New build on the horizon

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bexmajer

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Jul 15, 2017
11
East Texas
Hi everyone,

We will be building our first pool soon and are having trouble deciding on a pool finish. We would like a smooth finish, at least as smooth as traditional plaster if not smoother, with a more consistent look than the regular and mini pebble finishes (we also are not fans of either texture).

Magic Sheen Hydro Glass was strongly recommended to us by a local pool supply distributor because of its smooth texture, aesthetic, and strong customer service. I can find very little online about this product and was wondering if anyone has information/feedback.

Other finishes we are considering:
- Traditional plaster
- Quartz (e.g., Diamond Brite)
- Polished marble (e.g., Durazzo)
- aquaBRIGHT thermo-polymer (we are 3 hours from nearest installer and still trying to find one who will travel to our area)

Thanks!
Rebecca
 
What about a vinyl pool? They have great designs and all sorts of sizes. It has a very nice smooth feel.

I struck out researching the magic sheen hydro glass finish. Could that be a generic name? I'm leary of their 'strong customer service' if you can't find much (or anything) on the web.

Aquabrite sounds like it would give you what you want, but the distance is a big problem.

Traditional plaster might be your best bet. Your water maintenance is the best key for making it last longer.
 
Thanks so much for the feedback!

Turns out Hydro Glass is a newer product made by Premix-Marbletite (manufacturer of the Marquis Magic line of products). We decided not to go with Hydro Glass since there's not much out there about it.

We considered vinyl as well but ultimately decided to go with traditional plaster.

Here's our current pool "wishlist":
- 22’ x 60’ rectangle (final size TBD once we have estimate; minimum 20' x 50')
- Traditional plaster
- 22’ x 10’ tanning ledge across width of pool
- Depth: tanning ledge 12”, shallow end 3.5’ vs. 4’, deep end 15’
- Salt water chlorine generator
- Heater (heat pump vs. gas vs. solar TBD)
- LED lights
- Automatic cover
- Deck: rectangle 10' all sides; tumbled travertine vs. brushed concrete
- Inter-Fab Adrenaline slide
- Inter-Fab T7 Diving System with waterfall and LED lights

Any feedback/suggestions appreciated!

QUESTION:
Regarding automatic covers: Coverstar is what is available through our local pool distributor. Our PB has used this same distributor for over 30 years because according to him they stand behind their products, and his recommendation would be to purchase through them. However, Cover Pools now offers an automatic cover with stainless steel cables instead of rope, which we understand can be a big maintenance issue. The nearest Cover Pools installer is 3 hours away and is not someone our PB is familiar with; our PB is concerned that he may not be able to help us if there are any warranty/service issues. Anyone with experience with covers from either company?

Thanks!
 
I'll give you my thoughts on your autocover questions. Even more so than with other pool aspects, being comfortable with the installation and maintenance capabilities of the autocover installer is a very important factor. Our PB also had a long relationship and very high opinion of our Coverstar installer for this area. I feel they did a very good job on the install. And they addressed a few minor alignment issues quickly and at no cost the first year. After that, I've had them out once to replace what turned out to be a pulley gone bad. They are expensive for maintenance but a) who isn't and b) they fixed it right the first time with no hassle.

Regarding using SS cables, here's my take. The ropes have been around a long time and are probably Gen 2 or 3 ropes at this point. And Coverstar upgraded their ropes (proprietary ropes) a few years back. New features are always subject to the potential for not being the next greatest thing. I'd prefer to have them in the market for a few years before I had them installed. Our ropes are 4 years old and no issues to date. We are not really heavy users of our cover though. I probably only open/close my cover 50-70 times per year. Spring and Fall mostly and occasionally in season like now where the temps have dropped. The Wi-Fi switch went bad after two years or so, which I self-diagnosed and replaced with a regular switch and key locked box. 60' would be getting long for an autocover (seems to me) though our distributor could give you their thoughts. I'd absolutely call them and have a nice conversation to get to know them and your situation. Ask them about the competition's SS option just to get the feedback. Obviously biased but you never know what you may hear from an employee.

We went with tinted plaster. Plain plaster tinted using one bag of Diamond Brite Onyx per batch. You can see more details about the cover and plaster in our build thread (link in signature).
 
Wow this is going to be some pool! I will be watching this build. I LOVE the 15' deep end I wish we had enough funds for a 60' pool I would have gone that deep as well. Are you going for a gradual slope or a sheer drop? I think with that size I would go sheer drop and a diving well. Diving board?

FYI: I come up with 80k gallons.
 
Using the Pentair Pool Volume Calculator, for a 22x60 pool, depth 4 to 15', I get 94,050 gallons. With a 3.5 shallow end I get 91,575. Either way, that's a ginormous pool!

Wait, I see there is a tanning ledge, whitch I didn't account for. That will reduce it some. Yep, looks like it'd be around 80,000 gallons...
 
That ledge may cut into the swim area too much! [emoji6]
 

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You stated a SWCG in the equipment list. If the pool volume is truly 80000 gallons, or more, what is the plan for that? Are you going to use a commercial pool unit?

Get some information on that. It will be a big mistake to undersize your SWCG and have to add liquid chlorine continuously during the summer.

Take care.
 
We will likely go with a sheer drop to 15'. Current plans include an Inter-fab diving board (T7 Diving System with waterfall and LED lights at end of board).

Question:
-Thoughts on 3.5' vs. 4' shallow end? We have young kids, but realize they will not be young forever.

Thanks!

- - - Updated - - -

We need to discuss specifics of SWCG with PB, but thanks to TFP, we realize that we need to oversize.
 
QUESTION re: heat pump with chiller

We will have a heater (TBD heat pump vs gas vs solar) and are wondering whether we should consider a heat pump with chiller.

I couldn't find much online about HP+C's but did come across an article stating that chillers are unnecessary for pools over 8' deep. We are planning for a 15' deep end but will also have a large 12" deep tanning ledge (unsure if this will have much impact on overall water temperature) and an automatic cover. We are in Texas.

Thoughts?
 
bexmajer said:
QUESTION re: heat pump with chiller

We will have a heater (TBD heat pump vs gas vs solar) and are wondering whether we should consider a heat pump with chiller.

I couldn't find much online about HP+C's but did come across an article stating that chillers are unnecessary for pools over 8' deep. We are planning for a 15' deep end but will also have a large 12" deep tanning ledge (unsure if this will have much impact on overall water temperature) and an automatic cover. We are in Texas.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Heat pumps are good for maintaining, gas is good for increasing temperature quickly. If you want to swim in the colder months, gas as well. Really heat pumps are good for one thing only; saving money (running costs). Texas summers you probably don't need anything. So you are looking for an off-season heating solution. If you plan on keeping the pool open 12 months, I think gas for sure. Solar I think is about the same as a heat pump.
 
Thanks for the info on the various types of heaters!

We are leaning towards a fence instead of automatic cover, which would make a chiller unnecessary.

Sounds like a gas heater may be our best option. Will need to have gas either run to house (semi-rural area so not 100% sure available) or consider buried tank; we would like gas for appliances/fireplace/generator anyway.
 
To me the 3.5 foot shallow end feel more natural. I guess from growing up with pools that had 3.5 foot shallow ends in my younger days. It's really what your family thinks will work the best.
I can tell you that here in the south the sun's ray will heat up the water on your tanning ledge. Now mine is only 9 inches deep because the way the steps worked out but in the mid-day sun you can feel the warmer water coming off the ledge into the shallow end. It has two bubbler's pushing the water off the ledge. Then again, my deep end is only 6 foot. I'm even planning on putting up a sail to shade that end of the pool but all the rain this year has so far made it a moot point. In three years so far have never had 84 degree water in August until this year. Just some info that might help you.
 

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