Blank slate/Pool build in Maryland

[kimkats]

Got ya! When/if you decide to do a walk way then do one that does NOT match at all. Make it steppers or such so it will look like you meant it to be different. Do a "fancy" pattern to really dress it up when the time comes. And HA! What project is ever 100% complete??? I WISH!

Kim

 

[bmoreswim]

It’s no fun if it’s done!

 

[Gorilla83]

The yard is looking great, especially for a new pool! I also think a walkway would be a really nice touch to tie the two areas together, even if it's not completely a 100% match.

 

[Captchaos]

The builder covered the first closing last year and the first opening this year. They came and took the cover off and we had to have two trucks of water put in at a cost of $440 (which we contracted ourselves). A costly mistake of not paying attention to the cover pump, no doubt. To add insult to injury, the pool guys said that we need to bring the water level up a bit so apparently the water truck didn't put enough water in.

As I'm watching the guys open the pool, I'm seeing them indiscriminately dump chemicals in without testing anything, whatsoever. Their advice was to bring in a water sample within 48 hours to have it tested. I understand that they think that is the best water sample (my opinion on that aside) but why would they not even do a simple test with the little sample sticks? It seems ridiculous to just dump in chemicals without having any idea what it needs.

 

[Captchaos]

Regardless, if we use the pool until mid-October this year as we did last year, it will be open nearly 6 months out of the year. That's a several weeks longer than I was expecting. Our old above ground pool was opened in the first ten or so days in May and closed in mid September. We did not use it much until June and then stopped in mid to late August most years because the water was too cold. It seems we will get quite a bit more use out of this pool than the last and the gray plaster was a wise choice.

 

[kimkats]

The ol' dump and run move.............takes time and effort to test and what criteria would they use to know if it was the right stuff and amount? Time to break out YOUR test kit and get the pool fixed to TFP levels!

Kim

 

[Captchaos]

I will definitely be doing that Kim. They also said to run the [single speed] pump for 48 hours straight. Why? That's a complete waste, isn't it? My plaster did get dusty from not having water in 3/5ths of it but I don't think I need to go through the whole "new plaster" routine again, right?

 

[kimkats]

You are correct.........no real need for it to run that long. I wonder if they are just trying to make sure the water is all mixed up. How does your water look?

Kim

 

[Captchaos]

There is a ton of plaster dust again, similar to when it was first filled last year. When it settles, the water is pretty clear but I am brushing and mixing it up. I am very surprised at how much plaster dust there is.

 

[kimkats]

ahhhhhh so if there is that much plaster dust then I WOULD keep the pump and filter running then!! That is really the only way to get the dust up and out of your pool.

 

[Captchaos]

Thanks Kim, pump back on!

 

[kimkats]

Capt, How about filling out your signature a little more please. What kind of filter (sand, DE, cartridge) and what test kit are both things we really look for when helping with chemicals and such.

 

[kristmas]

Looks great Captain! Don't worry about the 'yard in disarray', you should see ours LOL! I think we are going to try and open our pool tomorrow....of course I'm attempting this myself so let's hope nothing catastrophic happens. Let us know how your opening goes.

 

[Captchaos]

Capt, How about filling out your signature a little more please. What kind of filter (sand, DE, cartridge) and what test kit are both things we really look for when helping with chemicals and such.

Will do, thanks Kim!

Looks great Captain! Don't worry about the 'yard in disarray', you should see ours LOL! I think we are going to try and open our pool tomorrow....of course I'm attempting this myself so let's hope nothing catastrophic happens. Let us know how your opening goes.

Thanks! I feel like this is never going to be done but it is much more presentable compared to a couple of weeks ago. I may get some new shots tomorrow after some more clean up. Pool is open and I'm still cleaning it. It took about 10 minutes for the robot to completely fill up with leaves and crud. I pulled three completely full baskets out of the pump today, one right after another. The second and third ones filled up in mere minutes with what looks like salt. I'm not sure what that is but it's different than the plaster dust I experienced last year. It looks like plaster dust until you pull it out of the pool and then it looks like rock salt or something. Very odd.

On you opening yourself, I wouldn't sweat it. The guys who opened mine sure didn't do much that I saw!

 

[Captchaos]

Here’s a couple shots of what I pulled out of the pump basket the second and third times.

 

[kimkats]

WHAT??? Okay lets play with this stuff. Go grab some and bring it inside. Put it on a white paper towel. Tell us what it smells like, feels like, what it looks like dried, etc. What happens when you rub it between your fingers? Can you get it to dissolve in water?

Kim (Your siggy looks purrfect! THANKS!)

 

[Captchaos]

I’m pretty sure it’s calcium. Reading many previous threads on it but this doesn’t seem good. Going to test the water shortly.

 

[kimkats]

You can also put a tiny bit of muriatic acid on it and see what it does. As always make sure you are outside and not working on something you don't want discolored AND wear your safety glasses please.

Kim

 

[Captchaos]

Okay pH is sky high - 9.04. I only have a half a bottle of acid but I added it.
CH is about 175
FC is 0.5
TA is 150

Pool Math is telling me to add only 123oz of acid? That doesn’t seem right. I will check again first thing in the morning on the way to the hardware store to load up on chemicals.

I noticed a good bit of crystallization on the water line before it was filled with 12,000 new gallons the other day but I didn’t think much of it. The water was well below the tanning ledge and that’s the only place I’ve really felt so I’m not sure if my finish is ruined. I did noticed some more mottling but that’s to be expected with gray plaster from what I understand.

 

[Captchaos]

I pulled 6+ buckets of calcium crystals out of my robot in the past two days but the majority of it is out. I still do have some of what looks like dust but I think it’s more calcium. I am brushing multiple times per day and still running the pump full time. The water is clear but I do see some damage on the plaster that I can feel with the brush. Hopefully it’s not too rough. The water is 69 degrees so still a bit too cold.

I added two gallons of liquid chlorine and two gallons of acid so far. Last tests showed FC at 1.5, CH at 175, and pH at 7.4. I will be bringing up the CH tomorrow if I can find somewhere open that carries it.