New Build, Cypress, TX - looking for feedback

[tifftx2000]

Great looking design!! We are doing the pool this year and looking to add a built in kitchen area next year on our existing patio.

Thank you Kimber1! I do love the design - the ONLY thing I am questioning about it at this point is the step below the tanning ledge that goes around to the hot tub. I guess you can't see it well in these pictures. I will have to share another picture to show. I may remove it... need opinions!

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That design fits the yard nicely. Depending on your builder they may not want to move away from the Polaris or to a vs pump. We upgraded to a robot and paid the difference. The PB did put in a line for a pump in case in the future we decided to go backwards to a Polaris type pool cleaner.

heres a link that shows some robots. They basically are self contained, think of a roomba for your pool. Not sure if these are the "top 10" but it will give you an idea on price. 10 Best Robotic Pool Cleaners

One thing to consider is light placement you really don't want them to be shining at you. Where is the builder planning on putting the pool lights?

Thank you! I am definitely going to ask about the vs pump - I have been researching this and not sure why builders would go with or offer a single speed!? The vs seems to have great reviews.
I am also going to ask about the robot - I have been reading on this site a lot lately and many seem to highly recommend the robot!
Why would one go backwards and want the Polaris pool cleaner?
I will check out that link - thank you!!

It does not show on the design/plan - Good question.....!?

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Here you can see the 'step' that goes around to the spa - Not sure I love that.... I originally wanted the tanning ledge next to the spa, but this grew on me!

 

[Kimber1]

Personally, I really like the way the step wraps all the way around to the spa. It adds character. But the pool will be stunning with, or without, the extended step.

 

[tifftx2000]

Personally, I really like the way the step wraps all the way around to the spa. It adds character. But the pool will be stunning with, or without, the extended step.

Thank you! I figured it would give an option for seating too - which I kind of liked! We also thought about buying a removable table that we could put there our PB gave that as an option!

 

[Kimber1]

Thank you! I figured it would give an option for seating too - which I kind of liked! We also thought about buying a removable table that we could put there our PB gave that as an option!

A removable table would also be really awesome!

 

[Mcow]

Love the design! Pretty jealous of the outdoor kitchen. I wanted to add this at time of build but it was a budget buster.

Ok now my opinions for what they are worth
1- I would 100% keep the step going around to the spa I think that is a great feature and I think you will find it is great to sit on in the shallow end and keep everything but your head under water. One of my favorite spots in the pool is sitting on our steps by our ledge just for this reason. You also have a good size pool and will not loose anything having it in.
2- Did your PB indicate where the pool lights will be on the plan? I am not as familiar with Hayward lights are they the bigger ones? I have two smaller Pentair lights and wish I had a third. One thing I have learned the hard way with a free form pool it is fairly easy to have areas that do not get illuminated with all the curves.
3- Glad you decided to increase the depth! It is important to think about kids but they will not be small forever!
4- It is funny you mentioned the back of the wall. We also decided to just mud out the back because it seemed like a waste of money for something no one will see and will be covered by landscaping. What we did end up doing though was putting stone on the back of the two outside curves because they were somewhat visible. Now I am not condoning this without asking your PB for permission (which he granted in our case) but we actually just worked out the extra stone work with the sub at a very reasonable price since they were already out there and had the material.
5- I have been reading a lot about robots and wish we went that route. It may make sense to go ahead and have them plumb for the polaris it can always be used as an extra return.
6- So SWG..I don't know what the deal is with Texas PB but they seem to hate them. Our PB talked us out of it. I wish now I would have stuck to my guns. The thing we really liked about them in other peoples pools was how it made your skin feel. Our PB acted like they spit out devil juice and we were successfully talked out of it. A little regret on that one.

 

[Tanner M]

+1 on the SWG. They are a must have IMO. Especially when you are going to the expense of adding a pool to your home. I would really suggest you go the SWG route. You will be back with water issue's in the future if you don't stick to pool school and do regular testing almost on daily basis with regular chlorine.

 

[tifftx2000]

Love the design! Pretty jealous of the outdoor kitchen. I wanted to add this at time of build but it was a budget buster.

Ok now my opinions for what they are worth
1- I would 100% keep the step going around to the spa I think that is a great feature and I think you will find it is great to sit on in the shallow end and keep everything but your head under water. One of my favorite spots in the pool is sitting on our steps by our ledge just for this reason. You also have a good size pool and will not loose anything having it in.
2- Did your PB indicate where the pool lights will be on the plan? I am not as familiar with Hayward lights are they the bigger ones? I have two smaller Pentair lights and wish I had a third. One thing I have learned the hard way with a free form pool it is fairly easy to have areas that do not get illuminated with all the curves.
3- Glad you decided to increase the depth! It is important to think about kids but they will not be small forever!
4- It is funny you mentioned the back of the wall. We also decided to just mud out the back because it seemed like a waste of money for something no one will see and will be covered by landscaping. What we did end up doing though was putting stone on the back of the two outside curves because they were somewhat visible. Now I am not condoning this without asking your PB for permission (which he granted in our case) but we actually just worked out the extra stone work with the sub at a very reasonable price since they were already out there and had the material.
5- I have been reading a lot about robots and wish we went that route. It may make sense to go ahead and have them plumb for the polaris it can always be used as an extra return.
6- So SWG..I don't know what the deal is with Texas PB but they seem to hate them. Our PB talked us out of it. I wish now I would have stuck to my guns. The thing we really liked about them in other peoples pools was how it made your skin feel. Our PB acted like they spit out devil juice and we were successfully talked out of it. A little regret on that one.

Thank you!! I love the design too! Shockingly all of this was inside of our budget!
Responding to your 'opinions'
1- The step around to the spa is totally growing on me!! And I agree, I think it will be a great place to sit and hang out!
2- They did not indicate where the lights would be placed. We meet with them on Monday - so I will add this to my list of questions for sure! Not sure on the size, but I did initially think that two lights for the pool was plenty.
3- Yes, I think increasing the depth to 4' was a good choice as well!
4- Interesting.... I have this on my list to ask about - I read that some do the spray deck on the back. I am wondering what they do with the back wall, if you choose to not do stone or spray deck. I can't imagine what it would look like!? LOL. I like the idea of stone kind of wrapped around both ends! Then the middle, I don't really care b/c no one will ever be behind the pool.
5- I wonder how much more the robot will cost us.... I have read some places that if we go the robot route that we could/would get rid of the booster pump!? I am new to all of this - so clueless if that is true. I would think if we ask them to still plumb for the Polaris we would have to keep the booster pump. I have read many great things about the robot. Many do seem to love theirs!? So.... now decisions, decisions on that!
6- So you went with a Chlorine!? Our PB didn't even talk to us about SW to be honest. You wish that you would have gone with a SWG? I do like the way they make your skin feel, however - I don't want to have to replace furniture, worry about the stone work, etc.... haha devil juice!! That made me LOL!! Can't you go back and add a SWG after the fact!? Curious on the cost of that.....

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your feedback - greatly appreciated!!!

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+1 on the SWG. They are a must have IMO. Especially when you are going to the expense of adding a pool to your home. I would really suggest you go the SWG route. You will be back with water issue's in the future if you don't stick to pool school and do regular testing almost on daily basis with regular chlorine.

Thank you for the info! Plan to talk to our PB about this at our meeting on Monday!

 

[Mcow]

2-I would for sure ask them to indicate light locations. You will want to make sure your tanning ledge is getting some light these are great but a little bit of an obstacle at night if you cannot see the edge (I have this issue with the bench on one side of my pool). Two would have been fine in mine if I had a rectangle pool but with a free form the lights can be mounted on a radius and then light does not travel around corners so curved areas can be darker. Like I said may not be a problem with larger lights mine are smaller.
4- We have paver decking so that was not an option. They basically just used the mortar they use to set the stones and smoothed it out. All but about an 1" is covered though as I backfilled for my landscaping. It is just visible on the back of the outside curves (ours is very similar to yours).
5- The robot would have been the same price as our Pentair Racer so was a wash I just didn't even know about robots until after the decision was made! It is something we can add though but I will wait a few years on this more than likely.
6- I really do not know why but from what I have seen here Texas PB hate SWG. We were given the same concerns on damaging stone work and metal and that is what scared us off. I will say my next door neighbor has a SWG and they have complained about it damaging their metal patio furniture if that is from the SWG or Texas sun I am not sure. As far as damaging stone work I think the real concern there is when water is constantly on the stone like if you did a flagstone beach entry or tanning ledge. We did get sold on a UV system for the chlorine. I am almost afraid to mention anything about it in fear of inciting a riot as they seem to be very unpopular here I have no idea if they work or not only been using mine for a week but I will say my PH leveled out very quickly. We are testing twice a day and PH is holding steady after only a few days. There is zero chlorine odor in the pool as well and our chlorine feeder is set pretty low and testing good every time. Of course part of this may be because it has not been super sunny. Anyway take that with a grain of salt (no pun intended) as I do not have enough experience with it yet.

 

[SpringPool]

Thank you!! I love the design too! Shockingly all of this was inside of our budget!
Responding to your 'opinions'


6- So you went with a Chlorine!? Our PB didn't even talk to us about SW to be honest. You wish that you would have gone with a SWG? I do like the way they make your skin feel, however - I don't want to have to replace furniture, worry about the stone work, etc.... haha devil juice!! That made me LOL!! Can't you go back and add a SWG after the fact!? Curious on the cost of that.....

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your feedback - greatly appreciated!!!

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Ask the pool builder if they will warranty a SWG. The only small regret I have. It's an upfront cost but easier to maintain. I think I could have convinced my PB but didn't do enough reading on this site first. I may go the stenner pump route or get the SWG in 3 years when the warranty is up.

Our pool is 4-6.5-4 and we have the back jumping wall. I know you said only part of the back will be deep but kids can jump far so be careful if you make only part of the middle deep.

We also went deeper and am glad we did.

 

[tifftx2000]

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Ask the pool builder if they will warranty a SWG. The only small regret I have. It's an upfront cost but easier to maintain. I think I could have convinced my PB but didn't do enough reading on this site first. I may go the stenner pump route or get the SWG in 3 years when the warranty is up.

Our pool is 4-6.5-4 and we have the back jumping wall. I know you said only part of the back will be deep but kids can jump far so be careful if you make only part of the middle deep.

We also went deeper and am glad we did.

I will definitely ask that about the SWG - I am curious as well
Good call! I never really thought about 'how far they would jump,' but that obviously makes sense. Hmm....
What do you mean by 4-6.5-4? Sorry, I am new at this. Does that mean 4 ft to 6.5 to 4 ft?
Thanks for the info!

 

[SpringPool]

Yes a sports pool basically has the deep end in the middle. We used toe tile on all our shelves so to help point this feature out.

Take a look at our build in my signature. I have a profile image of the depths. Our designs are similar we're just square and the spa and sun shelf are reversed. Our kids love jumping off the wall and the bench we have in front of the spa (that would be your sun shelf).

Also tell the builder on the day of the dig you want to do a walk of the pool before they leave. As we watched them dig we made a few minor modifications. (Our stairs were too long) so we made them shorter to get more space in the pool. Your pool is wider than so ours so you should have lots of room

 

[Doclmb]

My pool is now 5 weeks old. While I don't have near the experience of some of the other great TFP members, I will agree that you certainly would be happy going with the 4 foot depth in the shallow end.

The spray deck on the back of the retaining wall will be perfect. My pool is like this and like you have planned on putting a garden behind it. The back wall will not be visible and the parts that are that are covered by the spray deck look "finished". I am very pleased with this type of look while saving on the expense of the extra stone work for the back of that wall.

Pool pump. You definitely should consider the advantages that a variable speed pump will offer you. This will save you lots of money in the long run.

Your pool design looks great, you are going to love it.

 

[tifftx2000]

Yes a sports pool basically has the deep end in the middle. We used toe tile on all our shelves so to help point this feature out.

Take a look at our build in my signature. I have a profile image of the depths. Our designs are similar we're just square and the spa and sun shelf are reversed. Our kids love jumping off the wall and the bench we have in front of the spa (that would be your sun shelf).

Also tell the builder on the day of the dig you want to do a walk of the pool before they leave. As we watched them dig we made a few minor modifications. (Our stairs were too long) so we made them shorter to get more space in the pool. Your pool is wider than so ours so you should have lots of room

Love your pool! It fits your house/yard so well!!!!
Good idea on a walk of the pool before they leave! I hope that we can plan to be here for at least part of the dig! Ideally the last part of it thanks for the feedback!!!

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My pool is now 5 weeks old. While I don't have near the experience of some of the other great TFP members, I will agree that you certainly would be happy going with the 4 foot depth in the shallow end.

The spray deck on the back of the retaining wall will be perfect. My pool is like this and like you have planned on putting a garden behind it. The back wall will not be visible and the parts that are that are covered by the spray deck look "finished". I am very pleased with this type of look while saving on the expense of the extra stone work for the back of that wall.

Pool pump. You definitely should consider the advantages that a variable speed pump will offer you. This will save you lots of money in the long run.

Your pool design looks great, you are going to love it.

Congrats on your newly finished pool! I have zero experience, everything 'I know' is from this site! I like the idea of 4ft as well!

I think the spray deck is a good option too and of course would save some money! I am all for that!
The pump is one of my big questions to my PB when we meet - kind of wondering why they even offer a single speed pump IF the variable is energy efficient and just all around a much better choice!??

Thanks so much!!!! I love our design as well and can't wait to see it come to life!!!! So thankful for all of the feedback from this site - I may have some regrets going into the dig if I didn't know any of this
HOA finally approved everything yesterday! Hoping to close on our loan any day - whenever we hear back... everything takes forever and is a waiting game. Trying to be patient The PB said they could dig as early as FRIDAY!!!!! IF we can get the loan closed - woo hoo!!!!!

 

[Mcow]

Sorry I thought of two more things! Both concern your back wall.

1) It's hard to tell but from your plan but it looks like the width of your wall is the same as the coping which I'm guessing is 12". You may want to consider making the wall wider. We did 18" and that just makes it easier to walk on when sweeping your pool and a little more room for kids to walk along when they inevitable jump off the back wall.
2) Again hard to tell but from your rendering it looks like your wall is flush with the side of the pool. Our PB suggested adding a "finger ledge" which is basically just a 4"deep ledge at the bottom of the wall. This gives kids something to grab on to if they get in to trouble on that side of the pool. Oh and it's also a great place to sit drinks on. Here is a pic showing ours.

 

[ctrav]

The finger wall is an excellent idea, wider ledge really helps (ours is wider) and SWG is highly recommended! Nice layout...

 

[tifftx2000]

Sorry I thought of two more things! Both concern your back wall.

1) It's hard to tell but from your plan but it looks like the width of your wall is the same as the coping which I'm guessing is 12". You may want to consider making the wall wider. We did 18" and that just makes it easier to walk on when sweeping your pool and a little more room for kids to walk along when they inevitable jump off the back wall.
2) Again hard to tell but from your rendering it looks like your wall is flush with the side of the pool. Our PB suggested adding a "finger ledge" which is basically just a 4"deep ledge at the bottom of the wall. This gives kids something to grab on to if they get in to trouble on that side of the pool. Oh and it's also a great place to sit drinks on. Here is a pic showing ours.

I never thought about that! You guys are so great!!!
Our dimensions are: Raised back wall - 11' x 6" / 12' x 12" / 11' x 6" - faced w/stacked stone front side only
I like the wider ledge as well - great idea! Adding to my list! THANK YOU!

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The finger wall is an excellent idea, wider ledge really helps (ours is wider) and SWG is highly recommended! Nice layout...

I agree - adding to my list!
SWG was never on our mind, but SO many are recommending it...! THANK YOU!

 

[Mcow]

I never thought about that! You guys are so great!!!
Our dimensions are: Raised back wall - 11' x 6" / 12' x 12" / 11' x 6" - faced w/stacked stone front side only
I like the wider ledge as well - great idea! Adding to my list! THANK YOU!

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I agree - adding to my list!
SWG was never on our mind, but SO many are recommending it...! THANK YOU!

Ok those measurements look like the width and height of each section. So just confirm the depth. From the plan looks to be same as coping which I am guessing is 12". Easy to change now

 

[tifftx2000]

Ok those measurements look like the width and height of each section. So just confirm the depth. From the plan looks to be same as coping which I am guessing is 12". Easy to change now

Oh Duhh!! LOL - I will check on the depth thank you!!!

 

[kimkats]

Love everything I am seeing! Everyone has your back. I am in just to watch! What a great group of people! THANKS!

Kim

 

[tifftx2000]

Love everything I am seeing! Everyone has your back. I am in just to watch! What a great group of people! THANKS!

Kim

Definitely super grateful for all of these people - SO many things that I would have never thought of if it weren't for this amazing forum!

Waiting on our dig date.... can't wait to update this post with NEW pictures!