Good evening all,
After a couple of years of starts and stops for various personal reasons, we are finally ready to pull the trigger on our new pool. We've chosen a builder but have not signed a contract yet. I would love to get input from the collective group knowledge here on the bid and specs. Due to the size of our lot but more importantly the 14' utility easement, it is not going to be the size of pool we would prefer. While it may be on the smaller side, I still think it will serve our family (me, my better half and beautiful wife, 12 year old daughter, 7 year old son, 2 lab fur babies) well and bring us enjoyment for years to come. With that said, here we go. The pool is going to be roughly 13' x 23'. We are doing a salt water pool. The builder uses a Hayward Aqua Rite with a 40,000 gallon capacity cell. We're going with a heater but have decided to not have a chiller installed. Thoughts on the chiller and are they really effective in the Texas heat? For automation, they are installing the Omni Magic PS8 Pro Logic. We're doing a 6" raised back wall with 6' of feature L wall off the back right corner in the deep end, raised 12" for those 6' on each side of the L. The spa is an 8' x 7.5' but we're doing a travertine tile rolled neck so we lose a bit down to an effective size of 7.5' x 7'. Two travertine scuppers, one coming out of each side of the feature wall. 3 LED lights, one in the spa and two in the pool. Pebbletec with an iridescent glass tile at the water line and outlining the spa seating and entry steps. All of the decking will be travertine. They do not install in floor cleaning systems and instead bid a Hayward Tiger Shark cleaning robot. Here is what the builder says differentiates them from other pool builders in the area:
Excavation: We use rubber track machine to distribute the weight of the machine better and reduce damage to access areas, also more maneuverable in tight places. During excavation all walls of pool are hand trimmed & shaped to insure proper tolerances during later steel and gunite phases of construction. Proper pool compaction is achieved by thoroughly rolling the entire floor.
Gunite structure: Bond beam - 4 bars #4 (1/2") continuous Walls and floor - #3 (3/8") 6”-8" on center Pneumatically applied gunite w/ fiber. Lifetime gunite shell warranty for duration of original ownership.
Plumbing: Minimum 2.5" and 2" sch 40 PVC on all suction and pressure lines between equipment and pool & plumbed with sweeps to reduce head loss. 2 suction ports at lowest section of pool and spa for safety and flow factors, Anti-Vortex, Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers on all main drains. 1/2" fill line at nearest water faucet with auto-fill device. Drainage & pool overflow per final drain plan.2 skimmers with separate lines and valves.
Electric: A GFCI receptacle plug is wired into all lighting and grounded with #8 bare copper.
Additional specs per final plan
Minimum Standard Pool equipment:·
1 White Pool Light·
Pump - Hayward TriStar VS 950 Expert Line·
425 Cartridge Filter·
Cleaner –Tiger Shark·
Chlorinator – In-line
Finishing touches All skimmers with travertine or Brass covers as defined in final contract. All Drains with Copper or Brass covers
And finally, pictures for everyone's viewing pleasure.
There you have it, TFP'ers. What say you? Any input is greatly appreciated before I sign the contract. They are also doing the outdoor kitchen you see in one of the pictures.
After a couple of years of starts and stops for various personal reasons, we are finally ready to pull the trigger on our new pool. We've chosen a builder but have not signed a contract yet. I would love to get input from the collective group knowledge here on the bid and specs. Due to the size of our lot but more importantly the 14' utility easement, it is not going to be the size of pool we would prefer. While it may be on the smaller side, I still think it will serve our family (me, my better half and beautiful wife, 12 year old daughter, 7 year old son, 2 lab fur babies) well and bring us enjoyment for years to come. With that said, here we go. The pool is going to be roughly 13' x 23'. We are doing a salt water pool. The builder uses a Hayward Aqua Rite with a 40,000 gallon capacity cell. We're going with a heater but have decided to not have a chiller installed. Thoughts on the chiller and are they really effective in the Texas heat? For automation, they are installing the Omni Magic PS8 Pro Logic. We're doing a 6" raised back wall with 6' of feature L wall off the back right corner in the deep end, raised 12" for those 6' on each side of the L. The spa is an 8' x 7.5' but we're doing a travertine tile rolled neck so we lose a bit down to an effective size of 7.5' x 7'. Two travertine scuppers, one coming out of each side of the feature wall. 3 LED lights, one in the spa and two in the pool. Pebbletec with an iridescent glass tile at the water line and outlining the spa seating and entry steps. All of the decking will be travertine. They do not install in floor cleaning systems and instead bid a Hayward Tiger Shark cleaning robot. Here is what the builder says differentiates them from other pool builders in the area:
- 8”-10” Sand and select fill base for travertine…others often use a 4"-6” Base which will settle more over time.
- Gunite with Fiber is standard for our pools. (adds to the tensile strength of pool shell)
- Rebar on centers in our pool is 4 1/2” in the stress points.
- Rebar on walls and floors is 6”-8” on centers
- Lifetime warranty on the gunite shell
- We polish the Pebblesheen to make the finish smoother. (Pebble tech only allows a few select builders to perform this)
- We are an Elite Pebbletec installer
- We limit the use of 90’s, instead using sweeps where possible
- We use 2 1/2” pipe on plumbing
- We run dedicated lines for all drains and skimmers with separate valves (this is a place where some pool co will cut corners)
- No plastic skimmer lids (custom Travertine)
- No plastic autofill lids (custom Bronze)
- We tie in gutter down spouts and add all necessary drains in the deck
- Deck drain covers are customer travertine
- Hayward pump is the only pump on the market with a 4yr warranty
Excavation: We use rubber track machine to distribute the weight of the machine better and reduce damage to access areas, also more maneuverable in tight places. During excavation all walls of pool are hand trimmed & shaped to insure proper tolerances during later steel and gunite phases of construction. Proper pool compaction is achieved by thoroughly rolling the entire floor.
Gunite structure: Bond beam - 4 bars #4 (1/2") continuous Walls and floor - #3 (3/8") 6”-8" on center Pneumatically applied gunite w/ fiber. Lifetime gunite shell warranty for duration of original ownership.
Plumbing: Minimum 2.5" and 2" sch 40 PVC on all suction and pressure lines between equipment and pool & plumbed with sweeps to reduce head loss. 2 suction ports at lowest section of pool and spa for safety and flow factors, Anti-Vortex, Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers on all main drains. 1/2" fill line at nearest water faucet with auto-fill device. Drainage & pool overflow per final drain plan.2 skimmers with separate lines and valves.
Electric: A GFCI receptacle plug is wired into all lighting and grounded with #8 bare copper.
Additional specs per final plan
Minimum Standard Pool equipment:·
1 White Pool Light·
Pump - Hayward TriStar VS 950 Expert Line·
425 Cartridge Filter·
Cleaner –Tiger Shark·
Chlorinator – In-line
Finishing touches All skimmers with travertine or Brass covers as defined in final contract. All Drains with Copper or Brass covers
And finally, pictures for everyone's viewing pleasure.
There you have it, TFP'ers. What say you? Any input is greatly appreciated before I sign the contract. They are also doing the outdoor kitchen you see in one of the pictures.
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