New pool build-questions

[Newbie1120]

Hi I’m new to this forum, live in Rockland County, NY and looking to install a rectangular IG 16 x 32 or 16 x 36 pool. The backyard is .39 acres and it’s only my husband, 15 yr. old son and I. If family comes by I’m hoping the size is sufficient. Couple of questions on the install, would you do fiberglass stairs to not take away “real estate” from the pool? We want as much 5’ depth as possible though off the steps we know it has to be 3’. My husband is wondering if the entire pool can be 5’ off the last steps.

In terms of the options as the budget I have is tight for the entire pool project including coping and pavers:

• Pentair Globrights LED light mini (2)
• Polaris P35 Pressure Pool Cleaner (I want one of the robotic ones as I’ve read - which is the best?)
• Pentair Salt Chlorine Generator IC40
• Pentair 5G 120 volt LED color changing lights
• Merlin Duramesh Safety Cover - Pool winter cover
• How much would a solar cover run us?

I’m not willing to invest in a gas heater because of the added expense of running the gas lines to the side where the pool will be installed. We do have solar panels on the house but the upfront costs of an electric heat pump are far more expensive on the front end. I’m torn because gas heats up quicker than electric but I could save with the electric costs.

In terms of hardscaping, we have discussed bullnose coping and will look at paver costs around 2-3 sides of the pool for now.

What would you say is a budget to keep in mind for things not included in the pool cost?

• Electrician
• Hauling dirt and dump fees
• De-Watering (if encountered - how likely when digging out for pool)
• How long after the build of the pool can coping be installed?

Any recommendations you can offer would be most helpful as this is the first time installing a pool. Thanks in advance.

 

[Casey]

Welcome to TFP and congratulations on the upcoming pool build.

I'm bumping this up for you. I'm getting ready for an install too and going with a heat pump. I was told gas would heat up quicker but I dont want to run those gas lines as an extra expense. I'm already running electrical that's why I went with the heat pump for $4,200.

What brand equipment brand is the builder using? Pentair, Jandy, Hayward? If you're going SWG get one that can produce 2×s the amount of chlorine your pool will need. I'm going with a 60 for 16k gallons.

My electrician is coming in a little under $3k.
My builder estimated a $1000 for dirt removal (I'm keeping all my dirt)
Dewatering depends on your soil. I need a well point because I'm having a fiberglass pool installed.

I'd assume that coping a decking can go on after the liner is set. Also depends on your builders schedule.

 

[Dtkokay]

That's a good size pool. Rather than gallons, I use the linear feet of the pool to compare pool sizes. In your case, a 16x36 pool would be around 100 feet of perimeter length, which is about average per my pool builder.

Are you sure you want 5' deep throughout most of the pool? Unless your family is 6' tall and above, I have found 4' deep to be the sweet spot. Most people do a deep end and then a shallow end so that you have a variety of depths, with the deep end good for jumping into the pool.

I have a heat pump on my pool, and it does work but it raises the temperature very slowly. I'd recommend going with a gas heater, especially since you're up north.

 

[Newbie1120]

Welcome to TFP and congratulations on the upcoming pool build.

I'm bumping this up for you. I'm getting ready for an install too and going with a heat pump. I was told gas would heat up quicker but I dont want to run those gas lines as an extra expense. I'm already running electrical that's why I went with the heat pump for $4,200.

What brand equipment brand is the builder using? Pentair, Jandy, Hayward? If you're going SWG get one that can produce 2×s the amount of chlorine your pool will need. I'm going with a 60 for 16k gallons.

My electrician is coming in a little under $3k.
My builder estimated a $1000 for dirt removal (I'm keeping all my dirt)
Dewatering depends on your soil. I need a well point because I'm having a fiberglass pool installed.

I'd assume that coping a decking can go on after the liner is set. Also depends on your builders schedule.

All great questions. I need to ask about the salt generator but he’s recommending Pentair for all the equipment. I saw bad reviews on some of the led lights Pentair GloBrights but may go with the Pentair 5G 102v led lights instead. Also in place of the pressure cleaner which robotic cleaner would you go with? Dolphin? Any particular model

 

[Casey]

All great questions. I need to ask about the salt generator but he’s recommending Pentair for all the equipment. I saw bad reviews on some of the led lights Pentair GloBrights but may go with the Pentair 5G 102v led lights instead. Also in place of the pressure cleaner which robotic cleaner would you go with? Dolphin? Any particular model

I'm getting the S200 which is highly recommended here. I won't use it alot because I love manually vac'ing my pool. It's my stress reliever.

 

[Newbie1120]

That's a good size pool. Rather than gallons, I use the linear feet of the pool to compare pool sizes. In your case, a 16x36 pool would be around 100 feet of perimeter length, which is about average per my pool builder.

Are you sure you want 5' deep throughout most of the pool? Unless your family is 6' tall and above, I have found 4' deep to be the sweet spot. Most people do a deep end and then a shallow end so that you have a variety of depths, with the deep end good for jumping into the pool.

I have a heat pump on my pool, and it does work but it raises the temperature very slowly. I'd recommend going with a gas heater, especially since you're up north.

My husband is 5’11 my son is 6’2 so the shallow end will be about 3’ off the steps then 5’ mostly. My youngest son at 14 is already 5’7”. Thanks for the advice and recommendations

 

[Newbie1120]

I'm getting the S200 which is highly recommended here. I won't use it alot because I love manually vac'ing my pool. It's my stress reliever.

Thanks Casey. How much and where would you suggest I purchase the S200?

 

[Casey]

Thanks Casey. How much and where would you suggest I purchase the S200?

This is a copy from @bmoreswim from my thread...

The Maytronics/Dolphin S200 or twins is the best value for your cleaning dollar if you get one in addition to the manual vac. It has the fewest features but still all of the cleaning ability. If so, recommend buying it over the phone from Marina Pool and Spa in Colorado. No online sales but really good prices.

 

[Newbie1120]

This is a copy from @bmoreswim from my thread...

The Maytronics/Dolphin S200 or twins is the best value for your cleaning dollar if you get one in addition to the manual vac. It has the fewest features but still all of the cleaning ability. If so, recommend buying it over the phone from Marina Pool and Spa in Colorado. No online sales but really good prices.

Thanks a million!

 

[Newbie1120]

Hey everyone did you fill up the pool with your own hose or was it best to hire a pool filling service/truck?

 

[Casey]

Hey everyone did you fill up the pool with your own hose or was it best to hire a pool filling service/truck?

I have to order my water n have it trucked in because I'm filling a fiberglass pool.

 

[airbrush]

My husband is 5’11 my son is 6’2 so the shallow end will be about 3’ off the steps then 5’ mostly. My youngest son at 14 is already 5’7”. Thanks for the advice and recommendations

You had better think about guests, too. My pool is 35' on the long edge and I went straight line depth from 3' to 6'. This has worked out well, particularly for the little critters.

 

[B.lu]

I am in the middle of a pool build as well and need to have water trucked in because I have well water. I should have had a water truck that the crew could have tapped into during the gunite stage because my well was almost emptied. Not a pretty picture!

 

[wireform]

Hi and welcome. I would recommend you keep the steps in the so called real-estate. The liner with fiberglass steps needs to be trimmed and sealed off and is just another place down the line to have a leak. Do not use anything other than a robotic cleaner so it's not dependent on your equipment pad. A heat pump will not do anything for you in the shoulder season as I'm not far from you. Consider dropping a 1k gallon propane tank and heat with propane. I would also recommend a pool cover albeit it's spending your budget but you don't need the fully automatic one that gets tucked away out of sight. There are some manual versions that utilize a track system and you manually close the pool which will keep rain out of the pool and evaporation to a minimum and make pool maintenance a breeze.

 

[Newbie1120]

Hi and welcome. I would recommend you keep the steps in the so called real-estate. The liner with fiberglass steps needs to be trimmed and sealed off and is just another place down the line to have a leak. Do not use anything other than a robotic cleaner so it's not dependent on your equipment pad. A heat pump will not do anything for you in the shoulder season as I'm not far from you. Consider dropping a 1k gallon propane tank and heat with propane. I would also recommend a pool cover albeit it's spending your budget but you don't need the fully automatic one that gets tucked away out of sight. There are some manual versions that utilize a track system and you manually close the pool which will keep rain out of the pool and evaporation to a minimum and make pool maintenance a breeze.

Thanks and your being close to me, do you have recommendations on a PB in this area since we’re going vinyl? The added expense of running the gas line is not doable for us at this time. Did you also have any recommendations on a hardscaper too? How often do you extend the season with your heater and how high are your O&R bills? I’m thinking of a loopLoc system anchored into the pavers. Would you suggest a solar panel? considering how short the summer is here is it worth it?

 

[Newbie1120]

You had better think about guests, too. My pool is 35' on the long edge and I went straight line depth from 3' to 6'. This has worked out well, particularly for the little critters.

We just talked about going from 16x32 to 16x36 but he’s not wanting to go to 6’ depth, just as much as 5’ as we can get. Thank you

 

[wireform]

You can look into Westrock pb located in Nanuet. They build 90% of the pools here. Gas costs are up there but can't give u figures house is very large too. Let them give you a quote.

 

[Newbie1120]

Greetings everyone finally back to the pool build due to delays in financing but now it’s unlikely to be built this season. Can I get away with doing this in stages? Digging and installing the poop and delay the coping hardscaping and fencing (permanent) until next year? What would you say the costs are for a gas heater vs. electric heat pump on a 16 x 36 rectangular pool? If going the gas route I need to add costs to dig a trench from where existing gas line is and what would plumber costs amount to roughly? Thanks in advance.

 

[winnw]

I live in CT and have a 20x32 pool. We went the Heat pump route because it's so efficient. Yes, it is slow to heat up but it just means you have to plan ahead. We want to start swimming on Thursday here, so I will start heating up on Tuesday and should be good by Thursday afternoon. The nice thing about the Heat pump is once you have it to temperature it's very efficient keeping the temp there for long periods, which in the North like us is almost a must and don't forget a solar cover, that will save you lots of money on the overnights from losing the heat in the pool.

 

[Newbie1120]

I live in CT and have a 20x32 pool. We went the Heat pump route because it's so efficient. Yes, it is slow to heat up but it just means you have to plan ahead. We want to start swimming on Thursday here, so I will start heating up on Tuesday and should be good by Thursday afternoon. The nice thing about the Heat pump is once you have it to temperature it's very efficient keeping the temp there for long periods, which in the North like us is almost a must and don't forget a solar cover, that will save you lots of money on the overnights from losing the heat in the pool.

Thanks I flip flop often and have solar panels on my home. I hear gas heats faster and I will be running electrical often and definitely need the solar cover too. How much was your heat pump and which brand did you go with?