New Build - Dallas Area

[RoyH]

I have been reading as much as possible in the forums in anticipation of starting our pool build. We have the final design and wanted to share to see if you all have any suggestions or pitfalls that we should be aware of for last minute changes. Also, I wanted to go over the equipment list. I appreciate everyone's input and ideas as I have found it invaluable over the past few months.

We are planning for Chlorine Only instead of SWG. Our 8yr old daughter has swam in many pools and the SWG pools make her skin break out, for whatever reason. It is not only one SWG pool, but any SWG pool she gets in. The Chlorine only pools, she doesn't have any issues... She had bad exzcema when she was younger and it took us a while to get it under control, so we are very cautious now. I just wanted to state that up front as I know most on here swear by SWG and we have made our decision based on the above. That being said, how much extra to put in the SWG just in case in the future we decide to try it and switch it over?

You will see from our backyard pictures that there are few large trees. We have strategically placed the pool a min of 10' away from the trees and we are as close to our aerobic septic offset of 25' as we can be in the back. The spa will have shade pretty much all spring/summer. The majority of the pool will have sun 6-8 hours a day.

Pool Specs:
Pool is approx. 789 sqft, 116lft
18" Raised Spa is 7' int. dia
23,000 gallons
Typhoon Slide with Boulder Waterfall in front of slide
Bench with Sitting Table

Pentair Equipment:
Pentair Intellicenter (not sure what model numbers I need for complete system to be able to control via phone)
Pentair CP520 Cartridge
Pentair Master Temp 400 Propane Heater
Pentair 320C In-Line Chlorinator
Pentair Intelliflo VS - 3HP Pump (difference between recommended #011028 and #011057 and #0110056) #011057 is $100 cheaper and #011056 is $300 cheaper)
3 Intellibright 12V 26W lights in Pool
1 Intellibright 12V 18W Light in Spa
1 Globebright Bubbler 12V in middle of Sun Deck
Dolphin S300 Robotic Cleaner

Finish:
Pool Waterline Tile - NPT 6x6 Borba Tuquoise
Spa Waterline Tile - NPT 6x6 Borba Tuquoise w/ 6x6 Borba Turquoise Deco every 4th tile
Spa Exterior Wall - Chopped Leuders
Coping around pool and Spa - Oklahoma Flagstone 2" with a few moss boulders laid in
Pool Finish - Wet Edge Signature Matrix - Sage
Decking - 1,500 sqft - Rock Textured Stained Concrete with 3 deck drains

Anything else I should be thinking about? Is the single 3HP pump big enough for the pool, spa, bubbler and waterfall?
What part numbers do I need for the intellicenter to control everything? Pool, Spa, Lights, Waterfall, Slide, Deck Bubbler

Thank you and I believe our pool dig date is 2 weeks away. We marked it in our backyard

 

[kimkats]

LOVE your backyard and house!!!

You are very far ahead of the curve in finding TFP before you started the build. Here are my suggested changes:

-Light at the end of the shelf needs to be moved. It's light will shine right in the eyes of anyone sitting at that wonderful table. I would shift it to by the slide just past that step to get back on the shelf to go down that awesome slide again! This will really light up the water at the bottom of the slide.

-Skimmer ON the bench by the table HAS to be moved. Anyone sitting there can block the flow of water from going in. It can be shifted between the bench and rock.

-rocks on the edge of pool. Do NOT put them IN the water at all. They are VERY hard to keep clean and you will regret it down the road.............really I would do away with them all as I see them as trip hazards more than anything else. The idea is neat but the practical aspects not so much.

-spa placement-I do worry about it blocking the sight line into the pool from the deck and house. Here is something you can do ...............find something to make a 18" "wall" as that is the height I see listed on your plans. Sit in a chair where they are shown on the plans and go inside the house and see what that spa wall will do with your sight line.

-shelf- I see 10" is that water depth or shelf to the bottom of the coping or shelf to the top of the coping. Depending on the answer you might want to put a small step to help getting from the shelf to the coping.

-chlorine-So no SWG here is something you can do instead: Stenner liquid chlorine pump - How to choose and install There are MANY threads about this system. When you do a search make sure to click on the G button to get better search results.

Kim

 

[RoyH]

Wow! Thanks a ton Kim for all the great comments and constructive critique of the design. You have given me several ideas to think about and our dig date is two weeks away...
Still time for improvements.

we will relocate the light at the shelf. We just wanted several lights to really make the pool shine at night. We don’t want to blind anyone though.

We will move the skimmer. That is the west side, and I thought about moving one of the skimmers to the sun deck, since that would tend to be where the west wind will blow dirt and leaves. Thoughts?

We thought the stones looked cool in the coping, but I prefer practicality, so we will remove them.

The spa placement, I hadn’t really thought about the sight line. We have an 8yr old, so sight lines are important, not that we would let her swim alone anyway. We will give this some more thought. We had positioned it where it is to tuck it between some trees and not sure we have a great option to move it, but will give it some thought. Thanks!

the shelf is to the top of coping. I think it will be fine.

chlorine. Thanks for the link! I’ll investigate that. It looks like it is a $1,000 add to go with the SWG, just for future use, so I don’t think we will go that route. We are kind of maxed on what we comfortably wanted to spend already.

I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to really Review our plans. I really appreciate it.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You've probably already read this on TFP (or not) but here goes-

1)All chlorine pools become salt water pools over time. Each chemical added leaves behind residual salt as it breaks down.

2)A SWG pool doesn't use that much more salt to make the chlorine as a pool that used liquid chlorine after a year or two has. A SWG pool is usually about 2500ppm, whereas the ocean is 35,000ppm!

3)Salt pools tend to be preferred for folks with skin issues. Salt and Chlorine are prescribed at times for excema at far higher levels than pools have.

4)When people are bothered by pools it is almost universally when the Combined Chloramines have built up, or the pH is out of whack. Or both. Just because someone has a SWG pool doesn't mean their pool is clean and safe, if they're not testing and maintaining that pool.

5) A great majority of posters here who scoff at a SWG during the build later come back and say they're adding one. Hauling home jugs of liquid chlorine gets old. The cost of the device is about the same over time...you're just paying upfront for those magical jugs of chlorine instead of paying weekly at the market.

Just some thoughts....

Maddie

 

[RoyH]

Thanks for your thoughts. As mentioned, she has swam in many different Salt water pools and has had issues. I’m not sure of the science behind it, and maybe all those pools the chemistry was off.

For now we are going to go with a Chlorine pool. Again, I appreciate your thoughts.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Great looking design. The only thing I will point out is that flagstone has a tendency to flake off into your pool and not hold up as well as other materials for coping. Sealing may help, but that is additional maintenance.

 

[RoyH]

Thanks JJ. We like the natural look of the flagstone coping. We are going to use leuders for the spa wall to hopefully avoid the spa flow over from chipping away.

What would you suggest for coping that would still provide a natural look. I’m all open for ideas for less maintenance.

Also, I see you are in my area. What did you use for decking? We like the look of pavers, but I’m nervous with 1,500sqft if decking the pavers will become uneven with our soil conditions.

 

[JJ_Tex]

We used travertine pavers and so far no issues with settling. They topped the existing patio, then compacted paver base for the rest. You can take a peek at my build thread in my signature.

I'm not sure if I have any suggestions for the coping. My travertine would look too modern in your build, and you have a nice looking design that works well with your setting. I know others including Jim have experience with flagstone coping, so I'm hoping they will chime in with actual flagstone coping experience and potential alternatives.

 

[RoyH]

Very nice Pool JJ! I really like the look of your pavers. I will have to give this some more thought. Do you remember if the pavers were an upgrade over textured/stamped concrete?

 

[JJ_Tex]

Thanks. The travertine pavers were an upgrade over like a salt finish concrete. We didnt have any quotes for a true textured/stamped concrete, but I would imagine it would be similar in price.

 

[kimkats]

moving one of the skimmers to the sun deck

nope for the same reason I don't want that one on the bench-people blocking it. I would leave that one where it is. You can put a return up there and angle it so it helps clean the shelf. I would put it on the side closest to the slide so it can push the water/stuff towards that skimmer.

not sure we have a great option to move it

You can make it lower maybe???? You know your kid............is she one that might slip out to go swimming without you knowing? BUT now that you know my worry about it I bet it will not be a problem as you will be aware of the idea and make sure you look this way and that.

 

[RoyH]

Thanks for the feed back on the skimmer for the sun deck. I will leave it and ask for a return to be placed on the other side.

We wanted the 18" raised spa for additional seating on the deck, so we will probably leave it. I will look at possibly moving it a little.

 

[kimkats]

My main thinking is to make sure you have talked through and thought about everything dealing with the pool. It is going to be great!!!

 

[RoyH]

Pool was finally dug two weeks ago and then it rained the very next day. Awesome to see those guys dig Arcs (freeform) with a track hoe. They made quick work. 23 truckloads of clay came out.

 

[RoyH]

After the wait, the started the steel install. They should start/finish the plumbing and steel tomorrow and possibly get Shotcrete on a Friday or Monday. Hoping to get it shot prior to any additional rains.

 

[RoyH]

We decided to change the waterfall up where the slide is. We found some pictures from Aquatic Artists in NJ where theY mixed evergreen landscaping with rocks and slides and loved it.
Do you all see any issues going this route? We thought the smaller waterfalls and plants blended more with our backyard instead of a mountain of stone. We are using the SR Smith Typhoon slide which is 7’ tall. We are going to do a 8’ wide x 3’ tall waterfall on the right side of the Slide and a 6’ wide x2’ tall waterfall on the left side.

 

[RoyH]

Pool was finally dug two weeks ago and then it rained the very next day. Awesome to see those guys dig Arcs (freeform) with a track hoe. They made quick work. 23 truckloads of clay came out.

I’m not sure how to rotate the pictures?

 

[kimkats]

I am working on the pics with our IT guy.

LOVE what I see so far! LOVE the slide idea!!!

Kim

 

[RoyH]

Plumbing and steel finished today. Plumbers were here for 12hrs. Long hard day. Inspection tomorrow and hopefully Shotcrete Friday.

 

[RoyH]

I have a question? The linear pool drains. They did not connect the center pipe. Is that ok?