. Also, don't freak when you first fill the pool. Our's looked a little grey/green at first until we were able to get all the chemicals right. I was more worried about the grey tint than anything, but it did clear. What we've had problems recently with is keeping the chems perfect due to all the rains. Our pool will not hold much more water, and predictions are more rains this week. We may be pumping water out. All that valuable water! At least we know know for sure we have no leaks.

As for the shells, every pool we saw that had the shells said they had no problems. One pool was well over 5 years old, and the finish looked new, and the shells sparkled thru the ripples. Some PB's charge about $300 for them, but they came free with our remodel from our PS contractor if we went with a Pebblesheen finish. I'm sure it was built in to the bid somehow.

We are not completely done with our remodel. We are still working on the hardscape and landscaping. It sounds like you and I would hit it off. I'm a big DIY gardener too. There is just something satisfying about digging your stress away.
 
Suz:

I seem to have lost a sentence also above. In regard to the depth of a pool and pebblesheen Blue Granite and other color options. I agree with you about being able to see in the pool. I like to know where I need to brush, net, etc., and we often have to net out critters. We had a wild rabbit just last weekend. We think the stormy weather or maybe even a hawk scared it, and it ran through our yard, and right into the pool. Anyway, it's the snakes that creep me out and every year we seem to have several.

The darker colors are very dramatic and since sun travels differently at depths, the darker colors do seem to be enhanced with depth. I had looked at Ocean Blue, and really liked it until I saw it in a 10' pool. I had to see Blue Granite on several pools before I was sure of the finish. It sure has made difference in the look of our pool.

Your PB should have many to look at and be more than happy to show you their work.
 
Suz:

Just looked over the samples. I really like #4 with your coping and idea of using the sun shelf trim. The one question I have...Is your sun shelf under water? You may not need the trim because the the Blue Granite is going to be pretty showy. That trim may not be needed especially so if go with the shells. It would be interesting what some of the others in the group think.

Also take those tile sample with you on your tour of finishes, and have someone hold them up on the opposite side and look at them near the finish. You would be surprised how different they can look next to a finish and in certain lights. Try to look at them in shade and in true sunlight. I think the others will agree that this is helpful in making the decisions.
 
OH my! How in the world do you pick?? They are all so pretty! Okay, deep breath.............

I LOVE the Peacock! I like how it is light and has more sparkle.

I like number 3 and 4. I am leaning towards number 4 because I like how even the color looks in the tile. No big splotches of dark.

Sun shelf tile-I can see why you are loving it! What pretty FUN colors and shapes! BUT will it be like pretty throw pillows? Will you get tired of it over time? I would not but............. And what does hubby think of it. My husband just shook his head and said "Girls" LOL

I hope we helped.

Kim
 

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