New build - Southwest Florida

[floridapoolfan]

Exciting times, finally signed a contract after a lot of fun and stress! Thanks to all of the suggestions on this website I feel like we did the best we could with our budget. Thank you to everyone!

 

[Jimrahbe]

fpf,

I knew you were from Florida when I saw the size of the filter.. I have no idea why, but Florida pool builders always use the smallest possible filter they can...

I'm sure it will work just fine.. Nice layout..

Good luck with your stress er, I mean the fun of a pool build.. Make sure you post plenty of pics..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Okay, you didn't ask my opinion.....but that's never stopped me from giving it anyway... If it were *my* pool, I'd back that spa up a bit to remove the jutting corners into the large rectangle shaped pool. To me those are head bangers or small areas that may get poor circulation.

I do like how the baha shelf is positioned so as to be smack in the middle, yet not intrude on the swim space.

Just my two cents....

Maddie

 

[floridapoolfan]

Thanks for the input. We were afraid it would be tight with the screen enclosure right on top of the hot tub. Maybe we could split the difference as right now we have 2 feet behind it.

 

[kimkats]

I want to see more of that tile! Where will you be putting the multi sized one? Where will you be putting the 1x1? They are going to have to have some major skills AND pride in their work to get that neat tile just right in the corners and where it meets up with the next set of tile. IF they can't have a "clean" run aka no need to cut or remove any tile from the pattern then maybe they can use the 1x1 tiles in the corners so they don't have to work too hard on the multi sized tile sets.

Kim

 

[YippeeSkippy]

My kitchen backsplash is entirely those small copper ones.... I love it!! Very rich looking, shimmering.

 

[Fuldo]

In general I love your design!

A few of thoughts/considerations:

1) The walkway on the left end of the pool is very narrow. With the coping and cage wall thickness considered you'll only have a path of about 18 inches wide. I think you'll find it will feel tight just for passage and any maintenance such as brushing, manual vacuuming or cage cleaning would be difficult. If it were my pool I'd shift it 1-2 feet to the right to improve that space.
2) It appears you have two three foot wide doors on the cage. This could work but having one wider door would be helpful for moving furniture and such in and out of the enclosure for hurricanes and such.
3) The IC40 should do the job but based on the surface area of your pool I'd consider going with an IC60. You'd be able to run it less and it should last considerably longer.
4) PH will almost certainly rise rather quickly considering everything including all your active water. Keeping TA low should help to minimize PH adjustments but you may want to consider an automatic acid dispenser.
5) You may want a railing by the stairs in the future. You should consider at least having bonded mounts for a railing for future use, adding them later properly bonded can be a nightmare.

 

[floridapoolfan]

I want to see more of that tile! Where will you be putting the multi sized one? Where will you be putting the 1x1? They are going to have to have some major skills AND pride in their work to get that neat tile just right in the corners and where it meets up with the next set of tile. IF they can't have a "clean" run aka no need to cut or remove any tile from the pattern then maybe they can use the 1x1 tiles in the corners so they don't have to work too hard on the multi sized tile sets.

Kim

Thank you. Kim, we really went out of our comfort zone but it matches the outside of the house perfectly and is just different than anything we have seen color wise. In the sunlight it really pops. The multi sized tiles will be on the outside of the raised spa, the pool waterline and on top of the table in the pool. The 1x1’s will be used for the tiered portion of the hot tub.

 

[floridapoolfan]

In general I love your design!

A few of thoughts/considerations:

1) The walkway on the left end of the pool is very narrow. With the coping and cage wall thickness considered you'll only have a path of about 18 inches wide. I think you'll find it will feel tight just for passage and any maintenance such as brushing, manual vacuuming or cage cleaning would be difficult. If it were my pool I'd shift it 1-2 feet to the right to improve that space.
2) It appears you have two three foot wide doors on the cage. This could work but having one wider door would be helpful for moving furniture and such in and out of the enclosure for hurricanes and such.
3) The IC40 should do the job but based on the surface area of your pool I'd consider going with an IC60. You'd be able to run it less and it should last considerably longer.
4) PH will almost certainly rise rather quickly considering everything including all your active water. Keeping TA low should help to minimize PH adjustments but you may want to consider an automatic acid dispenser.
5) You may want a railing by the stairs in the future. You should consider at least having bonded mounts for a railing for future use, adding them later properly bonded can be a nightmare.

Great observations, thanks! A change order is $700 so I’ll let this thread simmer for a few days and make all the necessary changes at once. Love this forum.

 

[kimkats]

So for the table I would see how many of the tiles can fit without having to cut or such. THEN do around it with the 1x1. OH Here is another idea...............put one in the middle and one on each corner of the table then fill in with the 1x1. That will really make the specialness of that tile pop out!

 

[floridapoolfan]

So for the table I would see how many of the tiles can fit without having to cut or such. THEN do around it with the 1x1. OH Here is another idea...............put one in the middle and one on each corner of the table then fill in with the 1x1. That will really make the specialness of that tile pop out!

Great ideas Kim. We like the idea of doing the 1x1 ‘s on the side also!

 

[floridapoolfan]

Another thing we decided on was to not do any mosaic on the benches or steps, bad idea? We like the clean look but is this something out of the norm?

 

[Rwmiller80]

We didn’t add any tile on our steps or benches either to keep the clean look. Of course, we arent done yet so I can’t confirm it is good in the long term. ?

 

[kimkats]

It up to you. I would do it as I think it is pretty and it can be a "safety" thing in that it helps show where the edges are. With TFP water that should not be an issue so...............

Kim

 

[floridapoolfan]

We currently have a 3 HP XFVSF Pump in the contract. With the 8 foot wide tiered spillway and 13 inch raise, will we be able to achieve a waterfall affect or is this going to be like a grandpa trickle? The only other water features we have are 2 bubblers in a 10 inch deep sun shelf. The pool has 4 returns.

 

[kimkats]

Calling @Jimrahbe to see what he thinks.

 

[Jimrahbe]

fpf,

The reason you have the XF pump is because it will take a lot of flow to make an 8 ft. wide spillway give you the waterfall affect. I am not a flow expert, but I 'm pretty sure that pump with larger 3" plumbing will be able to move enough water.. The real question is do you know the downside to water features and waterfalls?

The fun lasts about 10 minutes and then the noise will drive you back into the house.. If you run them very long it will drive your pH though the roof, especially if you have a SWCG. And, you will have to run your pump at near full speed..

The good thing is you are getting a great VS pump and once you have used the pool a while you will be glad to have it look like your grandpa's trickle..

I suspect that @JamesW or @mas985 will have a much better input on your pump's ability..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[floridapoolfan]

fpf,

The reason you have the XF pump is because it will take a lot of flow to make an 8 ft. wide spillway give you the waterfall affect. I am not a flow expert, but I 'm pretty sure that pump with larger 3" plumbing will be able to move enough water.. The real question is do you know the downside to water features and waterfalls?

The fun lasts about 10 minutes and then the noise will drive you back into the house.. If you run them very long it will drive your pH though the roof, especially if you have a SWCG. And, you will have to run your pump at near full speed..

The good thing is you are getting a great VS pump and once you have used the pool a while you will be glad to have it look like your grandpa's trickle..

I suspect that @JamesW or @mas985 will have a much better input on your pump's ability..

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks for the awesome reply Jim! The plumbing is 2 inch for the entire pool as far as I know. I feel better knowing I have the capability to make the waterfall pretty substantial during a get together if I wanted to and then tone it down to a trickle for the other 99% of the time. After reading this site I definitely understand the affects the water features have on PH but still would like the ability to have some fun when there is company for a short time. I look forward to some additional replies from @JamesW and @mas985, have a great weekend!

 

[Jimrahbe]

fpf,

I was under the impression that the XF had 3" lines...

I'll double check..

https://www.poolsupplyunlimited.com/Pentair022055IntelliFloXFVariableSpeedPump/154404p1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIos7q1rnw5QIVRvbjBx0ccgmpEAQYASABEgLnKPD_BwE

Does not make any sense to me to have an XF pump and not use bigger pipes????? The XF is for 2.5 or 3" plumbing..

Jim R.

 

[JamesW]

The XF will take 2.5" pipe on the inside or a 3" coupling to the outside of the union.

You will need to make sure that all suction plumbing is big enough. Depending on the number of lines, you should probably use 2.5” or 3” plumbing.

You should go to a 420 square foot filter. You might want to use a spring check valve to bypass the heat pump and the SWG cell.

Make sure that the various return lines are valved so that you can control the flow to each feature.

Make sure that the plumbing to each feature is sufficient to provide the necessary flow without exceeding a water velocity of 8 feet per second. All suction lines should be sized to keep the water velocity below 6 feet per second.