New Build in Houston Area

[Carlos22]

In this pic look where the to corners come together. See that blank spot where there is not tiles? With the skills I see on the table I am sure they fixed it but would love to see how.

Overlap-It almost looks like some of the top tiles stick out a bit. It might just be the pictures though.

That table is SPOT ON!!! They nailed that!

Let me tell you, I looked for that spot for over 30 minutes. I couldn’t for the life of me find it. I kept looking at the picture and looking for the exact same spot. Well, I looked at the time of when I took the picture at it was on Wednesday evening and I realized that today is Friday. They were last here all day on Thursday. So when I went to look again, I found the area and the picture I took below shows what they did.

Let me tell you, I looked for that spot for over 30 minutes. I couldn’t for the life of me find it. I kept looking at the picture and looking for the exact same spot. Well, I looked at the time of when I took the picture at it was on Wednesday evening and I realized that today is Friday. They were last here all day on Thursday. So when I went to look again, I found the area and the picture I took below shows what they did.

The top tiles don’t stick out. It is probably the reflection from the sun/camera. They are all in place and lined up correctly. It was amazing watching these guys do the detail work. They took their time and seemed to enjoy their work.

 

[Carlos22]

I know some people have had valid points about the table, but my first thought at reading your specs a couple minutes ago was MARGARITA TABLE?!?!?! I NEED ONE!

Now my situation of an AGP doesn't allow it, but I have a little DIY PVC table that hangs over the side that I very frequently eat snacks off of. Sometimes dinner, don't judge. But I am 100% on board with your table and look forward to hearing how it works out in the future. I am also adding this to my never knew I needed list.

My wife loves the margarita table. She and her girlfriends will have a field day with that table. It is much larger than I thought it would be. You can easily sit least six people around it. She envisions them having, you guessed it, margarita’s along with other fruity drinks out there on hot days. She also bought waterproof playing cards. I will be interested in seeing what other activities might arise from that table. At the very least, it will be a nice cooling off area out of the sun as we will be placing an umbrella through the middle for those hot Texas days.

 

[kimkats]

They were last here all day on Thursday. So when I went to look again, I found the area and the picture I took below shows what they did.

Ahhh so they worked on that area after you took the first pic.

The top tiles don’t stick out.

I did not think it would but had to make sure for down the road

It was amazing watching these guys do the detail work. They took their time and seemed to enjoy their work.

You got one of the GREAT crews! It is so nice to see people who care about their work and take pride in the finished job!

 

[Bvacchiano]

As one Houstonian to another GET an SWG!! I can’t emphasize enough. I’d rather take a chainsaw to my arm than not have an SWG down here. You can read all the threads on this site that explain why. Plain and simple unless you want to make your pool your second full time job as dictated by dumping liquid chlorine in your pool everyday get the SWG (again once u read the ABC’s on this site u will understand why).
Lastly I’d highly recommend looking into a Chiller down here unless u like swimming in a giant bathtub from July-October.

Thx

 

[Carlos22]

As one Houstonian to another GET an SWG!! I can’t emphasize enough. I’d rather take a chainsaw to my arm than not have an SWG down here. You can read all the threads on this site that explain why. Plain and simple unless you want to make your pool your second full time job as dictated by dumping liquid chlorine in your pool everyday get the SWG (again once u read the ABC’s on this site u will understand why).
Lastly I’d highly recommend looking into a Chiller down here unless u like swimming in a giant bathtub from July-October.

Thx

I considered the SWG, however I’m going with the chlorine picks due to allergy issues within my family. I’m retired sports I guess I’ll be coming out of retirement.

I have considered a chiller. The 9-12 degree difference which takes 10-12 hours to achieve may not with it. I don’t know. However, I will assess its need during the summer. I have room built into my equipment pad in case I decide to put one in later.

 

[kimkats]

I’m going with the chlorine picks due to allergy issues within my family.

What allergy issues is this? I will tell you the pucks have chlorine in them as well as other stuff such as CYA to help bind the chlorine so it will form a puck. If you do use the pucks know you will have to drain and replace water to lower the accumulated CYA as that is the only way to lower it. You will also need to have quick access to liquid chlorine just in case you need to raise your FC fast due to something getting into the pool.

It is up to you how you add FC to your pool. We want to you know the effects of using this or that so you can be ready and have the clearest water possible.

 

[Carlos22]

What allergy issues is this? I will tell you the pucks have chlorine in them as well as other stuff such as CYA to help bind the chlorine so it will form a puck. If you do use the pucks know you will have to drain and replace water to lower the accumulated CYA as that is the only way to lower it. You will also need to have quick access to liquid chlorine just in case you need to raise your FC fast due to something getting into the pool.

It is up to you how you add FC to your pool. We want to you know the effects of using this or that so you can be ready and have the clearest water possible.

My daughter is allergic to salt. It breaks out her skin.

I’m not sure about here in Texas, but I had a pool in Southern California and it was not SWG and we never had any issues with water not being clean or not clear. I’ll do whatever possible to keep our pool clear, clean and swimmable. I’m willing to learn and pool school here is a great place for knowledge.

 

[kimkats]

My daughter is allergic to salt. It breaks out her skin.

Well that is a new one for me so I will learn with/from you!

A chlorine pool DOES have salt in it from the chlorine. I am hopeful she did not have a problem with that one.

Get a good test kit so you can keep track of the levels in your pool. Look here for the ones we like and use Test Kits Compared

Can your daughter go in the ocean? Can she eat salt? What about chips and such? (I LOVE to learn so ask a LOT of questions. Just tell me to shhhhhhhhh if you want!

 

[Carlos22]

Well that is a new one for me so I will learn with/from you!

A chlorine pool DOES have salt in it from the chlorine. I am hopeful she did not have a problem with that one.

Get a good test kit so you can keep track of the levels in your pool. Look here for the ones we like and use Test Kits Compared

Can your daughter go in the ocean? Can she eat salt? What about chips and such? (I LOVE to learn so ask a LOT of questions. Just tell me to shhhhhhhhh if you want!

She gets very bad eczema when she’s been in the ocean. We lived in SoCal so we went to the beach. That’s how we found out after going to the beach and she’d have these patches of dry skin around her body. We cook with little to no salt. Chlorine pools seem to not have that impact on her. She doesn’t eat salty chips, pretzels or crackers.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Carlos and belated Welcome !!!

Living next to the ocean I can attest to the many days that we have high bacteria alerts from storm runoff. There are times it's a nuisance and times that the beaches are closed altogether.

On top of that, many places with access to swim are a close distance down current from boating and shipping ports spewing all kinds of oils and gas on the surface.

So then let's also look at the fact that a 'salt pool' is less than half of the salt content of people. We are between 7k and 9k ppm salt and a salt pool is 3.5k. The ocean by comparison is 35k ppm and harsh even for people with no aversion. It leaves a dusty powder as it dries on our skin, leeching moisture from our skin, drying *us* out once we are dry. (The irony, huh ?) It also makes us real thirsty for a few hours whether or not we accidentally took any mouthfuls.

I had 3 friends over the years that would only swim at my house because they didn't have excema flair ups that they did at chlorine pools or the beach. I would suggest finding a friend with a sanitary salt pool and giving it a try. Your daughter will likely prefer it. The only caveat is finding a properly sanitized pool to TFP standards. Many 'other pools' will cause their own issues.

P.S. that is one mondo BEAUTY of a pool you have going on. Keep us posted and we'll be honored to help !!!!

 

[Carlos22]

Well, I have not been sharing for a bit because we’ve had quite a few delays. First it was the roof extension. The roof was not made to the specific design of the engineer, and as a result failed the city’s inspection. Then the retaining wall of the patio deck needed to be redone but we had to wait for more cinder blocks to be made. So now we are working on figuring out the configuration of the steps leading from the patio deck to the pool deck. Well, the roof is looking good and the pavers are starting to look better. They aren’t finished, but the workers are quite diligently getting the work done. These pictures show the roof and upper patio deck, and the pool decking on the lower level.

 

[kimkats]

LOVE how the roof turned out! Love how it follows the shape of the patio! Booooooo on them not following the directions but yah on it being fixed!

That tiling does look good! Well done!

 

[HermanTX]

Well, I have not been sharing for a bit because we’ve had quite a few delays. First it was the roof extension. The roof was not made to the specific design of the engineer, and as a result failed the city’s inspection. Then the retaining wall of the patio deck needed to be redone but we had to wait for more cinder blocks to be made. So now we are working on figuring out the configuration of the steps leading from the patio deck to the pool deck. Well, the roof is looking good and the pavers are starting to look better. They aren’t finished, but the workers are quite diligently getting the work done. These pictures show the roof and upper patio deck, and the pool decking on the lower level.

Any progress is good progress. I like your patio design.

 

[mktee]

Your pool looks great so far. I ended up installing a fence to hide the pool equipment and it was the best thing I did. It looks better and cuts down on the noise of the pump(s). With the margarita table nearby it may be something to consider. Either way it will turn out beautifully.

 

[Carlos22]

LOVE how the roof turned out! Love how it follows the shape of the patio! Booooooo on them not following the directions but yah on it being fixed!

That tiling does look good! Well done!

The following of the patio is what caused the problem, but I am happy they did it because it does look nice to me too. Those pavers were a lot of work. Those guys were out there daily in the 100 degree heat wheeling sand, dirt,n

Your pool looks great so far. I ended up installing a fence to hide the pool equipment and it was the best thing I did. It looks better and cuts down on the noise of the pump(s). With the margarita table nearby it may be something to consider. Either way it will turn out beautifully.

Absolutely! They will be covering all of the equipment so that won’t be seen. That’s always been in the plan.

 

[kimkats]

They will be covering all of the equipment so that won’t be seen.

Talk to me some more on this. Make sure there is PLENTY of room to move around while working on the equipment as well as it being well vented for water and heat escape.

 

[Carlos22]

Talk to me some more on this. Make sure there is PLENTY of room to move around while working on the equipment as well as it being well vented for water and heat escape.

Here’s a picture of what it will look like. There will be a mesh covering on top plus an opening on the one side that should provide adequate ventilation.

 

[kimkats]

Okay! That looks and sound just right! You are free to continue LOL

 

[Carlos22]

Okay! That looks and sound just right! You are free to continue LOL

I appreciate you giving me the go ahead!

 

[Carlos22]

Hello Folks,

I have had a new development. My daughter was swimming in a salt water pool for the last two weeks at a neighbor’s house. She did not have an allergic reaction. So based upon this, I am thinking of putting in a salt water generator. However, as much as I have read here about the benefits of a SWG. There are articles and sites all over that discuss the negatives of SWG’s. These are consistent articles and websites of an SWG’s impact on one’s pool area. I have read that there could be savings from buying chlorine and maintenance can be easier. However, I understand the costs between the SWG and chlorination actually can even out over tim I would like to ask a few questions.

First, what size salt water generator should I get?

Secondly, I have mostly Jandy products. Is there one SWG I should consider more than another?

Next, I am really, really concerned about the impact of the salt on my concrete pavers. How can I preserve them with having salt on them from people walking on the deck? Also, my pool equipment is a concern as well. I am concerned about my pool equipment being compromised as well.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.