Pool Build in Fort Worth, TX Cost:$65,600 Free form play pool 34.5x19/ Pool/ 98' perimeter Pool/8'x6' semi oval Spa-rolled neck 3'6"-5'6"-4'6" Rebar-#3 on 10 OC
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Pool Build in Fort Worth, TX Cost:$65,600 Free form play pool 34.5x19/ Pool/ 98' perimeter Pool/8'x6' semi oval Spa-rolled neck 3'6"-5'6"-4'6" Rebar-#3 on 10 OC
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Jim Thanks for the reply and comments...TCB,
In my mind it should be illegal to build a new pool and use a single-speed pump..
Have you ever been in a gunite spa? If not, I suggest that you try one before you buy one.. Many people love them, but they are the most oversold and underused items in a pool build. If you have never used one, it is about the same as buying a new car without a test drive.. It may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but then again, maybe not...
I would not have a pool/spa combination without automation..
I would not build a new pool unless it was a saltwater pool.. I have three saltwater pools and could not take care of them all if they were regular chlorine pools. Saltwater makes the pools very easy to care for.
Water powered cleaners, like your Polaris, are 1960's technology.. Kind of like using an old black rotary dial phone instead of using a cell phone. I suggest that you move up into this Century and go with a Robot cleaner, which does not require your pumps to be on to clean your pool.
Thanks for posting,
Jim R.
Yes I've used a gunite spa not sure why your asking
Be aware that TFP does not support the 'turnover' myth in pool circulation and pump sizing.If you are looking for a 6 hour (360 min) turn rate
Salt pools are great, but can dissolve stone coping unless sealed periodically
About the robot, no matter if it is a pressure side polaris or an electric model, I wouldn't leave it in the pool at all times. This is just my opinion of course. I seem to see a lot of people having lots of problems with robots when they leave them in all the time. I put mine in when needed, let it run a few hours and take it out. My 280 is about 13 years old. It was 7 years old when I bought the house and I have replaced nothing. Except the collection bag, replaced it this year due to the velcro wearing out.
TCB,
In my mind it should be illegal to build a new pool and use a single-speed pump..
- you’ll get your wish soon enough with Title 20 revision & codification...
I was in the same boat aways took my robot out after cleaning duty. Simply because I didn’t like the idea of something plugged into pwr just sitting on the bottom of the pool when teenager kids are screwing around.
I was curious about that as well. Is a 1 year warranty for the plaster the norm? Seems really short.my pool builder gives a 10 year warranty on the quartz interior finish.... 1yr seems sketchy, but maybe I am wrong.
Big52,What is your soil like ? A lot of soil in the Dallas - Ft Worth area is highly expansive clay (Las Colinas, Frisco among many other areas) & the Balcones fault zone runs pretty much right up IH35 - a single mat of #3 bars may not be enough steel. For high PI (plasticity Index) soils (say PI >50), we often use 2 layers of reinforcing with #4 @ 12" ocew each layer (Grade 40 so it can be bent - Grade 60, although stronger, is hard to work with and seldom used in residential pools).
What is the shell thickness? Again, if high PI soil, double mat with a 12" thick shell is not uncommon. Gunite or shotcrete ? Recommend shotcrete - less curing shrinkage and less rebound ? Although for a pool this size, gunite is fine - just make sure the rebound is taken away and NOT re-used in the pool (e.g., steps or seats).
Double mat reinforced 12" shell is cheap insurance considering the cost of the pool. Double mat gives up to 3x the strength and 12x the stiffness against deflection compared to a single mat with the same shell thickness. And strength increases as the square of the thickness (from roughly the surface to the steel - not the whole cross section). I get called in to look at lot of the single mat 8" shells when they have cracked a couple of years later - I am in Austin, but look at pools from San Antonio to Dallas .
Make sure you have good site drainage so that you don't trap standing water around the pool area.
I agree with Razorhog above - don't put a planter right next to the pool. This is a fad with landscape designers right now who don't consider what the introduction of water right next to the pool shell does (locally swells the soil beside and under the pool) while the rest of the perimeter is semi "protected" from over saturation by the pool deck - leads to uneven (differential) movement that will crack a pool.
What is your pool volume ? I am guessing around 22k gallons (34.5'x19'x 4.5' av depthx 7.5 gal/cf)? If you are looking for a 6 hour (360 min) turn rate, you pump should push about 60 gpm (22000 gal / 360min)? (Check these numbers with your pool builder). The 2.5 hp pump sounds a little large. Would recommend variable speed (VS) pump. Can run on high for a couple of hours to clean surface then reduce speed for chem mixing. At 1/2 of full speed, you only use 1/8th of the amp draw (inverse cube rule), so you can run a low speed for a long time without using much power. Check with a pool shop of call/email Pentair and they should be able to advise you on the payback time.
Salt pools are great, but can dissolve stone coping unless sealed periodically - so either seal the flagstone or choose another coping material if you go the salt generation route. You mentioned chlorine as sanitizer - assume you are hand feeding ? There are several automatic feeders that will save you time of routine chemical addition. Although you need to check the pool chemistry weekly - get a good kit like TFP recommends in their pool school section - you will need to add chlorine every 2-3 day in the summer depending on heat and use. Auto chem feed can be added after the pool is done without much extra trouble, so you may want to start manually and if you get tired of it, add an auto-feed system later.
Good luck.