New pool starting soon - advice

[3monkeys]

Hello all,

I just found this site a couple of weeks ago and I'm addicted. We've decided to bite the bullet and add a pool and should be breaking ground in approximately 6 weeks. Since neither my wife or I have ever owned a pool, we're somewhat going into this in the dark. I found a post a few days ago that showed what everyone would have done differently on their pools. But, of course I can't find it now. I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions on things I haven't even considered. One of the suggestions I remembered from the earlier thread was running extra PVC and outlets during the construction. Seems so obvious but I never even considered it. Below are our specs and I tried to attach our plan but not sure it worked.

18 x 42 Free Form Pool
3’ – 6’ depth
Pentair 3HP Variable Speed
Pentair TA60 Sand Filter
2 Skimmers
2 main drains
3 inlets
Raypak 399,000 BTU HeaterView attachment Pool.pdf
2 LED lights
IC Salt
Kool Deck
2 water scoopers
River Rok Plaster
Basketball goal - trying to determine I can get a built-in for under $800!

 

[bluestarsway]

I can't speak for much, as I'm still new, but I will say one thing I took away was get a few lights (facing away from wherever you'll be looking). Some mixed viewpoints on Kool Decking, some have had great experience and others have issue with it chipping or staining.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Here are a couple such threads you were looking for:
Your build: What would you do differently?
What would you do differently, if you could rebuild your pool?

About your specs above, what caught my eye was:
- 3 Inlets (?) ; wasn't sure what you meant there. Was that supposed to be 3 returns (jets)?
- IC Salt ... see if you can find out what size SWG they plan to install. We always recommend going big on those if possible

I'm sure others will have numerous suggestions for you. Nice to have you with us.

 

[ckk81]

Congrats!

Are you getting any steps or a ladder? (And accompanying railings)

Plans for a cover that would use anchors?

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

While I wish my pool had more shallow and less deep end, the fact is, people are going to want to jump in, and 6' is probably not deep enough. So either make the whole pool shallow so nobody tries jumping, or deepen the deep end. My two cents.

While the yard is all dug up with open trenches, add plugs and water. You never cen predict what you might want to plug in in the future. Besides TVs and stereos, you might need to plug in a power rooter, or a shop vacuum, or a pressure washer, or any of a million other electric appliances, some of which may not have been invented yet.

 

[3monkeys]

To answer the above questions, I'm not sure on the inlets. I'll have to ask about that. Yes, we're going to have a tanning ledge and a swim out in the deep end. We're not planning on covering it. We're going to try and keep it open. Thanks!

 

[Teald024]

But, of course I can't find it now.

Hello and welcome to TFP! You will be glad you joined.

I wish I could help you more with your IG pool selection, but I'll leave that to some others. The best free advice you will ever get!

About your not finding a post, pardon me if I state the obvious. In the upper right side of all pages, below the Pool School link there is an empty white rectangle with a magnifying glass next to it. That will let you search all the previous posts on this forum. Just like a Google search.

 

[3monkeys]

Teald024, I found the first one as it was an embedded link in a post I was reading. I tried searching for it but couldn't locate it. Oh well, there's plenty of other threads with similar info. Thanks for all of the help. I really appreciate it.