New F/Glass build DownUnder - Adelaide - What have I let myself in for?... :)

[Costas > DownUnder]

So another pool build to add to TFP forum.

For our majority northern hemisphere friends, this pool will be located way down south in South Australia.

I joined the forum in Dec and at that time I knew nothing about pools except for the fact that you generally fill them with water.

After spending the time up to now reading/absorbing many posts and stickies I feel quite confident in managing my pool once it has been installed - All thanks to TFP and it's membership.

Design wise I have chosen a fairly basic rectangle with a couple of lead-in steps to suit our relatively small rear yard.

Equipment wise I have stuck (mostly?) to the recommended items as gleaned off the TFP forums. Plant room equipment choices such as a variable speed pump, oversized SWG, oversized sand filter and most importantly a Clear Choice Labs test kit are on my 'to buy' list.

Current schedule is for my pool to be installed around mid-late April which coincides with the school holidays.

I have signed the paperwork with my PB and we opted for a mid April installation as we will need to block my narrow street when the 100T crane arrives. To minimise vehicle disruptions to the local school (located up the road) we are aiming for the school holiday period.

It will also allow me some time to sort out my rear facing neighbouring fence which is currently not 'pool' compliant and to remove a number of trees, a small shed etc ready for the main dig.


Here is my two minute plan which I knocked up just now..... (Pool over-layed over existing yard). The whole rear yard is going to be re-landscaped with white/ash type granite paving but with a view to keeping some grass and greenery in the foreground of the house.

Technically I have actually started digging myself - well sort of.... Had to make arrangement for the pool waste water to enter our sewer point via a gully trap which was not quite so conveniently located under some concrete.

50mm pipework will be used throughout for the pool plumbing.

 

[kimkats]

Oh GOODY!!! Another pool to help spend save money on!!! :lol:

It looks like you have a solid plan right down to when to close the road I am REALLY hoping there are other roads that lead to the school and places around it but.................you never know. Even if there are it would be a pain for everyone to close even one road during the drop off and pick up times! So nice of you to to think about that!

Let the mud begin. How did you even know it was under there? right in THAT spot? Someone did not pre-plan well at all doing it there

Do you have to replace the fence or just fix it up? Will your back neighbor go halfes with you on it?

Kim

 

[riley00dog]

Hi! It's great to see you've started a thread! I look forward to following your build.

I think your timing is perfect for the install. Not only due to having to close the street, but also for the work you need to do prior. We were initially annoyed that we signed contract early Dec but weren't starting until early Feb. We did similar to you. Took trees down and general prep work of the backyard. We finished less than a week before the dig began.

We need to do the same regarding our back boundary fence. Hoping our neighbour behind will agree to what our side neighbours asked of us to make our side of the fence compliant for his pool. He added an additional horizontal piece of wood on top of the existing centre rail. This made the foothold high enough to comply. We will have to rethink if he doesn't agree and we do have a (not great) plan b. We at least have a lot of time to sort it out while we watch the concrete cure. Agh!

Keep us posted on your prep work. Very exciting times!

 

[Costas > DownUnder]

Another pool to help spend save money on!!!

Ha Ha... Sounds like those sales which you need to spend money on to save money.

How did you even know it was under there? right in THAT spot?

It was actually easy due to the fact that the sewer gully had an inspection cover which sat flush with the concrete - so I knew exactly where it was located.

Do you have to replace the fence or just fix it up? Will your back neighbor go halfes with you on it?

Neighbours are great - 2 women reside behind my property and my wife and I are good friends with them.

Looking at replacing the complete fence and they are willing to meet me halfway regarding costs. The current fence doesn't have all that many years left in it anyway.

We finished less than a week before the dig began.

Time does go quick when trying to have all the contractors and work all lined up.

At the same time my shed which is located adjacent the pool is undergoing a complete transformation. I'm having it insulated/lined and more importantly I'm locating the pool 'plant' room within the shed so all the pool equipment will be housed within the shed out of the UV & weather.

So lots of little projects to complete before the pool is ready for installation...!



You can see the pool plant room framed in the rear RH corner of the shed. Two doors will allow access to the plant room from the pool side but not from the shed interior to maintain compliance with local pool regulations.

More wood used here than Noah's ark...?

 

[riley00dog]

Wow! Your shed looks amazing! Great idea housing the pool equipment in there in its own little area accessible only from pool. It took us a lot of thought as to where our equipment could go. Really wanted it out of sight and the obvious spots were not out of sight. Our excavator guy suggested around the side of the house near our air con etc. We're so much happy with this than having to look at the equipment from the pool area. We do need to cut a concrete path to get the plumbing over to it though. Will be well worth it. Pity you're so far away... looks like you're a dab hand a cutting concrete and plumbing! Your pool area is going to come together so well with all your planning and prep work.

 

[kimkats]

Make sure to keep in mind how wet the equipment room can get when you have to work on something. Example when dumping the filter basket out.........lots of water dripping out while doing that. Then the filter cleaning!! With you getting a sand filter you will need be able to deep clean it in the future. That is LOTS of water flowing up and out so very wet!!! Maybe plan for a DEEP water pan to go under the filter with an outlet you can put a hose in to get the water out of that area.

Kim

 

[Costas > DownUnder]

Pity you're so far away...

Not that far.... I'm actually heading up to Brisbane - Flight leaves Adelaide tomorrow afternoon. I'm flying up with my wife & daughter for a wedding event over the weekend...!

Make sure to keep in mind how wet the equipment room can get when you have to work on something.

Yes I'm on to that.

The wall paneling in the plant room is all waterproof cement sheeting and I will also be tiling the floor and up to an approximate height of 1.2m or so.

Basically it will be similar to a bathroom, so water spills will not be of concern and I could hose out the area etc if required.

 

[riley00dog]

Not that far.... I'm actually heading up to Brisbane - Flight leaves Adelaide tomorrow afternoon. I'm flying up with my wife & daughter for a wedding event over the weekend...!

Lol! Have a great time at the wedding and if you get bored and feel the need to do some pool prep work let me know [emoji23] Unfortunately the weather isn't all that great at the moment. Apparently cloudy is great for wedding photos, so I guess that's a plus for the bride.

 

[Costas > DownUnder]

and if you get bored and feel the need to do some pool prep work let me know

I'll be trying to relax I think...

Weather down here has been quite warm and humid over the last couple of days - Just right to get me used to Brissy...

 

[kimkats]

Yes I'm on to that.

The wall paneling in the plant room is all waterproof cement sheeting and I will also be tiling the floor and up to an approximate height of 1.2m or so.

Basically it will be similar to a bathroom, so water spills will not be of concern and I could hose out the area etc if required.

So glad you have it all planned out. We had one person move into a house that had the pool equipment in a storage room. It was all nice and neat when they saw it and when they moved in..................then it rained and they had to do something with the filter=MESS! The people before them used regular drywall and paint to put lipstick on a pig. I don't want anyone else to have to redo something that could be taken care of from the beginning. You have a solid plan!

Kim

 

[riley00dog]

Any updates Costas? Must be getting close to your install?

 

[needsajet]

Yeh what's up. Love your shed mate!

 

[Costas > DownUnder]

Any updates Costas? Must be getting close to your install?

Yeh what's up. Love your shed mate!

Been busy...!

Work has been progressing in the background.

Shed is almost complete. It is all painted and electrics (3 Phase) have all been done:

Even fitted an airconditioner to keep me cool during our hot summers when the wife locks me in there....

Only the flooring and skirting remain to be done - Just need to sort out my panel door to floor sealing method before I can lay the floor (Will be using Racedeck for the floor).

Some work on the pool plant room, first coat of a latex waterproofing membrane (green stuff) has been applied.

Need to screed off the floor with enough runoff to ensure water will runoff to the outside rather than back into the room/shed. Once that is complete the tiles can be laid and a bit of paint will ensure its ready for the pool equipment.

This room is fairly small (2m x 1m) so it will require careful positioning of hardware to ensure everything fits but is also easily maintainable (my primary objective...!).

I have 10x 240VAC power outlets and a LAN point so power/comms should be sorted.

Clearing has commenced on the backyard...! Still need to remove the small garden shed (job for this weekend) and I have a guy who is going to clear the area and prepare it to the correct level next week.

Rear fence is also going and will be replaced with a new 'pool' compliant - Old one is barely standing up anyway...

We will be painting the exterior of my main shed to match the new fencing and once the small garden shed is removed we will cover the neighbours old rusty shed with either some bamboo fencing or wood themed paneling etc to break up my own fence lines. So still some work to do.

You can see the blue tarp down the rear of the shed near the back fence - This is where my pool plant room sits and will be finished off with doors of some sort - yet to be decided.

On a more exciting note, the PB visited today for a final check and he also took me to visit one of their clients who had a pool installed a few months ago to verify a particular colour I wanted to see in person.

As most of you know - picking a colour can be a complex decision due to how water absorbs and scatters different wavelengths of light so I really wanted to ensure what the pool colour looked like with a pool filled with water.

Anyway he took me and the wife around to a clients house for a quick visit and we were pretty much sold on the colour as soon as we saw it....

Wife and I thanked the client for allowing us to visit their home with a view to finalising our colour choice.

Here is a quick pic I took with my phone after I asked permission from the owners.

So our dates for actual pool construction are now locked in - Digging is scheduled to start on the 19/4/18, so not too far off now.

 

[riley00dog]

You have been busy! Your shed will be amazing! My hubby will be jealous of the air con in there. Actually, he will be jealous of the fact that you even have a shed! 10 power points is great. You are set! All your preparation will pay off. We spent over two months prepping our yard and we’re very glad we did. I absolutely love the the colour shell you have chosen. That is exactly the colour I would have picked. We are hoping for a similar colour water with our salt and pepper mini pebble. I still look at the white mini pebble from time to time, but think we are happy with our original choice. So your dig is Thursday?! That’s so close! I guarantee you will be swimming before us and we dug on Feb 1st [emoji19] Good luck with the last bit of your prep work and don’t forget, we want pics once the action begins.

 

[Costas > DownUnder]

Good luck with the last bit of your prep work and don’t forget, we want pics once the action begins.

Thanks - For sure I will be taking plenty of pics when the hardcore stuff gets underway.

Below is the colour sample of the shell (from manufacturer's website pic)....

 

[riley00dog]

Your pic didn’t show initially but is there now. The sample is close to the salt and pepper pebble. Maybe just a bit whiter. Love that crisp, clear, inviting water it produces.

 

[kimkats]

You HAVE been busy! Everything looks SO nice and well done! Someone has some mad skills for sure!!

Good pick on the water color!

Kim

 

[Costas > DownUnder]

Your pic didn’t show initially but is there now. The sample is close to the salt and pepper pebble. Maybe just a bit whiter. Love that crisp, clear, inviting water it produces.

In real life the shell colour is actually whiter than what their web photo portrays (their photo seems a tad under exposed) so it may be very close to your pepper pebble finish.

You HAVE been busy! Everything looks SO nice and well done! Someone has some mad skills for sure!!

Good pick on the water color!

Kim

Thanks...!

 

[riley00dog]

Is it dig day?

 

[Costas > DownUnder]

Is it dig day?

You beat me to it....

Yes....!


Started at 07:30 this morning.

Approx 85 Tonnes of dirt removed.

Saved a few $$$ on dumping fees as my brother in-law who runs his own excavation company, used his contacts and found us a construction site nearby which he is involved with and they took all the clean fill for some beer money....

Not sure when the last time was for this soil to be exposed to fresh air - Judging by the differing colour layers, probably some time during the Neolithic or Paleolithic periods....

Team will be back tomorrow to level off the gravel base....