First time pool owners in MA - gearing up for a new build

[Rr42]

After 10 years of dreaming/planning, we are finally biting the bullet and putting in an inground pool in our back yard. We have two estimates from reputable pool builders in our area. We liked both guys equally and their prices were pretty much the same, so we decided to go with the one who is located in our town. The pool will be installed this fall and the pool deck/fence will be done next spring, which seems pretty standard in our area bc of the need for the ground to settle before concrete is poured for the deck. We're signing the contract this week but before we do, I have a couple questions.

1) We have septic and are slightly limited on space in order to stay 10 ft away from the tank and 20 ft from the d-box and lines. Because of this (and budget constraints) we want to minimize the amount of concrete decking around the pool. However, I want to make sure we have enough space to put lounge chairs and maybe some additional seating. How did you decide how much sq footage to do for your pool deck? I'll attach my (novice) sketch to this post if anyone wants to give me feedback about layout.

2) Looking for feedback about the estimate and equipment list (also attached to this post).

Thanks!! Very exciting time for us but also pretty nerve wracking bc of how large of an investment this is.

 

[ctrav]

Welcome to TFP...

More details needed on the pool equipment (name and model numbers). No estimate is shown. What is the depth of the pool? Waiting to do the decking and fence means your yard will be a big mess. Do you have pets?

This will be an exciting project and it will test your emotions. It will be like a roller coaster and they are fun so its all good! Congrats and welcome to TFP!

 

[Rr42]

What's in the photo is all the info I have as far as equipment specs. I can ask PB for more specifics. I know that the PB we think we are going with uses Legacy pools.
Pool depth will be 3.5 ft - 8 ft. No pets, and we know it'll be a massive mess but everyone insists it's worth the winter with a messy yard to avoid cracking pool decking. Should I be pushing back on that more? I know almost nothing about inground pools except that we want one!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to the forum! I agree with Cliff, the more details you can get about the proposed equipment (filter size, SWG size, pump HP, etc) will be quite valuable before you confirm. For our decking (link to pics below in my sig), we made 3 sides relatively standard (about 3' or so), then one side much larger to accommodate lounge chairs.

- - - Updated - - -

I would give lots of attention to a couple other things:
- Electrical: You can almost never have enough outlets and access to power. So however you contract for that service, think ahead for things like power for an automated robot cleaner, outdoor lighting around the pool, perhaps a light near the equipment pad.
- Plumbing: The general thought will be a suction line from the skimmer (and manin drain if installed) to the pump, then return lines to the pool for the water jets. If that's all, you might consider requesting a 2nd plumbing line (stub out) back to the pool that can be capped off until such time later you decide you might want to use it for an addition item (water feature, slide, fountain, etc).

 

[blazin]

Welcome! After everything I've been through this season, I just want to recommend searching every dark corner of the internet and asking for multiple recent references from clearwater.

If we could've gone vinyl, we were going to use B and L out of Uxbridge. Not sure if you got quoted through them or not, but their reference list in my town alone accounted for what seems like the majority if vinyl.

For your questions-

Decking we were limited due to our layout and yard, but we wanted enough for a 4-person table, some loungers, and walking space around that space.

Loungers are about 6.5 ft long, so have 3 feet around was key for us to make sure we didn't need to trek in grass, dirt, etc to walk around someone catching sun on the patio.

10 feet isn't huge, that may mean you have a foot before the back legs of lounger are off the decking and then 2.5 in front before the water.

Maybe that works for you, but loungers are the biggest thing to plan for. What's your deck height compared to pool deck? Will they be similar or is your pool decking much lower.

How do you see yourself using the spaces, separate or more flowing together

 

[Rr42]

One of our quotes was from B&L. We liked them a lot and their price was very reasonable but we decided to try and go with Clearwater bc they're located in our community and most people we know who have pools have used them and are happy.

Our deck is about 3' higher than the pool area but we do intend to use it as part of the "pool area." With that said, I absolutely want enough room for at least 4 loungers poolside so I'll reconfigure and see how we can add more deck area.

 

[kimkats]

Hi and THANKS! I needed a new pool to build!

Decking-use your water hoses to lay out the decking area where you will put the loungers. Then use two large towels for each loungers (total 8 towels) this will give you a close visual to see what is what as for size and lay out.

The others have you covered---get equipment details then share them here.

Kim