Going underground in MA

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R

rks1789

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Sep 26, 2014
28
Chelmsford, MA
The Committee (MIL, FIL, Wife and myself) decided to retire our 32 year old Gibraltar pool (AG) so my MIL can have an easier time getting in and out. We did a bunch of research, got lots of quotes and decided on an L shape pool with rounded corners (Vinyl) .

The pool is measured in the schematic as 37' long, 16' wide with the L going 12' long and 24' wide. The deep end is 8' deep and the shallow end is 40" deep. I'm told this is mostly standard stuff. What I have yet to figure out is how many gallons of water this thing is going to take to fill it.

poolSchematic.jpg

They came out last week and started digging. The metal shell went in and we are now waiting on the town to come inspect, they were supposed to be out last Thursday.....

I have some progress pictures (you can see the dismantled pool in the background...waiting for disposal at the local scrap yard):


digging.jpg


metalframe.jpg


We are considering the in-ground solar cover reel, but I'd like to hear from anyone with experience over here: http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/85946-ClearDeck-solar-system-review

Thanks for reading,

Rich
 
Thanks! That is somewhere in line with what the PB told me late last night, his number was 21,400.

Up next is figuring out what our kit is going to look like. I am unsure if the PB's plan is to finish and close the pool for the season, or if they plan on opening it and running it to test it out for a bit....But come next season I want to have on hand most of what I'll be needing, how much of this do you all keep on hand and how much do you just know where to get it when you need it?

Salt (cheap and easy to store, no reason not to have it)
Bleach (this one I'm not sure of, since we have the SWG I don't think I'd need much at all of this right?)
muriatic acid (when opening a pool do people typically need to lower, or raise PH? Which of this or Borax do you keep on hand?)
Borax
Baking Soda
cyanuric acid in stabilizer or conditioner form (This would be buy on demand, the pool store is closer than any other...)

Should I order my test kit now, or wait until next year.... I guess that might depend on if we are just closing it or leaving it open for any length of time...

Thanks all! I'll be back with more pictures later today.

Rich
 
Order the TF-100 asap. Its a great value and has alot of what you need and plenty of it. Bleach. I go through a bottle and a half a day but I have no SWG. Others with SWG's will chime in on that I am sure. On the other stuff, honestly I would buy it as you need it. I bought the baking soda, muriatic acid, borax and all that is huge boxes 2 years ago and haven't had to use any of it. A water test on your tap water should give you an idea of what you might need though. Once you have your test kit, test the tap water and post your results. The experts here will be able to guide you better with those readings.
 
I ordered my test kit, it will probably be here before the water gets put in. I have been reading the Pool School, and about Borates and I think I want to add them to the pool. The extra expense of 60$ for the borax and about 28$ in MA seems reasonable for the buffering ability it adds, but it does leave me with an ordering question....

1. Pool Water gets delivered
2. PB has bags of salt out there, I assume he is going to get the water up to 3000ppm salt, and balance the PH at least.

Do you think I should put the Borax in there now, THEN close the pool so it is there when we open it in the spring, or should I just wait until after opening it to muck with all of that?

Trying out the new Flickr account, just for this thread :)
Here is the equipment set up on the pad, the electrician was off to the side making up the panel....

Untitled by rich.schelin, on Flickr

Here is the interior of the AutoPilot SWG/pump controller:

Untitled by rich.schelin, on Flickr
 

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The dirt piles were pushed back in, the kids froze (twice!) and we have a nice mud-zone in most of that portion of our backyard :)

image by rich.schelin, on Flickr


Here is a panoramic shot of the proposed decking (blue lines) and the proposed fence (white line)

image by rich.schelin, on Flickr

Pool School is scheduled for Monday, along with the Fence guy to come out to take a look and the Decking guy is coming out to re-evaluate due to changes to the plan along the way....

The pool is green and the filter isn't running yet, but at least the PH is 7.3....
 
My concerns at the moment are pump size and filter size, I want to look into them this morning. The pump is a 1Hp Hayward "super" pump. What concerns me the most about it is that after the builder re-stated half a dozen times that the pad has to be level with the pool edge, it is easily 2-3 feet up above the pool edge, let alone the water's edge...

I'll post back when I research and see what the Pb says...

Rich
 
The general consensus is that we want to turn over the water in 8 hours. The pool is just under 22,000 gallons, so we need a flow of 45.83 gpm.

The one site said to measure from each skimmer, and the main drain to get the head distance:
Skimmer1 = 40', Skimmer2 = 41', Main Drain = 63', Average = 48'

The table for the 1Hp Super pump (SP2607X10) says at 50' of head the pump does 50 gpm, which is just above our ~46gpm required.

The DE3620 is rated to 72GPM, I saw someplace the "ideal" rate was around 50GPM.

So it seems like this should work fine, even if the 2-3' increase in height slows the GPM slightly.

Rich
 
The decking guys were here earlier this week to deliver our jump rock, and prepare for the pour, they apparently ran out of rebar and will finish that when they come back for the pour. Right now we are waiting for the electrician to come and tie the ground wires to the rebar, and then the inspection will be next Tuesday, and the pour will be Wednesday. The pool company came out and closed the pool, here's hoping these noreasters knock it off :)

Untitled by rich.schelin, on Flickr
 
The weather held, I'm told they are almost done, the pictures are from before I headed into work this morning. Now we wait a week to acid wash to let the stones shine through, and then another week to put the winter cover on it.

My little guy loved how the cement truck rolled in, the aggregate is being mixed in the foreground:

Untitled by rich.schelin, on Flickr

A couple shots before I had to head to work.


by rich.schelin, on Flickr

by rich.schelin, on Flickr
 
Cement has been in for a few days, waiting a week for the acid wash. To the left is the fire pit, I had some cracked stones so I need to get replacements, there will be a circle stone area around with planting beds in a circle around it. The expansion joints have red tape over them, under it is a tan that matches the cement pretty well.

Still lots of landscaping to do, assuming the snow holds off!

IMG_2223 by rich.schelin, on Flickr
 
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