Fort Worth, TX IG Gunite Build

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jparadise81

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Jun 25, 2013
68
Fort Worth, TX
My wife and I finally pulled the trigger and are building a pool. I'm the type to over research and over analyze everything so I'll be reaching out to you guys for help probably more than you'd like but all help is greatly appreciated!

We've always wanted a pool but wanted to wait until our kids were a bit older. They're now 4 and 6 and can bother swim fairly well so we decided now wasa s goos a time as ever My pool builder is actually my older brother and he's agreed to build the pool for me basically at cost so Im getting a great deal...that definetley made the decision easier also. So here's what we've come up with:
- 32'x20' inground gunite free form pool
- 8' interior round spa
- Salt chlorination.
- Coping is undecided. Likely go with flagstone sealed with 40sk
- Waterfall on backside of pool
- Decking around front and sides of pool only.
- Pump: Hayward 3hp vs
- Filter: Largest Hayward cartridge filter
- Heater: Hayward 400k btu Might switch to raypak depending on pricing
- Automation: Omnilogic
- Cleaner: Robot, currently undecided on which model.

I attached pics of the layout and the design being laid out in our backyard. I increased the size of the spa from 7' to 8' and softened the curve on the front a bit to provide more pool space. We got all permits squared away and are now just waiting to dig! We've had so much rain this last month all the excavators are behind and to top it off a tropical storm is barrelling into TX as I type this and is supposed to drop 10" of rain on us over the next couple days. Hopefully we'll get the pool filled before the end of summer!

So based on the above do any of the experts have any recommendations or suggestions? Do you think having that lacebark elm tree 10' from the pool will be problematic?
 

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Water features like waterfalls typically run on their own pump with it's own drains feeding it.
This does not go through the filter, it is independent. The Drains can be wall mounted rather than in the floor if desired.
As there is only one rate at which the waterfall flows correctly, a multi-speed pump is not really useful.
The bigger the waterfall, the more this is true.

Pool and Spa always share the filter pump.
You may be able to downsize your filter pump from a 3hp VS based on that.
You may be able to get away with a 2hp VS for filter and a 1 to 2hp single speed for Waterfall (depends of height and volume of water required).

My pool is probably not a good example, but. I have a 6' tall 20' wide waterfall fed by a pair of 2hp single speeds. (My filter pump is a 2-1/2 hp).
 
ozdiver said:
Nope, but the on or off nature of my waterfall is kinda necessary.
Any less water and it would not be Niagra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QolSP12tZG0&feature=youtu.be
Click to expand...

I just built my pool and have a waterfall. I can turn he waterfall on or off but I can't change the amount of water to the waterfall. But when you're trying to talk the waterfall can be a little loud and it would have been a good idea to have a valve to lower the amount of water to he waterfall. I think all I had to do was have a Tee connecting the returns and the waterfall where I could have had more water go to the return when I didn't want as much water going down the waterfall. You may want to consider doing that
 
You are right about the noise level.
If we want a quiet conversation in the Spa, the Waterfall has to be off.
I do have the ability to shutdown one of the Waterfall pumps to half the volume of water.
I need to look into that angle. Since I got the flows balanced across the spillways, I have not run on a single pump.
The noise level in mine is mainly due to the number of cascades and the height at which they fall.

Ok, done.
Here is running one pump, then running both, then back to one.

https://youtu.be/txmpGn6qNtc
 

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I do not have a stone water fall but a 24" wall with 3 scuppers coming off it with 3/4 hp pump and drains on the wall to feed them. Each one has it's own valve behind the wall to adjust the flow. It would be cool to have automated valves or a vs pump to adjust the flow on the fly but that would cost $$$$$$$.
 
rphpool, I understand the multiple return valve arrangement you have.
That method is just as valid for a wide low waterfall where you need multiple water feeds.
That is the only way to tune the output.

Mine all comes from a single cistern at the top, the flow distribution was done with multiple sessions with the stone mason tweaking the direction of flow.
So for me, valves did not offer benefit.

What are the dimensions of your waterfall? Width from first to last spillway and height?
Will it need multiple water feeds to achieve the flow characteristics you envision?
Or will it be a single central cistern arrangement?
 
After the dig take a tape measure and check all the depths. And remember if this is a gunite pool the rebar will be about three inches off the ground and the gunite will be pouted below there rebar and three inches above it as well. And the height of the water will be some inches below the height of the dig since the water only goes half way up the tile. And the plaster will take up 1/2 to an inch so when you measure the height in various places you should subtract about nine or ten inches to account for actual bottom of the pool being about seven inches above the bottom of the dig and the height being below the actual height. The way to measure the height is take string and put it across the pool and make it tight and then measure up from the bottom of the pool to the string.
 
19082496028_464cfa3c94_k.jpg


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
Finally started but in a hold pattern because they planned to back the dump truck into the backyard but we're unable to because of multiple water valve boxes.

But it should be dug today hopefully with steel and plumbing tomorrow and Wednesday inspection Thursday and gunite friday. We'll see how we progress.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 

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