New Build in Lake Nona, FL

[jblizzle]

Back to pool pondering after a break for vacation...

For the valve question... we currently have 6 valves and 5 actuators - set up as a cascade of valves feeding valves.

On the suction side we have:

1. skimmer and drain (or both).
2. drain or cleaner (or both - this is currently manual).

On the return side we have:

1. Main return
2. Sunshelf returns
3. Therapy jets
4. Water feature 1: bubbler
5. Water feature 2: waterfall

Done with a cascade of 4 valves/actuators.

I'm still a bit perplexed as to original design intent here, though I kind of see how it works. Perhaps it will become clearer when it's done and I try to see which combos of things I can program on/off and which I cannot.

I think you will eventually come to realize that many of the automated valves will never need to be automatically controlled. For example on the suction side, normally you set the valve to the mix of skimmer vs. floor you want ... and then it never gets moved, unless you are doing something specific and are thus there to manually move it.

Do you have a remote that you are going to use to change what water features are on? I suppose that could be useful, but again, no need for them to automatically change each day. If you want a different one, you are already out there and can just walk over and move the valve.

Typically the automatic valves are need for automatically switching to a Spa mode every day for a little while for filtration, or automatically switching on solar when the panels are hot. Personally, I just do not see the need for water features, etc to be on automation if I am already going to be out by the pool and can change them myself.

Sure there is the "cool" factor of being able to push a button and change things, but it is not really a necessity.

I am also not sure how an automation setup would work simply on cascading pipes. Seems like for some features it may need to move multiple valves.

Just my 2 cents ...

 

[davelinde]

I think you will eventually come to realize that many of the automated valves will never need to be automatically controlled ...
Sure there is the "cool" factor of being able to push a button and change things, but it is not really a necessity.

I am also not sure how an automation setup would work simply on cascading pipes. Seems like for some features it may need to move multiple valves.

Just my 2 cents ...

I hear ya.
When it was plumbed DW and the contractor had a chat that sounded very much like that! (I had to check your town because his name is Jason too). They eventually concluded that we would pay a few hundred more for the water feature "cool" factor (yes the controller has a network interface and we expect to control it from a PC or Android phone) They determined the rest was OK - and for sure no reason to get an 8 position controller when the 4 could do 5 with an option. Where it's gotten confusing is with the electrician (ironically ALSO a Jason) who does not quite seem "OK" with the plumbers design (not helped of course by having the wrong optional part).

As I said before, once I see this wired up and use it I'm sure I'll know if it's OK... I guess at this point (parts bought, valves installed) it's too late to change so we will see how it goes. The good news is that I can see it is quite simple to move an actuator between valves so the choice of which valves are manual vs automated is not set in stone.

I was assuming that any complexities of the cascading would be simplified by the automation? I guess I'll know better on that once it's working too.

 

[jblizzle]

The good news is that I can see it is quite simple to move an actuator between valves so the choice of which valves are manual vs automated is not set in stone.

YES. Didn't you mention a possible solar (or maybe I am confused with someone else). Anyway, once you get hands on, you will better understand how you may want to move the actuators to different valves as needs change.

 

[davelinde]

Didn't you mention a possible solar (or maybe I am confused with someone else).

No that's us adding solar, not sure when - but it's in the plans.

 

[davelinde]

Didn't you mention a possible solar (or maybe I am confused with someone else).

No that's us adding solar, not sure when - but it's in the plans.

So this morning without notice the Jandy rep and our electrician showed up. We had to upgrade a daughterboard to "unlock" the additional control ports AND add a pigtailed adapter to access the ports. The board actually has a dedicated location for a solar valve but for now that can be used for a regular valve control - when we do add solar we will need another pigtail to free up the solar control we "borrowed".

Interesting... the Jandy rep swapped out parts and gave us a part but no one mentioned a cost (yet)...

 

[davelinde]

ugh... just failed our pool alarm inspection. DW researched the spec and bought alarms that comply with the specs but the inspector said we can only use alarms that are on the list from the county. DW is pretty miffed because she called the county multiple times about a list of alarms and no one knew - so she just got alarms that met the spec. Oh yes, these are also no good because they are held on by adhesive tape... we need to use epoxy instead. I armed the non-compliant alarms this morning and they were accidentally set off 3 times already... whatever we use to get through inspection is probably coming off since they make the door and windows essentially useless and annoying. Sadly we are throwing out $70 of non-compliant stuff and just ordered $250 worth of new junk.

(to be clear... apparently UL2017 is NOT applicable for Orange County FL... the widget has gotta be "on the list" )

 

[davelinde]

yeah! just passed final electrical inspection, so things are moving along again.
Plaster next week. Hopefully new pool alarms (conforming this time) arrive soon and we can get our enclosure OK'd.
The finish line is in sight!!! soon water (and an end to the county inspections...)

 

[davelinde]

Pool finishing today!

[attachment=17imsa2q]plaster.jpg[/attachment7imsa2q]

[attachment=07imsa2q]finish.jpg[/attachment7imsa2q]

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Can't wait to see it with water!

 

[davelinde]

For anyone following the build who doesn't know how this all goes... (it was a learning experience for us). Here's what they did today. Crew arrived at 7:30am and carried bags of mix to the pool. All the openings were taped off and the main drains were set. I had been curious about that because the drains were buried in the gunnite. They just chipped it out and moved the plug from the drainline to the bottom of the drain bowl.

The material is mixed in 55 gallon drums and spread like a stucco job. After the first rough coat a thin coat is applied and smoothed. The trowel work took a couple hours. Finally (just now) they went back with a brush and hose to expose the aggregate in mix. They were able to wash down the pool and pump the water from the drains to keep it from filling. They decided to leave it for now and come back tomorrow to fill it with water. I think the walls get another wash then too.

Here's a picture during the process of exposing the stone. This product is called StoneScapes (another brand of PebbleTec), also comes with a "lifetime" warranty.

[attachment=0:34bmj37e]pebble.jpg[/attachment:34bmj37e]

 

[davelinde]

we are moving along again! Finish grading underway... irrigation install tomorrow, water in pool tomorrow.
Landscaping should begin this week too.
I still need to learn how to program the iAqualink, re-install the pool alarms, and schedule plumbing final and building final inspections.

[attachment=0:3mqol1ek]grade.jpg[/attachment:3mqol1ek]

 

[davelinde]

Can't wait to see it with water!

Me too! I thought the plaster guy was coming back today "first thing" to start filling it... but no sign of him yet. Just as well... the guys installing my irrigation just managed to trench through my city water line AND the power to my well so we are without water from any source at the moment.

I had warned them about the power lines to the well but I guess they forgot I thought the city water main was much deeper though and we were both surprised a shallow trench got that. Ain't nothin' ever easy.

 

[davelinde]

Acid wash now. That is some nasty stuff!

[attachment=0:2cxrh2sg]acid.jpg[/attachment:2cxrh2sg]

 

[davelinde]

WATER!!!

[attachment=0:6g9jbtjm]water.jpg[/attachment:6g9jbtjm]

Our meter read at just about 63000 when this started 2 hours ago...

 

[davelinde]

7,000 gallons later and.... Finally!!!
[attachment=0:2eqm8sul]swim.jpg[/attachment:2eqm8sul]

being our own GC has been quite a learning experience... but we seem to have done it. We still need to get conforming pool alarms and then get our final inspections done. Sod today, landscape soon... and I'm still learning how to set up the automation.

 

[Sciz Milson]

Very nice pictorial and great descriptions. Wish I was jumping in mine right now but still a little cool in the Atlanta area (and not really finished with the pool yet either). I enjoyed keeping up with your progress.
Congratulations on your new pool!

Best,

Sciz

 

[Crazyjames]

Looks cool! who did you use for the build and pavers? would you recommend them? How do you like the stonescapes?

 

[davelinde]

I would recommend all (but one) of my subs and a few of them I would highly recommend. When I get a chance I'll post a link to all their info.
I have two friends in the construction trades locally and between them they got me references and leads on everything we needed.

The paver guy is a personal friend, his company is Sonrise Pavers in Lake Nona and I would highly recommend him. He is already doing work for two neighbors who saw what he did for me. My paver guy did the coping and tile work too btw - all top notch.

The licensed pool builder is Freestyle Pools in St Cloud. They did our engineering, permits, layout, dig, steel, gunite, and rough grade as well as gave us general advice. I was very pleased with everything they did and found them to be a good value and flexible. By the time we got to them we had a good idea of what we wanted and handed them a sketch. They suggested a few minor mods to our design and their suggestions were excellent. They were pretty much the low bid for every part of the pool, though we chose to go with some higher cost subs who were recommended to us. We used the Freestyle bids on other stuff as leverage with the subs we picked.

I have not seen other finishes up close (this is our first pool) so my opinion is not well informed. However at a first look, I am very happy with the StoneScapes, it came out looking EXACTLY like my wife wanted and appears to be an attractive finish product. After seeing it applied I am sure that installation can make a HUGE difference here - the plaster guy was Solara Pools in Lake Nona, he also did a great job.

PM me if anyone wants names/numbers/reach info on my subs.

 

[davelinde]

Some sod, trees, shrubs... it is starting to come together!

[attachment=0:1vv2dyte]landscape.jpg[/attachment:1vv2dyte]

 

[davelinde]

We are almost done with the final details on this build... Landscaping completed yesterday and today we got rain to help it grow!

We passed our barrier/alarm inspection and then requested a "final" inspection. However that could not be scheduled because there is a re-inspection fee we owed because we failed the alarm inspection on the first try, and they won't schedule "final" until all fees are paid. On top of that the inspector was looking for the plans for the screen enclosure prior to final so that can be inspected... and the screen contractor never gave us a set. DW stopped arguing and paid the re-inspection fee... hopefully plans for the screen enclosure should arrive today.

DW is also trying to figure out what's up with the flood plain paperwork that required some extra fees and a survey - apparently no one does anything with that paperwork beyond charge a fee and require us to pay a surveyor for filling out a form.

After we are done with inspections I'll need to figure out how to get some lighting on the waterfall and run a gas line for a grill. We are getting quotes to add solar. I need to get a cat-5 line run out to my iAqualink RS-8 to speed up access... wireless was fast and easy and I have a good signal there... but it's still slow. I also need to take an hour or two and set up the automation and timers on the RS-8. After 45 minutes on the phone with Jandy I think I know how to do that now.