Just put my deposit down (North of Kansas City)

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wallywest

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Jun 9, 2015
42
Saint Joseph, MO
I just put my deposit down on a new pool construction. It's a steel wall, vinyl liner pool. Mountain pond style, 40'x20'. We have chosen salt as one of our kids is sensitive to high chlorine levels. I will be posting pics whenever we get started (as much of you already have had to endure, it's been raining a lot in the KC area). My builder has a couple days of work (provided it's dry enough) on his current build before he starts mine.

Two questions (the first of MANY, I am sure):

What size (hp?) pump should I be requiring. I believe the quote was for a 1.5hp pump. Should I upgrade? Or, is that enough?

One LED light is included. Another will add $900 to the bill. Seems steep...opinions on additional lighting?
 
wallywest said:
I just put my deposit down on a new pool construction. It's a steel wall, vinyl liner pool. Mountain pond style, 40'x20'. We have chosen salt as one of our kids is sensitive to high chlorine levels. I will be posting pics whenever we get started (as much of you already have had to endure, it's been raining a lot in the KC area). My builder has a couple days of work (provided it's dry enough) on his current build before he starts mine.

Two questions (the first of MANY, I am sure):

What size (hp?) pump should I be requiring. I believe the quote was for a 1.5hp pump. Should I upgrade? Or, is that enough?

One LED light is included. Another will add $900 to the bill. Seems steep...opinions on additional lighting?
Click to expand...

One of our big regrets with our pool in Wichita was not adding more lights. We put in a 18X36 inground pool with a deep end. The big light in the deep end is pretty bright but it doesn't properly light up the shallow end. If we had the chance to do it over again, we would have put at least one smaller light if not two..one on both sides of the shallow end (that sync with the bigger light (i.e. light displays).
 
Welcome to TFP!

Chlorine levels in properly maintained salt pools and standard chlorine pools are about the same. Actually the same is true for tap water. But a SWCG is a good choice for chlorine generation. The key is understanding the chemistry, and this is the place to learn it.

Pump size depends on many things: Pool size, water features, debris load, electric rate etc.. Builders tend to oversize the pump and undersize the filter. Often a two-speed pump is the best choice. More than likely a single speed 1.5HP pump is too big for your pool.

Lights are very much a personal choice. You may want to see pools with the lights you are getting at night. LEDs don't put out as much light as halogens, so you may need or want two lights. I don't use my light for swimming because it ends up drawing bugs, but it's a great safety device and really handy when cleaning up at night.

You may want to consider a pipe size upgrade. 2" pipe is much better than 1.5". If you are getting a main drain, make sure you are getting one independently plumbed rather than one plumbed through the skimmer.

Post your quote/drawing or questions. Many of us have been through the process and can give you our lessons learned when we did it.
 
JohnT said:
Welcome to TFP!

Chlorine levels in properly maintained salt pools and standard chlorine pools are about the same. Actually the same is true for tap water. But a SWCG is a good choice for chlorine generation. The key is understanding the chemistry, and this is the place to learn it.

Pump size depends on many things: Pool size, water features, debris load, electric rate etc.. Builders tend to oversize the pump and undersize the filter. Often a two-speed pump is the best choice. More than likely a single speed 1.5HP pump is too big for your pool.

Lights are very much a personal choice. You may want to see pools with the lights you are getting at night. LEDs don't put out as much light as halogens, so you may need or want two lights. I don't use my light for swimming because it ends up drawing bugs, but it's a great safety device and really handy when cleaning up at night.

You may want to consider a pipe size upgrade. 2" pipe is much better than 1.5". If you are getting a main drain, make sure you are getting one independently plumbed rather than one plumbed through the skimmer.

Post your quote/drawing or questions. Many of us have been through the process and can give you our lessons learned when we did it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses.

We are getting 2" pipe already.

I will check on the main drain being separate, and I will check on getting a multi-speed pump.

When you say "undersize the filter", can you be more specific for me? I don't want to fall into that trap.
 
wallywest said:
Thanks for the responses.

We are getting 2" pipe already.

I will check on the main drain being separate, and I will check on getting a multi-speed pump.

When you say "undersize the filter", can you be more specific for me? I don't want to fall into that trap.
Click to expand...

Filters are generally specified by flow rate. Larger pumps are a cheap upgrade, and many people like the idea of more HP. To inexperienced people, a filter is a filter. If you get a filter that is undersized, it may filter the pool okay but require frequent cleaning. You can even have a filter enough undersized that it restricts the flow of water from the pump excessively. Cartridge and DE filters are generally specified by square footage, and sand filters are specified by diameter or pounds of sand. You'll be happier with the biggest reasonable filter. What kind of filter are you going with?
 
Ok...the rain here in KC (mostly earlier in the spring/summer) really has contractors backed up. We had construction actually start on 7/22. The dig is done. Panels are set. Footers poured. The plumbing is largely done. Backfilling has started. Waiting on the wall builders now, but I am worried about how long they might take. Here are some pics:

IMG_2110.jpgIMG_2154.jpg
 

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Looking forward to seeing this develop, It looks nice! We just had an AGP put in a couple weeks ago an hour and a half north of you. Builder was delayed due to the weather as well.

(by the way, I was born in St. Jo, it's my old stomping ground.)
 
We FINALLY got our retaining walls in. The pool builder back on site today prepping for pool krete. Finally going to get some more progress.

I want to post some more pics, but it's telling me that the picture "exceeds my quota". What am I doing wrong here? The first couple posted nicely.
 
wallywest said:
We FINALLY got our retaining walls in. The pool builder back on site today prepping for pool krete. Finally going to get some more progress.

I want to post some more pics, but it's telling me that the picture "exceeds my quota". What am I doing wrong here? The first couple posted nicely.
Click to expand...

Members have limited picture storage on the forum. You can either become a supporter, which gives you extended picture storage, or you can use a site like Photobucket and link to the image there.
 
Yeesh! The fist pic is probably my favorite under construction pic yet. And the last one...so sad about Stonehenge.
 
ozdiver said:
WOW what a wall.
Is that like 25 ton of rock?
That looks so cool.
Click to expand...


HA!

There were five (yes, 5!) dump truck loads of stacking rock. The first two were 23 tons EACH. The last three were all "heavy" per the wall guy. We ended up with 18 full/partial blocks left over. All in, I think we used 100 - 110 tons of stacking rock. Then there were 66 tons of gravel delivered too. That wasn't enough, and we are getting more today.

The walls ended up being 475 sq feet and 89 sq feet respectively. The big one is right at 100 feet long at the top course. The "small" one is 35 feet long. Each of the stacking blocks are 14" tall on the front face. Some are nearly four feet deep from front face to back face.

- - - Updated - - -

And sorry about those pics...they are in reverse chronological order.
 

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