Almost go time for the dig!

[Hardin083]

Well our dig starts in 2 weeks and we are beyond excited! I’ve learned a lot so far on this forum, thanks to all the posts from everyone. I have attached a pic of the basic build and equipment so shoot holes in it if you see anything or have a recommendation. I’ll be sure to post plenty of pics as the build starts.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Looks good to me. I would want more returns you can never have too many. I would make sure skimmer and any other suction lines are separate home runs. All valves to be jandy type neverlube valves. The returns can be paired up and home run'd at least 2 pairs four returns minimum. I would make sure the bubbler is on ita own line and I'd spring for the automation and a larger pump the pump you spec wont be controlled by automation. You are not going to want to manually turn the bubbler on and change the pump speed to work it and same with the spa. Beat the PB up a little they sell bundles it wont cost him much more. Have him pipe the overflow on skimmer to drain somewhere small pools fill fast with rain and it's a pain to drain them off easy to do while building it. Didnt see other suction lines I wouldnt rely on just a single skimmer. Get a robot yourself not thru builder and you are all set

 

[Nectarologist]

Well our dig starts in 2 weeks and we are beyond excited! I’ve learned a lot so far on this forum, thanks to all the posts from everyone. I have attached a pic of the basic build and equipment so shoot holes in it if you see anything or have a recommendation. I’ll be sure to post plenty of pics as the build starts.

If your builder doesn't have/deal with Jandy then the Pentair valves are excellent too (insist on either one). Looks likes they prefer pentair (which is fine). I second the 2nd skimmer as well (or at least have a floor drain and one skimmer). Automation is great but if you decide to skip it, make sure you put your lights on a wifi smart switch (e.g., Kasa brand is great). You'll still be able to put the pool lights on a timer (the pump will be on it's own timer anyway). Buy it off Amazon and tell the builder you want them to use it in lieu of a standard switch. I personally would not upgrade the finish (I'm cheap). Good luck!

 

[Hardin083]

Great info keep it coming! Yeah from what I’ve read the pump he’s giving me will not work with automation so I’m thinking to at least upgrade the pump now so I can add automation down the road. There is also 1 main drain and 1 skimmer as far as I know. I’ll double check that and ask about the piping and home run connections and adding 1 more return for a total of 4. I did already ask that the bubbler be on its own line as well.

I’ve also been looking into how to make my lights controllable from my phone. And it looks like an outlet like the kasa Should work. I already have SmartThings throughout my home for controlling some outdoor lighting as well so sometime like that might be a good fit.

Or I might just work some overtime and splurge on the smart controls. I spoke with the builder about them and they recommended the easy touch 4 and the screen logic.

 

[Hardin083]

A few pics of the back yard and the pool

 

[Hardin083]

Well after some delays it’s finally go time for the dig tomorrow morning. Haven’t posted as I’ve been busy but they did some prepping today and start moving dirt in the AM ?? We also decided on our tile for the waterline and for the jacuzzi.

 

[Hardin083]

So is there anything I should pay any special attention to during this time of the dig? I figure I’ll be checking measurements and such but wanted to the experts around here.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Not much you can do other than watch for obvious corner cutting or stupid stuff and that its built as planned. Especially the rebar spacing and layout

 

[BeatTheHeat15]

So is there anything I should pay any special attention to during this time of the dig? I figure I’ll be checking measurements and such but wanted to the experts around here.

Just stumbled across this post. How’s your pool coming??

 

[Hardin083]

Just stumbled across this post. How’s your pool coming??

Moving along good the steel Inspection is today should be shooting gunite early next week. Here’s some pics from the other day. Hopefully I’ll have some gunite pics early next week. They would’ve been done this week but had a issue with a leaky drain when they did the hydro test on it.

 

[Hardin083]

Let the watering begin!

 

[Hardin083]

Work continues and we now have the plumbing ran and the tile work completed. Here are a few pics. I could use a little feedback from you guys. If you look at pics 4 and 5 in the corner where the spa and pool wall meet you can see there was some rebar that was not covered during the gunite phase and the tile guys just seemed to have covered it with the thin set mortar when they came and did the tile work.... maybe this is fine but seems to me I might be dealing with some possible rust issues down the road and maybe this should get filled with some actual concrete. Is this acceptable?

Also maybe someone could help me out with the overflow line they installed. They ran the 3/4” line off the skimmer to a spot outside of where the concert pad will be and said they plan to French drain that area. This seems stupid as I think of plugging issues that may arise and then I’m stuck digging something up possibly. Anyone have experience with this 3/4” line coming back up above ground level so you can actually see it draining to know it’s working, or does it have to be at a lower Elevation so it gravity drains. I assume there would be enough head pressure to push it up hill slightly.

On another note the tile came out great with the exception of a few small chips that I found and the fact that they grouted it and 2 hours later the sky opened up and the entire pool walls had black mud water running down the freshly done white grout ?? as you can see in the last two pics ??. It appears it stained some of the grout and I’m hoping they can clean it up or they will need to re-grout some of it.

 

[jimmythegreek]

They need to figure out where its lower on your lot and plumb it to there with gravity. It can be far away from the skimmer length doesn't really matter as long as it's got a tiny bit of pitch downhill. If theres no way you would need to upsize pipe and drill holes in it and put a rather large drainage area in a ways back from pool. You could also have them dig a seepage pit and wrap in fabric filled with clean stone. Remember in large rain storms you can have hundreds of gallons of water overflow from the pool

 

[Hardin083]

Well the rain has been non stop here lately which has slowed things down a lot. But we did get the deck form boards up today. Next is the form board inspections and hopefully we will have a deck in a few weeks. Still working out some other issues with the pool as well but making progress.

 

[Hardin083]

Progress continues on the pool and nearing the finish line hopefully in a few weeks. Here are a few updated pics. Deck has been poured and finally had it textured and painted. Also the pool equipment was set today. Theres been a few bumps in the road but the builder has been fixing things as I bring them to their attention. I’m having a small issue now and hate to seem like the picky homeowner but when they prepped the deck the idiots decided they would just run the grinder all across my deck drain, I know it’s only cosmetic but Dang I bet they wouldn’t do this on their own pool.... trying to decide if it’s a Battle worth fighting. Enjoy the pool pics.... also it looks like they did a good job on the equipment layout... now only if they wouldn have poured the pool pad the right size ?! Can’t wait to cross the finish line. Any comments or anything you gurus see that needs addressed or could make my life easier please let me know.

 

[Hardin083]

And we have water ????

 

[jimmythegreek]

Looks great nice layout in the space