New Build - Long Island, NY

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bmoreswim said:
Have you thought about how the protruding point of the spa will affect the autocover? I would really expect that to be a wear point and likely develop a hole there. If I had that setup I'd round that corner somehow. We don't have that protrusion so I'm not speaking from experience but with a cautious eye.
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The PB intentionally left the spa lower knowing the autocover will bow in the center. As far as I know, the cover shouldn't even touch the top of the spa. I know my husband was going back and forth with the PB about clearance because we were originally going to use 2" travertine on top of the spa. As it is now, they have to build the top of spa up a bit for the tile.

I'll throw it past my husband again just to make sure! :) (Checked with him and he said the cover won't touch the spa.)
 
CharlyBaltimore said:
The PB intentionally left the spa lower knowing the autocover will bow in the center. As far as I know, the cover shouldn't even touch the top of the spa. I know my husband was going back and forth with the PB about clearance because we were originally going to use 2" travertine on top of the spa. As it is now, they have to build the top of spa up a bit for the tile.

I'll throw it past my husband again just to make sure! :) (Checked with him and he said the cover won't touch the spa.)
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If the autocover doesn't rest on the water, it's not sized correctly. See the picture below for how the cover rests on the water (ignore the fact that the cover box and rails are on the deck - the cover sits the same regardless). Only the area near the leading bar and about 1' along the sides will not touch the water. Your spa will be above the pool water level so therefore in touch with the cover. If the cover doesn't touch the water, the rails or cover will fail since they will bear the brunt of weight of accumulated rainfall. It concerns me the PB says it won't touch the spa (unless we are referring to different things).

Autocover example.jpg
 
bmoreswim said:
If the autocover doesn't rest on the water, it's not sized correctly. See the picture below for how the cover rests on the water (ignore the fact that the cover box and rails are on the deck - the cover sits the same regardless). Only the area near the leading bar and about 1' along the sides will not touch the water. Your spa will be above the pool water level so therefore in touch with the cover. If the cover doesn't touch the water, the rails or cover will fail since they will bear the brunt of weight of accumulated rainfall. It concerns me the PB says it won't touch the spa (unless we are referring to different things).

View attachment 59767
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I see what your saying. I'll have to ask the PB his thoughts on the corners of the spa. Our spa is under water when in pool mode. It stops sharing water with the pool when in spa mode and the top of the spa is then exposed. It's similar to these pools which all have autocovers:
https://havenpools.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/auto-28-large%20(1).jpg

https://havenpools.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/auto-21-large (1).jpg

https://havenpools.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/auto-04-large (1).jpg

https://havenpools.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/auto-07-large (1).jpg
 
The more detailed information about the spa being even with the pool water on pool mode makes sense. Sounds like good thought involved. If the corner can be eased at all it certainly would be some insurance. Even just like a beveled corner can a point. It is possible your water could get low before the pool is closed. Water does have a tendency to go down more quickly in an autocover pool because the the lowered end. Definitely so in my case. Sorry to appear un- trusting. It's just a fear of mine to have the cover poked/worn.
 
bmoreswim said:
The more detailed information about the spa being even with the pool water on pool mode makes sense. Sounds like good thought involved. If the corner can be eased at all it certainly would be some insurance. Even just like a beveled corner can a point. It is possible your water could get low before the pool is closed. Water does have a tendency to go down more quickly in an autocover pool because the the lowered end. Definitely so in my case. Sorry to appear un- trusting. It's just a fear of mine to have the cover poked/worn.
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No need to apologize! Input is the reason why I'm here! :D Definitely something we need to consider and discuss with the PB to get his take on it!
 
We're hoping to move forward with the pool this week. Tile is in, so hopefully they can get the pool drained/cleaned and started on that.

The tile we went with (unfortunately I no longer have the Irish Mist pebblesheen sample):
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And the pool & patio in its current state:
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We're waiting on the autocover slabs. Hopefully those will be ready Monday.
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The mason started laying the firebrick. We went with Quarry Cut "Historic Boston" stone in squares and strips for the fireplace and bluestone for the mantle, hearth and in front of the woodboxes. We received 2 pallets of the stone, but I just want my husband to confirm that it is indeed the Historic Boston colors before they start the work. (The boxes indicate different colors/stone mixes and I don't know if Historic Boston is just a combo of those stones or something entirely different.)
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Thankfully my husband has a clue. They installed the fireplace, but had to bring the wood boxes the next morning. My husband spotted that the fireplace was 5" off center. Apparently our landscapers poured the concrete slab 5" off center. So that had to be corrected, hence the different color concrete beneath the fireplace on the left side. ;)

The equipment (my husband intends to build a shed over it, I think. And there will eventually be another layer of rocks in front because we have to regrade the area in front if it.):
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Nice catch Hubby!

LOVE that tile. Now think about the mastic that will go under it. Put it on a white sheet of paper out by the pool. Now put it on the gray concrete. Which one do you like the best? Next think about the color of grout. They have color sticks to help with that.

Kim:kim:
 

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kimkats said:
Nice catch Hubby!

LOVE that tile. Now think about the mastic that will go under it. Put it on a white sheet of paper out by the pool. Now put it on the gray concrete. Which one do you like the best? Next think about the color of grout. They have color sticks to help with that.

Kim:kim:
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Thanks Kim! :) Yeah, tomorrow I'm going to give the white paper a try to see the difference. We spoke with the PB about grout because I know I don't want white. I asked him if he could do something closer to the color of the Pebblesheen and he didn't seem to think that would be a problem.


Tony411LA said:
Hi CharlyB, I really like the color of your tile. Can you tell me the name and manufacturer? Thanks.
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Thanks! We ordered it from GlassTileOasis.com. (the actual tile is manufactured by Alttoglass.) GlassTileOasis was great with communication and it arrived in less than a week for us. They also have some decent discounts.


skimmerswimmer said:
Awesome build! I'm in the Huntington area as well. Can you say who the pool builder is? I will need some work to my pool at some point (new skimmers, etc.) and it looks like your company knows what they are doing.
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We're using TrueBlue Swimming Pools. The owner and his team have been awesome to work with. Very responsive and realistic...no up sells.
 
Bummer. PB and tile guy were here. They strongly suggested that we not use the glass tiles on the top of the spa because of liability. They're just too slippery and being that the top of the spa is used as a step to enter the spa, it's just too risky. Plus I'm pretty confident my kids will be walking on the top of the spa, so we're back to the original plan of travertine. In general the tile guy isn't fond of glass tiles because of the risk of chipping/cracking and potential injury, especially when used on top, like the spa. Bummer because it would have looked so pretty, but I totally get it.
 
We have 1x1 glass tiles at the waterline and on the exposed bond beam on the side with the autocover. I don't think the small glass tiles are slippery but they can be rough and even sharp, so it is not a surface that you would want to sit or walk on regularly, imo.

You might check out this pool being built in LA with charcoal concrete finish on the spa

LA Pool build

"It's charcoal concrete, we are going to polish it to expose a little bit of aggregate then seal with a wet sealant to bring out a sparkle."
 
CharlyBaltimore said:
Bummer. PB and tile guy were here. They strongly suggested that we not use the glass tiles on the top of the spa because of liability. They're just too slippery and being that the top of the spa is used as a step to enter the spa, it's just too risky. Plus I'm pretty confident my kids will be walking on the top of the spa, so we're back to the original plan of travertine. In general the tile guy isn't fond of glass tiles because of the risk of chipping/cracking and potential injury, especially when used on top, like the spa. Bummer because it would have looked so pretty, but I totally get it.
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Hi Charly B, You could consider putting matching or contrasting matte finish or non-slip tiles every few inches surrounded by the glass tiles. That would provide enough traction to make it non-slippery. GlasstileOasis.com also makes what they call Anti-slip tiles. I would look into that before completely giving up on the glass tiles.
 
CharlyBaltimore said:
Bummer. PB and tile guy were here. They strongly suggested that we not use the glass tiles on the top of the spa because of liability. They're just too slippery and being that the top of the spa is used as a step to enter the spa, it's just too risky. Plus I'm pretty confident my kids will be walking on the top of the spa, so we're back to the original plan of travertine. In general the tile guy isn't fond of glass tiles because of the risk of chipping/cracking and potential injury, especially when used on top, like the spa. Bummer because it would have looked so pretty, but I totally get it.
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I agree with your PB about the glass tile being slippery on top of the spa - especially with kids walking on it - mine do and they're 33 and 34!! Lol!. After having our pool for almost 21 months, my favorite place for our glass tile is on the spa benches. Since they don't cover all the way to the edge of the benches, there's that pebbletec grip. No one has had any trouble with the benches being slippery. My tiles are 1 1/2' x 2". They sparkle almost as much as the glass on the spa spillway. This is just a thought since you aren't using them on the top of the spa. And I've had no maintenance issues with the tiles on the benches. There is getting to be more and more maintenance required on the glass on the spa waterline and a lot needed under sheer descents. I had not originally planned to use the glass tiles under the sheers, and now I wish I hadn't. I'm still figuring out the best way to clean them (and waiting for the water to warm up to make cleaning easier from inside the pool!!).

Here's a shot of my spa with the tiled benches.
 
yankeelawyer said:
We have 1x1 glass tiles at the waterline and on the exposed bond beam on the side with the autocover. I don't think the small glass tiles are slippery but they can be rough and even sharp, so it is not a surface that you would want to sit or walk on regularly, imo.

You might check out this pool being built in LA with charcoal concrete finish on the spa

LA Pool build

"It's charcoal concrete, we are going to polish it to expose a little bit of aggregate then seal with a wet sealant to bring out a sparkle."
Click to expand...

That's going to be a beautiful pool, but I think the concrete would look a bit too contemporary/modern with our setting.



Tony411LA said:
Hi Charly B, You could consider putting matching or contrasting matte finish or non-slip tiles every few inches surrounded by the glass tiles. That would provide enough traction to make it non-slippery. GlasstileOasis.com also makes what they call Anti-slip tiles. I would look into that before completely giving up on the glass tiles.
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We were going to use travertine in our original pool build plans, but I kept pushing the glass agenda :oops: (against my PB advice), plus we were concerned about how well the travertine would hold up on the spa. The tile contractor said it shouldn't be that bad...that maybe in 5-10 years we have to replace it. (We have plenty of travertine, so it's a non issue.) I don't think my husband will allow me to buy another thing towards this pool build. LOL I already conned him into the fireplace. (Thankfully he and my sons are suckers for big fires, so it was somewhat of an easy up sell, but my husband still grumbles about the cost. :D )




SuzfromTexas said:
I agree with your PB about the glass tile being slippery on top of the spa - especially with kids walking on it - mine do and they're 33 and 34!! Lol!. After having our pool for almost 21 months, my favorite place for our glass tile is on the spa benches. Since they don't cover all the way to the edge of the benches, there's that pebbletec grip. No one has had any trouble with the benches being slippery. My tiles are 1 1/2' x 2". They sparkle almost as much as the glass on the spa spillway. This is just a thought since you aren't using them on the top of the spa. And I've had no maintenance issues with the tiles on the benches. There is getting to be more and more maintenance required on the glass on the spa waterline and a lot needed under sheer descents. I had not originally planned to use the glass tiles under the sheers, and now I wish I hadn't. I'm still figuring out the best way to clean them (and waiting for the water to warm up to make cleaning easier from inside the pool!!).

Here's a shot of my spa with the tiled benches.
Click to expand...

I LOVE the look, but my husband sees that as just a potential for something that will need repairing. I had already inquired about doing something like that or doing tile markers on the steps/seats, but my husband nixed the idea immediately.

So the tiles on the spa seat aren't slippery at all? We don't have a step to enter the spa, so the spa bench/seat is used to step into the spa. My husband is concerned the tiles on the bench will be the same deal like the top of the spa, just too slippery. :/
 
Bluestone for the fireplace comes tomorrow, in the meantime the masons started facing it with the stone.
Tile contractor will begin tile install end of this week, possibly next week.
We're hoping to complete the backyard irrigation and run electric & water back to the shed by the end of the week. (Our electric and water lines were destroyed during the pool dig.)
Still need to finish regrading, build rock wall, plant some privacy trees (emerald green arborvitae) at the deep end of the pool.
Hopefully they'll sod next week and then the plaster guys can come in.

My husband is pushing hard for a memorial day completion. LOL I'm just hoping it will be done by the time the kids are out of school. ;)
 
So tile crew came and installed the spa coping...but it wasn't done the way my husband discussed with the PB and tile guy.

My husband and I just don't like the way it came out. :( We dislike the grout lines. (I don't know if I hate the grout lines in general or how dark they are.) We had initially discussed the coping would have butt joints. PB stated that they had to use grout to make it water tight because the spa is under water for the most part. Unfortunately we don't know if he's just telling us that because the coping is now done or if it's legit.

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I don't know, but yesterday was a disappointing day. PB wasn't here at all and even the tile contractor didn't supervise his guys. (Our landscaper happened to stop by and explained to them what to do because he knew my husband would lose it if they made the coping uneven...they were laying it out so that there would be a small 3-4" piece by the pool wall as opposed to them being all the same length. :rolleyes: ) My husband definitely recalls speaking with them about the spa last week. The PB and tile guy recall a different conversation. The tile contractor claims he told us we shouldn't miter the travertine because it creates a weak point in the stone. I looked at him and said I don't recall that conversation, unless I wasn't there (which is possible.) It might have been that just my husband was there...BUT my husband has one heck of a memory, he remembers everything and he says that was never brought up and that both the PB and tile contractor said "sure, no problem!" about the miters and butt joints.

So we've already wasted $300 on tile that we can't use. It cost us another $500 to have the edges of the spa travertine coping cut. Now we're torn. Do we change it or leave it. If we change it, it will probably set us back a month, plus over $2k to have new travertine pieces cut (I'd have them cut longer pieces so there were fewer joints.) On the other hand, will anybody else really take note of it? Do we just leave it for now and change it a couple years down the road (which won't exactly be easy or cheap either.)

I'm just hoping the grout will fade from the sun...quickly.


I've also requested that they use a tinted grout for the glass tiles. I'd like something similar to the pebblesheen we chose or maybe even gray, but the tile contractor is really pushing the white grout (epoxy). He claims it really makes the tile pop, but I want a subtle shimmer, not a "pop." He was really trying to talk me out of the tinted grout. My husband spoke with the PB and told him how I really do not want white grout. The PB said we could play with tints and it shouldn't be a problem, so we'll see how that plays out.


I'm also kind of bummed that there's very little tile being used in the spa. I'm guessing because the spa sits that much lower in the pool, so only 3" of tile is needed compared to 8" for the rest of the pool waterline. (whatever is black in the above photo is where the tile will be installed.)


In other news, fireplace is done. We're happy with that! ;)

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