New pool in Tulsa, OK

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Sooner1040

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Aug 5, 2012
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I'm a new visitor to this website. Looks like tons of great information. I finally made the decision to build a pool. We submit for our permits next week. We are building a 34x17 gunite diving pool with a tanning ledge and approximately 850sf of decking. A few questions...

1. I'm 90% sure I want SWG. Any advice?
2. My builder recommends a DE filter. I've heard sand is easier to maintain. How much effort goes into a DE filter?
3. We are trying to decide between salted concrete and stamped concrete. Any thoughts there?

Any other advice is greatly appreciated!
 
Welcome to TFP!

A SWG is a good choice. Make sure that if you use natural stone, the stone that you choose is tolerant of salty water. Some fares better than others.

A DE filter gives the best water clarity of the three types of filters. It does require more work to maintain than a sand filter.
 
257WbyMag said:
Welcome to TFP!

A SWG is a good choice. Make sure that if you use natural stone, the stone that you choose is tolerant of salty water. Some fares better than others.

A DE filter gives the best water clarity of the three types of filters. It does require more work to maintain than a sand filter.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I don't think we are doing any stone work. Just concrete. I'll upload a 3D (along with construction pics) when I get them. How much work does DE take? Is it just a few hours per month? Do they break down much compared to sand? I assume they are quite a bit cleaner? I don't really know what the difference in microns means as it relates to how clean it really gets.
 
I'm so excited I can't wait to get started. I've wanted a pool my entire life, and I can hardly believe I'm finally doing it. Some other specs from my quote:

- 1.5 HP Pentair Whisperflow pump
- Polaris 3900 pool cleaner
- Pool Pilot salt generator
- Pentair TR-100 filter (I assume this is sand?)

The pool is 525' (17' x 34') free form with 96' perimeter. Depth is 3'6" to 8'6" with a 5' x 9' tanning ledge.
 
I used JP Construction. I have seen Crosby's name but did not talk to them. I know he has been around a long time. I think I heard his son's were doing most of it now? Anyway, should be great, gotta post pics, that's the law :)
 
DE filters require breaking down and cleaning periodically, similar to cartridge filters. They also require the operator to add DE to the filter at certain times as the backwash process results in loss of DE over time. Sand filters, unless they are broken, never lose sand and therefore don't need regular replacement of sand. It is a rare event that one would ever need to open the top of their sand filter and mess with anything on the inside. Sand filters just sit there and do their job. Now it is true that DE filters, when they work correctly, are capable of filtering much smaller particles from the water than sand filters can. But in a well cared for pool with a sand filter, the difference in water clarity is negligible.
 
We had a quote from Jody Crosby when we built our pool last fall. They've got a good reputation...but we liked the design from our pool builder better, so we went with them.

You might consider getting a Pentair Intellichlor SWG over the PoolPilot for a couple of reasons: (1) If you go with the Intellichlor, you'd get the 3-year warranty vs. the 1 year if you go with PoolPilot, and (2) If you ever want to go with a Pentair automation system (like their EasyTouch) the Intellichlor can "talk" to it, while the PoolPilot can't.

We opted for salt finish concrete for our decking, as we just didn't think the stamped concrete was worth the extra cost. Trust me...when it's 110 degrees outside (as we've had in Tulsa for more days than I care to remember) both will get hot!

We chose a sand filter because we've never had a pool before, so we wanted something relatively "dummy proof". If I were to do it over, I might go with a cartridge filter...but, from what I can read in these forums, the type of filter seems to come down to personal preference.

Are you getting any lights in your pool? We almost didn't, but are glad we did...the kids love the lights at night!

Good luck with your pool build...can't wait to see how yours progresses.
 

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mhosborn said:
We had a quote from Jody Crosby when we built our pool last fall. They've got a good reputation...but we liked the design from our pool builder better, so we went with them.

You might consider getting a Pentair Intellichlor SWG over the PoolPilot for a couple of reasons: (1) If you go with the Intellichlor, you'd get the 3-year warranty vs. the 1 year if you go with PoolPilot, and (2) If you ever want to go with a Pentair automation system (like their EasyTouch) the Intellichlor can "talk" to it, while the PoolPilot can't.

We opted for salt finish concrete for our decking, as we just didn't think the stamped concrete was worth the extra cost. Trust me...when it's 110 degrees outside (as we've had in Tulsa for more days than I care to remember) both will get hot!

We chose a sand filter because we've never had a pool before, so we wanted something relatively "dummy proof". If I were to do it over, I might go with a cartridge filter...but, from what I can read in these forums, the type of filter seems to come down to personal preference.

Are you getting any lights in your pool? We almost didn't, but are glad we did...the kids love the lights at night!

Good luck with your pool build...can't wait to see how yours progresses.
Click to expand...

Thanks. We are leaning towards salted right now. I've also asked to upgrade the lights from the standard pool light under the diving board to the Pentair LED lights. I'll check on the SWG generator. I've seen "easy Touch" on a few of the bids. What does that do?
 
bpricedo said:
I used JP Construction. I have seen Crosby's name but did not talk to them. I know he has been around a long time. I think I heard his son's were doing most of it now? Anyway, should be great, gotta post pics, that's the law :)
Click to expand...

I will definitely be posting many pictures. Thanks!
 
257WbyMag said:
DE filters require breaking down and cleaning periodically, similar to cartridge filters. They also require the operator to add DE to the filter at certain times as the backwash process results in loss of DE over time. Sand filters, unless they are broken, never lose sand and therefore don't need regular replacement of sand. It is a rare event that one would ever need to open the top of their sand filter and mess with anything on the inside. Sand filters just sit there and do their job. Now it is true that DE filters, when they work correctly, are capable of filtering much smaller particles from the water than sand filters can. But in a well cared for pool with a sand filter, the difference in water clarity is negligible.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Based on this, I am leaning heavily towards a sand filter. Obviously I'm a novice and simplicity is important to me. I've also heard you can add some DE to your sand to improve the filtering capability of your sand filter. Has anyone done this?
 
If you get a Pentair pump and filter, then an Intellibrite LED light counts as the 3rd item for the extended warranty so you can get the Pool Pilot and not worry about it. I dont think you will need the expense of the Easytouch since you dont have a spa, unless you are going to get all kinds of doodads like laminar deck jets and other features that you want to turn on and off. It is pretty expensive just to have to turn your pool lights off and on. The Intellichlor is a good unit but the cells are just about as much as the whole thing is new, the pool pilot cells are quite a bit cheaper (like $500 instead of $800), but the pool pilot is more expensive to begin with.

I went with sand due to ease of use too. I thought about a cartridge since I have a spa and that's what it uses, but if you ever get algae or if the pool is winterized and a swamp then a cartridge or DE can be a little labor intensive to get a pool clean with because they filter so fine they can get plugged up quick.
 
I agree with what Blaine's said for the most part....

Another thing to consider if you're thinking sand filter vs. cartridge is a drainage spot for your pool water when backwashing. For us, it's not a problem as we've got a small stream at the back of our property...but I've heard a couple of folks mention they wish they'd thought about where the backwash water will go.

I don't know what your budget is, but I can't imagine adding a deck-mounted fountain to your pool would add a LOT to the cost. When we've got those 100 degree-plus days, aerating the water at night will drop your water temp 3 to 10 degrees. We THOUGHT that's what we were getting with our pool, but it turns out our pb just gave us a cheap plastic fountain that installs in place of one of the returns. (So we can't turn off the fountain without either shutting the pump down or unscrewing it and reinstalling the return head).

If you don't elect to go with an Easytouch, and you DO go with the Intellibrite LED lights, definitely get the Intellibrite controller for them as well. Otherwise, changing the color or mode of the lights involves flipping a toggle switch on and off several times until you get to the desired setting.

We added an Easytouch to our pool, even though it's only a single body of water, because I wanted the ability to control the heat pump (adding it next year), lights, landscape lights (adding later), pump, SWG, and tanning ledge bubblers all from one panel. And, adding the Screenlogic option to the Easytouch panel gives you control of all of these things from an iOS device (iPad or iPhone). Is the Easytouch panel absolutely needed? Of course not. Is it convenient? You bet.

Our pool looks a lot like the one you're building!
 
bpricedo said:
If you get a Pentair pump and filter, then an Intellibrite LED light counts as the 3rd item for the extended warranty so you can get the Pool Pilot and not worry about it. I dont think you will need the expense of the Easytouch since you dont have a spa, unless you are going to get all kinds of doodads like laminar deck jets and other features that you want to turn on and off. It is pretty expensive just to have to turn your pool lights off and on. The Intellichlor is a good unit but the cells are just about as much as the whole thing is new, the pool pilot cells are quite a bit cheaper (like $500 instead of $800), but the pool pilot is more expensive to begin with.

I went with sand due to ease of use too. I thought about a cartridge since I have a spa and that's what it uses, but if you ever get algae or if the pool is winterized and a swamp then a cartridge or DE can be a little labor intensive to get a pool clean with because they filter so fine they can get plugged up quick.
Click to expand...

So if I'm reading this correctly, as long as I add Pentair lights to my existing Pentair filter, I can get the Pool Pilot and should receive the longer warranty, and the less expensive cells?
 
Do you know how many gallons your pool will end up being? Once you've decided what kind of filter you want to go with, I'd say your next important thing is to make sure they install a large enough filter.
 
Sooner1040 said:
Thanks. Based on this, I am leaning heavily towards a sand filter. Obviously I'm a novice and simplicity is important to me. I've also heard you can add some DE to your sand to improve the filtering capability of your sand filter. Has anyone done this?
Click to expand...

If you haven't read Pool School yet, you need to, see button at top right of board index. Here is the link for adding DE to a sand filter:

pool-school/add_de_to_a_sand_filter
 

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