OB in Goodyear, AZ ramping up

[Crowned1984]

As many people do, I've been following this website since earlier this year, doing my research and learning as much as possible as we prepared to start an OB in the fall.

Over the past few months, my wife and I have been tinkering with the design trying to get a good feel for what we wanted out of the pool. We sent some designs and sketchup 3D models over to Pool and Spa Designs to finalize the design and prepare the detailed plans.

Prior to finalizing the design, I really wanted to get any feedback possible so I've attached the prelim design (does not include any plumbing details, yet) of the pool and cabana. Please critique and let me know your thoughts as we'd like to catch any big misses at this stage.

As for pool equipment, we haven't finalized that just yet, but are likely going with the following:

• Pentair Intelliflo Variable Speed Pump
• Pentair Easy Touch w/ Touch Screen 2
• Pentair Salt System (not sure what size we should go with)
• Pentair Clean and Clear Cartridge filter (leaning bigger rather than smaller)
• 3 Deck Jets
• 3 Custom Scuppers from Majestic Spouts
• I want the water features controlled separately so we can use one and not the other
• Leaning toward Robotic Cleaner rather than in-floor, but the big tanning ledge has me wavering
• Finish of the pool will be something in the PebbleSheen feel and aesthetic
• Planning on using regular Pentair light fixtures (two big and one spa size on the shelf) and replace bulbs with the INYO PureColors LED bulbs. The intellibrite line of LEDs (and others) has me concerned about a short lifespan and I'd rather replace a bulb than the entire housing unit. Any downside to this?

Any insights or thoughts you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

[nicheel]

Very nice. I was planning on going the OB route but my wife was not on board. We just signed a contract and the permit process has begun. Keep us posted.

 

[spoonman]

Love the design. Very modern looking.

Good of luck on the OB. I’d hate to deal with subcontractors, but you can save a pile of money.

 

[Lershac]

Consider the light placement. It’s late here and I might not be reading the plans correctly, but underwater lights should face away from main seating or viewing area. Otherwise they are very distracting being point sources and not indirect. You will be looking at that pool way more than swimming in it.

 

[Crowned1984]

Consider the light placement. It’s late here and I might not be reading the plans correctly, but underwater lights should face away from main seating or viewing area. Otherwise they are very distracting being point sources and not indirect. You will be looking at that pool way more than swimming in it.

I struggled with the lighting placement to be honest. I wasn't sure if I should face it away from the back of the house or the pool cabana. I'll have to give it some more thought.

 

[spoonman]

Consider the light placement. It’s late here and I might not be reading the plans correctly, but underwater lights should face away from main seating or viewing area. Otherwise they are very distracting being point sources and not indirect. You will be looking at that pool way more than swimming in it.

This is 100% correct.

 

[Arizonarob]

Definitely want the light facing away from line of sight. You want to look at the pool, not focus on the light bulb.

 

[spoonman]

My pool is very similar to yours in design. Mine is perpendicular to my house. The PB suggested to put the light in the side wall instead of at the end (facing the house) as you can see in my pic I didn't put the light at the end.

 

[A1Texan]

I'll throw my 2c in on the design. The planter in the back separates the two sitting benches. I would suggest pushing it back and have one long bench so people wouldn't feel disconnected if they are sitting on either end. That's only if you can push it back some. Just my thoughts.

 

[Crowned1984]

Ok, thanks for the input. I'm going to have the lights moved to the opposite wall, so that it's indirect lighting when sitting in the pool cabana.

The intention was to have the raised planter area to jut into the pool about 2.5 ft to make a bit of a visual anchor. Unfortunate byproduct of that is split benches.

I just received my plumbing plans and there are 8 returns that are going to be installed in a loop. two of those would be on the wall above the tanning ledge. Does this all sound fine to you? I wish there was a way to keep the tanning ledge clean without a pop-up system, but I can't come up with another solution. Looks like I'll be sweeping that thing frequently.

 

[spoonman]

Your planter looks cool the way you have it, even if the seating area is split.

If your pool light is incandescent like mine, it will provide lots of nice ambient lighting for your yard.

 

[MyAZPool]

Definitely recommend staying with the LED pool light route that you mentioned in your plans.
Before converting to LED, I hardly ever turned on that kilowatt sucking 300w incandescent.

Since converting, my LED is on a 5 hour schedule, 365 days a year. Really makes the back yard aesthetics much better at night. All for a cost of about $15.00 dollars a year.

 

[mslaman]

How is your experience working with your designer?
we are in research and development stage. Looking to start our OB in January. We are considering the same designer.

 

[Crowned1984]

How is your experience working with your designer?
we are in research and development stage. Looking to start our OB in January. We are considering the same designer.

It’s been a great experience so far. We’ve made several tweaks along the way and they have been very helpful and friendly. We are close to having the final set of plans so we are getting excited.

While we’re not quite done, we’d recommend them for sure.

 

[Don_TLR]

Looks great and you certainly have a huge lot to work with.

 

[Crowned1984]

Finally some progress is being made. We received the pool permit from the City, but we are still waiting on the permit for the ramada. Hopefully we will receive that in the next couple of days.

I don't have pictures to share right now, but this weekend the backyard was demolished by the excavators. Unfortunately, the HOA wanted the setback of the ramada to be 10' instead of 5' and this caused us to lose our grapefruit tree. We have someone coming out today to layout the pool and then the dig begins on Thursday. I'm working to get the plumber scheduled for Friday and then rebar on Monday. We will see how this works out.

As for lighting, I switched it up a bit and will be using four Pentair Microbrite lights on the side closest to the ramada. I've read a lot of bad things about the Intellibrite and the Globrites, so I figured I'd rather try an unkown product than a known with issues. Wish me luck.

Also, we're going back and forth on the bench in front of the tanning ledge. Our thought would be that people could sit on the bench if they wanted to sit in more water than will be on the ledge (9") and still be close to those on the ledge. Has anyone had something similar in their pool and does anyone actually utilize the bench?