Finally Pulling The Trigger

[mummer43]

My wife and I built a new home four years ago and have wanted to build a pool since we moved in. Around the same time we were building the house we were referred to a pool builder and have since developed a solid relationship and we really like them. We almost pulled the trigger a couple years ago, but wanted to pay off some debt and save up some cash. Having done that, we decided to move ahead with the pool. We have pretty much nailed down our design and are planning on digging and shooting it in the fall and then finishing it as soon as possible in the spring.

We are going with a 20x40 rectangle with a 9x18 sun shelf on the side and a 9x7 raised hot tub. This will give us a lazy L shaped pool totalling 1,025 square feet. We like the clean, straight lines of the rectangle and feel it matches the architecture of our house well and fits our backyard and the side entry of the sun shelf will work well with the flow of our yard in regards to how we will be using the space. When researching design, we found one pool that we really liked and we kept coming back to that concept so that is what we are basing our design on. I have included some photos.

Our builder uses Hayward equipment and also the Paramount in floor cleaning system or the Eco Pool system if the customer chooses to go that route. We definitely want to go with the full compliment of automation and are considering the in floor cleaning system. We also would like to use the most energy efficient pump we can and are considering an ozone system on top of the salt chlorine generator.

Does anyone have any experience with the Paramount in floor cleaning system, ozone purification, or the Eco Pool system? If so, honest feedback would be appreciated. We are leaning towards the Wet Edge signature matrix finish and would be interested in hearing feedback on that as well. Any other tips, and info would be greatly appreciated as well.

Here are some pics of our inspiration pool. We are staying true to the general concept but making some changes. The hot tub in this pool is 12x10 and is way too big for our needs so we made ours 9x7. We put some steps in the sun shelf, but otherwise our design is very similar.

 

[Jimrahbe]

43,

None of us here are fans of UV or Ozone, so I would save your money... Most of us are big fans of saltwater pools.... If you have a saltwater pool there is just no reason to add Ozone.

We have few member that love their in-floor-cleaning system.. If you like stuff from the 70's than it is for you.. No water powered cleaner will clean your pool, as well as one of the low voltage robots.. No need to run your pump and almost full speed to clean your pool. Just turn on the robot and you are done.

Make sure any Saltwater Chlorine Generator (SWCG) you get is rated for at least 2 x the volume of your pool.. This is because they are rated when running 24/7 at 100% output.

Eco Pools are all "Magic" but have no Wabbit.. Save your money there as well.

Make sure you get a large Variable Speed pump.. This will allow you to run the pump slowly and yet still move a lot of water. I run mine 24/7 for less than $20 bucks a month.

If you have never been in a gunite spa, then you owe it to yourself to try one before you buy one... Spas are one of most oversold and underused parts of a pool build. About 50% of the owners love them, but you want to make sure you are not in the other 50% who basically never use them after the first year.

Good luck with your pool build,

Jim R.

 

[mummer43]

Thanks for the reply, Jim! Any special reason you aren't a fan of ozone? Is it just overkill on top of the saltwater? In regards to in floor cleaning, how do you feel about the the idea that these in floor systems are supposed to distribute chemicals and heated water more efficiently? That's one reason I like the idea of the Eco Pool. It seems like having returns in the floor would be a better way of circulating that water.

We are definitely getting a VS pump. We want as much energy efficiency as possible. I get your point about the spa. We've spent time in gunite spas and we have decided it is worth the extra cost to us. I think well be in the 50% of owners who love them.

We are also considering a hybrid heater. A heat pump to keep the pool at a constant temp and a propane heater to fire up the spa when needed.

 

[Jimrahbe]

43,

The chlorine made by the Saltwater Chlorine Generator (SWCG) is all you need to keep your pool sanitized and clear.. You can actually measure how well it is working.. You just don't need the Ozone and it is just another item to go bad... You will gain nothing by adding Ozone.. Other than your pool builder telling you how great it is, why do you want it??

What chemicals do you plan to be mixing? Just like adding milk to coffee, it will not just sit on top.. After a few minutes any chemical you add will mix itself with pool water just by running the pump. Just one of my complaints about IFCS is that they make the equipment pad much more complex than it needs to be.. Maybe not a problem on day one, but it will be a problem later on, when things go south. Having the water return lines in the IFCS, just makes it worse, because you must use it, you can't just shut off the IFCS when it quits working.

Standard wall returns (eyeballs) can be adjusted to force the surface water to rotate, like a giant toilet bowl, but much much slower.. This helps the skimmers to capture any surface debris..

The bottom line is that it is your pool and you should get what you want.. My "job" is to make you think about why you are getting something.. If you want it, get it... But, if the only reason you are getting something is because your pool builder is recommending it, then I would do more research on it.. Think about this... I do not make a dime, if you buy an IFCS or an Ozone system... Can your pool builder say the same thing???

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

If I lived in PA, I'd get a salt water pool for summer and a stand alone hot tub for fall, winter and spring use. Much more comfy and placed closer to the house they allow for those winter night spa soaks.... nothing feels better than a hot tub at 103 degrees while snow is coming down. Ahhhh! Little kids like unheated hot tubs in summer as their own special pool.

Ozone is useful for indoor or public pools that don't get sunshine. In an outdoor pool they're worthless. The bulb is too small to do anything of value and they have no residual sanitation effect on the water like chlorine (even salt made chlorine) does. Stick with a salt water chlorine generator.

We here at TFP read too many posts from folks disappointed in their IFCS. When something breaks down, say a popup won't popup, its a nuisance to fix. If concerned with water circulation get some returns low and some high. Swimmers mix water up good too!

Maddie

 

[kimkats]

They have you covered with the equipment so I get to talk about your design! I LOVE it!!!! What are the depths?

The steps-------am I reading it right that you have them in the shelf instead of standing alone in the pool? I hope so as where they are in the way of the swim lane. Not the best place for them to me.

Kim

 

[mummer43]

Jim, I know nothing about ozone systems and this will be my first pool so I don't know a thing (yet) about chemicals and that kind of stuff. My builder suggested we take a look at it and is giving us pricing on all options. The more I read about the in floor systems, the more I am thinking it is not something we need. I feel that a good robotic cleaner will probably do the trick.

 

[mummer43]

They have you covered with the equipment so I get to talk about your design! I LOVE it!!!! What are the depths?

The steps-------am I reading it right that you have them in the shelf instead of standing alone in the pool? I hope so as where they are in the way of the swim lane. Not the best place for them to me.

Kim

The depths are 1 foot on the sun shelf and 3 to 6 feet in the main pool. Yes, we added steps to the sun shelf and have them centered and they are cut out, if that makes sense. In other words, they don't extend into the main pool. We are thinking of adding a bubbler or two or three to the sun shelf. We are also going to use the same stone that we have on our house on the raised hot tub area. We already have the same pavers as they do in the photos, so we are just going to extend them around the pool.

 

[kimkats]

steps don't extend into the main pool.

Good! That is what I was hoping you meant! Well done!

Now lets talk about your depth-3' is too shallow. Hold a tape measure to you and see where that hits you. You cannot do a full crawl stroke in 3' without scraping your knuckles on the bottom I would think about changing to at least 3.5' depth. This will also easy the slope to the 6' area.

Talk to your PB to make sure your depths are WATER depth. Some do the depth from the floor to the bottom of the coping. Doing it that way you lost quite a bit of water depth.

Kim

 

[l1ltaral1l]

@mummer43 - hi from the LV! This is our first summer with our pool and we just love it. What's the depth range? Who will be using the pool?

 

[mummer43]

@mummer43 - hi from the LV! This is our first summer with our pool and we just love it. What's the depth range? Who will be using the pool?

Hey there! We have two young children and my wife and I both love to swim and hang out in the pool. We also have two dogs that love to swim. The main part of the pool will go from 3 feet to 6 feet. The sun shelf will be one foot.

 

[l1ltaral1l]

Nice! We have a 4 and 7 yr old, and ours is 3'-6' also. And I wish we went deeper. My 7 year old and his friends are already doing crazy things when it comes to jumping, diving and flips - KIDS! lol. We also have dogs (we foster and have a dog boarding business in our home) and the pups LOVE it. It's been so awesome watching them use it!

 

[mummer43]

Nice! We have a 4 and 7 yr old, and ours is 3'-6' also. And I wish we went deeper. My 7 year old and his friends are already doing crazy things when it comes to jumping, diving and flips - KIDS! lol. We also have dogs (we foster and have a dog boarding business in our home) and the pups LOVE it. It's been so awesome watching them use it!

How deep do you wish you would have gone? We are certain we don't want a diving board, so we feel 6 feet is fine for the deep end. However, we are considering bumping the shallow end up from 3 to 3.5. We will have a pretty large sun shelf at around 1-1.5 feet and I feel like 3 feet might be too shallow. Have 40 feet to transition to the deep end so we will have a good amount of each depth.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to divide up the transition from the shallow end to the deep end over 40 feet?

 

[Jimrahbe]

43,

Another option is a sports pool.. 3.5' on each end and 6 ' in the middle... allows for volleyball style games.. I would not go with 3' no matter what style pool.. 3.5' or 4' is the minimum.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[l1ltaral1l]

I wish we did 8'. We did not want a diving board either - but still wish we went deeper for 'safe' diving and jumping.....and launching, and flipping and all the other variations that I;m sure are to come. LOL!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I wish we did 8'. We did not want a diving board either - but still wish we went deeper for 'safe' diving and jumping.....and launching, and flipping and all the other variations that I;m sure are to come. LOL!

Thats what I keep trying to tell folks!! The kids get bigger and OLDER... we still like to make a big splash! Deeper is safer.

Maddie

 

[Newdude]

we still like to make a big splash

Can confirm. The diving board was for me. The kids loving to use it is nice too. As long as it’s not my turn. Strict no cutting rules apply.