Commercial Pool Rebuild

[Farrier]

We are doing our homework before we rebuild our 50+ year swimming pool at our small motel that my wife and I own.

It's just about 40k gallons, 2 layers of delaminating plaster, and all piped in 1-1/4" copper pipe

It's currently sporting a Sta-Rite 3/4 hp pump, Saline C-60 sanitizer, and a Pentair FNS-60 DE filter. All this equipment is below the water level about 3' ft. Since it will get new pipe, I'm thinking about moving equip above the water line. Don't really know the pros and cons for above or below water yet.

We're still about 2 month out before de-construction commences. Waiting patiently.

 

[Newdude]

*in to watch, Gawk and help if I can. There will be plenty of others too. We LOVE these !! Welcome to the forums.

 

[Farrier]

We've been saving for years to upgrade our pool without having to acquire a loan. I've already bought a new pump (Jandy E2.0 with SRVS) and a Jandy DEV60 DE filter. Still need skimmers, LED lights, tile etc.

Haven't pulled a permit yet. Since we're commercial, I haven't got a solid answer yet on ADA laws. We're not really the type of place or terrain were people in wheelchairs would visit. So I might have to buy a chair lift or heaven forbid, put in a wheel chair ramp into the water. Either way, we want to be compliant and accommodate people.

 

[Farrier]

Check out these cool skimmers. I can't wait for actual real modern day skimmers.

I have a large Oak tree nearby so keeping the pool clean can be a challenge. I put in a PoolSkim a few years ago. Works awesome as long as my guest don't screw with it.

Notice the beautiful turquoise sheen? I'm pretty sure those copper lines are paper thin.

 

[bmoreswim]

Looking forward to your project! I'd be inclined to place the equipment at the same level or slightly above the pool. Though with proper check valves it shouldn't be a concern regardless. Looks like your precast concrete coping held up really well if that's original. Precast concrete coping is a great commercial choice (or residential for that matter if the aesthetic works). Are you going with a pebble finish of some type? If you do, I'd think a smoother variety might be good since you'll have all flavors of feet, from sensitive to cowboy tough, in there I'm sure. That could last until the next generation takes over. Are you redoing the coping and deck?

 

[Farrier]

^^^ For right now, the plan is just to re-plaster and re-pipe along with all new pump, filter etc. I bought a really, really expensive sanitizer from Hayward about 3 years ago and it runs very well for the amount of use our pool gets, so it will stay.

I met with the contractor today and we both agreed about moving equipment to the surface would make the easier and more affordable for us.

Never know though. Might end up with a new deck and coping. Never know until the can of worms is opened

 

[Farrier]

Welp, I knew it was coming sooner or later. I have to completely update our pool to meet ADA codes for this remodel, which means I have to spend an additional several $1000's to make this happen.

I have to purchase a lift chair, install a concrete wheelchair path to the pool that does not exceed 2% grade (this will be somewhat tricky as where on the side of a mountain.

Also, the security fence surrounding the pool will have to be brought to code also. We have a cyclone style, 36" tall fence now, that was Grandfathered in previously. Now it must be 60" in height, 4" spacing between slats, and no more than a 2" gap on the bottom rail. Luckily, I've been fabricating and blacksmithing for over 20 years so I will build my own fence panels and have them powder coated in white. A lot of labor on my behalf, but it won't be poorly painted and bird dookie welded together panels from a production shop.

Additionally, my wife and I agreed on plain Jane white plaster and were discussing other colors, such as light blue or maybe even a light green. After all, the white plaster now is stained with copper deposits that sort of grew on us......NOPE! We get white. Our only color choice of plaster is WHITE as we're a commercial property.

 

[Dirk]

Great looking setup. Looking forward to watching your project. You'll post lots of progress pictures, we hope. You'll be glad to have the fence, you're better off with the added safety. The above-ground pad is a no brainer. I have mixed feeling about the ADA stuff, but I better not steer the conversation that way. Hopefully it won't cost to much. To be honest, while I don't yet need a ramp, and hope to never have to, I'd use it. I like a slooooow entry on a not-so-hot day. But I think you're describing a path to the pool, not into the water? Whaddayagonnado...

You're off to a great start discovering this site. You'll get lots of help here. Welcome to TFP!

 

[mlggator]

Three Rivers near Sequoia? That's beautiful up there. I hate the aesthetics of the ADA compliance chair, but we must do what we must. Good luck on the remodel. I look forward to seeing the progress.

 

[bmoreswim]

At least you know what rules you are playing by now. The fence will be fantastic. Honestly that will make a simple pool a showpiece.

 

[Flying Tivo]

(Jandy E2.0 with SRVS)

Are you buying this to comply with regulations? Bottom drains are not really needed and if remodeling you might as well seal them off. You will be less liable without main drains commercially. The SRVS pumps can be a pain if jointly used with SWG as they can trip and stop chlorine production. Just something to consider.

 

[Dirk]

I regularly suggest to others to lose their drains (I did, in my replaster), but I recall they might be a requirement for commercial. Certainly not needed. Certainly safer without them.

 

[Farrier]

I don't believe that I can remove the floor drains, but I'll have to double check. Every phone call I make to county health, makes this project more and more complex

 

[Dirk]

I don't believe that I can remove the floor drains, but I'll have to double check. Every phone call I make to county health, makes this project more and more complex

Regarding drain regulations, be sure they get interpreted correctly, by you and the county. I've seen before where the wording implies that the drains are mandatory, but what it actually states is that anti-entrapment covers are mandatory. Not the same thing. I would interpret that as: if there are drains they must be properly protected, not that having drains is required. You might have to escalate a ruling like that to supervisor level and not trust "counter staff." And that it gets put in writing somehow. The last thing you want is for plastered-over drains to be discovered only during the final inspection! My re-plaster wasn't inspected, so no issue (plus I'm residential). And I knew removing the drains would never be an issue for my circulation, because they were plumbed to my skimmer, and there was never a diverter in there to make them function. So in effect I never had drains in the first place.

Did you mention? Do you have a way to close off the drains now? You might do so to see if your pool functions well without them moving any water. That would give you some assurance that getting rid of them will be OK.

 

[Farrier]

^^ I can shut down the main drain on the floor but my pool doesn't maintain well like that. All of my copper plumbing is 1-1/4 OD; the main drain, both skimmers and both returns.

Link below is all I've found so far.

CABCV22016 - CHAPTER 31B

The International Code Council (ICC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build and compliance process. The International Codes (I-Codes) are the widely accepted, comprehensive set of model codes used in the US and abroad to help...

codes.iccsafe.org

 

[Dirk]

Well, section 3137B.1 makes it pretty clear, drains required, if that's the "official" codes. Hard to take that doc seriously when it still describes diving boards in a public pool. I wouldn't be surprised if some of that stuff was 60 years old. It'll be interesting to see how much they'll let you grandfather in vs add/redo. I hope it doesn't kill the project.

 

[Farrier]

^^^ I LOL'd about the diving boards also. My insurance would cancel us in a blink of an eye. The DOC is dated 2016, but who knows.

 

[Dirk]

I'm sure they update it periodically. They have the dual drains requirement, that's relatively recent. The rest they leave alone until something makes them change it (someone dying). Anti-entrapment drain covers were the best they could come up with for that hazard, when banning drains would have been the simpler and safer solution. Too bad. Drains were used more than anything else for sucking up swept debris. That was before automatic vacs came on the scene. A suction port doesn't provide anywhere near the circulation that a return port does. The solution for providing good circulation in a large pool is more skimmers and returns, with some of those returns located towards the bottom (just my uneducated opinion). But pool engineering, water chemistry understanding and the pool industry in general moves like a glacier.

 

[Yev]

I have to purchase a lift chair, install a concrete wheelchair path to the pool that does not exceed 2% grade (this will be somewhat tricky as where on the side of a mountain.

A bit off topic from pool stuff, but normal ADA code is 1 vertical inch for every 12 horizontal inches, which is about 8% grade. Your area might have a stricter code. 2% grade is 1 vertical inch for every 48 inches. That measn if you were in a city, and at a crosswalk there was a 4" curb, the ramp up to the sidewalk from the street would have to be 16 feet long. I would check on this, this is a huge cost difference between 2% and 8%, and if they really say 2%, ask for an explanation using my example of the sidewalk curb ramp.

I am all for ADA compliance, and want to make things as accessible, even more so that code allows, but that ruling seems over the top.

 

[Farrier]

A bit off topic from pool stuff, but normal ADA code is 1 vertical inch for every 12 horizontal inches, which is about 8% grade. Your area might have a stricter code. 2% grade is 1 vertical inch for every 48 inches. That measn if you were in a city, and at a crosswalk there was a 4" curb, the ramp up to the sidewalk from the street would have to be 16 feet long. I would check on this, this is a huge cost difference between 2% and 8%, and if they really say 2%, ask for an explanation using my example of the sidewalk curb ramp.

I am all for ADA compliance, and want to make things as accessible, even more so that code allows, but that ruling seems over the top.

It is 2% in my county. I made contact with an architect today that specializes in ADA compliancy. I'm not gonna buy twice on this rebuild if you know what I mean.