2 years of planning and it’s finally DONE in Tampa!
- Thread starter tampatommy
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 62,714
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Well we got a bit of better news today as far as scheduling is concerned. I received an email about a week ago from the screen company stating that the enclosure would be installed on St. Patricks day. I called today to specify that i wanted a specific crew to install it, and after me not understanding what he was talking about and him not having a clue where St. Patties day came in, he told me that the date of the 17th was an automated message and that the date is inaccurate. The enclosure will actually be installed on this upcoming Sunday, two days from now.
Unfortunately, the first available prep day for the finish company is March 19 with a March 21 plaster day. March 20 will be electrical hookup and getting the panel wired and all of the lights and equipment wired.
My concern with the pool finish is that they plaster and do the acid wash on the same day and then fill afterward. When my parents had their pool re done a year ago they plastered the pool, let it sit overnight and then came in the morning to do the acid wash and fill. Is it a big deal if it gets acid washed the same day?
The 500 gallon LP tank was installed yesterday. The crew did an absolutely phenomenal job.
Oh. And today i made the sad mistake of going and buying patio furniture. Insert many many four letter words here.
We did a sofa and love seat in the collection pictured below but with a different sunbrella fabric. On top of the love seat and sofa, I got myself a glider rocker lounger thing and ottoman, 6 dining chairs and a table, two of those freaking stupid ledge lounger things that my wife just HAD to have, a 9 foot umbrella for the sunshelf, and i was going to surprise her and buy her the fire pit, but she had to point out that i forgot to buy a table and that we HAD to buy the table now. Im like great. Well. Happy anniversary, youre getting the fire table.
Does anybody happen to know what bail costs in Hillsborough County after a string of armed robberies? Asking for a friend.
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The rocker will have the wild blue pattern, and the sofa and loveseat will have the dark blue, and the pillows will be a combination of the wild pattern and the light blue.
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That looks like Leaders!
Well, tomorrow is D-day. Pool finish company will be here before 7am if they follow the boss man's schedule.
Today, electrical was completed, all 7 LED lights were installed, the panel was hung, the salt chlorinator was hung, and a switch was placed for the Intellibrite controller. If anybody is looking at using the intellibrite controller, it is hideous. Find a way to mount part of it in a wall if it is new construction. It is absurd how big the switch panel is with todays technology. Will follow up with a picture tomorrow along with a pic of the electrical work. The electrical work is not as neat as i wanted and will probably re-route some of the electrical whips to my liking. Gas was connected to the heater with an additional stub out in the line for the stand by generator, which, at the amount im paying for this pool, will not be installed for another few decades.
Pool was cleaned out and the bond coat was applied early this morning. The crew was out there around 7:30 am and the spa was already done. The pool finish company said that they dont want any warranty problems and even though it is a new pool construction, they want the bond coat applied because it is a colored plaster.
For anyone looking into LED lights, the Pentair Microbrites are extremely easy to install and thread right into a threaded 1.5" wall return. The light itself has a detachable threaded ring which one of the lights caused us a problem but we were able to figure it out and get it to thread into the fitting better. Will report back on how bright they are in a few days.
Expect tons of pics tomorrow night. We are doing Stonescapes Aqua Blue with a 50/50 mix of cobalt touch of glass and puerto rico blend glass. Hopefully it comes out nice because the installer said he has never mixed the glass colors before, but i think it will be exactly what the misses wants. (I prefer lighter colored water, but I owe her a selection or two)
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Today, electrical was completed, all 7 LED lights were installed, the panel was hung, the salt chlorinator was hung, and a switch was placed for the Intellibrite controller. If anybody is looking at using the intellibrite controller, it is hideous. Find a way to mount part of it in a wall if it is new construction. It is absurd how big the switch panel is with todays technology. Will follow up with a picture tomorrow along with a pic of the electrical work. The electrical work is not as neat as i wanted and will probably re-route some of the electrical whips to my liking. Gas was connected to the heater with an additional stub out in the line for the stand by generator, which, at the amount im paying for this pool, will not be installed for another few decades.
Pool was cleaned out and the bond coat was applied early this morning. The crew was out there around 7:30 am and the spa was already done. The pool finish company said that they dont want any warranty problems and even though it is a new pool construction, they want the bond coat applied because it is a colored plaster.
For anyone looking into LED lights, the Pentair Microbrites are extremely easy to install and thread right into a threaded 1.5" wall return. The light itself has a detachable threaded ring which one of the lights caused us a problem but we were able to figure it out and get it to thread into the fitting better. Will report back on how bright they are in a few days.
Expect tons of pics tomorrow night. We are doing Stonescapes Aqua Blue with a 50/50 mix of cobalt touch of glass and puerto rico blend glass. Hopefully it comes out nice because the installer said he has never mixed the glass colors before, but i think it will be exactly what the misses wants. (I prefer lighter colored water, but I owe her a selection or two)
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IT IS TOMORROW!!!! 
Tommy they are almost there!!! Make sure they have everything you asked for BEFORE they even get out of the truck. We had one plaster job a few summers back where two trucks went to the wrong houses! One house got really nice, up graded plaster with lots of extra beads and such. The other got plain white plaster with no extras! Now there is nothing wrong with white plaster except when you paid for the up grade and beads!!!! The PB had to do a full chipout of the plain white one. He tried to just do a partial chip out (around the returns and lights) but we were able to tell the PO why he needed the full chip out.
Remember the color will not be the finial color for a little while. It might even have some green in it in the beginning. It will start to settle out as the plaster cures and you brush the pool. The water getting balanced will help a lot also.
Kim
Tommy they are almost there!!! Make sure they have everything you asked for BEFORE they even get out of the truck. We had one plaster job a few summers back where two trucks went to the wrong houses! One house got really nice, up graded plaster with lots of extra beads and such. The other got plain white plaster with no extras! Now there is nothing wrong with white plaster except when you paid for the up grade and beads!!!! The PB had to do a full chipout of the plain white one. He tried to just do a partial chip out (around the returns and lights) but we were able to tell the PO why he needed the full chip out. Remember the color will not be the finial color for a little while. It might even have some green in it in the beginning. It will start to settle out as the plaster cures and you brush the pool. The water getting balanced will help a lot also.
Kim
Well, i was up at 6:30 this morning sitting in the garage waiting for the truck to show up. 7:05, they were there.
Quite a work of art. I watched the batches get mixed, total of 5 batches. 1.5 bags of puerto rico blue blend, 1.5 bags of cobalt blue glass then the black, gold, white pebble, portland cement, and two bottles of NPT Premium Aqua dye. They only added 1 cup of calcium chloride per batch. Here is my take with the glass so far. They are still out troweling, 3 hours later. If you opt to choose glass, make sure they are whole bags that go into the mix. Without seeing the exposed aggregate, I am in love with how the puerto rico blend looks in my hand as opposed to the cobalt. Some of the glass spilled onto the deck of the truck, and me being the cheap-bull that i am, picked it up and threw it in the hopper, because if i pay for it i want it in the mix. That was frowned upon by the crew. Oh well. They were more diligent about letting only a little bit tumble out of the next few bags.
The first pic is the puerto rico blend. It has several different colors of glass; cobalt blue, turquoise, and clear. It is gorgeous. The second pic is my own hand mixed 50/50 blend of cobalt and puerto rico blend.
Little man could not be contained in the house with all of the action going on, so he ate breakfast in his high-chair out on the patio.
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Pics to be continued throughout the day.
Quite a work of art. I watched the batches get mixed, total of 5 batches. 1.5 bags of puerto rico blue blend, 1.5 bags of cobalt blue glass then the black, gold, white pebble, portland cement, and two bottles of NPT Premium Aqua dye. They only added 1 cup of calcium chloride per batch. Here is my take with the glass so far. They are still out troweling, 3 hours later. If you opt to choose glass, make sure they are whole bags that go into the mix. Without seeing the exposed aggregate, I am in love with how the puerto rico blend looks in my hand as opposed to the cobalt. Some of the glass spilled onto the deck of the truck, and me being the cheap-bull that i am, picked it up and threw it in the hopper, because if i pay for it i want it in the mix. That was frowned upon by the crew. Oh well. They were more diligent about letting only a little bit tumble out of the next few bags.
The first pic is the puerto rico blend. It has several different colors of glass; cobalt blue, turquoise, and clear. It is gorgeous. The second pic is my own hand mixed 50/50 blend of cobalt and puerto rico blend.
Little man could not be contained in the house with all of the action going on, so he ate breakfast in his high-chair out on the patio.
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Oh Tommy!! That is SO pretty!!!! I LOVE the beads you picked! I don't blame you for making sure every thing you paid for was in the hopper! The more the better!!
LOL on Little Man!! Mom is holding on TIGHT! I can't wait to see his face the first time he gets to play in the water!!
Kim
LOL on Little Man!! Mom is holding on TIGHT! I can't wait to see his face the first time he gets to play in the water!!
Kim
Well, if you dont have unlimited data and are on a mobile device, bail out while you can. These are not in perfect order.
I was quite happy to see my TFTest kit came in the mail today! Perfect time! I will test the fill water tomorrow when i have some time to figure out how to do it all. I also bought that PH meter thing too and the salt test kit.
I have not seen videos online where they expose the aggregate this way. They used a running hose and a soft bristle broom and basically swept the whole pool. When they did the acid wash, they poured the acid on, and hosed it off with a pressure washer. There was no mechanical agitation.
The footprints scared me after they left for the afternoon prior to coming back for the acid wash, but it was basically just plaster dust and they disappeared after the acid wash.
PLEASE, if anybody is considering glass for their pool with stonescapes, do the Puerto Rico blend. It is basically the same color glass that is in the Touch of Glass PLUS several other colors, just in a smaller size. I highly recommend doing 1.5 bags of each as the large cobalt beads really pop and compliment the smaller beads well.
Pool is filling now with two hoses, heading out now to put the second bottle of Startup Tec into it. Baby got his bath before we started the pool and i figure we have a 55 gallon hot water heater, so if we shower (which at this rate will take a few hours with such little pressure in the house) until the water gets cold, we can subtract 55 gallons from the meter. 1 gallon per flush of the toilet. I figure we will be within about 50 gallons of accuracy when the pool and spa are filled, which is likely negligible in a 15,000 gallon pool
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I was quite happy to see my TFTest kit came in the mail today! Perfect time! I will test the fill water tomorrow when i have some time to figure out how to do it all. I also bought that PH meter thing too and the salt test kit.
I have not seen videos online where they expose the aggregate this way. They used a running hose and a soft bristle broom and basically swept the whole pool. When they did the acid wash, they poured the acid on, and hosed it off with a pressure washer. There was no mechanical agitation.
The footprints scared me after they left for the afternoon prior to coming back for the acid wash, but it was basically just plaster dust and they disappeared after the acid wash.
PLEASE, if anybody is considering glass for their pool with stonescapes, do the Puerto Rico blend. It is basically the same color glass that is in the Touch of Glass PLUS several other colors, just in a smaller size. I highly recommend doing 1.5 bags of each as the large cobalt beads really pop and compliment the smaller beads well.
Pool is filling now with two hoses, heading out now to put the second bottle of Startup Tec into it. Baby got his bath before we started the pool and i figure we have a 55 gallon hot water heater, so if we shower (which at this rate will take a few hours with such little pressure in the house) until the water gets cold, we can subtract 55 gallons from the meter. 1 gallon per flush of the toilet. I figure we will be within about 50 gallons of accuracy when the pool and spa are filled, which is likely negligible in a 15,000 gallon pool
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Tommy!!! You did it!! You got plastered and it looks awesome!!!!
Little man got to get in HIS pool!! I do notice a good Popsicle over rides the pool though LOL
Okay so my fav pic is the one where the one guy is so intent on getting your pretty tile clean. He is so focused and making sure he is doing a good job. It is nice to see someone who cares about their work like that. It all looks SO good!
on the foot prints for sure!! Glad they went away!
Who is the watcher in black pants and white shirt?
Kim
Little man got to get in HIS pool!! I do notice a good Popsicle over rides the pool though LOL
Okay so my fav pic is the one where the one guy is so intent on getting your pretty tile clean. He is so focused and making sure he is doing a good job. It is nice to see someone who cares about their work like that. It all looks SO good!
on the foot prints for sure!! Glad they went away!Who is the watcher in black pants and white shirt?
Kim
The grand total for pool and spa is 14,300 gallons. On my way to the pool store now to pick up some DE powder. Going to fire up the pump when we get back and get the water circulating. The pool startup guy won’t be here until Monday morning but he said we can start the pump and let it run continuously at 2800rpm and brush the pool.
Is there anything in particular I should avoid as far as chemicals go? Like not shocking it with liquid chlorine or anything? I will be home when the startup guy comes so I want to look over his shoulder.
Is there anything in particular I should avoid as far as chemicals go? Like not shocking it with liquid chlorine or anything? I will be home when the startup guy comes so I want to look over his shoulder.
As of now we are trouble shooting all of the water features. I have the Intelliflo pump at speed 4, 3100 rpm I think. One bubbler works well, the other is pretty sad. The deck jets barely shoot into the pool and we removed the eyeball on the spa returns for added volume to the spillover. I’m fearing I may have to go back and add a second pump, but the plumber is on his way to help set it up. It may be something simple like just making adjustments to the valves. I hope.
So we have come to the decision to add another pump. Easy to do and the plumber said it will take nothing to integrate it without screwing up the manifold. Just need to decide which pump to buy. Bascially one pump will run the spa and spa returns/spillover, and the Intelliflo will run the two bubblers, two deck jets, and 3 pool returns.
As of now I’m at 3450rpm and I barely have any spillover and the bubblers are pretty weak.
Any recommendations for a feature pump that may be a bit lighter on the electrical load as well?
As of now I’m at 3450rpm and I barely have any spillover and the bubblers are pretty weak.
Any recommendations for a feature pump that may be a bit lighter on the electrical load as well?
So right now I basically have to pick what I want as far as water features. Intelliflo at 3450rpm, i can do the spa spillover and the 3 pool returns. Adding the bubblers ends up reducing the spillover to a trickle and the bubblers are not bubbling much, even with a 1/2" eyeball. I think im going to have the Intelliflo run just the bubblers and pool returns and then have the second pump run the spa spillover. Wife was not a fan of having to sacrifice bubblers for the waterfall.
Microbrite lights are nice but nowhere near as bright as the Globrites, so slightly disappointed in that respect. The white lights are by far my favorite because they are so bright and light the pool up well, but the microbrites do not project light very far. This is again with green water which im sure will improve as the water is balanced.
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Microbrite lights are nice but nowhere near as bright as the Globrites, so slightly disappointed in that respect. The white lights are by far my favorite because they are so bright and light the pool up well, but the microbrites do not project light very far. This is again with green water which im sure will improve as the water is balanced.
Untitled by T V, on FlickrUntitled by T V, on FlickrUntitled by T V, on FlickrUntitled by T V, on FlickrUntitled by T V, on FlickrUntitled by T V, on FlickrPool startup guy came today. Put 4 gallons of acid and a few chlorine tabs in the basket. Gave me an instruction sheet about brushing and vacuuming and pump stuff which was all already all over this website.
I am happy that he does not add liquid chlorine. He said he adds shock when needed to the skimmer. I’m glad I’m stuck paying $450 for someone to come once a week to dump chemicals just for a warranty.
He said not to add any chemicals on my own and that he does everything. Would I be wrong for doing my own water tests every day? Maybe not adding anything but just making notes in the pool math app?
I am happy that he does not add liquid chlorine. He said he adds shock when needed to the skimmer. I’m glad I’m stuck paying $450 for someone to come once a week to dump chemicals just for a warranty.
He said not to add any chemicals on my own and that he does everything. Would I be wrong for doing my own water tests every day? Maybe not adding anything but just making notes in the pool math app?
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,789
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
Good idea to do testing and record the results. That will get you familiar with the testing process and the recording procedure in the app, and start you out with a log of chemical changes. Just be aware that, if you have done a lot of reading and studying Pool School here on the web site, you may have to bite your tongue to keep from arguing with the “expert” who is in charge of your pool start up. The time to apply TFP standards is after the pool start up is complete and the pool is turned over to you.
- Oct 18, 2009
- 3,648
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Very nice, you will appreciate all the documentaion with pictures in the future. Party 
Tommy, I am sorry I missed this big day and the question about what pump. Still getting used to this new set up. Seems as if I am missing Alerts Did you decide on which pump to get yet?
That green WILL go away as the water gets balanced. I WOULD test and make notes. Seems as if they are doing the acid start up so your pH will be way low.
How often will the pool guy be coming by? How long do you have to pay that much money or was it a one time "start up" fee?
Kim
Did you decide on which pump to get yet? That green WILL go away as the water gets balanced. I WOULD test and make notes. Seems as if they are doing the acid start up so your pH will be way low.
How often will the pool guy be coming by? How long do you have to pay that much money or was it a one time "start up" fee?
Kim