New Build - Austin, Texas - Slide Video

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PB provided the following model numbers for review:

PENR171096 - Pentair Chlorinator 320 in line
PEN011056 - Pentair Intelliflo 2 VSF Variable Speed
PEN160332 -Filer Pentair Catridge 520sqf Clean and Clear Plus
AIR6316220F - Air Supply Silencer Blower
PEN460736 - Heater Penair Mastertemp 400k BU Low Nox Natural
PEN601013 - Intellibrite 5g color LED lights
PEN360323 - Kreepy Krauly 930 Robotic Cleaner
PEN602056 - Pentair Colorvision Bubbler with Globrite LED Lights
PEN602133 - Pentair Microbrite Color LED Light Combo kit
PEN521105 - Intellichlor IC60 Salt Chlorine Generator Cell

He left of the IntelliCenter i10PS, so I'll have to verify the model number for that one.

Do these model numbers look good?
 
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Low hanging fruit. Ask how much credit for deleting the Kreepy Krauly 930. Other than the cart, it's the same as the Warrior SI you can get from Marina Pool and Spa for $749.
 
Alright I got the model number for the Intellicenter, which is PEN 521908.

I'll buy the robot separately based on the info from Chazas.

Planning to sign the contract this week. Any other thoughts or suggestions from anyone before I take the plunge?
 
Sparks,
About the plumbing / pumps, here is what I can tell you. It may be too late but still...

I subbed all work myself 9 years ago. Digging, rebar, electrical, plumbing, shotcrete, finish, decking, etc, etc... No pool company. So I knew exactly what and how and why I wanted things. It was not perfect but I did not let anything go by. Here is what you need to be on top of:
- large pipes for any significant features. They are not so much more costly. Nothing really for the big picture. Same size pipe to support them from the skimmer. I have a waterfall and had them install 3" pipes and never regretted it. Flows beautifully and pump never strains; like a fire hidrant!
- variable speed pump. You will want full control. I run mine 24 / 7 at low speed @ the same price of a light bulb and it keeps the pool clean all the time.
- for me, only 1 pump that has 2 inputs and 2 outputs with an actuated valve on each side. All controlled by my easytouch. My system switches the actuators to control where the water comes from (suction or skimmer) and where it is going (returns or waterfall). I also have the remote. Hopefully there is an app these days for the newer models and is a must. No one wants to go to the pool pad to push a button.
- I worked with many plumbers until I found one that was good enough to meet my needs. I could not be happier with my simple setup.
- Think about your plumbing (it's not that hard) and tell them how it should be. No need for many pumps. Just a good design and pump.
- When they lay the pipes, make sure they lay them nice and without too many useless curves. I caught the crew trying to plumb the long way around to the water feature. Called the plumber and made them re-lay from the other shorter side. Sometimes they just want to finish quick and won't care about the outcome.
- I have no experience with spa so i can't comment.
Wish you well in your build. Design looks amazing.
Allen
 

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AllenA said:
Sparks,
About the plumbing / pumps, here is what I can tell you. It may be too late but still...

I subbed all work myself 9 years ago. Digging, rebar, electrical, plumbing, shotcrete, finish, decking, etc, etc... No pool company. So I knew exactly what and how and why I wanted things. It was not perfect but I did not let anything go by. Here is what you need to be on top of:
- large pipes for any significant features. They are not so much more costly. Nothing really for the big picture. Same size pipe to support them from the skimmer. I have a waterfall and had them install 3" pipes and never regretted it. Flows beautifully and pump never strains; like a fire hidrant!
- variable speed pump. You will want full control. I run mine 24 / 7 at low speed @ the same price of a light bulb and it keeps the pool clean all the time.
- for me, only 1 pump that has 2 inputs and 2 outputs with an actuated valve on each side. All controlled by my easytouch. My system switches the actuators to control where the water comes from (suction or skimmer) and where it is going (returns or waterfall). I also have the remote. Hopefully there is an app these days for the newer models and is a must. No one wants to go to the pool pad to push a button.
- I worked with many plumbers until I found one that was good enough to meet my needs. I could not be happier with my simple setup.
- Think about your plumbing (it's not that hard) and tell them how it should be. No need for many pumps. Just a good design and pump.
- When they lay the pipes, make sure they lay them nice and without too many useless curves. I caught the crew trying to plumb the long way around to the water feature. Called the plumber and made them re-lay from the other shorter side. Sometimes they just want to finish quick and won't care about the outcome.
- I have no experience with spa so i can't comment.
Wish you well in your build. Design looks amazing.
Allen
Click to expand...
Hi Allen, thanks for the feedback.

They are planning to use 2.5" for all of the plumbing. Do you think that is sufficient?
 
Hey Sparks,
Please note that I am by no means an expert. Just a home owner that understood that straighter and bigger is better and not that much more expensive. You know plumbers get those pipes for even cheaper. So I pushed hard to get the max possible that made sense. Also two 45 degrees will be much better than one 90 degree at any curve. As for 2.5", I really cannot advise. It may be more than enough or not. It could be a discussion point with your PB. Here you can see what my pump @ 3450 RPMs can produce with a 3" pipe at the top of the waterfall and with optimal plumbing (the least number of 90 degree elbows):

Only waterfall gets water (note the top bubbling):
1592246597875.png

Below all water is directed to the slide. It is not meant to be used this way but the kids will sometimes push all water to the slide. In fact, I was told that too much water on the slide will make you slide slower. So, the first picture is what I was concerned the most about (I know you don't have a fall in your plans but you have a spill away from the spa and not sure how that should look like in terms of flow). That's why I mentioned above "water features". For the slide you can get away with much less that this. My slide/waterfall combo has a valve on top that you can switch where the water goes. Half / half is also very common for us and in that case, you'll want enough water for the slide and the waterfall. Little water on the fall is not "pretty" and looks dinky. You want it to gush out like mad (y)
1592246643187.png

Top view, full slide flow:
1592246835590.png

BTW, 2.5" pipes are not so common. I had to replace my SWCG recently and needed to find a special plumbing store to get those. My HD did not have them. Not a big deal but just something to keep in mind. I think HD will have 3" usually.
Allen
 
AllenA said:
Hey Sparks,
Please note that I am by no means an expert. Just a home owner that understood that straighter and bigger is better and not that much more expensive. You know plumbers get those pipes for even cheaper. So I pushed hard to get the max possible that made sense. Also two 45 degrees will be much better than one 90 degree at any curve. As for 2.5", I really cannot advise. It may be more than enough or not. It could be a discussion point with your PB. Here you can see what my pump @ 3450 RPMs can produce with a 3" pipe at the top of the waterfall and with optimal plumbing (the least number of 90 degree elbows):

Only waterfall gets water (note the top bubbling):
View attachment 147091

Below all water is directed to the slide. It is not meant to be used this way but the kids will sometimes push all water to the slide. In fact, I was told that too much water on the slide will make you slide slower. So, the first picture is what I was concerned the most about (I know you don't have a fall in your plans but you have a spill away from the spa and not sure how that should look like in terms of flow). That's why I mentioned above "water features". For the slide you can get away with much less that this. My slide/waterfall combo has a valve on top that you can switch where the water goes. Half / half is also very common for us and in that case, you'll want enough water for the slide and the waterfall. Little water on the fall is not "pretty" and looks dinky. You want it to gush out like mad (y)
View attachment 147092

Top view, full slide flow:
View attachment 147093

BTW, 2.5" pipes are not so common. I had to replace my SWCG recently and needed to find a special plumbing store to get those. My HD did not have them. Not a big deal but just something to keep in mind. I think HD will have 3" usually.
Allen
Click to expand...
Allen, your pictures look great! Thanks for sharing and thanks for all of the information!
 
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We made our material selections today (@kimkats ). Going to go with the 1x2 glass tile for the pool water line and raised bond beam, the 1x1 tile for the spa waterline tile, spa surround, and step/bench tiles. Going to go with the very light color of travertine (Master Tile calls it Adobe travertine) for the decking. There are extras in the picture but I circled the ones we are going to use and put an X on the ones we chose against.

Currently we have our coping selected as leuder stone based on our PB recommendation because of the SWCG. Does anyone have any concern with this idea? Up above, Funkatation mentioned that his PB steered him away from leuder stone because of the SWCG. I don't know which PB is right (if there is even a right answer) and didn't have much success searching online.

If we didn't go with the leuder stone coping, we would likely just run the travertine decking over to be also be used as the coping, and possibly switch the color to the one on the left for the coping for a little bit of contrasting color. Is there any expected upside to using travertine as the coping over the leuder stone?

2020-06-16 15.41.45.jpg
 
LOVE the BLUE BLING!!! SO pretty! Good pick!!! What color grout will you use? White will make each tile pop while gray will help them blend in together. NO wrong answer on this one!

I really like the coping to be a different color than the decking. The idea of using the same kind is neat with the different color for contrast. The kind of coping you have is up to you. It is six of one and half a dozen of another really.

Kim:kim:
 
I don’t know that salt makes it any worse, I was just saying it didn’t seem very durable based on me power washing it regardless of whether you have salt. I would recommend using a lighter psi than nozzle than I did. I couldn’t see the damage till after it dried. I think thats just what it would look like over time after a lot of heavy rains and abuse.
 

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Funkatation said:
I don’t know that salt makes it any worse, I was just saying it didn’t seem very durable based on me power washing it regardless of whether you have salt. I would recommend using a lighter psi than nozzle than I did. I couldn’t see the damage till after it dried. I think thats just what it would look like over time after a lot of heavy rains and abuse.
Click to expand...
Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. In that picture, was the right side power washed and the left side not?
 

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