new pool in tucson az

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justinS

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Bronze Supporter
Jan 25, 2018
150
tucson/az
Hello, stumbled onto this site. SOOO much info! I am in the process of doing a pool. I have the plans, the engineering, permits, and I took my wall down for access. I am the "general contractor" (i hope). currently taking bids for excavation.

Is there anyone on here that has built a pool in Tucson? I am open for any info! what would be the best way to show everyone what I have and my plans? I assume sending some pictures? tell me what you want, I will provide all I can, in trade of opinions and help.

I am going to go with a salt water system.
what is the opinions of pumps variable speed or single?
i am thinking sand filter, I have read, it doesnt clean as well as the others, but the cleaning is still amazing and easier to maintain
what about coping, i am thinking about running the pebble tech as coping, no tile. Do I need to do anything different in the set up? I understand the water line will be there and obviously harder to clean. what is the cost difference?

okay I will wait for some responses for more questions

thanks!
 
HI! What fun but man will it test your patience at times!

Let start with a picture of where the pool is going. Then a picture of your design.

For the pump we need to know what features your pool will have. I will tell you that you do NOT want a single speed pump. At the very lest you will want a 2 speed pump.

I LOVE my sand filter. If you want a extra polish on the water you can add DE to the sand. To me it is the best of both worlds.

coping-I am not sure if you are thinking of the same thing as what I call coping-the coping is the part of the decking (what goes on the ground and you walk on around the pool) that goes right at the edge of the pool. It sometimes hangs just a little over. Most of the time it is different than the decking but sometimes it is the same as the decking.

I THINK you are thinking of the "waterline tile"-the tile that is on the wall of the pool that the water touches. It will be a pain to keep plain plaster clean and nice looking. It will form a ring that will be almost impossible to keep looking nice due to the nature of plaster. We just had one pool build where the pool owner turned off the water while the pool was filling for the first time before the pool was filled. They have a very noticeable ring where they stopped the water :(

I am not sure if the plaster can/should be out of the water. I will reach out to a couple of others on here to get their input if you would like.

I can't wait to see your pics!!!

Kim:kim:
 
hello,
Well Pump questioned answered! I did not know you could add DE to the sand. I am planning on going salt water system.
let me see if I can add a couple of photos.
the first photo is where the new pool is going, hopefully it looks better than the picture. The arrow is the wall I took down for access and I am expanding the yard. the second is the coping I was talking about, if that is called coping
google map pool.jpgcoping.jpg
 
Hayward.

Ha, actually Jandy, Pentair and Hayward are the top three and make good equipment. The Pentair Intellifo VS pump gets big props here.
 
I have a cartridge filter and it is pretty easy. I have to take the filter elements out every few months and hose them off really good. Other than that, it’s pretty maintenance free.

I’d also recommend looking at adding a bench or two to the pool so people have a place to relax.

Tanning ledges are awesome too. We put one in that is 12” deed with a hole for an umbrella. It’s UAT deep enough to keep your butt cool while sitting in a lounge chair and with the umbrella, you can get out of the sun.
 
justinS said:
here is the design

View attachment 72300

- - - Updated - - -

any comments or concerns or help will be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

Sorry it took me so long to reply to this one. I missed it the first time around.

I have looked at the plans. I LOVE where the pool is in the yard! Purrfect spot.

What I am unsure of is what the x with the circles are........thinking returns but want to make sure. Is the S the skimmer?

Kim:kim:
 

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I would suggest that you NOT go with the rolled-edge exposed aggregate design. Here in Tucson the water is extremely hard and evaporation rates are over 90" per year. This means your entire pool volume in an uncovered pool will evaporate away and so your water will have ever increasing CH levels. Couple that with fast evaporation of splashout water and a fluctuating water level (even the best autofills don't keep a pool level completely constant) and you will wind up with an ugly bathtub ring in no time. Exposed aggregate with calcium scale on it is next to impossible to clean without using glass media blasting (and the associated hoppers and high flow rate air compressors) and you find it difficult to maintain a clean water's edge. Having water line tile eliminates a lot of these issues and it's far easier to clean tile than exposed aggregate plaster. Rolled edges like you show were a common design around here not long ago but few builders do it anymore because of the inherent problems with plaster exposure to the elements.
 
I with Matt on this one. For both functional and aesthetic reasons. I thought it looked dated when I saw the picture. There is a place however, that I like the rolled edge look. That's with a spa using 1" tiles. I love that look. For the pool, there are many design choices that can get you something original/unique, without being subject to issues.
 
thank you that is a great detailed reason not too! I thought it looked cool. what suggestions would you have?

- - - Updated - - -

thank you for the suggestions, couple of questions.
would extending the bench or get out in the deep end, make that good relaxing point, and I was thinking that the second step would be another good spot. I am planning on putting an umbrella hole on the end where the steps are.
 
a couple of new questions..
calculating the gallons of my pool. from reading on line. this is what I have come up with.
Diameter x Diameter x Average Depth x 5.9
I assumed the easiest way would be to break my pool into two circular pools
Average Depth I went with shallow point 3.5' + deep point 6' divide by 2=4.75 (round up to 5)
one part of pool is 16'
the other part is 14'
with that...
16x16x5x5.9=7552 gallons
14x14x5x5.9=5782 gallons

total of 13,334 gallons

Does this seem right? If so, do I base my pump on 13,000 gallons or say 15,000 gallons?

When I am looking for my pool equipment, do I buy a package deal? pump, filter and SWG?

thank you
 
Your pump size has very little to do with your pool volume. Your pump selection should be based on how you intend to use it. Water features, SWCG, spa, etc.

If you wish to have automation it is best that your automation, pump, and SWCG be from one manufacturer. Filter and heater do not matter.

Take care.
 
At a minimum I would suggest a two speed. You would most likely run it at low speed most if not all the time. Unless you plan to run a suction side pool cleaner. That might take high speed.

I would suspect a 1 HP pump will do. But there are others on this forum better at pump recommendations.

A VS pump might be overkill but would work best if you do plan to have automation.

Take care.
 
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