Thanks Kim and Riley!! No - not home yet. ~40 days left here. I am really impressed with the shed (from pictures and my FIL talking about the construction). I wish we had more space to have made the shed big enough to have a pool bath and snack bar / grill area.
Pool build - Southwest FL - Tampa
- Thread starter sehrmude
- Start date
Close but not close enough. Not too long to go I guess. The shed fits perfectly in that space.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,694
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Shed looks great! Is this your 5-year house, or your 30-year house? Reason I ask: having dealt with all three over the years, I'm seeing some potential failure points in the shed. They could be fine for years, or decades, but eventually one or more of these will be the first to go:
1.
Make sure there is no soil contact anywhere between the siding and the ground. Is that wood or a Hardie Board type product? Either way, it shouldn't touch the soil. It just looks a little close in the pictures, and sometimes dirt has a way of piling up on siding, then you get rot or other issues.
2.
Are you planning on gutters and downspouts? Sometimes rafter tails poop out first on a roof structure. It's the wood used, or the paint maintenance or the way the water runs down them from the roof, or a few too many xmas-light-hanging nails. But fixing rafter tail rot is a common repair job. I'd install a gutter. It'll help protect the tails, and without a gutter, you're going to get a drip line across your deck. Plus a gutter might catch some junk that will otherwise slide off the roof into your pool (it's not quite clear just how close the roof's edge is to the pool's edge). Roofing grit, dust, leaves, bird droppings, etc. The nails attaching a gutter to the tails can actually cause the very problem the gutter is meant to prevent, if not done properly. So there's that to watch out for, as well (it's a metal penetration into the end grain of a piece of wood, then subjected to water, so there needs to be care taken at that potential failure point, too).
3.
Those two 4x8s? They look great. But do they have any sort of cap or flashing over the top? The picture is not clear enough. I've had to fix mine. An upward-facing flat wood surface, exposed like that to sun and rain, will fail. Those two will go before the tails do. Paint will help, at first, but when it starts to crack and peel (from the sun) it'll just trap moisture and then you'll get rot. And fixing either of those, which look to be the primary load-bearing beams running straight through the shed, will not be fun. You could cut them back, so they're not exposed to the sun. Or you could fashion flashing over them and paint that. I'm not actually sure of the best fix for those, I just know they're going to fail eventually if they're wood and exposed.
Sorry for the downer report, but I'd want to hear it if it were my shed... Now's the time to address these, and your shed will outlast you!
1.
Make sure there is no soil contact anywhere between the siding and the ground. Is that wood or a Hardie Board type product? Either way, it shouldn't touch the soil. It just looks a little close in the pictures, and sometimes dirt has a way of piling up on siding, then you get rot or other issues.
2.
Are you planning on gutters and downspouts? Sometimes rafter tails poop out first on a roof structure. It's the wood used, or the paint maintenance or the way the water runs down them from the roof, or a few too many xmas-light-hanging nails. But fixing rafter tail rot is a common repair job. I'd install a gutter. It'll help protect the tails, and without a gutter, you're going to get a drip line across your deck. Plus a gutter might catch some junk that will otherwise slide off the roof into your pool (it's not quite clear just how close the roof's edge is to the pool's edge). Roofing grit, dust, leaves, bird droppings, etc. The nails attaching a gutter to the tails can actually cause the very problem the gutter is meant to prevent, if not done properly. So there's that to watch out for, as well (it's a metal penetration into the end grain of a piece of wood, then subjected to water, so there needs to be care taken at that potential failure point, too).
3.
Those two 4x8s? They look great. But do they have any sort of cap or flashing over the top? The picture is not clear enough. I've had to fix mine. An upward-facing flat wood surface, exposed like that to sun and rain, will fail. Those two will go before the tails do. Paint will help, at first, but when it starts to crack and peel (from the sun) it'll just trap moisture and then you'll get rot. And fixing either of those, which look to be the primary load-bearing beams running straight through the shed, will not be fun. You could cut them back, so they're not exposed to the sun. Or you could fashion flashing over them and paint that. I'm not actually sure of the best fix for those, I just know they're going to fail eventually if they're wood and exposed.
Sorry for the downer report, but I'd want to hear it if it were my shed... Now's the time to address these, and your shed will outlast you!
Hey Dirk - I appreciate your input and will address the questions with the caveat that my home was built in 1926 - the shed was built to match. I have no dreams of this being "maintenance free".
1. The shed is built on an 8" reinforced concrete slab and the siding is JP Hardie Board. No soil comes all the way to the siding. That said, I believe we will need to add a deck drain along the edge of the shed - the pool builder knew we were putting the shed in, but, at the time, believed there would be a drainage gap between the pool deck and shed which would be landscaped. Then the shed plans changed without thinking about the effects it would have on this. I plan to deal with that when I get home.
2. The exposed rafter tails are a design element of the craftsman bungalow we live in - and not something we are interested in changing/covering with gutters. There's about 2' of pool deck/coping between the roof edge and water. The deck is sloped away from the water - towards the shed - so far nothing from the roof has gone in the water (except for leaves).
3. Unlike the original 1926 beams that support the roof on the home, the 'outriggers' on the shed are there for design only and can be easily replaced if they get rot...but as long as I keep up with regular maintenance (scrape/paint), I don't foresee any issues. I do have two repairs on the home's beams to take care of very soon...
Again - I knew what I was getting into when we purchased the home. I am willing to put in the time and effort.
1. The shed is built on an 8" reinforced concrete slab and the siding is JP Hardie Board. No soil comes all the way to the siding. That said, I believe we will need to add a deck drain along the edge of the shed - the pool builder knew we were putting the shed in, but, at the time, believed there would be a drainage gap between the pool deck and shed which would be landscaped. Then the shed plans changed without thinking about the effects it would have on this. I plan to deal with that when I get home.
2. The exposed rafter tails are a design element of the craftsman bungalow we live in - and not something we are interested in changing/covering with gutters. There's about 2' of pool deck/coping between the roof edge and water. The deck is sloped away from the water - towards the shed - so far nothing from the roof has gone in the water (except for leaves).
3. Unlike the original 1926 beams that support the roof on the home, the 'outriggers' on the shed are there for design only and can be easily replaced if they get rot...but as long as I keep up with regular maintenance (scrape/paint), I don't foresee any issues. I do have two repairs on the home's beams to take care of very soon...
Again - I knew what I was getting into when we purchased the home. I am willing to put in the time and effort.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,694
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
All three issues I've repaired, and were due to me not knowing ahead of time the potential. A little preventative maintenance will go a long way. I figured the tails might be a design element, they look great. They'll get lots of air, so they'll be fine if you keep them painted and don't poke 'em full of holes. The gutter would have just gotten in the way of the slip'n'slide anyway.
Hardie Board, I love that stuff! Great material to have on a building.
And those outriggers being decorative instead of structural significantly lowers the worry about those, for sure. I tried to keep mine painted, but I couldn't keep up with it. Mine are structural. I treated the rot and capped 'em with aluminum and am pretending that's all I'm going to need to do. I probably should go cut out the rot...
The pool looks fantastic! You haven't been in, yet, right? Something to look forward to! Congrat's on your new yard!!
Hardie Board, I love that stuff! Great material to have on a building.
And those outriggers being decorative instead of structural significantly lowers the worry about those, for sure. I tried to keep mine painted, but I couldn't keep up with it. Mine are structural. I treated the rot and capped 'em with aluminum and am pretending that's all I'm going to need to do. I probably should go cut out the rot...
The pool looks fantastic! You haven't been in, yet, right? Something to look forward to! Congrat's on your new yard!!
My wife uses the pool at least 3 days a week - I haven't seen it in person yet. 
I always seem to catch wifey on the security camera when she is cleaning the pool...I had banned her from using R.A.L.P.H. (Dolphin S300) until she consistently tested the water and was keeping the chemistry in check. She's been really good about it lately - The TA is still a little high...and I think that leads to the more rapid pH rise, but she's now testing and adjusting regularly. The CSI was 0.06 yesterday.
I think it is time to lift the ban.
I always seem to catch wifey on the security camera when she is cleaning the pool...I had banned her from using R.A.L.P.H. (Dolphin S300) until she consistently tested the water and was keeping the chemistry in check. She's been really good about it lately - The TA is still a little high...and I think that leads to the more rapid pH rise, but she's now testing and adjusting regularly. The CSI was 0.06 yesterday.I think it is time to lift the ban.
I am glad to hear she is doing the testing and it is going in the right direction.
The TA being high will help push the pH up for sure as will the new plaster as it cures. Here is the link to lowering the TA:
Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity
It is a process of pushing the pH down with m.a then pushing it up with aeration of the water. You can turn your returns up so they roll the water good to help do this or do LOTS of cannon balls! It might be something best left for when you get home OR you can keep R.A.L.P.H. back until she gets the TA down to 80 :slidehalo:
Kim
The TA being high will help push the pH up for sure as will the new plaster as it cures. Here is the link to lowering the TA:
Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity
It is a process of pushing the pH down with m.a then pushing it up with aeration of the water. You can turn your returns up so they roll the water good to help do this or do LOTS of cannon balls! It might be something best left for when you get home OR you can keep R.A.L.P.H. back until she gets the TA down to 80 :slidehalo:
Kim
Guess what?! I’m home!!!! What a long flight...
Today I kissed the wife goodbye as she went off to work and I noticed I could smell chlorine from the pool.. so, after she left, I did a quick chlorine and pH test. pH was 7.8...chlorine test was dark orange - off the color scale. I did a quick drop test and chlorine was at 20-22! CYA - if I did this right - was at 40. So it seems my favorite human has been nearly at shock level for a little while. I turned the SWCG doen from 50% to 25% and will start testing the water daily to dial it in.
i added CYA and MA per pool math calculator.
It’s good to be home!
Today I kissed the wife goodbye as she went off to work and I noticed I could smell chlorine from the pool.. so, after she left, I did a quick chlorine and pH test. pH was 7.8...chlorine test was dark orange - off the color scale. I did a quick drop test and chlorine was at 20-22! CYA - if I did this right - was at 40. So it seems my favorite human has been nearly at shock level for a little while. I turned the SWCG doen from 50% to 25% and will start testing the water daily to dial it in.
i added CYA and MA per pool math calculator.
It’s good to be home!
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,284
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
She was going to be sure the pool wasn't green for your homecoming! Definitely the better of several alternatives.
Do you get to relax by the pool this weekend?
Do you get to relax by the pool this weekend?
Yes! I will be handling some landscaping needs and then some hard earned relaxation! Hopefully the chlorine level goes down fairly quickly - not sure I want to swim at shock level. The CYA is still a bit lower than I would like, I used liquid stabilizer last night so I will wait a day or two to adjust that - if it’s still low, it should help with allowing the sun to burn off the excess chlorine. (Right?)
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,694
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Welcome home!
Here's an alternative for dialing in your SWG.
Figure out your target FC. Set your SWG to 0 output until your pool's FC level evaporates down to your target.
Fire back up your SWG using this calculator to get your starting point:
SWG Run Time Calculator
Then test each day and adjust from there.
That might get you dialed in fastest...
Here's an alternative for dialing in your SWG.
Figure out your target FC. Set your SWG to 0 output until your pool's FC level evaporates down to your target.
Fire back up your SWG using this calculator to get your starting point:
SWG Run Time Calculator
Then test each day and adjust from there.
That might get you dialed in fastest...
SO glad you are HOME!!!! 
- Oct 18, 2009
- 3,648
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Same here thank you for your service. You are a lot braver that I and I salute you [emoji631]
Welcome home!!! Now get that pool sorted and say a big thank you to your favourite human for doing the best she could [emoji4]
Thank you everyone!!
Here’s something funny - wifey hadn’t done a chlorine drop test... she was using the basic kit and, seeing it orange in the tester, took a sample to Pinch the Penny...every report they have given her shows FC at 4. She thought it has been stable and 4 is a good number - although I’d like to see FC at 6.
So, after performing two drop tests and getting readings of 22 yesterday and then 20 today, I took a sample to PaP (same water sample I used to get 20) and they said my FC was 4. (His measurements for CYA and pH were the same as mine though) I get the feeling that, as long as his quick test shows some/any FC, their standard output is “4”.
Here’s something funny - wifey hadn’t done a chlorine drop test... she was using the basic kit and, seeing it orange in the tester, took a sample to Pinch the Penny...every report they have given her shows FC at 4. She thought it has been stable and 4 is a good number - although I’d like to see FC at 6.
So, after performing two drop tests and getting readings of 22 yesterday and then 20 today, I took a sample to PaP (same water sample I used to get 20) and they said my FC was 4. (His measurements for CYA and pH were the same as mine though) I get the feeling that, as long as his quick test shows some/any FC, their standard output is “4”.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,694
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Well bless her heart for trying!
I've seen this before on this site, enough times. It's a mystery to me. For some reason that Fas-DPD test seems to be a hurdle. Next to pH, it's the fastest, easiest test. Probably the most accurate test. Definitely one of the more important tests. Why do people get stuck on the OTO test? While, yes, you add one less thing to the water, I find trying to match up pale yellow to some slightly paler shade of yellow, infinitely more difficult, and time consuming. Fas-DPD is just scoop, drop, drop, drop... drop, done! (You do have the SpeedStir, right?) Not to mention you end up actually knowing how much chlorine is in the water. Throw in the CC test (another 20 seconds to see it clear if you've been keeping up the FC), and you know you're swimming in safe water. That alone!! It's my favorite set of tests for that reason.
How to coax the timid to the fold...
I've seen this before on this site, enough times. It's a mystery to me. For some reason that Fas-DPD test seems to be a hurdle. Next to pH, it's the fastest, easiest test. Probably the most accurate test. Definitely one of the more important tests. Why do people get stuck on the OTO test? While, yes, you add one less thing to the water, I find trying to match up pale yellow to some slightly paler shade of yellow, infinitely more difficult, and time consuming. Fas-DPD is just scoop, drop, drop, drop... drop, done! (You do have the SpeedStir, right?) Not to mention you end up actually knowing how much chlorine is in the water. Throw in the CC test (another 20 seconds to see it clear if you've been keeping up the FC), and you know you're swimming in safe water. That alone!! It's my favorite set of tests for that reason.
How to coax the timid to the fold...
- Oct 18, 2009
- 3,648
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
sehrmude, you are doing great. All pools are managed differently as they all differ in climate and how they are used, IMHO the important thing to remember is the relationship between all the chemicals and how they affect each other. I like to keep my FC on the higher side, as a result I also bump up my CYA and manage my pH accordingly. With time and help you will find your sweet spot. Hope this helps
Long time no update - no news is GOOD news (this time). I have my AQR-15 dialed in and holding FC at 8 now, with CYA at 80. pH rise is slow and steady, requiring about 1 cup of MA 1x a week to keep at 7.6. We've had a ton of rain lately and I just replenished the salt and CYA last night - did a really good brushing with the salt addition and set the VS pump to 72% overnight - this morning the pool was so clean and sparkly!! (too bad we had to work today instead of swimming/chillaxing poolside)
I've learned so much from this forum!! A HUGE thanks to everyone.
Next - I'm adding Boric Acid. Just ordered 25lbs from Duda...
I've learned so much from this forum!! A HUGE thanks to everyone.
Next - I'm adding Boric Acid. Just ordered 25lbs from Duda...
This post makes my heart smile!!!! 
So glad to hear it has really settled in and is working like it should for you! Here is hoping you will not have an afternoon shower so you can enjoy your pool after work today!
Kim
So glad to hear it has really settled in and is working like it should for you! Here is hoping you will not have an afternoon shower so you can enjoy your pool after work today!Kim