New Austin, TX Owner Build

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And5555 said:
3) With respect to not plumbing for a booster pump just in case for the future, it seems like the long term here is that robots will win. That is, it seems like the tech will get better and better, and should I swap something out in 5 years, it would probably be a robot anyway.
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So are you asking if it is worth plumbing for the pressure side cleaner at all, or for one that specifically needs a booster pump? (I'm not too familiar with the differences). We have a robot that we already bought, but I'm wondering if we should plumb for a pressure cleaner just in case, or not at all, in light of already having a robot. Is there a reason you aren't choosing to go with a robot now?
 
JamieP said:
So are you asking if it is worth plumbing for the pressure side cleaner at all, or for one that specifically needs a booster pump? (I'm not too familiar with the differences). We have a robot that we already bought, but I'm wondering if we should plumb for a pressure cleaner just in case, or not at all, in light of already having a robot. Is there a reason you aren't choosing to go with a robot now?
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I thought that there was something different about the plumbing, but the more I think about it, I think it's just a matter of whether you have them install a booster pump or not.

The only reason I'm choosing to go with the Polaris 360 vs robot is price and longevity - $420 vs ~$800 and Polaris cleaners have been cleaning pools at least since I was a boy. If I needed a booster pump, that might possibly tip the scales.
 
The cheaper cost of the pressure cleaner (not sure about how the booster pump affects things) is what makes me want to plumb for one as backup. So if our robot goes out, I have a cheaper alternative to replacing the robot, if funds don't permit buying a new robot at that time. But I'm not sure if that's good reasoning or not.
 
Thought you guys might be interested in seeing the pics of the layout. Note: it is really hard to see the light pink border in these pics (you have to zoom in). Also note that the perimeter includes the coping.

IMG_5474.JPG - Google Drive
IMG_5475.JPG - Google Drive
Here's the pic that the layout guy used to draw all the radiuses. Luckily I had it in Pool Studio so I was able to add the distance measurements between all radius points really quick, print it out, and give it to him to do the layout.
meas.png - Google Drive

Now I hope the spray paint doesn't wash off with all the rain we'll get over the next few days (it's waterproof spray paint, but still).
 
JamieP said:
The cheaper cost of the pressure cleaner (not sure about how the booster pump affects things) is what makes me want to plumb for one as backup. So if our robot goes out, I have a cheaper alternative to replacing the robot, if funds don't permit buying a new robot at that time. But I'm not sure if that's good reasoning or not.
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I don't know how it will be with your contractors, but with mine so far, he hasn't really been doing any nickel and diming on me. He told me the plumbing price of $2k to do my pool, and when I tell him, I want to do a bubbler here and let's do whatever here, they seem to be trivial enough requests that theyre all just still covered under the general "plumbing" cost. I expect that there would be a point where he'd want to charge more, but so far, he seems very accommodating.

For something like this, I think it's just a pool return. I wouldn't think it would cost any more to do it.
 
I liked my Polaris but like I said, with a booster pump it's a whole different animal. The nice thing about running a suction side cleaner is when you plumb a suction port to the side of the pool it can power the cleaner or be used with a manual vacuum. The suction side Pool Cleaner works pretty well at low flows, cutting down of power use.

Without a seperate booster pump, the port for the Polaris is just another return port (although it should be separately valved). I guess you could later add a booster pump and up grade to the 380, if it doesn't work out. My concern is that unless you run very high rpm, you will be directing most if not all of the return flow to the Polaris.

Aàswwš'
 
The are that I am really looking at is the wall side. How much water comes down from the wall? If you slope the patio in such a way it will "direct" the water away from the pool that should work.

When you say side for the channel drain do you mean the side of the pool like between the wall and pool or the side of the yard?

YOU know the water movement in your yard. I just want you to think ahead with what you have already and plan for what will work best for your yard and pool. Better to over plan ahead than to try to fix a problem. after you find it.

Kim
 

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Thanks for all the feedback on the draining stuff. I actually don't go outside when it's raining much, so over the next couple days while it's supposed to rain, I'll try to do some investigation. I was thinking to put a channel drain in between the pool coping and the wall. Depending on the water level I observe, maybe I'll go with a thick channel drain like chief mentioned.

You're right that it's better to get it right and not have to deal with it later.

On a related note, there's about a 6" drop in elevation from one side to the other. The two ways to deal with it are:
1) Have the excavator grade down that space in between the pool and the wall (doesn't sound like it's a big deal, though we'll have to redraw that part of the layout).
2) Let the other side go up out of the ground 6" (excavator said he could put backfill dirt on the other side of that to do a slope so it's not so severe.

Also, if I don't grade down that space, how would they do a sloped patio (away from the pool)?
 
My deck is sloped away from the pool in all four directions. The drain is along a strip between where it drains away from the house and drains away from the pool. During an extreme monsoon I have only once seen it full to the top of the grates.
 
My house is near the top of a hill but my lot is significantly sloped. Think 25 feet from the top to the bottom difference in elevation. A channel drain wouldn't cut it on my lot. It just depends on how much water you get. All parts of the high side of my pool are at least 6" above ground so the lot can be sloped to guide the water around the pool. How much slope is there above the wall? Is it pretty flat or does all the water flow downhill to the wall?
 
ummgood said:
My house is near the top of a hill but my lot is significantly sloped. Think 25 feet from the top to the bottom difference in elevation. A channel drain wouldn't cut it on my lot. It just depends on how much water you get. All parts of the high side of my pool are at least 6" above ground so the lot can be sloped to guide the water around the pool. How much slope is there above the wall? Is it pretty flat or does all the water flow downhill to the wall?
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Its not too bad of a slope at the top of the hill. I think the channel drain will be sufficient. I think now the only question is whether I should grade down the area in front of the wall a bit so we don't have to set the pool 9" on one side. What do you think?

Also, update: layout inspection happened today (was pretty uneventful), onecall is done, and excavation likely to begin tomorrow. The only thing holding up excavation is that the ground is still a bit wet from the rain we got this weekend (.5 in puddles in front of the wall). We'll be playing it by ear tomorrow to see how bad we'd tear up the yard if we started tomorrow.

Sidenote: learned an interesting thing from the inspector. City of Austin required a fence around the pool. If you're using the fence around the property that includes the house, you have to get window and door alarms everywhere. Won't matter for me since I'll be doing a mesh fence around pool, but interesting (btw, this is 2012 International Residential Code).

Another update: I've started to look into Belgard porcelein pavers for the coping (specifically Quarziti 2.0). They look awesome (like quartzite), they're incredibly durable and salt water resistant, and they don't seem too expensive. Only thing is that they are only 3/4 in thick so I worry about aesthetic. Has anybody ever done porcelein pavers for coping?

Another random question: for the excavators tomorrow, we're trying to finalize seating plans. Thinking a swimout on left side by deep end and possibly. Bench seat in the circle on the right in the shallow...? I don't know very much bout this.

I keep realizing updates. One more (I think): went to go order a rainfall waterfall descent. Realized a huge gotcha. The rainfall kind cannot work very well on a curved wall (you cannot cut the lip to shape). Therefore, I ordered the standard sheer descent instead. Was wanting the sound and aesthetic of rainfall, but oh well.

Thanks,
Andy
 
I will tell you that another pool build turned their rainfall into a sheer after they heard how loud the rainfall was! They said it was way too loud. Their PB just cut through all of the holes to make it one long line. MUCH better and still very pretty!

To my you cannot have too many benches so..............as for the swim out that is up to you. Just make sure it does not cut into your swim lane too much.

If the pavers/patio are the same height then would it matter how thick the pavers are? Are you thinking of looking at the pavers from inside the pool? If so I THINK any would look good no matter how thick. That is just me.

Sloping--I will let others talk about that. You saw how the rain ran in your yard so use that as a guide.

Kim
 
And5555 said:
Its not too bad of a slope at the top of the hill. I think the channel drain will be sufficient. I think now the only question is whether I should grade down the area in front of the wall a bit so we don't have to set the pool 9" on one side. What do you think?
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Yeah I really don't know without seeing your property with a large amount of rain fall. It sounds like since your lot more flat on top of the wall it won't be as much runoff as what I have. Worse case scenario for you I think on top of the wall you could put another drain to reroute the water before it goes down the wall to limit the amount of flow.

I was aware of the city of Austin requirements for the fence. I have heard that it just depends on what inspector you get on how anal they are with the doors and window requirement. I have a door alarm so far but am waiting to buy the window alarms until later. I have a TON of windows on the back of my house but in reality only 2 are a problem with people gaining access to the pool. Those two windows go onto my deck. All other windows have at least a 6' drop to the ground so they aren't really accessing the pool. We'll see. I know I have asked several people who have had pools built in the last year and the inspector only checked the door. I could be the unfortunate one.

As far as your pavers I have never seen a pool with thin coping. I also have belgard pavers for my coping but they are much thicker. Mine are Mega Bergerac which are 3" thick. I would be concerned about the portion of the paver that overhangs the pool. If it isn't thick enough if something like a chair hits the edge of the pool it can break off a part of the coping. They usually overhang the tile by an 1" or so. Most pavers are designed to have sand base under the entire paver so if you use a paver for pool coping you'll want to make sure it is really strong so you don't get chips/breaking around the part of the coping that overhangs.

I would get a sample and see how strong it is.
 
ummgood said:
I was aware of the city of Austin requirements for the fence. I have heard that it just depends on what inspector you get on how anal they are with the doors and window requirement. I have a door alarm so far but am waiting to buy the window alarms until later. I have a TON of windows on the back of my house but in reality only 2 are a problem with people gaining access to the pool. Those two windows go onto my deck. All other windows have at least a 6' drop to the ground so they aren't really accessing the pool. We'll see. I know I have asked several people who have had pools built in the last year and the inspector only checked the door. I could be the unfortunate one.
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Thanks for the tips.

One of the builders told me what he does for the alarm thing is what I refer to as a "Walmart rental". He runs to the store before the inspection and subsequently returns the ones that you don't actually need. A little shady, but to each his own.
 
The national pool code calls for all doors that access the pool area to be alarmed or have self closers with handles above 42". The alarm required should be powered (not battery type). At least that was the code when I built. We opted for self closing doors with latches raised. That way no one can remove or turn off an alarm. About the only way to defeat the safety system is to block the door open.

Having spent many years in public safety (Fire Chief), it drives me nuts when I hear about people who install safety systems just to pass inspection, then remove or defeat them. Safety regulations are there for a reason.
I have NEVER seen a fatality in a fire where there were working smoke detectors.
 
chiefwej said:
The national pool code calls for all doors that access the pool area to be alarmed or have self closers with handles above 42". The alarm required should be powered (not battery type). At least that was the code when I built. We opted for self closing doors with latches raised. That way no one can remove or turn off an alarm. About the only way to defeat the safety system is to block the door open.

Having spent many years in public safety (Fire Chief), it drives me nuts when I hear about people who install safety systems just to pass inspection, then remove or defeat them. Safety regulations are there for a reason.
I have NEVER seen a fatality in a fire where there were working smoke detectors.
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Hey could you post what type of latch you used? I am all for the safety of my kids and already have bought something for up high that will not allow them to open the door. I don't mind putting spring hinges on my door and a self locking latch as long as I can find one that works and my son won't be able to force his way through.

Our windows are very hard to open and he wouldn't be able to open them. I am more worried about the door.
 
ummgood said:
As far as your pavers I have never seen a pool with thin coping.
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Slide on over to my build partner...page 3.

Our coping ranges from 3/4" - 1 1/4" thick. It is natural cleft PA bluestone though, so very strong and there would be no issue with chipping. All else equal, I'd prefer thicker coping than we have. Coping that is all 3/4" thick will look thin and somewhat out of proportion to the scale of the project. But not necessarily a deal-breaker if other benefits are primo.
 

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