New member in southern Alabama, decisions decisions

[Auburn02]

Hey all, been reading for a bit and figured I'd introduce myself here. We're in southern Alabama and looking to install a gunite pool w/saltwater generator. We live on a corner lot with a semi-detached garage off of the side street making an "L" shape structure. The result is a nice private area boxed in by the house and garage, where previous owners had turned into a courtyard. I spent the last couple of weeks with a tractor removing 30 years worth of overgrown and unmaintained bushes and ivy and a rotted picket fence, and now have a blank slate (currently a mud pit!) to work with. So it will either be a pool or a brand new patio space at least! There are also 3 live oak trees in the impacted area. If we go pool, they will come down. I'll be sad about that, but we have 10 other oaks on the property so I won't lose all the character.

Trying to decide now on overall size to fit within the budget. The family is just myself, my wife and a 6 year old daughter. How do you suggest settling on a size, other than budget? I don't want anything too big that's underutilized, but don't want to feel crowded when we have some friends and neighbors over either. A couple of quotes we've gotten so far have been for a 350 sq ft freeform pool, and another was a 16 x 32 freeform pool. So I don't know how directly those compare, being that 16 x 32 is 512 sq ft, but obviously if it's free form and not rectangular the math doesn't exactly work out that way depending on shape of the pool and how much square footage is lost in the corners. Maybe the 350 sq ft pool would actually be about 16 x 32 at it's widest and longest points?

I feel like my next biggest decision is the decking surface - should it be, or am I skipping some other major factor? Obviously color/tile/etc needs to be decided on, but I feel like that's not something I need to have before we get quotes whereas the decking definitely factors in. In any case, we have an old uneven paver patio now which I plan to pull up and redo to match the pool decking, but not sure of the pros/cons of putting back pavers vs. concrete. It seems more and more that people are going with pavers these days at least from what I've seen, but I have to be honest I do not understand why? Maybe someone can clue me in on what I'm missing.

So far the PB we like best uses all Pentair products, anything I should watch out for there?

Hopefully I can start a build thread soon, but wanted to make a first post and see what kind of direction others might point me in on those initial questions.

Thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! In short, purchasing the right pool for you is like shopping for the right wallet/purse. Tons of selections and everyone has their own preference. For the size/shape of the pool, we followed a couple basic criteria:
1 - How many people (don't forget friends & family) will use the pool. You'll be surprised how many new friends you get.
2 - What is the purpose of your pool? Sports/games, lap swimming, diving, lounging). Those will help you get a basic design/size.

After that, it' all about equipment - type of chlorination, type/size of filter, water accessories (i.e. waterfall or stub-out), lights, etc. I would recommend that once you get some ideas flowing, start a new thread in our construction sub-forum. That's a great place to solicit input and post your questions. Good luck!

 

[Newdude]

So you got the size measurements right. Freeform pools are measured by their maxinmum length and width but lose sq footage and gallons depending on how big the curves are. We wanted maximum swimming ability so we did a rectangle. Others want the backyard resort oasis vibe and go with the freeforms/kidneys.

You are also right to figure out the decking with your initial budget. Most patios can easily be half or more as expensive as the pool itself. This is a huge part of the overall budget. The decking surface basically comes down to taste. We priced stamped concrete and flagstone and they were alost identical. We liked the look of both but figured the stones would hold up better over time. The concrete guy said cracks were basically inevitable at some point.

I am a biased Petair guy but i'd always recommend using the equiptment your builder is most comfortable with. As a newbie you will never know the difference as long as its one of the 'Big 3' brands. When the time comes to replace any of it you will be one of the millions of happy users that swear by it.