Indoor residential inground gunite pool renovation - replaster and all new equipment

[tron]

Thanks to the excellent advice I received from this forum members, I've filled up my renovated indoor pool in my house. Pool size 15ft x 30ft x (3.5 to 4.5ft) = just under 12,000 gallon US (45 kL). When we bought the house, the previous owners left it in a state of disrepair. The plaster was cracked in several places, there was green copper stain all over the white plaster, they had done DIY plaster patches in several places which had left the pool bumpy at places, the automatic cover was broken, the equipment was broken and the plumbing outdoors had frozen and burst since it was shut down over the winter without winterizing when we bought it.

Since it was not functional, I emptied the water and left it dry for years. Finally, I got a few bids and finally settled on three contractors that I would manage myself - one each for plaster, automatic pool cover and equipment.

Plaster:
Quartz - Wetedge Lunaquartz (Martinique color). Chip out most of the old plaster, staple the cracks, bond coat and apply new plaster.

Cover:
Pool cover specialist automatic pool cover - everything new except box and lid. Cover controller with numeric touchpad currently installed. Upgrading to a wifi connected model based on feedback from @nopain00

Equipment:

1. Pentair IntelliFlo VSF 3hp pump
2. Pentair Clean&Clear 420 filter
3. Pentair MasterTemp HD 400K BTU
4. Pentair direct venting kit installed for intake (combustion) and exhaust air
5. Pentair IntelliCenter controller with 5 relay personality kit and IntelliChlor IC-40 Salt Water Chlorine Generator with load center and transformer
6. IntelliChem with acid tank and pump
7. Pentair Intellibrite 5G 12V color pool lights with a single 100W 2V transformer up to 50ft wiring (two lights)
8. Pentair Bioshield UV light 80W

Current status:
Plaster completed two days ago. Pool filled. Now balancing chemicals and brushing using the Orenda LSI calculation. Haven't added chlorine or CYA.
Cover installed. Sensor not working, waiting to be resolved. Waiting to replace touchpad with wifi model.
All pool equipment installed except heater and intellichem - equipment unavailable from manufacturer, waiting for them to be shipped. Heater plumbing bypassed. UV lights bypassed. SWCG turned off. All of these to be turned on after 4 weeks.

Pictures coming up. Thank you all for your great advice!

 

[tron]

Before pictures

 

[tron]

'During renovation' pictures

 

[tron]

'After' pictures

 

[tron]

Observations and concerns so far:
1. Water level reduced by 1 inch in about 24 hours. I'm not sure if this is an artifact of new pool start up or this is a cause for concern. I topped up the water today and I'll see tomorrow.
2. Lunaquartz - martinique looked like a white base with small blue quartz pieces at the showroom, but it looks light blue in my pool. I'm not sure why.

 

[Nikilyn]

I am interested in Luna Quartz. I would love to know your opinion on texture. Is it smooth or rough? The quartz pools I had been in in the past were smooth but the pictures of Luna online look like it might be rough. I’d love to see a close up pic of it.

 

[Dirk]

Congrat's on the "new" pool!

1. Your pool should not have lost an inch. You'll know tomorrow if it's a leak. You can do a bucket leak test to confirm, but I wouldn't expect there'd be that much evaporation from an indoor pool in Utah in October.

Leak Detection

A number of things can cause leaks in your pool. You can learn tricks for leak detection and how to pinpoint where your pool is losing water.

www.troublefreepool.com

2. The water is going to look a bit blue. That's due to the physics of light penetrating water. The little blue quartz pieces might be contributing to that effect, but most of it is due to the physics. I can elaborate if you're interested...

 

[tron]

I am interested in Luna Quartz. I would love to know your opinion on texture. Is it smooth or rough? The quartz pools I had been in in the past were smooth but the pictures of Luna online look like it might be rough. I’d love to see a close up pic of it.

It feels smooth to the touch but right now, I can only touch the steps. I can't get into the pool yet. I'll post some pics.

Pics added @Nikilyn - I've got the Martinique color.

 

[tron]

Congrat's on the "new" pool!

1. Your pool should not have lost an inch. You'll know tomorrow if it's a leak. You can do a bucket leak test to confirm, but I wouldn't expect there'd be that much evaporation from an indoor pool in Utah in October.

Leak Detection

A number of things can cause leaks in your pool. You can learn tricks for leak detection and how to pinpoint where your pool is losing water.

www.troublefreepool.com

2. The water is going to look a bit blue. That's due to the physics of light penetrating water. The little blue quartz pieces might be contributing to that effect, but most of it is due to the physics. I can elaborate if you're interested...

I'll do the bucket test. Thanks.

I appreciate your thoughts on the color. I understand the physics behind the water looking blue but I wasn't sure if the color would look markedly different even on the first step.

 

[tron]

I'll do the bucket test. Thanks.

I appreciate your thoughts on the color. I understand the physics behind the water looking blue but I wasn't sure if the color would look markedly different even on the first step.

Quoting myself - before the pool renovation was started, my equipment contractor pressure tested the plumbing at my request. The vacuum line had a leak but the suction and return lines were fine. So we capped off the vacuum line opening inside the pool since we don't really need it. So I'm surprised that the water level dropped by an inch now. I wasn't expecting to see any other leaks. I'll do the bucket test to see what it reveals.

 

[Dirk]

If the top step looks white, then the next steps each a tiny bit bluer than the one above, then the shallow end bluer still and bluest in the deep end, then that's expected, that's the physics at work...