New Pool Build - Northern California

[Nmdau13]

Hello TFP community, I have been lurking on this forum for a few months trying to learn what I can but am a novice to owning a pool. Here in the Northern California area pool contractors are in super high demand and it has proven difficult to have contractors willing to put in effort come check out my house and submit a bid! The estimated cost is much higher than expected but my wife and I are likely to pull the trigger since we have three young kids (age 8, 6 and 3) who love pool time so usage would be high (we hope!).

I have posted the bid we have received from a local pool contractor. If anyone has advice on what questions I should be asking and what things I should specify or change please let me know! Our current goal is to build a rectangular lap pool. I am not sure we need 15' width so we may decrease that a little bit to free up space in the back yard which is quite cramped. The design currently contemplates a standard 3.5' to 5' to 6' depth. We are considering reducing the deep end depth to make the entire pool more walkable but with three young kids they will likely want some depth in the deep end so we may just go with the currently recommended generic setup. I have read dozens of threads on pool depth and am having trouble deciding what is best for my family (any views are appreciated!).

Thank you for the help!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hello Nmdau Welcome to TFP!

You do NOT want to get that cleaner and extra booster pump. To run the cleaner you have to run the pumps which is a lot more electricity (and much poorer cleaning) than a good Robot. Robots plug into an outlet and run independently. Mucho cheap energy cost.

You may be disappointed in your spa jets. Do they *do* anything? Change position?

I'm unsure if that salt water generator is large enough? We recommend going at least 2x the volume of the pool. Its also not one we've seen folks use here...is it a new design I wonder?

That's all I see.... I know you're excited about having a pool, and glad you asked TFP for input. Others may have more to add.

Maddie

 

[Oona]

A nod to what @YippeeSkippy said regarding the cleaner. The vacuum our PB provided also ran off a separate pump all for $1400. Instead I contacted the Marina Pool and Spa Colorado and got the Dolphin S200 robot ($800)and doing that saved me $600 and it is highly rated on these forums

 

[brimorga]

I opted to push my spa to the back wall and put the swim lane closer to the house. I felt that the spa might create a blindspot and I didn't like the thought of that with young children. You might not have the same issue given where your seating is, but for me, it would have created a blind corner, at least something I perceived as being hidden. Something to think about.

15x40 sounds great! I'm not sure I'd want to go more narrow. It looks like you have plenty of deck space.

Personally I like a deep end. I think kids like to dive, regardless, and I feel like it's safer and adds another dimension. I compromised at 7.5' to have a reasonably sized shallow end, but would have gone 8 if my pool was a little longer like yours. Unfortunately my pool was pretty much the max size given setbacks and retaining walls.

Whatever you do, I think you'll be happy! Great decision getting the autocover and solar heating.

 

[Cena_sea]

Hi. I think the size is terrific. If any of your kids become interested in a swim team or water polo they will have a pool they can play in and also practice in. Because you have a wall just know the kids will jump in from it.

 

[TexasRain]

Hi, for comparison, I have a 10x40 lap pool. no spa. it is plenty wide for swimming, and playing, but not at the same time. You can click on My Build in my signature to see.

 

[Deleted member 312768]

Hi! I’m in the middle of a pool build in northern CA and yes it is crazy expensive right now! Feel free to PM me if I can answer any questions!

 

[Nmdau13]

Thank you everyone for the advice. The cost of building a pool is a lot higher than I expected but if we can get high usage and live at the house long enough I hope to one day forget what was spent I will get the cleaner and booster pump removed. I do not think we need spa jets either since I would rather save money. I will ask about getting a larger salt water generator and also talk more with my wife about size and layout of the pool. Once the project gets started I will plan to post photos here. If anyone has additional suggestions please let me know!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

One oft overlooked way of saving some cash is to forgo the spa and later as your wallet has recovered get a stand alone spa. Unless you have to have that spa now, a stand alone spa is so much nicer to sit in. It also has better jets and if placed right makes for a nice soak in winter with only a short dash into the backdoor.

Maddie

 

[Deleted member 312768]

One oft overlooked way of saving some cash is to forgo the spa and later as your wallet has recovered get a stand alone spa. Unless you have to have that spa now, a stand alone spa is so much nicer to sit in. It also has better jets and if placed right makes for a nice soak in winter with only a short dash into the backdoor.

Maddie

That’s a good idea I never thought about that I never looked at my prices without the spot but definitely if you’re on a budget and looking to cut costs I would say I would second that

 

[Cena_sea]

Since you are getting an autocover and a raised wall, this is a thread that can be helpful because this member also did the same.

Pool Build in Northern CA - MORE pictures

I've really enjoyed watching everyone else's builds, so I thought I would post some pictures of ours. We're building a rectangular 18x40 pool with 7x8 inset spa and automatic cover. Our dig took 12 days due to rock. We knew we would hit rock, but we didn't expect the amount and size of rock that...

www.troublefreepool.com

I also wished I'd found this thread earlier because now I know of at least two pebble companies in nor cal who offer in-house custom blends as well as traditional Wet Edge or Pebble Tec colors. It might be a way to save a little bit of money if you know the builder's plaster installer.

Edit: Oh I see you have both versions (wall/no wall). Either way you should definitely also look at brimorga's beautiful pool build with auto cover.

Also this pool with auto cover (coping not finished in pic) but it also looks awesome.

Core drilling to add additional pool light to new pool

My PB said 2 pool lights and 1 spa light would be enough for my 12x31 pool with integrated 5x7 spa. Unfortunately, the placement of one of the pool lights was poor - it is almost at the end of the deep end near my deep end bench, so the middle of the pool, where my stairs are located, is very...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Nmdau13]

One oft overlooked way of saving some cash is to forgo the spa and later as your wallet has recovered get a stand alone spa. Unless you have to have that spa now, a stand alone spa is so much nicer to sit in. It also has better jets and if placed right makes for a nice soak in winter with only a short dash into the backdoor.

Maddie

Maddie you must be psychic since I have tried to get the spa eliminated to save on cost but my wife has veto'd that line of thinking Unfortunately our backyard won't have room for a pool as well as a stand-alone spa so we are going to go with pool plus spa since that is what most seem to recommend. In exchange to keeping the spa, my wife has agreed to lose the water feature we originally planned for. I wish we could have it all but the cost of building a pool is a lot higher than I had originally guessed . . .

 

[Nmdau13]

Thank you for the recommendations. I will definitely check out these threads!