Yet another pre-build thread :D

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Hmmm looks like from what I'm reading, the minimum distance between the AC unit and the pool needs to be five feet.

Not sure where they will start the measurement from though. The interior wall of the pool or the outer edge of the coping. ( which is ~1 ft difference )
Moving the A/C Compressor would require running new electrical, rerunning all the piping within the attic, reclaiming / recharging the entire system once moved.
Quite the expensive choice.


I can move the entire pool North a bit which would give me 2' of walk space ( 3' if including coping ) on the North side between the pool edge and the enclosure.
If not moving the entire pool out, the only other option would be to drop the width of the pool down to 13' which would give me an extra 1' on either side meeting
the five foot requirement.
 
Honestly, I'd suck it up and move the A/C compressor. Certainly just my opinion, but putting that in an enclosed pool area is just not something I'd want around my pool.

A 13ft wide pool will "feel" very small. Are you able to push the entire design against the North wall, essentially separate the enclosure from the house?
 
Can't move the compressor. Two reasons.

1) Cost. This project is already at the $90k price range and having the AC company move the compressor, do all the electrical and plumbing work is easily going to run in the thousands of dollars to do.

2) Location. Moving the unit outside of the enclosure only leaves one option. East side of house. Where it would sit unprotected and in full view of the street. Not an option for 1/2 of a $10k AC unit.

The enclosure setup requires bolting to the home as a means of anchoring it. I have very little wiggle room here with the standoff requirements from the structure and hardware on one side of the pool, the utility and arial easements on the other. If I absolutely have to, I could forgo any walkspace on the North and West sides of the pool and push it into that corner but I would prefer not to as it's almost certain one of the skimmers will be located on the North side.

Will have to ask the PB his thoughts on the code and if this can be an issue that can derail the entire project.
 
In your CAD program, take the rectangle that is the water's edge, copy it and expand that new rectangle in all directions by 5-ft. That will represent the most likely interpretation of the code. Add rectangles all over the design for easements (keep-out or exclusion zones) and then move the pool around to see if you can fit it in better.

Yeah, that's a pretty expensive pool project...wow, $90k....
 
For measuring the distance of the AC unit, check the code to see how they define a pool. It should be measured from the inside edge (where the water is). But check the code and then ask the building department inspector. Also make sure it's clearly put on the plans and remind them when you submit the plans so they can evaluate it properly.

One other thought regarding depth. Talk with the builder about the water depth. He may be thinking about overall pool depth. You want 5.5' for example but he builds the pool at 5.5' leaving you with 4'11" to 5' of water when the water is halfway up the skimmer.
 
I hear you on NEEDING to be able to walk all around the pool. Let us know what you find out about the AC unit and code. We can all learn from this. I am just glad it was brought up NOW so you can work with it! Just think if the hole was dug and THEN you found out about it! :shock:

:kim:
 
@JoyfulNoise

Oh I have spent many, Many, MANY hours in my CAD program doing exactly that. I've probably built a dozen different pool and spa designs of different shapes and sizes before settling on how it exists today. I setup the grid and tolerances down to the inch so I can visualize exactly how much room I have, what size pool I could get in there and markup all the areas where I can't build. ( Easements and offsets from property lines ) I have most of the layers turned off in the images I've posted here because it becomes really busy in a hurry and is difficult to see anything with so much information on it. All of my restricted zones are in a lovely shade of red :D

As it stands right now, I'm two feet off of the North side easement. Technically, you can build right up to it, but I would like to keep a small offset just because. However, that would still allow me to push the pool back by at least one foot to comply with the five foot code rule and still maintain my desired 3' walk around space for maintenance / access / cleaning.

I'll redo my drawing today to reflect it so I can show the pool builder as it will increase my decking and enclosure square footage a bit ( ~50sqft ).


@Nectarologist


Will do. Some places have the code spelled out in easy to find documents. My town, not so much :| It's certainly easier to get this all hashed out in the planning phase than to get a surprise from the inspector after the excavation is started. Is why I'm here picking all of your brains. What one person can easily overlook, a dozen others will spot rather quickly.


@kimkats
Another PB was curious why I didn't want to maximize the pool space out and why I thought I needed the extra decking space. Had to remind him that once the enclosure went up, there would be zero access to the pool from outside and I would have no way to get to the skimmers on that side of the pool without it. I have the same considerations with the standalone Hot-Tub. I need to ensure I have enough space all the way around the unit to allow access to the maintenance panels and room to work on it should the need arise.

Is also why I have to build in a double door on one side of the enclosure. Can't bring gear inside the enclosure bigger than a single sized door otherwise :D




Finally, let me shed some light on what seems to be a rather high cost of the project in case anyone who is considering putting in a pool reads this and wonders why the cost is what it is.

Remember this is the pool, decking, equipment, enclosure and stand-alone hot-tub.
It breaks down like this:

Pool: $55k
Enclosure: $25k ( This link will give you an idea of what the enclosure looks like )
Hot-Tub: $10k
 
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Okay, played some more in the CAD program. Modified the pool for at least a five foot standoff from the AC unit. ( Six feet to waters edge )
( I do the drawing so I can visualize where stuff is and if it will fit. Also helps me describe to the PB what I'm thinking )

Pulled the measurements for the equipment and built those in. Details are lacking but the size / footprint is accurate. Noting a 4' x 8' pad may need to be a bit larger if any other equipment will reside upon it. Absolutely no way it will fit next to the AC unit, so tossing that idea right out.

Thought occurred to me since the SWG and UV unit ( if I go with it ) still need to be accounted for. Do they need to be on / with the equipment pad or can / should they be separate ?

Starting to think about deck drains. How many and where.


Pool_Measurements_IV.jpg
 
SWG is a smallish thing that sits on the plumbing. It's installed inline after the heater but typically before the pool returns. It's always at the pad.

The UV system (subliminal message start.....you don't need it, it's just a waste of money, it benefits your PB's wallet not yours....subliminal message end), is a cylindrical tank that looks like a small cartridge filter. It's plumbed inline before the SWG but, realistically, can be plumbed in anywhere (subliminal message start because it is useless and doesn't do anything subliminal message end). It too is always at the equipment pad.

Personal opinion - push the equipment pad all the way to the NE corner wall with just enough space between the wall and pad to accommodate installation a servicing. There is no need for the pad to be right against the enclosure and the added few feet of pipe literally makes no difference in cost or hydraulic loss. Then you can hide the pad behind a small c-block privacy wall.
 
You need to go have a talk with your contractor and your building department regarding your AC unit.

Texas uses the 2014 National Electrical Code. Statewide. Adopted effective Sept 1, 2014.

Under some interpretations of 680.9(A) your AC unit fails because its within ten feet of the pool. Other sections permit receptacles, lights and fans within 6 feet of the pool but not AC units. 680.22. Under 680.22 some low voltage lights can be within five feet of the pool.

Most building inspectors in California would fail you under 680.9A. But you are in Texas and they may see it differently. But get some clarity now.
 

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Thinking about the numbers I'm having a hard time coming up with $90k. It's not really a complicated pool at all (rectangular with wedding cake steps). Can you ballpark the figures? How much does that enclosure cost?
 
@JoyfulNoise


The Northern Edge of the decking is one foot shy of the Easement restriction boundary. In addition, the East side restriction extends six feet out from the property line. So I can get it close into that corner, but not quite all the way into it. The PB still wants to put the equipment next to the AC unit but the CAD file is showing me that, while the pad will fit between the AC unit and the enclosure, it just barely does. Then I started thinking about where all the piping / plumbing will come in at as there is zero room to do so as far as I can tell. :|

Going to have to impress upon them about relocating the pad.

It is likely I will forgo the UV unit.

Yeah, the enclosure adds quite a bit to the overall project cost. A necessary evil though due to the foliage surrounding the property.



Some new information came in last night from the last round of questions I asked and one of them was an eye opener. I asked what the warranty was for the buildout ( the equipment is all Hayward 3yrs ) and the pool structure, decking, electrical and plumbing only came with a ONE year warranty. While I'm not up on what the industry standard is warranty wise, one year seems awfully short for something that costs so much. A crack in the gunite would be terribly expensive to fix I would think. As would piping leaks or electrical issues as they would have to tear up the decking just to get to some of it. This part of Texas is notorious for ground shifting due to the soil composition. Is all but guaranteed that over the life of a home, you WILL have foundation work done to level things out. If you don't, you risk cracking the slab.

In related news, I asked about the automation systems as I didn't see anything noted in the proposal. They indicated they could add one at the cost of nearly $2k. Seems awfully high for a device that effectively will just turn the lights on and off and / or control the pump. Maybe it's the gold plated edition o_O

@gwegan


 Hmmm. Will go take a look at that code and see how it reads. The absolute last resort would be to move the unit, but that has a bunch of issues that goes along with it as well. ( Cost, annoyed neighbors, potential theft target, etc ) You are dead on though, best to get it hashed out now before this whole thing takes off.
 
I learned a lot about the pros and cons of automation from this site. I too thought it was just as simple as turning on and off the pool and lights. See posts #2 and #6 on my build thread: New Build - South Florida Pool Outdoor Living I really like the benefits it offers for more accurately managing pool chemistry and the additional relays the system offers to add in other future items like landscape lights, etc.

As for warranty, for what it is worth, I have a lifetime warranty on all structural for gunite and plumbing fixtures (in South Florida). 3 year warranty on plumbing materials and PVC. Also, since I went with Pentair equipment, I have 3 year warranty on the pool equipment (you have to have at least 3 Pentair items to extend manufacturer warranty from 1 to 3 years).
 
Chuckle. The price of the pool just keeps going up. Will be at $60k+ before it's all said and done and it's a dead simple design with no water features.

@grumpiebk

I'll have to figure out which automation system they're wanting to install. I won't need the gold-plated, top of the line, elite, super unit. Lights, pump, maybe some water chemistry and that's really it. No laser shows, spotlight or flaming tiki-torches on demand :D

* * * * *

I scoured the net looking for the latest NEC guidelines. I can't find anything in 680.09 at all that talks about AC units. Only Water Heater ( aka heatpump ) units. Though my version of the NEC may not be the latest and greatest. All sorts of prohibitions concerning overhead power conductors, outlets, cord lengths, GFI outlets and breakers, but nothing on a permanently wired, conduit protected, strapped to the ground AC unit.

Will have to bug the building inspector about it :D
 
nehumanuscrede said:
Chuckle. The price of the pool just keeps going up :D Will be at $60k before it's all said and done and it's a dead simple design with no water features.
Click to expand...

That's precisely what bugs me about this. This is only my opinion but, I think you're being played by the PB. That might sound harsh and I mean no offense but what you have is an incredibly simple pool - rectangular, small footprint, wedding cake stairs, no water features, no auto cover, gentle slope, etc. In my market here in Tucson, that's a $30k pool.

Have you shopped your design around to other PBs? I think you should get more quotes.

I agree, go to the local building department. They will clarify the issue with the A/C.
 
I'm in PHX and am in the process of building a very similar pool. The big difference is that I don't have as much concrete and do not have a heater. I'm paying $32k and I'm using one of the most expensive PB in the area. I'm not saying you are getting "hosed", as I know prices are higher in TX. Just figured I would share my info in case it is helpful. Also, I started a thread a few months ago for people to share what they built and how much it cost.
 

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