Fiberglass pool build in Ohio

[bobbyseal]

We have broken ground on our pool build in southern Ohio! We are going with a fiberglass pool and will have a pavilion installed near the shallow end for some shade.

Here is the list of what we are getting:

Thursday Pools Goliath 41' in graphite color
Pentair equipment
-Ultratemp 120 heat pump
- Intelliflo 2 VST variable speed pump
- Tagelus TA 60D sand filter
-Easytouch automation
-Screenlogic
-Intellichlor 20 SWG
- 2 lights
- 3 returns
- 1 skimmer
- Standard handrail x 1

Pavilion is from American Landscape Structures. It's a 6x6 post, 14 x 18' traditional pavilion. We went with vinyl wrapping to minimize maintenance issues down the road.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

How do you plan on chlorinating? Be sure to order your test kit this winter. I suggest the TF100 from TFTestkits.net. Best value for the residential pool owner.

Take care.

 

[bobbyseal]

Oops! I updated the original post. We are going with the Intellichlor 20 salt water generator.

 

[mknauss]

Oops! I updated the original post. We are going with the Intellichlor 20 salt water generator.

How many gallons is your pool? You need at least 2X and preferably 3X pool volume rating of your SWCG. So if that pool is 20K, the IC40 is a minimum.

Take care.

 

[bobbyseal]

It's listed as 19,700. Hmmm. Not sure what to do about it now that all of the equipment is in our garage...

 

[mknauss]

Your issue will be in the summer. It is not likely that the IC20 will create enough chlorine to maintain your FC in the target range. So you will need to run the SWCG 24 hours per day plus add bleach. And any amount of bather load will push your FC low during the daylight hours, so you will need to add the bleach in the AM.

Even with a IC40 you will need to run your SWCG 12 hours per day. That is not a big deal with a VS pump.

How did you purchase the equipment? Any chance of trading it in? You will struggle with this combination.

Try to get it switched out if at all possible. It will cost you some $$, but in the scheme of the entire build, it will be worth it.

 

[bobbyseal]

We got some more work done since my last post.

Pool has been plumbed. Lights are installed. We got some trenching done for the plumbing lines and the pool equipment pad has been poured.

It's really coming together!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Fun times ahead! We love our fiberglass pool, so easy to care for!

Maddie

 

[bobbyseal]

We got some more plumbing done today. Also, the pool is getting filled up. Walls were bowing in a bit, and so the PB had to cut back on backfilling a bit. He added some more water and now the walls are pretty much in line. He will continue backfilling as the water goes in.

I threw the thermometer in, and it's a balmy 62 degrees!

The heatpump is pretty enormous, but I think it's going to set up nicely. We discussed with the PB and we will mount the Easytouch panel on some superstrut anchored in the ground. It was that or build up some cedar posts and panels to mount it on. I thought the superstrut would look pretty good.

Also, he is going to plumb in some PVC piping off from the backwash on the sand filter. He will then put that in a trench and have it diverted out into the yard. We'll see how many baby mice drown in the first backwashing next summer!

 

[keithw]

I really like the color and design. I know it is an illusion but dang the pool looks unlevel in third picture up, the shot from the end. Maybe it is the pipe below it that makes the eye see it that way. What are you planning for decking? Are you going cantilever or leaving the coping exposed?

 

[bobbyseal]

I see what you're saying. No, the pool is perfectly level. The piping does taper down. Also, the grade of the earth slopes away from the house. So, the pool is level, but nothing else around it is level. We are doing the standard coping with the bullnose rather than the cantilever. I would have liked the look of a nice cantilever coping, but the PB is fairly new at this. A cantilever coping isn't in his wheelhouse. I'm not really that disappointed. In our area, most of the pools have the aluminum coping rather than a cantilever version.

We are just doing a broom finish concrete. Everyone seems into the stamped concrete, but it seems kind of slippery, and I get this feeling that deck chairs will always be wobbly with stamped concrete.

 

[PoolGate]

I see what you're saying. No, the pool is perfectly level. The piping does taper down. Also, the grade of the earth slopes away from the house. So, the pool is level, but nothing else around it is level. We are doing the standard coping with the bullnose rather than the cantilever. I would have liked the look of a nice cantilever coping, but the PB is fairly new at this. A cantilever coping isn't in his wheelhouse. I'm not really that disappointed. In our area, most of the pools have the aluminum coping rather than a cantilever version.

We are just doing a broom finish concrete. Everyone seems into the stamped concrete, but it seems kind of slippery, and I get this feeling that deck chairs will always be wobbly with stamped concrete.

Look into stone-marking. Much cheaper version of stamping and you get the added benefit of still being brushed. See my sig-line pics for an example. We love it.

 

[bobbyseal]

Getting some more work done.

Time for wiring! The pavilion came in and that's been delivered. We'll keep it under "wraps" for now!

 

[bobbyseal]

Didn't take any pictures today, but we hit a bit of a snag over the last week. Weather wasn't cooperative, and then we started to notice some air bubbles coming in the return lines.

Things got a bit crazy then. It was difficult to figure out where the leak was coming in. The suction side was pressure tested and it held pressure well. He redid/checked all of his fittings going to the pump. The pool was filled with more water and after a little while the air bubbles stopped coming in. It was hard to really figure out where the leak was coming from. The PB wasn't too scientific or methodical trying to identify one cause at a time. But, I'm thinking some leaves filled up the basket and led to some vortex of the water going in from the skimmer. Maybe there was a small leak at a union, but it seems that all the piping along the pool was well sealed. Anyway, with the added water in the pool, and cleaning out some leaves, things seemed to be better.

Now, he's got the aluminum coping going up. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow!

 

[bobbyseal]

Coping is up and he is starting to put the concrete forms around the pool. I really like the color of the pool and how everything is coming together. It's been a bit cold and rainy this past week, but I'm hoping that the heat pump will get the temperature up a bit. I'm going to test the water today. He just put the salt in yesterday and he added some shock a few days earlier. It'll be interesting to see where our levels are just at the start here.

Automatic cover box is looking good. It will be nice to get that installed as well.

He will have some work to do to get the grading around the pool completed. I never realized how much of a slow our backyard had!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

What are your plans for covering during your snowy winter weather? Will you be using the autocover or some other cover?

Maddie

 

[bobbyseal]

Our plan is to just use the auto cover as the winter cover. I'll see how it goes. Hopefully, it doesn't lead it to extra wear and tear.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I don't have to deal with snow so I'm no expert but.... Bmoreswim in Baltimore uses a winter cover and not his autocover. Perhaps asking the cover seller what they recommend and warrant.

Maddie

 

[bmoreswim]

Somewhere in my build thread (link in my signature) I gave a recap of our local Coverstar dealer's view of using autocovers as winter covers. We chose not to but they certainly can be with precautions. It will lead to additional wear as it is exposed to sunlight year-round versus just in-season (though less if covered by snow!) But the trade-off, from that perspective, is that you aren't buying a winter cover. Our quality winter cover was $2,500 installed 4 years ago and will also have a finite life. Personally, I was just gun-shy about using such an expensive setup in a snowy area where we get varying temps but get storms with feet of snow with some regularity year by year. If the wrong set of circumstances occur, undermount rails can also be damaged. Not discouraging doing it, just go in with your eyes open.

BTW - I like that plastic pit setup. Our gunite pool has a concrete pit. Yes it's solid, but I did have an issue with the cover dragging on the bottom and some scratches occurred until I created a work around. So be sure the pit has none of that backfill gravel in it before the cover is installed.

 

[bobbyseal]

bmoreswim,

Thanks for the advice. Two of the people in our neighborhood are using the autocover as their winter cover. They seem to be doing okay, but albeit with only 1 and 2 winters behind them. We don't get a ton of snow in our part of Ohio and so I hope the cover won't be weighted down too much. I'll leave the puddle pump out on it to suck up the rain.

Thanks for the tips on the box for the cover. I'll make sure the gravel has been cleared out. It's an aluminum box for the roll to be set in. It seems reasonable.

Lastly, I looked through your build thread. You really built a nice pool!