Found the storm cellar... hope a mason is coming soon... rain on the way... 
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Iowa Vinyl Pool
- Thread starter Snoobug
- Start date
Exciting times! With a vinyl pool make sure your landscaper and pool builder have talked about drainage. Make sure all of the water drains away from the pool. You will find many disastrous posts about mud and rainwater getting into pools after storms. Our pool was in a low spot in our yard and our PB raised the walls of the pool about 18-24ā and used the dirt from the hole to slope everything away from the pool.
Make sure they have a plan for groundwater. Should be piping on the collar to drain the water away to a sump pit or daylight. My PB was able to drain ours to a storm sewer which was below the elevation of the pool. Of the three bids I got for the pool only one talked drainage and he is the one I went with. A lot of pool builders donāt include that in their price and you can have problems down the road.
Finally your backfill should be clean gravel. I would not let them use the dirt from the hole. Again a bit more in cost but it again will save future problems.
Digging day is indeed exciting! I hope all goes smoothly but be prepared for rain delays snd some stress and frustration during the project. We had a bathroom/storage/ bar built with our pool and the communication with the pool builder and building contractor is key. Your plans look beautiful. Keep us posted on the progress.
Make sure they have a plan for groundwater. Should be piping on the collar to drain the water away to a sump pit or daylight. My PB was able to drain ours to a storm sewer which was below the elevation of the pool. Of the three bids I got for the pool only one talked drainage and he is the one I went with. A lot of pool builders donāt include that in their price and you can have problems down the road.
Finally your backfill should be clean gravel. I would not let them use the dirt from the hole. Again a bit more in cost but it again will save future problems.
Digging day is indeed exciting! I hope all goes smoothly but be prepared for rain delays snd some stress and frustration during the project. We had a bathroom/storage/ bar built with our pool and the communication with the pool builder and building contractor is key. Your plans look beautiful. Keep us posted on the progress.
Thank you! We have heavy rains here so it's a big deal. Our landscaper is all over it. There are already plans for drainage. I forgot what he called it but under the pavers there are going to be tunnels that will allow the water to drain towards the river. Our yard naturally slopes that way. He is certified with unilock and seems really knowledgeable about this stuff.
Yes, it will be clean gravel, including filling the storm cellar.
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Pretty sure I messed up the TA test. I just read the pool school version. I didn't stop when the color changed to clear, I kept adding drops until it was at least pink.
What instructions did you read on the Pool School? You donāt stop the TA when itās clear. You donāt stop when itās pink. You go until a drop doesnāt change the color anymore then donāt count that last drop. Usually this is a bright red at this point.
Total Alkalinity
A drop-based test used to measure the alkalinity in water. Alkalinity helps serve as a ā¦ Read moreā¦
www.troublefreepool.com
The FC/CC tests end at clear.
#1, under #5: Continue adding drops until the color changes to something more or less red, pink, yellow, or clear.
But then #5, step 2:
So unless the color stops changing at clear, you continue added drops until it stops changing, which is usually at a bright red.
A guy from the water department was here. I love living in a small town. I really don't mind the city coming to check on things. He just wanted to check where the pool was going and if we wanted to move our meter.
Do they have an option for you to not be charged for wastewater on the pool fill? Most places do, but there's many different ways this gets handled. Some you can apply for a credit. Some you call and tell them you are filling a pool and they will adjust your next bill accordingly. Others, like where I am, require a second meter for measuring water to the outside spigots and then automatically subtract off that amount of water from your wastewater bill, and do not allow any manual adjustments.
Thanks for this question! When we put in our hydrant last year they asked us if we wanted another meter for the yard water but we declined. We would have to pay for another meter.
I just checked our city rates and it's $2.30 per 100 cubic feet up to the first 1,000 cubic feet. A 20,000 gallon pool converts to just under 2,700 cubic feet. Even if the rate doubles after the first 1,000 cubic feet, it's not really going to be an issue. I should have asked while the guy was here!
I was considering having the spigot that we will use to top off the pool plumbed to go through our water softener but will save that project for next year.
Yeah no problem. Same here. In fact I have another meter, but it's not active cause the previous owners declined to pay to add/upgrade a remote meter reading device when it was needed (any required upgrades or repairs are covered out of pocket). I figured I'd pay back getting that online, but it would take a few years. Each winter is about a 1/4 pool drain that needs to be refilled in the spring, and while I don't do a lot of yard watering new grass seed and a future garden will need water.
Yeah I'd definitely hold off on that. Here in the midwest I can't see you having a calcium buildup issue. Not with midwest rains requiring dumping water (which dilutes everything in the pool including calcium) and winter freezing requiring partial water draining with subsequent spring refills. Or was this an issue you had in a previous pool even being in the midwest?
So I had a pool growing up in the midwest. It was originally chlorine then switched to baquacil lolololol. I don't think it's an issue here but I'm not entirely sure that my dad drop tested back in the late 80's.
We are getting an autocover so I was planning to shut the pool for bad weather but now I might keep it open to top it off. It's probably better to shut it though. Rural town with chemicals being dropped on farmland. Not that we are any better, we drop chems on our lawn ~ 5 times year.
We have softwater in the house but we have calcium buildup around our faucets... so maybe it is an issue?
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Does the autocover block rain? Unless you get runoff I wouldn't be worried about anything in the farmland getting into the pool by rain, but dirt and leaves accumulate and it would be easier on you to cover during storms for this reason.
There is definitely calcium in your water, what I'm saying is it's unlikely to be an issue with too much buildup in your pool. If the autocover keeps off all rain so you always fill up with tap water perhaps it could eventually be an issue, but again you still need to do a partial drain in the winter, correct? I'm basing this off Pool School saying you need to drain an in-ground to a few inches below the returns before freezing weather hits.
I think it blocks rain... I think it can collect on top of the cover and there is a pump to put on there to drain it. At least I think so.
Oh yeah, we'll have to winterize & do a partial drain.
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,204
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Correct. Your autocover will block all rain. However, from time to time, I need water added to the pool but want to have it covered during a rain. So I do one of two things. I either have the outlet of the hose snaked through the skimmer cover and into the main body of the pool through the opening. That doesnāt provide any filtering of the water on top, which normally I isnāt an issue but it could be potentially depending on whatās on the cover to get sucked in. Mind you, the input for the pump is on the bottom so itās not really sucking surface debris but does get whatever is mixed up in the water. The other option is to have your pump running and direct the hose output directly into the skimmer basket. This way the water goes through your filter before entering the pool.
This is really great info! I have so many questions about the autocover! I have small-ish kids ages 6, 6 and 8. This is all theoretical but I'm planning to shut the pool every night so I can sleep easy. Is this a problem?
So I can run the pump while the cover is on?
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