Thanks for the very useful site. We are in the process of bidding on pool construction and have read through a number of forum posts and pool school, which has been very helpful.
We are planning a build in North Texas (DFW area), pool size is about 88 ft in perimeter ~ 35ft x20 ft, ~15,000 gallons. It will have a separate standard size spa 7ft -8 ft, and about 9 ft of weeping waterfall. The pool is going to have a salt water cell.
We have received three quotes and all three PBs have very different equipment and specs. Please help us select which is better.
Questions
We are planning a build in North Texas (DFW area), pool size is about 88 ft in perimeter ~ 35ft x20 ft, ~15,000 gallons. It will have a separate standard size spa 7ft -8 ft, and about 9 ft of weeping waterfall. The pool is going to have a salt water cell.
We have received three quotes and all three PBs have very different equipment and specs. Please help us select which is better.
Questions
- Pumps:
- PB1 -- Pentair VS+SVRS 3HP pump + separate 1.5 H.P BOOSTER PUMP for water feature
- PB2 - Hayward tristar single 1.5 HP single speed pump (but has agreed to upgrade to 2-speed pump). But both spa, pool, and waterfall have the same pump.
- Pentair VS+SVRS 3HP pump. But both spa, pool, and waterfall have the same pump.
- Not sure if PB2 is underpowered? Looking at the forum, it appears a 1.5 HP pump is plenty of power for our size pool and a separate 1.5 HP is plenty for the spa. But not so sure what happens when a single pump is used for both (I suspect that it is).
- Cleaners: PB1 - Polaris Rebel, PB2 - Polaris 280 with booster pump + Xleaf Debris remover while PB3 - Pentair Racer with booster pump. Are these comparable?
- Filters: PB1 - Pentair 420 sqft cartridge filter, PB2 - Hayward 60 s.q ft D.E filter while PB3 - Pentair 520 sqft cartridge filter.
- PB1 and PB3 give Intellichlor IC 60 salt cell while PB2 gives Hayward Aqua Rite TCl-15.
- PB1 - white plaster, PB2 - pebble, PB3 - colored plaster. So this makes PB2’s bid very attractive (adding pebble to PB1 increases PB1 by another $6000 so not an option).
- Coping: PB1 – stamped concrete, PB2 – Tennessee flagstone, PB3 – Oklahoma flagstone. We understand Oklahoma flagstone is not salt water friendly but Tennessee flagstone. Is that correct?
- Decking: PB1 gives sundeck, PB2 gives patterned concrete, and PB3 gives washed concrete.
- Autofill to hose bib: PB1 says this is a must, while PB2 and PB3 say it is a very bad feature to have.
- Piers: PB1 says we need piers if soil PVR is 3.5 and above and if the plasticity index is 40 or above. We are in right in that ball park. However, PB2 and PB3 say piers are not needed and will warranty the structure for lifetime. Not sure what to make of anything?
