Recent content by bmoreswim

This is the most attractive and functional type of main drain. It sits flush with the surface so no vacuums get stuck on them and they are "filled" with the the pool plaster/pebble material to blend in. They allow leaves and other larger debris to get in the drain, versus a the standard dual...

Good idea. I use a 1 1/4" pool vacuum hose attached to my Little Giant pump. I may have had to put another fitting into the stock fitting to have it be big enough. The vacuum hose just pushes onto the pump fitting and stays without any problem. Since the hose is so large in diameter, there...

Helicopters come generally from maple trees. Though ash and sycamore have them as well. Those appear to be maples.

As reference I’m 14/14 opening clear with a mesh cover. Could be user error he’s seeing. Open early/close late. But I also don’t have heavy tree debris in the fall and don’t close until after it all falls.

It does look like your lot is custom made for an autocover pool. It was sunny but raining oak tassels up the road a bit yesterday. I suspect you are aware of using hair nets on your skimmers. They catch an untold volume of pollen and detritus from reaching your filter. But may need to be...

That stinks. That said, I've never felt that exception for autocovers should be allowed. People forget to cover pools, electricity goes out, covers stop working for mechanical issues. I know, I have one.

My step marker tiles are 3x3 cutouts from the 6x6 waterline tile. I agree with the above that you will see some chips depending on a variety of factors I suppose. They look fine, but if you look closely you can see them. But honestly, you'd only see the marks with still water. Any movement...

I wanted to show you our pool step/bench layout in the deep end. They are two depth benches, roughly 18" and 36" deep. I call the deeper one a standing bench. I love them, though would have made them 40" or 42" deep if I did them again. Both deep end corners are the same.

Beautiful! The water color will change somewhat from a little greenish to steel blue as I call it. The change is just normal with new water with no chlorine yet, no issue. Our pool is gray plaster of similar darkness so here's a preview...

This may not be particularly helpful since my pool is gunite and I have no measurements at hand. But it is an autocover pool with a diving board. Coincidentally, they ordered a 6' board by mistake (and the wrong color), which is why this picture is sans board. The 8' board works well to cover...

I feel the most common reason people don't choose vinyl in your area is because that's not what the common practice pool is for your area, which took many years to develop. Someone seeing a vinyl pool in your yard from your area will have a sense that you went cheap. While a person from my...

How is your site plan going for the slope area? Our site has about a 3' drop from the pool to the yard, but the yard keeps dropping steeply as well as you move away from the pool, so it's probably 5'+ when they join. The pool is also completely encased in an outer wall to support the deck...

Sealing the bluestone is something I wouldn't bother with - something else to keep up with. Yes, it could make things slippery (though it may not - and probably wouldn't given your thermal finish variety), but I would just embrace the look. It doesn't look like concrete, it looks like bluestone...

This is the motor side of our cover well area. The thickness of this end of the well is probably about 6" since it's not bearing the water load. The lack of rigidity created by having a steel plate over that area versus integral gunite, is not at all important. There is no outward pressure...