New 16x32 IGP in Delaware, Ontario, Canada

[Beancounter]

Hey guys & gals.

First off thank you in advance for any input/advice given.

When we purchased our home in 2010 we inherited a 16x32 AGP. After the liner started to go last year I decided to start planning for a little upgrade.

This is the current state of what I'm planning. I did this myself in Sketchup... but bare with me... I'm an accountant not a drafts-person.

We are doing 1' of stamped/colored canilever coping (proform classic, Solomon Colors 920 Charcoal) around the pool.

We will then have 3' of normal brushed concrete so the kids can run around the pool without us fearing for their lives. I'm also doing this in case I ever get a leak somewhere in the plumbing. It gives me the option of tearing up the brushed concrete pool deck without worrying about color making 10-20 years down the road.

The rest of the concrete will be a stamped light grey or possibly a Solomon 920 Slate (SRI 22).

The pool is being lit by 2 hayward colorlogic return lights on the lounger side facing the pool house/bar.

The stairs are planned as 6' thermoplastic cantilevered stairs.

The 10x20 shed is actually switched so that the entrance to the bar is closer to the pool stairs. The size may also be increased to 10x25 or 8x30.

We plan on mounting a short through projector inside the shed so we can project only a transparent outdoor projector screen that can be lowered from the opening of the bar/shed. Most likely 12-15 foot screen. Klipsch speakers will be mounted near soffit, covered porch and a few mounted on 4x4 posts so the patio on the opposite side of the pool can be used as a 7.1 outdoor movie viewing area for the kits. (or watching Jaws from inside the pool)

The waterfall/water feature will just be roughed in for now. We will have a better idea of whether to go with armour stone waterfall or more of a symetrical water feature once the pool is completed.


I have 4 questions I'm hoping some of you can answer.

1) How dark of a concrete can we go with without worrying about peoples feet burning around the pool? I'm not too worried about the dark coping as people can splash it with water to cool it. We are also in Canada, not Arizona/Texas.
2) Are two Hayward ColorLogic return lights enough to light the 16x32 pool?
3) What color stairs should we go with? Grey or White? I am worried the stairs won't be visible at night and will present a hazard for anyone not familiar with the pool. Here is a pool I found that has a similar colored coping with grey stairs. I can't find an example of white stairs with a dark coping.
4) The concrete is going to be layed in such a way that water runs away from the pool. With the pool shed/bar so close to the pool should I have the pad for the pool shed raised an inch to prevent water from entering? What do other people do to prevent rain water, splashing, etc from entering the shed?

Look forward to any input you can offer.

 

[bmoreswim]

Welcome to TFP! Great first post!!

I'll answer a few of your questions, throw out a few comments/suggestions which you can happily ignore. I just like to make sure all things have been considered, though some may be quickly dismissed.

Two full-size Hayward Colorlogic lights for that size pool will be great. One would be a bit dim on some of the colors.

If you do go with the thermoplastic steps, I'd definitely go with gray. And all grey fittings, skimmers, return jet, etc. White is a stark look while grey, if consistently used, is much more natural looking.

On you deck, agree that coping will be quite hot in that color. But for the deck, since you are already going lighter, I'd just get what you want. Concrete will be hot regardless, so be happy with your color 100%. Folks will deal with it by walking faster, wearing flip-flops, moving to the shade or getting it wet.

I would create a maybe 5" step up to your shed foundation and maybe put a 4" channel drain in front of the step.

My out of the box suggestion is to consider an autocover and make the following design changes to accomodate:

• Remove the thermoplastic stairs outside of the rectangle and add liner over steel steps inside the rectangle
• Remove water feature - they look great, but are only run when you are by the pool due to effects of raising pH due to water turbulence. Plus it makes available that end of the pool for the autocover vault.
• Install an undermount autocover on the far end of the pool. Being in Ontario, I expect you will heat the pool. So you will also want/need to cover it. An autocover is awesome for that and other reasons. Less pump run time, less FC usage, can open early and close late without dealing with heavy pollen and leaf fall issues and increased safety.
• They are a chunk of change though, so most people don't opt for them.

 

[Buckeyes2273]

Can't wait to see the update...not a bad for an accountant...lol

 

[Beancounter]

Welcome to TFP! Great first post!!

I'll answer a few of your questions, throw out a few comments/suggestions which you can happily ignore. I just like to make sure all things have been considered, though some may be quickly dismissed.

Two full-size Hayward Colorlogic lights for that size pool will be great. One would be a bit dim on some of the colors.

If you do go with the thermoplastic steps, I'd definitely go with gray. And all grey fittings, skimmers, return jet, etc. White is a stark look while grey, if consistently used, is much more natural looking.

On you deck, agree that coping will be quite hot in that color. But for the deck, since you are already going lighter, I'd just get what you want. Concrete will be hot regardless, so be happy with your color 100%. Folks will deal with it by walking faster, wearing flip-flops, moving to the shade or getting it wet.

I would create a maybe 5" step up to your shed foundation and maybe put a 4" channel drain in front of the step.

My out of the box suggestion is to consider an autocover and make the following design changes to accomodate:

• Remove the thermoplastic stairs outside of the rectangle and add liner over steel steps inside the rectangle
• Remove water feature - they look great, but are only run when you are by the pool due to effects of raising pH due to water turbulence. Plus it makes available that end of the pool for the autocover vault.
• Install an undermount autocover on the far end of the pool. Being in Ontario, I expect you will heat the pool. So you will also want/need to cover it. An autocover is awesome for that and other reasons. Less pump run time, less FC usage, can open early and close late without dealing with heavy pollen and leaf fall issues and increased safety.
• They are a chunk of change though, so most people don't opt for them.

Wow. Great input. Much appreciated.

Definitely going to stay with the 2 lights.
Wife made the final call on the grey stairs. (I get to design the pool bar)
I like the idea of a raised pad. A 4" channel drain with a removeable cover would keep the water from puddling. Great idea. Will contact the pool installer tonight to get the change made.

I failed to mention the pool contractor is planning to break ground in less than 2 weeks (April 23rd) and is submitting the final hardware order tonight.

Thank you very much.


ediit: With regards to the auto cover... I was really turned off with any sort of cover to be honest. I've heard horror stories of the covers jamming, especially with the spinners from maples. The $20,000 price tag also didn't appeal to the accountant in me when I was usually running $300/month during the spring/fall months to run the heater. Even if you figure $2,000/year in gas usage it's still going to take 11-20 years to pay itself back in heat savings. Additionally, with our relatively short pool season I hate seeing any sort of cover on the pool. I want to see clean, refreshing, relaxing blue water as I sit in the backyard with my feet up with a beer or 2 in my hand.

 

[Beancounter]

Before Picture:

Day 0 - Selling the old pool

Day 1-3: The Tear Down

Had to take out a bunch of cedars that did provide some privacy... but mostly housed a ton of mosquitos. Neighbors boy was nice enough to come lend me a hand. Had all the trees down and out with just a rigid cordless sawzall in 3 hours.

Still waiting for the ice to melt over the next couple of days before I can remove the final supports from the old AGP. I tore out the old lower deck saving only the stairs for now until I can build another set off the side of the covered porch.

No privacy. A 20x10 to 30x10 pool shed/bar will fix it up nicely. Perhaps add a 6' wood fence if I'm not happy with it.



Day 4: Stair planning.

Want to get the upper and lower stair landings completed before construction begins. I won't be able to build permanent stair stringers for the bottom run until final grading/concrete is laid. I just want to have the posts in the ground so there is no guessing afterwards when the concrete is poured around them.

If the rain holds off I should have the holes dug tomorrow and the concrete in on saturday/sunday. Actually wood construction will go quickly. I can have most of the stairs done in a day or two. The hard part is going to be the led strip lights under the railings.

Ignore the extreme amount of 6x6 posts in the ground. Going to try to limit it to 5 posts.

Calling for 6-7 straight days of rain... Final layout takes place tomorrow with the big dig starting a week Monday. Going to be cutting it close.

 

[Beancounter]

It's been over a month since my last update. A lot has happened. We are pouring the stamped portion of concrete tomorrow and will be pouring the shed and the 3ft brushed around the pool on Monday/Tuesday of next week.

Excavation had to take place in 2 stages. The sand could have undermined the walls so we dug out the basic shape and poured the walls and backfilled with gravel first. Backhoe came back to finish off the job.

New stairs took me longer than expected. Sometimes trying to save some money by reusing balusters and 6x6 posts but the trade off is time.

Drain added to keep water flowing away from the 10x25 pad.

Just a bit more gravel and it should be ready for final forming....

Final depth is just a hair over 9'6"

Now that I know how to link google photos directly to this board I will update a few posts with more build photos.

The first stamped concrete pour is scheduled to begin at 12 noon EST tomorrow.

If there is enough interest I will setup a Live YouTube stream.

 

[kimkats]

You cannot support your steps too much!!! Get it done correct NOW to avoid problems with crack down the road. The back fill is very important with them!

Kim

 

[Beancounter]

You cannot support your steps too much!!! Get it done correct NOW to avoid problems with crack down the road. The back fill is very important with them!

Kim

Thanks Kim. I had the stairs backfilled with 2-3 yards of concrete =) I feel much better about it. When you knock on the stairs its like tapping concrete.

 

[Beancounter]

First pour of concrete is in now. Very impressed with the concrete work. Light Grey / Slate with Medium grey release (Salmon Colors)

Final pour for pool house and pool surround is scheduled for tuesday weather permitting. Liner going in Wednesday. Should be swimming next weekend.

 

[LeighHop]

I'd love to see your progress, but the pictures aren't showing up for me.

 

[jimmythegreek]

yup the pics are not showing for anyone

 

[Beancounter]

yup the pics are not showing for anyone

Thanks for letting me know. I will look into.

I'm baffled. All the pictures show for me on all my devices at home and at work.