Our pool builder went under. Luckily for us, he already completed the parts of the job we paid for (other clients weren't so lucky) so we didn't get hurt financially. Our contractor tells us that we'll probably even save money on the remaining parts, although we have to do some of the legwork ourselves.
We had an equipment installer here on Friday and I realized this is an aspect where a PB can be a big help. The installer is not so good at explaining things, since he's normally just a sub for PB's. He wasn't expecting that I wouldn't know exactly what we need. He's a nice guy, though, so he helped me as best he could.
The main thing I'm confused about are controllers. The installer (and our general contractor) are recommending Jandy or Pentair systems. We've more or less decided on Jandy, but I don't remember why, so we could be talked out that. Seems like a reputable company though and the installer doesn't make a markup (we buy the equipment ourselves) so I trust his motives.
Anyway, what I don't understand is how many controllers we need. There's a wireless handheld PDA thing that seems cool, since you can have it in the hottub to turn on jets and whatnot, or have it in the house to turn on the heater ahead of time. Do we need another controller beyond that? Apparently we need to program in what time the filter automatically goes on and other stuff I'm not all that familiar with. (This is our first pool.) Can this be done with that PDA gadget, or do we need to also buy a dedicated controller for that?
There's some sort of iAquaLink option that lets us do everything with an iPad, but is that overkill? My wife and I aren't gadget freaks who are going to try and impress our friends with "See? We can turn on the jets even if we're in Alaska!" (That's the example the installer gave.) Plus it's expensive, although I guess there's a package deal where other equipment we need gets included, although I can't remember because my head was spinning as they tried to explain all this to me.
Perhaps we need to hire a consultant, but if there's an easy to answer to "Here's what a couple in their 50's who just wants a simple setup pool should get" I'm all ears.
FWIW, here's the equipment list the guy gave me. The pool is 16' x 36" with a spa in one corner. We're in Los Angeles. He didn't specify brands, but he said for warranty purposes, we'd want to stay consistent with whatever brand we choose.
1.5 horsepower pump
2 horsepower pump
400 btu heater
60 filter
1 back wash
1 blower
1 white pool light (LED?)
1 white spa light
1 Jandy subpanel power center w/t salt system
1 cell
I forgot to mention, we're doing a salt system. (My wife hates chlorine.) If that's a mistake, please let me know.
Also, the gunnite and tile is in, but not the plaster. We were told that pool plaster is generally gray, because that makes the pool look bluer and not so bright as a white plaster. But as I searched through this forum, I saw a guy plaster his pool green. Is there a reason we should consider plastering a color (blue or green) instead of gray?
We had an equipment installer here on Friday and I realized this is an aspect where a PB can be a big help. The installer is not so good at explaining things, since he's normally just a sub for PB's. He wasn't expecting that I wouldn't know exactly what we need. He's a nice guy, though, so he helped me as best he could.
The main thing I'm confused about are controllers. The installer (and our general contractor) are recommending Jandy or Pentair systems. We've more or less decided on Jandy, but I don't remember why, so we could be talked out that. Seems like a reputable company though and the installer doesn't make a markup (we buy the equipment ourselves) so I trust his motives.
Anyway, what I don't understand is how many controllers we need. There's a wireless handheld PDA thing that seems cool, since you can have it in the hottub to turn on jets and whatnot, or have it in the house to turn on the heater ahead of time. Do we need another controller beyond that? Apparently we need to program in what time the filter automatically goes on and other stuff I'm not all that familiar with. (This is our first pool.) Can this be done with that PDA gadget, or do we need to also buy a dedicated controller for that?
There's some sort of iAquaLink option that lets us do everything with an iPad, but is that overkill? My wife and I aren't gadget freaks who are going to try and impress our friends with "See? We can turn on the jets even if we're in Alaska!" (That's the example the installer gave.) Plus it's expensive, although I guess there's a package deal where other equipment we need gets included, although I can't remember because my head was spinning as they tried to explain all this to me.
Perhaps we need to hire a consultant, but if there's an easy to answer to "Here's what a couple in their 50's who just wants a simple setup pool should get" I'm all ears.
FWIW, here's the equipment list the guy gave me. The pool is 16' x 36" with a spa in one corner. We're in Los Angeles. He didn't specify brands, but he said for warranty purposes, we'd want to stay consistent with whatever brand we choose.
1.5 horsepower pump
2 horsepower pump
400 btu heater
60 filter
1 back wash
1 blower
1 white pool light (LED?)
1 white spa light
1 Jandy subpanel power center w/t salt system
1 cell
I forgot to mention, we're doing a salt system. (My wife hates chlorine.) If that's a mistake, please let me know.
Also, the gunnite and tile is in, but not the plaster. We were told that pool plaster is generally gray, because that makes the pool look bluer and not so bright as a white plaster. But as I searched through this forum, I saw a guy plaster his pool green. Is there a reason we should consider plastering a color (blue or green) instead of gray?