Constructing Pool House/Shop beside pool - Any tips for keeping pool clean?

[jttr]

Hi Everyone-

This may be a super dumb question but...We've had our pool for 2 years now, love it, it's easy to maintain and has been truly "trouble-free". We are getting ready to build a shop next to the pool that will have a porch that butts up to the pool deck. And it probably won't get started until May 1. This is Texas so we will be ready to start swimming by then! I'm afraid the pool is going to be a big, dirty mess. Any tips on how to keep it clean? We leave it open year-round so we have no cover for it. Suggestions or should I just suck it up and stand there with a net ready to skim out all flying dirt!

Link to the build thread: http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/41302-Freeform-pool-in-Texas-Started-3-27-12-FINISHED!!

 

[Charlie_R]

Unless you rig a tarp between the pool and construction, you may have to skim and vacuum daily to keep ahead of the construction mess.

 

[Readyforapool]

Your pool is beautiful! We just finished ours and then had a patio cover and outdoor kitchen installed. The days they were doing the patio cover the wind was blowing from the north and all the dust went right into the pool - I was freaking out! I ran the pool cleaner several times a day and it took about a week to get it all out. Luckily when they did the kitchen the wind had shifted but I still asked them to do any cutting down wind of the pool. A tarp and having them doing the cutting away from that area may help! Good luck.

 

[JamesW]

I agree with the tarp idea. Creating a curtain to hang between the work and pool can be helpful. A lot depends on how close the work will be to the pool, and how much mess they will make. For the most part, the workers should be careful and not create too much mess.

Things like nails etc. should be removed promptly to avoid rust stains. Dust from concrete sawing or metal cutting or grinding, should be prevented from going into the pool. Sawdust is usually not a big issue.

Perhaps you could use a removable curtain that can be hung as needed. If you have two points to tie a rope to, you can hang some sort of tarp, plastic sheeting, drop cloth etc.

Note: It can be helpful to see the new structure going up as it's built so that you can address any conflicts that might arise. Things such as how the new structure will look, feel and affect the overall aesthetic including things like color conflicts etc. Therefore, a curtain might obscure conflicts until it's too late.

 

[jttr]

Thanks for the replies. It is windy as can be in our neighborhood but the shop will be built on the north side of the pool so winds blowing from the south should blow everything away from the water. We are constructing a 30x40' shop and the pool porch will be 30x12' so hanging a tarp would be kind of difficult with wind, nowhere to attach it, and the size it would need to be. It helps to know that some of you have built things on or around your pools after the fact and survived. I vacuumed mine for the first time this season yesterday and was so happy to get the rock chips and large leaves out of the bottom that the sweep hasn't been able to get and then it hit me that it isn't going to stay clean for long! I guess I should just plan to leave the vacuum out for the duration of the construction!

 

[JamesW]

With a concrete pool, you don't have to be as careful as you would have to be with a vinyl liner. It's hard to damage concrete. Certain things can be a problem, like metals, wet concrete etc. As long as the workers are careful, you should not need to do much more than routine cleaning.