It’s really happening!

[penelopej]

(Updated with current specs)

Hi Everyone! We just signed a contract for a pool! outside of Sacramento, CA. I'm learning so much here as everyone is so helpful and knowledgeable!

Here are some pictures of the space and design. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

28.5 x 14.5
83 perimeter feet
354 sq. ft
~11,000 gallons
depth 4.5 to 6 or 3.5 to 6 - we are undecided!

7x9 "cabo ledge"
24" wall with 2 - 24" sheer falls
Pebble Plus interior finish
Cantilevered concrete coping

1 skimmer
4 returns
2 LED nitch-less lights
Autofill

Jandy E pump - 1.5 hp
Jandy CV filter - 460
Aqualink w/ Purelink and PDA-4
Fusion Soft (but don't use the cartridge?)
Polaris TR36P

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum. Where in California? Eureka or Redding? Climate can matter.

Consider dropping the UV/ozone magic. Get a Saltwater Chlorine Generator. You will be glad you did. Be sure it is rated for 2x your pool volume. Also look at the intellicenter instead of the Easytouch.

 

[penelopej]

Welcome to the forum. Where in California? Eureka or Redding? Climate can matter.

Consider dropping the UV/ozone magic. Get a Saltwater Chlorine Generator. You will be glad you did. Be sure it is rated for 2x your pool volume. Also look at the intellicenter instead of the Easytouch.

Ooh, Eureka would be great! but more Redding weather. Hot and hot and more hot.

 

[penelopej]

We’re so worried about making a mistake. Any suggestions would be wonderful.
Thanks!

 

[JRo]

We did 4-5-6 depths still in construction. I do have a 5 year old but do not see 3’5 being functional for long. I could be wrong but we’ll see.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Absolutely agree with JRo above! You can't even swim a lap once you hit that 3'5 end- you scrape your knuckles.

Maddie

 

[Newdude]

Penelope, ive said this many times but ill repeat it in case you havent come across any of them. 3.5 ft is uncomfortable. Its too deeep to sit and too shallow to bob around half seated. So you end up kneeling. Its uncomfortable enough on my vinyl after a few minutes. I can only imagine how uncomfortable it would be on the harder plaster finishes. (Ive heard there are softer finishes available, but any of the older plaster pools ive been in were hard/rough as cement). So you cant really lounge and thats the main reason so many people go with bigger shallow ends so more people can lounge at one time. The swimmers have difficulty making strokes as well.

After posting this last time it dawned on me a while later that the majority of AG pools are 4 -4.5ft and have been since ever. Somebody figured out the sweet spot ages ago and they have always been that way. They figured if people couldnt truely swim, they bettr be able to comfotably lounge and bob around. No idea why IGs were set standard to 3.5ft. But somebody screwed up.

Many people with little kids want them to be able to stand sooner, but i always point out the 15 years after that that the kids will want more water.

All this being said, you cant go wrong. I'm sad about my 3.5ft, but not one person has ever complained. They say things like 'OMG its disgusting out today, bless you for having us over to swim.'

Good luck with the build. Its an adventure but worth every speedbump 100 times over. Post any questions and plenty of people who are either experts, or been in your shoes already will offer their thoughts.

 

[Rich D]

Is there a steep drop off on the other side of your fence? If you are built on a hill you need be extra careful that the pool excavation goes down to undisturbed material so the pool will not sit on any fill. Could you post some pics that show the house?
That is a very tight build so you Will need to figure out the exact hight you want your pool coping so all the slopes in the patio will work. Once you have it figured be sure that that elevation is stated in the contract with whatever tolerance the PB is comfortable with (hopefully it will be close to +/- 1/4 ")

 

[penelopej]

Thanks everyone for responding! I really appreciate the help.
We are changing the contract to a 4' shallow end.
Rich - We are at the top of a slope and have been told about needing to get past fill. It's not quite as steep as it looks in the image. We are a bit of a guinea pig as we are the first on this particular street to build a pool. Since we are at in the foothills, it isn't known if our lot was cut or filled or a bit of both. Our contract currently includes a site visit from an engineer. One builder we talked to thought it might need to be built with a free standing wall on one side. The current builder doesn't think we are close enough to the edge to merit that but we will have to see what the engineer says. Part of my excitement is that I didn't think we could put one in at all! We have a covered patio built into the house and the coping/decking is to match that height. The designer put in the concrete breaks with plantings or rocks as the drainage around the pool since I don't really like channel drains.

 

[penelopej]

First, they dug a hole.
And then we waited, and it rained, and we waited, and it rained some more.
4 months later the engineers finished! They dug the hole deeper and added 11 piers from 12 to 16 feet deep. There’s 2 loads of concrete in that dirt!
They gave us ALL the rebar and some plumbing.
On to gunite. Our shelf is a hunk of gunite 4 feet thick!
Some tile and here we are.
Decking should start next week and I ordered test kits today.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

wow. that is one reinforced pool shell! Thanks for the pics and update.

Maddie