New Pool for Design Review

[Drewskii]

Hello all,

I am a new member, planning a pool, and was hoping some of the experts would comment on the design and specifications.

The pool will be located in south Florida and I estimate the capacity at 9.100 gallons and the surface area at 405 sq/ft. The plan indicates a sun shelf, with 7" or 8" of cover with three bubblers, and two seats at the other end. The orientation is due South.

I would be interested in any comments on the design but also on things like pipe sizes, number of skimmers, pump sizing, filters, solar, you name it.

Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions. :-D

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum.

You have a lot of "inside" corners on the interior of your pool....none of which can be cleaned by automation, they will have to be manually brushed.

To some, that is no big deal...often finding it enjoyable. To others the thought of some manual brushing to keep your pool clean is unthinkable. You will have to do it quite often to prevent dirt and algae....probably twice weekly.

 

[cbink]

Good point Dave! The thing I'd add is there a reason you want 7-8" on the sun shelf? I ask for two reasons; you may find the bubblers struggle to make a big impact effect with that much water above them, secondly 8" is a bit too deep to lie in. Obviously you may have a perfectly good reason for it being that depth, just my $.02

 

[Drewskii]

I had no idea inside corners were such a big deal....

As far as the depth of the sun shelf...it just seemed that less than 7 or 8 inches was too shallow for the little ones to have fun. Is it really not possible for a bubbler to squirt through that depth? What about pop-up types?

 

[mas985]

Has the builder specified any of the plumbing or equipment?

 

[KenGood]

I like it a lot.

 

[bigdav160]

I got the same warning about the hard corners with my pool. While dirt does seem to accumulate there, my watertech robot does a find job of cleaning corners and stairs.

A builder can soften the corners if it bothers you.

Our sun shelf/tanning ledge isn't as large as yours but my wife's family are not big swimmers. They do, however, like to place their (plastic) lounge and adirondack chairs in that area have a good time.

 

[Drewskii]

While mo PB has actually been signed up yet, the PB we like has submitted the following....


Pool shell will be constructed of 3/8” steel rebar placed 12” on center each way with a 6” thick gunite shell.
After the shell is completed the backfill will be machine compacted to 550lbs. p/s/f.
Plumbing details include a 32” unblockable ultra safe main drain, a 2” skimmer, a minimum of 3 inlets, a dedicated vacuum line, and a structurally encased 2” port Hayward skimmer.
The pool will have 2 Pentair color L.E.D. lights.
3 fountains are included in the sunshelf section as per plans. The water supply for the fountains can be shared from the filtration pump.
New coping and tile will be set around the perimeter of the pool.
Pool equipment will be a Hayward ¾ hp pump, a Hayward C-1200 cartridge filter, and Pentair MPV valves. All Hayward equipment has a 3 year warranty.
Standard pool electric hook up is included.
Magic Pebbles pool finish with a lifetime warranty is included.
Pool will be filled through filtering tanks.
After pool is filled then the equipment will be fired up and the chemical balancing will be initiated.

2 year warranty on all work performed *Homeowner is responsible for all costs that are related to complying with the Florida Pool Barrier Code.

NOT INCLUDED ITEMS:
OPTIONS:
Hayward Aqua-Rite salt system. $1,900.00
Upgrade pump to a Hayward Eco-Star variable speed pump. This would be recommended if you are planning on using solar heating. $900.00
Hayward 100,000 BTU model Heat Pump. $4,480.00
Paver decking with a $2.00 per s/f material allowance. $7.80 per s/f installed.

So my questions are....
How many skimmers do I need?
How many returns, especially considering what I have read about keeping sun shelves clean?
Where are the inlets to be placed?
What wattage and/or model number for the lights?
What bubblers considering the depth (7-8") for the sun shelf?
Is the Hayward equipment the right size?
What's an MPV valve?
How much does the Florida Pool Barrier Code compliance cost?
Is 100,00 BTU the right size for a heat pump to heat the pool? (Natural gas is not available)
How do Magic Pebbles compare to Pebble Tec?
The pavers are Tremron 2 3/8" thick and the cost for labor and material seems high..any thoughts on that?
Also, what size electric service is required to the pool equipment?

I'm sure I have left lots out..If I have, please ask away
/color]

 

[mas985]

Just a couple of comments:

1) Make sure the PB runs the suction lines from each skimmer and main drain all the way to the pump. Don't let them tie the lines together at the pool.

2) 2" pipe size is adequate since you really don't have any high flow rate requirements. A small pump will limit the flow rate through the plumbing. A VS is probably overkill since you don't have any water features.

3) One skimmer will probably be adequate but if you have changing wind directions, sometime two can help. Place the skimmer down wind.

4) As for returns, I would put two just above the shelf to help keep that clean. The other two can be placed once the skimmer location is known but probably at least two on the other walls.

 

[cbink]

On the bubblers - my PB has just switched mine from 1" to 1/2" and it's bumped the height up a decent amount. I have 6" of water on an extended step with 3 bubblers on it. My son who is 2 loves it as he can sit down on that step too. That being said, he also loves the next step which is deeper too. Your PB can probably advise on how high they think the bubblers will be. I can adjust mine from the pad (they've just got turned down a bit since switching to 1/2").

Good luck - whichever way you go it'll be great!

 

[Drewskii]

Help with skimmers....

Is an equalizer required?

Because the horizontal depth of the coping will be 9", is there a skimmer model that will set back far enough to allow for a continuous coping?

In this case if I wanted to install two skimmers, could one be placed in the area of the sun shelf?

Any other skimmer tips?

What skimmer would the forum recommend for this pool? Specific Model numbers would be appreciated.

 

[bigdav160]

It is recommended, by the pros on this site, to plumb the skimmers individually to the pad. I don't think the equalizer is necessary.

I don't remember the part number of the skimmers I installed (in my sig) but they were Hayward. I don't see any reason they couldn't be used on your shelf.
I have two skimmers. One on the south wall and one on the north wall. They do catch a lot of debris. With strong north winds I do trap pine needles from the neighbors yard into my tanning shelf area.