16' x 30' Flat Kidney Owner Build

[jimmythegreek]

Ratcheting pipe cutter works great. For lots of cuts a circular saw works great with a high tooth count blade like 40 to 60 teeth. Cuts straight. Clean the shards out as you go

 

[dleonard1122]

@ajw22 or @jimmythegreek could I just get a thumbs up/thumbs down on this skimmer installation? The instructions included from the skimmer manufacturer (CMP) and the instructions from Royal Pools seemed to differ a little. I went with CMP's instructions and drilled two more mounting holes at the bottom that screw into the skimmers mounting flange. There's a gasket between the skimmer mounting flange and the backside of the pool wall. Then, I'd put another gasket on the front face before attaching the face plate. The only thing that's really throwing me off is that the 4 exposed mounting screws don't really get covered with anything? The liner just goes over top of them? Seems like a puncture risk to me but I figured I'd ask.

 

[ajw22]

I am not familiar with that skimmer. Let’s see what @jimmythegreek says when he passes by.

 

[dleonard1122]

Here are the instructions from CMP that I'm trying to follow. Specifically, I have screw holes for the 3A Through-Wall installation section, with figure 2 in the bottom left.

 

[dleonard1122]

I'm still waiting on confirmation of the skimmer install before moving forward with the plumbing. I sent out a few PMs to folks this morning who had build threads with similar setups as mine, so hopefully I'll get some guidance on that front shortly.

In the meantime, I've got another question I wanted to ask with regard to plumbing. I'm planning for all of my equipment (pump, filter, SWG) to go into my shed that is located near the pool. The excavator is coming back out to dig the trench for that. My question is what would be the best way to run the lines into the shed? The shed is framed on a slab foundation, so I'd prefer to not have to go underneath and through the ground if possible. It'll be 6 lines because I'd like to have all of my valves inside of the shed with the equipment. I was originally thinking of just using a hole saw to cut through the exterior cladding of the shed and run the lines through that, and probably some great-stuff foam to fill any voids. That doesn't sound the most professional looking to me, but its the backside of a shed so I don't think it'd bother anyone. Are there other more "professional" ways to puncture the exterior wall of a shed or is the only clean way to do this to break up the concrete slab and run the lines up and under the shed wall?

 

[dleonard1122]

Alright so to add to the confusion I reached out to Royal Swimming Pools and spoke to someone with their install team (great service by the way) and they said that both gaskets go on the inside of the pool (sandwiching the liner) he sent over this photo showing what it should look like. To me, this doesn't line up with what the CMP manual I linked above shows, but the more I look at it the more I think this installation method would be better because it better eliminates the risk of water touching the steel pool wall at any point. I'm considering changing to Royal Pools recommendation unless someone else chimes in with other feedback. He also mentioned a strip of duct tape over the exposed mounting screw heads to minimize the risk of puncturing the liner.

 

[KfenTx]

Hey hey!! It doesn't look like I took any close ups of our skimmers but....yes, our skimmer cut outs were pre-drilled (they were in polymer panels) and yes, we had the wide mouth version.

Since our screw holes were already cut, the screws ended up flush with panel and did not stick out like yours. What if you drill a slightly larger hole so you can sink those in a bit further and/or get a flat head screw so they don't protrude out so much?

I can confirm we did sandwich the liner with gaskets. Hopefully one of the experts can chime in.

 

[SSharp]

Yes, we had the same question when we installed our skimmers. The liner gets a gasket on both sides like Royal advised. We were less than impressed with anything CMP-parts or instructions. Cover the screws with duct tape.

 

[jimmythegreek]

The skimmer throat comes thru like the last pics. The gasket goes inside the pool not sandwiched between the wall. The sandwich happens inside the metal wall and pinches the liner and seals. Use wall foam I never go without it. I always change those screw I get flatter ones here local but those will work. Cover with some tape. Use some spray adhesive to hold the gasket when setting the liner. As for the shed I'd cut out a section of slab and go in under the shed. And leave it gravel for future never concrete pipes in. You can also drill holes and have it look clean just use the right size hole saw and plan the layout well

 

[dleonard1122]

Thanks Jimmy. Not the answer I necessarily wanted to hear on the slab of the shed, but i'll confer with our local inspectors, get their take, assess how much work it'd be to break up, and go from there. I did make the changes on the skimmer installation and everything looks good now.

 

[dleonard1122]

I've seen in Pentair's documentation that they have the SWG installed vertically. Is there a benefit to a vertical installation versus a horizontal one?

 

[dleonard1122]

Excavator came back today and dug the trench to the shed/equipment pad. The slab for the shed is 4" thick so I'm going to take @jimmythegreek advice above and cut out a 2' x 1' rectangle inside to run my pipes up and under.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Use a demo saw and make clean edges in corners. If you get most of the way thru it will bust out cleanly

 

[dleonard1122]

I got to work at 7 AM this morning because we're pushing 100°F high temps today plus humidity. I actually made sure to double check the regular Oatey PVC glue can be used in these temps (it's good up to 110°F). I managed to get all of the skimmers, drain, and returns plumbed to the end of the service trench to the equipment pad. Tomorrow morning I'll knock out the concrete rectangle I cut in my shed slab and then plumb everything up and into the shed and join it all into a pressure test manifold. I'm hopeful to have the plumbing inspector out this week.

 

[dleonard1122]

Plumbing to the equipment pad is done! It was truly a PITA working in that tight space to get the plumbing under the wall but I'm glad it's done and over with now.

I took @jimmythegreek suggestion and used a concrete demo saw to cut out a rectangle for in the slab. I dug underneath and then pounded on the top with a mini sledge and luckily the unsupported concrete buckled and broke into easy to remove pieces. Once I got the plumbing run, I started joining it all together into a manifold in preparation to pressure test it this week. I still need to get some of the more specialized fittings for the 1/4" NPT pressure gauge and hose bib from the plumbing supply house, but I should be able to get that done without much effort. I also need to find winterizing plugs to stop up all of the returns, skimmers, and drains.

My wife also helped me screw down the cantilever coping/liner track. It went smoothly (sorry, no photos).

I'm really happy with our progress this far. I have a landscaper coming tomorrow to give me a quote on the paver coping and patio surround. I figure with all the money we saved doing this ourselves we might still have the budget for that. I might also use my electrician to wire the pump, timer, and SWG just because he'll know exactly what materials he needs and can probably get it done quicker than I can. Hopefully if the plumbing inspected well we will be on track for putting the liner in and starting to fill next weekend.

 

[dleonard1122]

Hey @Newdude I saw your build thread and was wondering if you could give me a quick primer on startup procedures for filling with water?

I'm planning on filling the first few inches from my well, and the rest from a water delivery service. From there I assume I need to SLAM (do I actually need to?), add salt and CYA, and then once those levels are good I can turn on the SWG? That's the jist I got from your build thread but I'm curious if any of those steps are dependent on how long the water sits idle, etc...

I've never actually maintained a pool before so this bit will be new to me. I already downloaded the Pool Math app, and I'll be ordering the TF-Pro Salt kit from tftestkits.net soon.

 

[ajw22]

I assume I need to SLAM (do I actually need to?), add salt and CYA, and then once those levels are good I can turn on the SWG?

No reason to SLAM fresh water. Add 5 ppm of FC and 60 PPM of stabilizer/CYA once the pool is filled. Add 3000 ppm of salt and let it dissolve for 24 hours. Then turn on the SWG.

Add 2/3 of your stabilizer and salt and then test after about 3 days. It takes a while for those chemicals to dissolve. Once you know how much more you need for your target youc an add the rest in one or two doses. This way if you don;t have your pool volume perfect you don't overshoot with those chemicals.

 

[mknauss]

I've seen in Pentair's documentation that they have the SWG installed vertically. Is there a benefit to a vertical installation versus a horizontal one?

No. That is for high flow rate situations were you might need to bypass some flow.

 

[dleonard1122]

No reason to SLAM fresh water. Add 5 ppm of FC and 60 PPM of stabilizer/CYA once the pool is filled. Add 3000 ppm of salt and let it dissolve for 24 hours. Then turn on the SWG.

Add 2/3 of your stabilizer and salt and then test after about 3 days. It takes a while for those chemicals to dissolve. Once you know how much more you need for your target youc an add the rest in one or two doses. This way if you don;t have your pool volume perfect you don't overshoot with those chemicals.

Just to make sure I'm following:

Pentair says the recommended salt for the IC40 is 3600 PPM. So, initially add in what I think I need to hit 2400 PPM (2/3 of 3600), measure after 3 days, and adjust as needed? I think Pentair says once I got 2800 PPM it's safe to turn the SWG on.

For CYA I start by adding what I think I need to hit 40 PPM (2/3 of 60) and adjust as needed after 3 days?

 

[ajw22]

Just to make sure I'm following:

Pentair says the recommended salt for the IC40 is 3600 PPM. So, initially add in what I think I need to hit 2400 PPM (2/3 of 3600), measure after 3 days, and adjust as needed? I think Pentair says once I got 2800 PPM it's safe to turn the SWG on.

For CYA I start by adding what I think I need to hit 40 PPM (2/3 of 60) and adjust as needed after 3 days?

Yup, you got it.

You can try for 2800ppm on the salt as a starting pomt.