New In-ground Pool Central Florida

[mszporka]

After doing a lot of research on these forums, and asking advice on the design, I finally took the step and solicited quotes from four different pool companies. I received the first quote back last week from one of the companies (and probably the preferred). I would appreciate any advice/comments that anyone had. The basics are:

• 15x30 Inground Pool with Gunite
• 3.5’ to 6’ deep
• 6x6 spa (They included 4 jets in this quote)Sunshelf
• SWG
• Heater
• Foundation for future screen enclosure
• Pebble Finish and Paver Deck

I asked for a list of equipment models, and this is the response I received, so I would also like any feedback on these models:

Filter: CS200/250
Pump: VS FLOPRO 1.85 - 2.7HP
Heater: JXI400K BTU NGAS
Lights: HydroCool LED Nicheless
Bubbler: TRUFIT LED Bubbler with Pressure Check Tech
Salt System: TruClear Salt Chlorinator
Autofill: Pentair Autofill/DrainAutomation: iAqualink RS-PS8


Thanks in advance!

 

[kimkats]

I LOVE your shelf/steps set up. It looks so neat from above!

Is the spa a raised spa? Where is it in relation to the house?

Kim

 

[mszporka]

I LOVE your shelf/steps set up. It looks so neat from above!

Thank you! We went through about 4-5 different versions and that is where we landed.

Is the spa a raised spa? Where is it in relation to the house?

Yes, it is 12“ raised. The house is plan south (you can see a little bit of the roof in the image. We looked at bring it closer, but think that is the best place in relation to the neighbors (farthest away as possible).

 

[kimkats]

I wanted to make sure it did not block the sight line from the house. Some people don't think about that part of it. You need to be able to see all of the pool from the patio and house for the safety of the swimmers.

 

[mszporka]

After getting three quotes (and all were surprisingly within $7k of each other), we signed the contract with the first pool builder. I attribute the closeness to us already having a design nailed down before bidding, and telling the companies exactly what we wanted. This builder has a good reputation in town, and were the most affordable. Some changes we made along the way were:

• Deepened the sun shelf to a second step shelf and reconfigured it a little. We were in a pool with the deeper sunshelf and the kids love it. This did however eliminate the practicality of the bubblers on the sun shelf because we were told the water is too deep for them to function without having some type of rod sticking up. We instead decided to add three deck jets so we had some type of feature.
• We ended up adding 2 more jets to the spa for a total of 6.
• Moved the pool to a distance of 7’ from the house instead of 6’.
• upgraded the decking to Artistic Pavers Shellock Ivory. When we got to the design studio we were not feeling any of the included pavers (I had a feeling this was going to happen). We (wife) saw the Shellock pavers and fell in love. I figured that is one of the most important things about the pool and I want to do it right, so we decided to pay the extra $6k upgrade. I think will be worth it as I have read good things about them.

If all goes well, they will start digging as soon as we have a permit and HOA approval. They are saying 6-8 weeks, but I hope it will be sooner. They are quoting 3-4 months of construction after dig, so I will tell myself we will be swimming in 1st Quarter 2024!

 

[Viru]

which builder did you end up going with?

 

[mszporka]

which builder did you end up going with?

Dreamscapes.

 

[kellyfair]

Shelf deign is gorgeous!

 

[mszporka]

Shelf deign is gorgeous!

Thank you! We went through 3 or 4 different design revisions and are very happy with how it ended up.

 

[mszporka]

We got our building permit within a week of them applying and got final HOA approval on September 6th. Of course they called me the next day asking if I was ready and I had not yet removed a small tree and still needed to cut and cap the irrigation (and was going out of town that weekend) so I gave them the go ahead on September 11th. I got the call yesterday morning that they were coming out that day to strip the sod, so we have officially begun. I was told that we we were tentatively on the schedule for layout and form boards today, but that didn’t pan out so maybe monday!

 

[kimkats]

SO close to the real first step!

 

[laszlof]

Found this thread while researching the Shellock tiles. Looking forward to seeing them! We're considering having them installed as well.

While I'm here, I thought I should point out, you probably want to go with the Aquapure SWG rather than the TruClear. Its a better overall system and given the size of your pool, you'll likely want more chlorine output (TFP recommends 2x your pools capacity). The Aqualink 1400 is rated for up to 40K Gallons. So anything up to about 20K gallons it would be perfect. We went with this on our 10K gallon pool, totally overkill, but it just means we'll get more life out of the cell before having to replace it.

Also, if you're already getting the Aqualink RS-PS8, you can swap out the power center (assuming it comes with the 6614-LD) for the 6614AP-L, which already has the purelink control board and transformer built in, in addition to 12 circuit breakers. The just order the Aqualink PLC1400 SWG cell, and plug it right in.

 

[mszporka]

Found this thread while researching the Shellock tiles. Looking forward to seeing them! We're considering having them installed as well.

Will post pictures. I have heard/read good things about them!

While I'm here, I thought I should point out, you probably want to go with the Aquapure SWG rather than the TruClear. Its a better overall system and given the size of your pool, you'll likely want more chlorine output (TFP recommends 2x your pools capacity).

I did talk to them and the PB convinced me against it, and said that they haven’t had any problem with the Trueclear. Maybe I will talk to them a little more about it.

 

[mszporka]

So the big day is here! They put up the form boards last Monday, and I was waiting on pins and needles for them to come and dig! I am in the general contractor-commercial construction industry, so this pool scheduling is really baffling to me, but I have promised myself that I would be patient and know what to expect (periods/weeks of no work). I got a text this morning that we on the “tentative” schedule for digging today, and about 2 minutes i checked my security cameras to see an excavator pulling up in my side yard. I am very impressed with the work so far, and they actually left it neater than I thought!

 

[Lampasas1]

I’m following for the shellock pavers too. I haven’t seen them after installation, but they look fantastic and check all the boxes for me. I am finalizing deck square footage for our build to place an order soon. Wishing you the best on your build!

 

[laszlof]

Will post pictures. I have heard/read good things about them!

I did talk to them and the PB convinced me against it, and said that they haven’t had any problem with the Trueclear. Maybe I will talk to them a little more about it.

I’m following for the shellock pavers too. I haven’t seen them after installation, but they look fantastic and check all the boxes for me. I am finalizing deck square footage for our build to place an order soon. Wishing you the best on your build!

We have ours on order, should be here early next week. We went with the "Cafe" color on the deck, and "Tan" color on the coping. 24x24 all the way around, and 4x8 on the coping. Excited to see pictures. They look great from the samples I've seen.

 

[laszlof]

So the big day is here! They put up the form boards last Monday, and I was waiting on pins and needles for them to come and dig! I am in the general contractor-commercial construction industry, so this pool scheduling is really baffling to me, but I have promised myself that I would be patient and know what to expect (periods/weeks of no work). I got a text this morning that we on the “tentative” schedule for digging today, and about 2 minutes i checked my security cameras to see an excavator pulling up in my side yard. I am very impressed with the work so far, and they actually left it neater than I thought! View attachment 532669View attachment 532671View attachment 532672View attachment 532670

Exciting day! Our contractors have been hit or miss to be honest, its been an extremely slow process with many setbacks. Glad we're on the final stretch though. Hoping yours goes more smoothly! At least being down in FL you do not have to worry about that thing we call snow for 3 months out of the year

 

[kimkats]

LET the dirt and mud begin!!!

Now run out there and measure it all! Is it wide, deep, long enough? Add about 6" for the steel, shell, and plaster. The WATER depth is from the middle of the skimmer opening to the bottom of the pool.

 

[kit2022]

Beautiful pool! How deep did you make your steps and sunshelf? Also, how do you intend to use your sunshelf? I'm in the process of designing a pool and looking for input. Thanks!

 

[mszporka]

Beautiful pool! How deep did you make your steps and sunshelf? Also, how do you intend to use your sunshelf? I'm in the process of designing a pool and looking for input. Thanks!

Thank you! We made our sunshelf to be at the 2nd step level so around 18” deep. We originally had it designed as 8” but our kid’s swim instructor has the deeper sunshelf and after talking with her, and seeing hers, we decided to go deeper. The only downside is that we had to add a step on the sunshelf to get down with that level. We feel that it gives kids who aren’t as good a swimming a deeper place to play. We may also eventually put some lounge chairs or sitting chairs in there.