New Pool in Plumas Lake - California

[peteandvanessa]

Total noobie here, never owned a pool or maintained one.

Just starting out for the first time.

We looked at a number of pool contractors in the local area, got three bids and reviewed three vendors for a new pool construction.

Settled on a local builder with a good reputation and saw a number of examples of their work.

The pool will be an In Ground Gunite pool, with pebblesheen. Pool size is approximately 34 foot x 21 foot x 8 foot deep with 9" cabo at one end.
The pool will be about 600 sq feet of surface area.

In the attached diagram, North is directly to the left of the diagram and south is to the right (meaning the North / South orientation is Horizontal)

Putting down about 660 square feet of concrete decking around the pool

Will be using mostly Pentair equipment, for the filter, variable speed pump etc (have to dig out all the specs from the builder).

2 Skimmers
4 Returns
Pentair Intellitouch Control Panel
Pentair Quad DE 100 Filter
Pentair Racer Pool Cleaner
Pentair Intellifloxf Variable speed and flow pump
Pentair Booster Pump

The pool, will have a single multi-color LED light at the top of the pool (see diagram)
Jump Rock at the top left of the deepest part of the pool
3' x 5' Moss Rock Water fall, top right of the deepest part of the pool
4' shelf top left of the pool
5' bench under the water fall
5' wide and 5' depth CABO bottom left of the pool which will be 9" deep

We are in the design phase of the pool at this point and finalizing the design with the pool designer (see attached diagram of the pool)

Looking for any comments, gotchas, and things to be aware of as we go through the build process.

Go easy on me I'm a total noobie.

Here's the rough area (marked in RED paint) of the back garden where the pool will be installed:

 

[Jimrahbe]

Pete,

Welcome to TFP.. A Great resource for all new pool builders no matter what their Lake is called...

One of the biggest decisions, and the one that is almost never addressed is... How do you plan to chlorinate your new pool?

My input is makes sure you do not let your pool builder sell you any "Magic"... Things like UV, Ozone, and Mineral systems all promise to reduce, or eliminate, chlorine as the main chemical to properly sanitize your pool water. Unfortunately, they are all magic and no rabbit. Avoid them at all costs..

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[peteandvanessa]

Thanks for the Input Jim, not been sold any Magic chlorination options like UV, Ozone etc. But we did look at a salt water pool versus the more traditional chlorinated pool and opted for the more traditional approach.

I'm sure I'll be posted a lot as the build get's underway.

 

[kimkats]

Well hello there! I like what I see so far! Thanks for letting us help spend your money! LOL

Here are somethings you can do to help us help you:

-Get all model numbers for all the equipment and post it here

-Ask how many returns, skimmers, and lights AND where they will be placed

-any special features like waterfalls, sun shelfs, bubblers, etc

I would love to see where this pool is going so we can see what you are working with!

Kim

 

[peteandvanessa]

Well hello there! I like what I see so far! Thanks for letting us help spend your money! LOL

Here are somethings you can do to help us help you:

-Get all model numbers for all the equipment and post it here

-Ask how many returns, skimmers, and lights AND where they will be placed

-any special features like waterfalls, sun shelfs, bubblers, etc

I would love to see where this pool is going so we can see what you are working with!

Kim

Thanks Kim (diagram of the proposed pool is attached to this thread), I've also edited my first post with as much detail as I know about the pool equipment (I'll have to double check the specs when I get home later)

 

[travispete]

What was the estimate if I may ask? Looking to build something similar.

 

[peteandvanessa]

Estimate for all the pool work, concrete, equipment etc is around $50,000. Some quote came out in the $43,000 mark but from feedback with other folks who used them, they had issues with getting the pool completed and/or the pool builder was less than responsive once the pool was under construction. I eventually went with a local pool builder who had great feedback from their customers and who seems to be very responsive to his customers.

 

[kimkats]

Smart move going with the PB that is responsive and finishes pools! Life is too short to have the kind of stress bad help can cause.

One thing I cannot tell from the drawing (even after I opened it on my lap top) is where the second skimmer is. I see the one across from the light. I can see all 4 returns but cannot find the other skimmer.

When you list "4' shelf top left of the pool" do you mean for the BBQ?

Kim

 

[peteandvanessa]

Smart move going with the PB that is responsive and finishes pools! Life is too short to have the kind of stress bad help can cause.

One thing I cannot tell from the drawing (even after I opened it on my lap top) is where the second skimmer is. I see the one across from the light. I can see all 4 returns but cannot find the other skimmer.

When you list "4' shelf top left of the pool" do you mean for the BBQ?



Kim

The pool builder have a great reputation locally and doesn't over commit, he builds to a realistic budget and isn't trying to get the business on cost. He's certainly not the cheapest
but he seems to deliver on his commitments. I know the folks we have spoken to are very pleased with his work, some of the other pools were well built to, but their PB weren't responsive during or after the build. That made me very wary of them.

There's two skimmers, one if at the top of the diagram next to the jump rock at about 11 o'clock. The second skimmer is bottom right at about 5 o'clock.

There's going to be a 4' shelf with step at the top of the pool at about the 10 o'clock position, this is so you can get out of the pool at the deep end. The will also be another bench/shelf under the waterfall so you can sit there and let the water trickle down your back and neck when the water fall is on.

 

[Grjones1020]

peteandvanessa,

I am a total noobie too and I will tell you the biggest things I have learned in my near obsessive research, and endless hours of reading.

1. Pucks make CYA hard to control, high CYA=P.I.T.A., and bleach is expensive, really look at how much you will be using. After going to the store and constantly looking for sales and deals on it, you will spend a fortune in a few years. You can calculate it fairly easily. For me the SWCG was a no brainer after seeing how much bleach I would have to keep around here in Tx. Bleach also takes more steady monitoring and addition. Most folks report being able to dial in the SWCG and not hassle with it as much. Though chem. is still paramount.

2. REALLY learn about plumbing, I mean dig in. (pun intended) The sizes and lengths of plumbing are so important to your energy bill in the end. You are paying for the fancy VSVF pump, so use its advantages. Turning over the pool is the most important thing and the volume you flow is key to that. This is what pushed me over the edge on the SWCG, it's pennies a day to make chlorine and I can run at a very low speed with the improved head from 2.5" plumbing so that my pump needs very little energy to move that large volume of water really just enough speed to keep the salt cell flow switch on.

Hydraulics 101 - Have you lost your head?

I am still struggling on the cost of automation but I am weighing the advantages and disadvantages carefully. It's a luxury like everything about a pool. A $3200 luxury!

 

[kimkats]

I see it all now! Thanks for pointing it all out.

Seeing everything like they are the only thing I might add is a return on the cabo to help keep it clean. Some robot cleaners get up there and some do not. if you have a return up there it will not matter as the return will push anything up there to the floor of the pool for the cleaner to get.

Kim

 

[peteandvanessa]

Plans were submitted this morning for the pool build and approved today - Yippee

The diggers will in in our back yard to start the big dig in two weeks. Can't wait

Will video the dig on a gopro

 

[kimkats]

WHAT???????? submitted in the morning and approved by the afternoon??? They must have drank some major caffeine today! SWEET!

Kim

 

[peteandvanessa]

WHAT???????? submitted in the morning and approved by the afternoon??? They must have drank some major caffeine today! SWEET!

Kim

Yep they were lightning fast, they went into the office at 8.30am and were out by 8.38am with approved permit in hand. Even the on-line permit approval tool showed it as approved minutes after the approval was granted.

Here's the full breakdown of the permit fees:

PLANNING PERMITS REVIEW	$73.50	9/27/2017
BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISION	$2.00	9/27/2017
CDSA SUPPORT FEES	$48.63	9/27/2017
BUILDING DEPARTMENT MISC FEES	$110.25	9/27/2017
PW BUILDING PERMIT FEES	$36.75	9/27/2017
SWIMMING POOL / SPA FEES	$588.00	9/27/2017

Total Fees: $859.13

Now the big dig starts in two week's.

 

[kimkats]

OUCH! That is a LOT of fees! Let the digging begin!

Kim

 

[peteandvanessa]

While we were waiting for the dig to start, we pondered the pool design a little based on inputs in other threads here on the site.

The first modification we made was to make the shallow end a little deeper. The original design called for 3 1/2 foot deep in the shallow end.

This has now been revised to 4 foot deep in the shallow end, this should allow us to do laps in the pool from the shallow end to the deep end and back without having issues with the shallow end depth.

The second modification was to increase the deck area around the pool. The original design had only 12 inches of concrete decking to the right and top part of the pool.
This would have been challenging to walk around the whole pool without falling in (LOL) and also we were worried that any dirt / soil etc, could get into the pool with such a narrow decking area.

So the plans have been revised to widen the right and top parts of the pool decking to get a minimum of 3 feet wide concrete deck all the way round the pool.
This increases the concrete decking from 574 Sq Feet to 678 Sq Feet and adds an additional $728 to the finished pool costs, but we are happier with the design with this revision.
(see revised plan below)

Still hoping to start the Big Dig this week, just waiting on final confirmation from the PB this week.

 

[kimkats]

You will like the extra walking area around the pool. It will keep it cleaner and be great for when you need to brush!

Kim

 

[peteandvanessa]

My PB just called me, the diggers are coming in on Monday 16th October. Yipee

I'm planning a time lapse video and will take lots of pics as they dig.

Can't wait.............

 

[kimkats]

Any way one of you could be there during the dig? If not make sure the head guy has a phone number you can answer just in case they have any questions, concerns, or ideas.

Monday = MUD day!!!

Kim

 

[peteandvanessa]

Any way one of you could be there during the dig? If not make sure the head guy has a phone number you can answer just in case they have any questions, concerns, or ideas.

Monday = MUD day!!!

Kim

I'll be at home on Monday, Kim while they dig, I'll be taking lots of measurements and pics too.