Having a pool built and need advice

[Toxophilite]

Before you go removing paver stones I would try and find an epoxy color that works with your stones. Then use a Dremel tool to grind out the wrong color epoxy and fill the hole with a better color. It may be less work and expense then replacing many stones.

Worst case it does not work well and you end up replacing the stones anyway. It is worth a try.

That is very true!! I've noticed that on some of mine, I could probably pry out easily, as they don't seems to be that much bonded, though never tried. Even a half grind away and more epoxy is better than buying stone.

 

[voidpointer]

So I thought I'd share a little update with a question at the end

I have heard nothing from the PB that started my pool project for around 2 months now. He's also failed to respond to my attorney's letter which gave him a deadline to respond. This week I had another pool builder come out to look at what it would take to finish out my project. Happens to be the same guys that did my neighbor's pool. I haven't gotten a quote for them but I'm just relieved to find someone willing to finish this project.

On to the questions. As they were looking over the current status of the pool, they found a few issues that I thought I'd bring up here. I'd like to read what you folks think about these issues, if/how I should pay to address them, etc.

1. They said the pool itself is about 2" lower than the back patio of my house. The result of that is that rainwater will run into the pool. He said it's not a huge problem, but something to keep an eye on, because the rain water will mess with the chemical balance in the pool. I think for now we're going to leave it alone but we didn't discuss solutions. What do you folks think?
2. The inlet for the water (to fill the pool) goes through a small chamber that has a little floating valve in it. Sort of like the ones you see in your toilet tank. It's supposed to turn off the water when the pool is full enough. The guys said they rarely see these installed, and they are unreliable. Worst of all if they aren't working you may not know it because your pool will continue to fill while also draining out. They shared what seemed like a good idea: Hook that up to my irrigation system so every time I water my lawn I fill the pool. They said they rarely have to manually fill the pool with such a system. So my question here is: Should I keep what is already installed (the valve thing) or should I pay to have them hook it to my irrigation system? I definitely do not want to be checking pool levels and filling it manually every single day, so some type of automation is necessary.

Some other items they found. These aren't part of my questions, but I thought I'd leave them here.

• They noticed some white discharge coming out part of the wall in the gunite. They said that probably indicates some type of void. So they're going to break apart that area of the gunite to see what's there and fix it. They said most likely the gunite people re-used some concrete that fell to the ground or something, which they aren't supposed to do. But no telling.
• The equipment hasn't been under pressure, so they will need to check for leaks
• They mentioned the coping stone is about 1" thick when they typically use 2". They also said when you knock on it it sounds hollow, so there might be a risk of the coping stone coming loose later. They also said the cement/grout they use to put the waterline tile in has too much sand in it, so it probably won't hold very well later on. I decided to leave all of this alone for now, since I already paid for it. When tile/stone starts falling off I guess I can call them back.
• That BRAND NEW slide I got the previous contractors already messed up *facepalm*. They had it put together for about 2 months now but they caused damage to some of the little rubber strips that go between the different pieces which keeps water from leaking. So I'll have to get replacement rubber parts.
• I asked them to move where the bubblers come up through the gunite. The place they put them during the original construction was dumb.

That's most of it, I think. I'm sure there's more but probably smaller things.

 

[Newdude]

They said the pool itself is about 2" lower than the back patio of my house.

Use a channel like deck drain close to the pool. It will catch all of the water being collected uphill and route it to the sides / around the pool

The guys said they rarely see these installed, and they are unreliable.

It's called an auto fill and it's regional. Those of us who live in high rain areas don't need them so they become rare. They work as well as anything else. You get 41 inches of rain per year per the googs. That's a 75% free water exchange and you'll likely won't need to add water often. This year was a rare drought year so I had to add water a few times. Normally I'm needing to drain with a similar rainfall by me.

 

[voidpointer]

Use a channel like deck drain close to the pool. It will catch all of the water being collected uphill and route it to the sides / around the pool

You mean like a french drain that goes along the coping? Do you have an image example? Will the fact that my pool is freeform be problematic for something like that?

 

[Newdude]

You mean like a french drain that goes along the coping?

Yeah. With a free-form you'd need to bring it back a bit to cut a straight line across without hitting the pool wall. But here is one pic of one used by the retaining wall.



There are lots of styles to choose from but they all do the same thing

Drain on amazon

 

[voidpointer]

Yeah. With a free-form you'd need to bring it back a bit to cut a straight line across without hitting the pool wall. But here is one pic of one used by the retaining wall.
View attachment 464872


There are lots of styles to choose from but they all do the same thing

Drain on amazon

Is that something I should have them do now? Or worry about it later? My temptation is to have them do it now... But not sure how expensive this will be. They'll have to pull up a lot of pavers

 

[Newdude]

They'll have to pull up a lot of pavers

Crud. I got mixed up about how far along you were. It can be installed in a day, down the road if needed. They will pull up a line of pavers, lay down the drains and trim the stones they removed by the width of the drains.

Here is a pic for everyone of the area, which doesn't look that big of an area.



If enough of the patio is pitched to the right, not all that much rain will go towards the pool. (I'd ensure the gutters stay working).

Once everything is in and cleaned up, a big storm may add some dirt/dust from the patio to the pool, but won't dilute it much. A full inch of rainwater is only 2 or 3% of the pool volume and won't affect the chemistry more than that. PH for example would be a joke. 97% of Ph 7.6 water and 3% Ph 5 water would be a difference in the hundredths and you'd end up with a 7.56(?). And that's a monsoon, regular storms would be zero.

So I guess I'd spray down the patio occasionally using the hose to redirect the runoff. Then when it rained the patio was pretty clean to drain into the pool. You can always add drains later if you find it's a problem.

 

[voidpointer]

Thanks for the info. I guess the pool guys made it sound like it would be constant maintenance issue. They did tell me that hiring pool maintenance is the best thing ever invented and I should try it, but I said I'm going to try doing it myself for a while. I still have no idea what I'm in for, but I do have my TFP kit ready for that day.

 

[kimkats]

AND you have real people sitting on their couches in their jammies just ready to lend a helping hand!

 

[Newdude]

They did tell me that hiring pool maintenance is the best thing ever invented and I should try it

*narrator voice* But it wasn't the best thing ever. Matter of fact, it was the worst.

 

[kimkats]

hiring pool maintenance is the best thing ever

Yeah for THEIR bottom dollar

 

[voidpointer]

So I got a quote from a different pool company to finish out the project. There's a couple of items they have on here that I'm unsure about. I'd like to run them by you folks here to see if I'm being sold something I don't need.

1. "Application of Aquron Sealer to existing gunite pool shell" for $1672
2. "Add inline chlorinator to current pool system to assist current salt chlorinator with chlorine production when needed during winter months"

#2 is the most questionable one; if anyone disagrees with that perhaps you can help educate me properly on why they are wrong.

Total to have them finish the project is a little over $20k which I have the funds for. $10k of it is for the plaster & trim tile. The other $10k is just repairing the last pool builder's screw ups!

 

[ajw22]

So I got a quote from a different pool company to finish out the project. There's a couple of items they have on here that I'm unsure about. I'd like to run them by you folks here to see if I'm being sold something I don't need.

1. "Application of Aquron Sealer to existing gunite pool shell" for $1672
2. "Add inline chlorinator to current pool system to assist current salt chlorinator with chlorine production when needed during winter months"

#2 is the most questionable one; if anyone disagrees with that perhaps you can help educate me properly on why they are wrong.

Total to have them finish the project is a little over $20k which I have the funds for. $10k of it is for the plaster & trim tile. The other $10k is just repairing the last pool builder's screw ups!

During the winter months you should use a floater with Trichlor tablets in your pool or liquid chlorine when your SWG cannot generate chlorine.

Please create your signature so we know if you have things like a heater that may require a comment.

 

[voidpointer]

During the winter months you should use a floater with Trichlor tablets in your pool or liquid chlorine when your SWG cannot generate chlorine.

Please create your signature so we know if you have things like a heater that may require a comment.

My signature is created.

 

[kimkats]

I prefer liquid chlorine over any kind of tablet as the tablets all add "extra stuff" your water. Most add CYA and some add calcium hardness. Too much of either one can only be removed by a water exchange.

Going to ping someone for the sealer idea @AQUA~HOLICS thoughts please on his first point.

 

[Jimrahbe]

1. "Application of Aquron Sealer to existing gunite pool shell" for $1672
2. "Add inline chlorinator to current pool system to assist current salt chlorinator with chlorine production when needed during winter months"

VP,

I consider the sealer more of a money-making gimmick for the pool builder, but... If you have some kind of plaster issue later on, you can be assured that will be a reason for a warranty rejection. For $1672, I would just call it "insurance".

I have the saltwater pools in the DFW area and none of them have tablet feeders. You just don't need it. Like Kim, I use liquid Chlorine in the winter. During the winter, chlorine consumption very low, so you don't need to test often, and you don't need to add much.

If you are a hands-off kind of person, then a tablet feeder would work for you. If you are the kind of person that is going to be taking care of your own pool, then it is just not needed for a saltwater pool.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

My signature is created.

Having a gas heater is another reason to not use an inline chlorinator. Even with a check valve between the heater and chlorinator acidic water can backflow into the heater when the pump is off and damage it.

 

[voidpointer]

If you are a hands-off kind of person, then a tablet feeder would work for you. If you are the kind of person that is going to be taking care of your own pool, then it is just not needed for a saltwater pool.

How much "hands-on" will liquid require? Am I outside every day in the cold doing this? Once a month? What's the burden like? I'm certainly more hands-off than hands-on, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to put in the effort. But I am certainly worried about burn out.

 

[Newdude]

Daily summer testing/adding turns into every few days as the season winds down. Then weekly, then several weeks at a clip with the stupid short days we have now. I was noticing how low the sun was in the sky the other day, at the 'midpoint of the day', an hour *before* lunch.

Anywho, if you get a warm spell you may need to revert to several days or weekly testing while it's warm, but it's not gonna burn you out, for sure.

 

[Jimrahbe]

How much "hands-on" will liquid require?

VP,

In the winter, I add chlorine once or twice a week depending on the weather.

You kind of get a feel for it.

Thanks,

Jim R.