I last saw this thread way back when you started it and then “lost it”. Wow, it’s almost finished and looks amazing, congratulations! I won’t lose it again...can’t wait to see the finished pictures. Love the view.
DIY Pool Rehab
- Thread starter MinerJason
- Start date
Light acid wash yesterday morning, followed by start of fill using bicarb method. I used a 15 gal drum thinking it would be fine due to the relatively small quantity of bicarb required. Unfortunately the small drum size allowed a lot of bicarb to get into the pool before it had dissolved, so I've been (gently) brushing the pool to stir it up. As of this morning it's about halfway full vertically, which I estimate is 1/3 full volumetrically. At this rate it won't be full until early Wed.
Still tons left to do. Need to fix the gate closure, finish the electrical, finish grinding the deck, install the flagstone on the water feature wall, remove the skimmer plug (which is very stuck, hard to get to, and too big for my basin wrench), fix/replace the shade cloth on the gazebo, pour the skimmer line trench concrete, cover the planter walls with stucco (or stacked stone), install a shade sail, etc, etc.
Still tons left to do. Need to fix the gate closure, finish the electrical, finish grinding the deck, install the flagstone on the water feature wall, remove the skimmer plug (which is very stuck, hard to get to, and too big for my basin wrench), fix/replace the shade cloth on the gazebo, pour the skimmer line trench concrete, cover the planter walls with stucco (or stacked stone), install a shade sail, etc, etc.
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That is looking great so far!! Good job working with the stuff to get it all in like it needs to be.
Just think that once you get the plaster done and balanced you will be able to jump into the pool to cool off when doing the other work!!!
Kim
Just think that once you get the plaster done and balanced you will be able to jump into the pool to cool off when doing the other work!!!
Kim
That is looking great so far!! Good job working with the stuff to get it all in like it needs to be.
Just think that once you get the plaster done and balanced you will be able to jump into the pool to cool off when doing the other work!!!
Kim
For sure! Was tempting to jump in at the end of the day yesterday even though it wasn't full or balanced yet.
Skimmer plug had to come out last night. Didn't want to buy a larger basin wrench, so I got creative. Water meter valve key plus torch equals custom plug key.
Ran another hose from a hose bib on the house to speed up the fill a little. Getting close!
Ran another hose from a hose bib on the house to speed up the fill a little. Getting close!
Have a bit of a cautionary tale from getting my new equipment running.
As part of the remodel I refurbished the (very) old sand filter. It got new paint, new laterals, new o-rings, new glycerin filled gauge, fresh sand, and I replaced the old slide valve with a nice multiport valve. Got the new pump up and running (Intelliflo) and was too excited to get things going that I didn't go through all of the settings menus prior to starting it. Backwashed and rinsed to get the crud off of the new sand. Ran the pump on recirculate and played with the valves and pump speeds to figure out what speeds and valve settings worked best for the sheer descent, for skimming, and for basic filtering. Turned the pump off, set valve to filter, and turned the pump back on. Default settings on the pump has max speed at 3450 RPM and priming mode enabled. This meant that when I turned the pump back on, it kicked into full speed for a few seconds, at which point I heard a pop, and then saw water and sand flowing out of the filter base.
Yep, very old sun worn fiberglass filter plus brief excessively high pressure equals a cracked filter housing.
Was able to get a replacement filter, and get it installed last night. Prior to starting the pump back up I went through all of the settings menus this time. My pump intake is a few inches below the water level, so there's never a need for priming mode to be enabled. And with my filter and 1 1/2" return line plumbing there's never a reason for my pump to run at full speed, so I set the max speed at 2000 rpm. The old filter was pretty old and sun damaged, so replacing it was likely inevitable, but I still learned a valuable lesson.
On the bright side, the water is mostly balanced and everything is now running smoothly. Let the kids jump in for an inaugural swim before bedtime last night.
As part of the remodel I refurbished the (very) old sand filter. It got new paint, new laterals, new o-rings, new glycerin filled gauge, fresh sand, and I replaced the old slide valve with a nice multiport valve. Got the new pump up and running (Intelliflo) and was too excited to get things going that I didn't go through all of the settings menus prior to starting it. Backwashed and rinsed to get the crud off of the new sand. Ran the pump on recirculate and played with the valves and pump speeds to figure out what speeds and valve settings worked best for the sheer descent, for skimming, and for basic filtering. Turned the pump off, set valve to filter, and turned the pump back on. Default settings on the pump has max speed at 3450 RPM and priming mode enabled. This meant that when I turned the pump back on, it kicked into full speed for a few seconds, at which point I heard a pop, and then saw water and sand flowing out of the filter base.
Yep, very old sun worn fiberglass filter plus brief excessively high pressure equals a cracked filter housing.Was able to get a replacement filter, and get it installed last night. Prior to starting the pump back up I went through all of the settings menus this time. My pump intake is a few inches below the water level, so there's never a need for priming mode to be enabled. And with my filter and 1 1/2" return line plumbing there's never a reason for my pump to run at full speed, so I set the max speed at 2000 rpm. The old filter was pretty old and sun damaged, so replacing it was likely inevitable, but I still learned a valuable lesson.
On the bright side, the water is mostly balanced and everything is now running smoothly. Let the kids jump in for an inaugural swim before bedtime last night.
Your face when you heard it 
then when you saw it This is a good lesson for all of us!! Glad you were there and knew what to do!
I bet the kids slept good last night!!!
Kim
then when you saw it This is a good lesson for all of us!! Glad you were there and knew what to do!I bet the kids slept good last night!!!
Kim
Thanks!
Since the last update I've fixed the shade cloth on the gazebo, got the electrical to the pool light done, ran electrical to the gazebo, poured concrete in the trench for the skimmer line, and started cutting/fitting flagstone on top of the water feature wall. My wife's sisters also bought the kids a whole bunch of obscenely large inflatable pool toys.
Sorry Jason, it’s an AZ state law that you must have a gigantic inflatable pink flamingo pool float.
I was hoping the giant turquoise peacock pool float would be close enough. I hope you're not planning on reporting me to the authorities.
Shortly after getting the pool up and running a small wet spot developed in the decking above the water line for the autofill pot. It's been attracting tons of bees, and a kid got stung during a pool party on Sat, so yesterday I finally got around to chipping out some concrete to investigate. Turns out somebody forgot to glue a coupling when the pool was built. Since it was an open pipe prior to the remodel, it was never noticed. Installing the autofill created enough back pressure to cause the water to push up through a tiny crack in the decking rather than just soaking the ground underneath.
I also got around to installing some low voltage lights over the weekend. Needs a few more, but this is a good start.
I also got around to installing some low voltage lights over the weekend. Needs a few more, but this is a good start.