New Build - MA

[NewPoolDad]

Hi,

We signed our contract months ago but have had site issues(ledge and proximity to wetlands) that have kept us from starting the project. It looks like we'll be able to have the shell done this Fall and will finish up with plaster/pebble and equipment hookup in the Spring. The idea is to blow out part of the foundation and replace the current walk-out door with a triple slider. There's a bathroom already roughed out nearby as you enter the basement. I'll have to build new retaining walls given the crazy grades I have but it will be worth it.

 

[kimkats]

Hi and welcome!!! Thanks for letting us help spent your money build your pool!

LOVE the design! Good, open swim lane and good placement of seating. I do worry a bit about the spa and patio placement.............will you be able to see over the spa into the pool from the far patio?

What are your depths?

Is the dirt and such where you have already started work on the door and pool site?

LOL LOVE the doggy with the toy! What is the dog's name and what is their toy?

Kim

 

[Rich D]

Nice looking design. I would be a little concerned about proper frost protection on your foundation beside the chimney. Have you checked the depth of the bottom of footing in that area?

 

[NewPoolDad]

Hi and welcome!!! Thanks for letting us help spent your money build your pool!

LOVE the design! Good, open swim lane and good placement of seating. I do worry a bit about the spa and patio placement.............will you be able to see over the spa into the pool from the far patio?

What are your depths?

Is the dirt and such where you have already started work on the door and pool site?

LOL LOVE the doggy with the toy! What is the dog's name and what is their toy?

Kim

Thanks for welcoming me! My pool consultant was very helpful in the design. He pushed for the open swim lane and for having the steps/bench on the opposite side of where most of the chairs/loungers would be so that people sitting on the steps/bench can see and talk to the people on the patio.

The spa is level with the pool so seeing over it from any point in the pool area shouldn't be a problem. My attachment is the 1st version of what I'm thinking of the landscaping layout but I'm already re-thinking it.

Initially I was thinking a 3.5'-8.5' pool but I ended up going 3'-8'. Going 3'-8' allowed me to eliminate the 4th step and increase more usable area in the shallow end.

Yes the dirt I removed from the the retaining walls is still on-site. I'm a licensed GC and actually purchased a 4.5 ton excavator to do much of the site work myself. It's a good thing because I purposely pre-dug the pool to investigate whether I had ledge where the pool is going and sure enough, it was there. I ended up having it hammered out a little beyond the area and depths where the pool is going. I've sinced back-filled it and evened out the pool area to roughly 1'-2' below finish grade.

That's my dog Luna. She's an English White Lab. The toy itself is just a stuffed animal. She's still a bit of a pup at 2 years old but great with the kids.

Any advice about the current layout? I'm pretty happy with the pool design itself but I'm open to suggestions on cabana and equipment placement. Thanks!

 

[NewPoolDad]

Nice looking design. I would be a little concerned about proper frost protection on your foundation beside the chimney. Have you checked the depth of the bottom of footing in that area?

You're looking at the top of the footing roughly 8" below the bottom of the current door. The footing itself is likely 12" thick. I'm not too worried about frost due to it sitting almost directly on ledge. The original owners had to blast in order to get the foundation in back in 1986. When we bought it 6 years ago, we renovated it and we've never had an issue of moisture or cracked concrete in the basement.

You've got a great looking pool. Who did you end up using?

 

[kimkats]

3.5'-8.5' pool

You might want to go back to this depth profile as 3' is too shallow to do a full crawl stroke. At 3' your knuckles will scrape the bottom of the pool. 3' will also increase the sloop down to that wonderful 8.5' depth. I know it adds back a step but it makes the shallow end swimable. Hold a tape measure up to you and see where 3' hits you. It is not very deep at all.

I LOVE the shape of your steps but think about this.............leave the top two like they are for seating and such but cut the last two so they are "hugging" the bench and not going all the way around the top two. Can you "see" what I mean? That way you can go 3.5 and still keep the play area of the shallow end.

Now for you and the kids-Watermelon ball! The best pool game out there!! Check it out!

Kim

 

[NewPoolDad]

You might want to go back to this depth profile as 3' is too shallow to do a full crawl stroke. At 3' your knuckles will scrape the bottom of the pool. 3' will also increase the sloop down to that wonderful 8.5' depth. I know it adds back a step but it makes the shallow end swimable. Hold a tape measure up to you and see where 3' hits you. It is not very deep at all.

I LOVE the shape of your steps but think about this.............leave the top two like they are for seating and such but cut the last two so they are "hugging" the bench and not going all the way around the top two. Can you "see" what I mean? That way you can go 3.5 and still keep the play area of the shallow end.

Now for you and the kids-Watermelon ball! The best pool game out there!! Check it out!

Kim

That's a good suggestion. I'll talk to my pool guy and weigh it all out. Never heard of watermelon ball but will check it out.

 

[Rich D]

You're looking at the top of the footing

That's kind of what I was thinking. They probably dropped it down just for that pass door. Do you know if there's a perimeter drain? Might be a good opportunity to put a good solid outfall pipe in for it and run it to an outfall along with any drainage you're putting in around the pool. Sometimes a lot of groundwater can be running right along the top of that ledge. Did you hit any water when you were hammering for the pool?

 

[NewPoolDad]

That's kind of what I was thinking. They probably dropped it down just for that pass door. Do you know if there's a perimeter drain? Might be a good opportunity to put a good solid outfall pipe in for it and run it to an outfall along with any drainage you're putting in around the pool. Sometimes a lot of groundwater can be running right along the top of that ledge. Did you hit any water when you were hammering for the pool?

I don't know if there's a perimeter drain but I do know that all my gutters drain out and away from the house. I never hit water while digging and I got down pretty deep in places(12'-13' below finish grade in different parts of my side yard. You can see from the civil engineer's plan just how much the land slopes away from my house.

 

[NewPoolDad]

I'm actually happy in a way because I plan on using some of the exposed ledge as my retaining wall. I'll have to have about 12' of engineered wall coming off the foundation to the left of the door(and about 30' off the chimney) but I'll have it return into the side of the hill to the right of the exposed ledge. I need to scrape some more dirt away and pressure wash it but there's no hurry on that.