First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

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Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

rhawke said:
Thanks Brian, that is a very interesting idea. We were planning on using a square pool cover to cover pool and spa at once, which is why we had the spa inside the square. But I guess pushing it out half way would still allow to use a slightly larger square cover as long as we don't raise it. My parents in law have a level spa with a spill over and the water level difference is only about 3" but that is still enough to get a tiny water feature.
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I only suggested 18" because that's about normal seating height. Nothing wrong with having a separate cover for the spa... It might make getting the pool cover on easier :scratch:
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

Another topic just came up: Deck Drainage.

PB1 is suggesting to put in 4-5 round french drains in various locations of the deck and tie those into the existing PVC lines we have from the gutters going to the front of the house.

PB2 is saying that he would slope all 4 sides of the deck away from the pool and that the only side to worry is the one against the house. There he would put in a channel drain bringing the water to the sides where we can tie into the existing PVC lines from the gutters to the street.


I believe channel drains are probably less expensive? Are they more or less effective in removing water than french drains? With Houston downpours, we need to be able to handle heavy rain. We can live with the look of a channel drain since we have a square design and it would be just one straight line.

Appreciate your thoughts!
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

not sure if this is allowed, but wanted to give my drainage question a bump. Anybody familiar with this? I asked both of the pool builders and each one claims that their suggested drainage is more effective.
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

It is allowed and I usually do it if needed. Sorry about not answering. I meant to and got distracted :(

I say combine BOTH! Do the decking so it slopes away AND the french drains as needed. IF there is one area of greater concern then do the channel drain. You do NOT want to risk your house being flooded.

I would think about how your current system works when you have a BIG rain. Do you think it could handle more water? Are the pipes big enough?

Kim:kim:
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

Since it's all new construction including the house we don't have any history. Actually i realized i may have used the word "french drain" wrong. Both drains would tie into the 4" that runs to the street.

One builder is suggesting a linear drain along the full length between the house and the pool and says that is the most effective. The other one is suggesting round spot drains in various locations throughout the deck. And they both insist their method provides better drainage than the other.

I assume that there must be a scientific answer to whether spot drains with 4" PVC pipe or 4" wide linear drains generally provide better drainage.
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

Not really a science question as it's more of engineering question and whether or not the guy installing the drains does it right. It's also a matter of aesthetics - I know of a custom construction and pool builder in California that builds amazing works of engineering and who absolutely loathes channel drains. So it depends a lot on the look you are going for - will randomly placed circular drains on your deck mess up "the look" you are going for? Will a wide channel drain (wide enough to support , say, a 50 year deluge...) be annoying between your house and the pool deck?

Either solution (deck drains or channel drains) will work. It's a matter of what you want and how you feel about the competence of the person doing the installation....
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

JoyfulNoise said:
Not really a science question as it's more of engineering question and whether or not the guy installing the drains does it right. It's also a matter of aesthetics - I know of a custom construction and pool builder in California that builds amazing works of engineering and who absolutely loathes channel drains. So it depends a lot on the look you are going for - will randomly placed circular drains on your deck mess up "the look" you are going for? Will a wide channel drain (wide enough to support , say, a 50 year deluge...) be annoying between your house and the pool deck?

Either solution (deck drains or channel drains) will work. It's a matter of what you want and how you feel about the competence of the person doing the installation....
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:suspect:
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

I avoid drainage & the associated liabilities like the plague... I will say 80 (number pulled out of the sky) of drainage problems / damage I encounter are due to roof downspouts draining to pool area.. the remaining problems, the pools were just built to darn low on the lots.
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

Thanks Kim for summoning Matt and thanks Matt for your reply, sounds like in this case both PBs are right if they have the right subs installing this!

Brian, not sure what to make off your green emoji? Are you disagreeing with Matt?

PoolguyinCT
Our roof will have all gutters tied in directly to underground PVC pipes going to the street, so that will be taken care of. Our pool coping will be about 7" lower than the inside level of our house (12 feet away) and about 6" higher than the rest of our backyard and 24" above the street level in front the house.

Our main concern is getting the water in high volume rain events (e.g. 2-3" per hour) quickly to the street before it starts building up in our backyard.
 

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Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

We're going with 1 long channel drain on the long side near the house and 3 French drains on the remaining sides. Hoping that will be sufficient. I think the important thing is to make sure the fall is correct. My not so handy hubby will be doing the 3 French drains [emoji31]
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

kimkats said:
...PLEASE tell me YOU know how to hold a shovel and use a level line...
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You hold the flat metal end in you hands and use the long skinny end to bang the nails in, right :scratch: And line levels are super easy for helping you draw straight lines in grid paper...I like to draw little smiley faces in the boxes....
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

I believe I was the one being referenced in Matt's post. Channel drains look like garbage and end up being broken shreds of shrapnel after a few years. They are also close to impossible to clean if they get clogged
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

bdavis466 said:
I believe I was the one being referenced in Matt's post. Channel drains look like garbage and end up being broken shreds of shrapnel after a few years. They are also close to impossible to clean if they get clogged
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Okay, now I'll jump in. I agree 100% with this. I'm not in the industry, but virtually all places I visit that have a channel drain, be it private home or hotel, have at least some stuff stuck in it, some fins broken, and they are usually the first thing to flood (but this could be too small pipe not actual drain format). My general impression is that these stink, but are theoretically capable of being a good solution if done correctly and maintained as needed. Since they are capable of taking in soooo much water and solids, if you go this route, be sure to get some massive plumbing and some sort of a clean-out connection at the end farthest from the street so you can hose/snake/whatever it as needed. Maybe a junction box that collects solids before you tie-in to the public system to remove your own solids?
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

kimkats said:
Liz??? PLEASE tell me YOU know how to hold a shovel and use a level line. If not let us know so we can teach you.
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Haha, yes I can do both. The problem is that hubby thinks he is more skilled at these things. Sigh. He actually put a French drain in about 5 years ago where our channel drain is going... it worked for maybe a year. Hoping he does a better job this time!
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

French drains rely on soil absorbtion rates and evaporation to work correctly and in most cases they are a very poor choice.

Drains should be a minimum of 3" piping, non-corrugated, non-perforated, and open to "daylight" such as the curb or a drainage area. The beauty of using spot drains is each one becomes a cleanout and is easily accessible.

Channel drains are :pukel:
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

Thanks everyone! Based on the feedback we will push for the spot drains with 4" PVC 40 pipes for drainage and we will tie them to the roof gutter drains that go out to the curb of the street.
 
Re: First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

Check the NDS website out so you can be sure the builder is sizing everything up appropriately. Since you'll tie to the gutter runoff you need to be sure the pipes can handle the roof and patio. That's a lot of water during a heavy storm. Granted NDS has an interest in using worst case scenario but if your builder is using a setup that can handle only 1/4 of your max expected rainfall then you know it's not good enough. Drainage Calculator
 

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