New pool build *Avondale/Litchfield Park, AZ* Presidential Pools

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Re: Ongoing process for new pool *Avondale/Litchfield Park, AZ* Presidential Pools

Plumbing is done, Steel on Tues, then Electrical Wed (crossing fingers)
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Ongoing process for new pool *Avondale/Litchfield Park, AZ* Presidential Pools

Can you get a different angle on the equipment pad? What's the little pipe the comes off the return line from the filter?

Is the IC40 going to be set vertically on the main return line from the filter (before the black 3-way valve)?


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All that blue-capped stuff is your in-floor system (multi-port valve and external skimmer basket...though I always thought those were located near the pool...dunno, I'm not an in-floor fanboy).

Definitely tell them to leave that hose bib (spigot) in place! They typically install them temporarily for initial water pressure testing but they are so useful to have if you want to do a slow drain on your pool.

That first vertical run after the filter is where you can put an IC40. Make sure they install it so there's a good run length of straight PVC BEFORE THE IC40. The Pentair install manual calls out for 12" to 18" of straight pipe before the cell to make sure the internal flow meter doesn't get a false LOW FLOW from water turbulence that can be caused by an elbow joint.

Otherwise, looks cool. Make sure they paint all your pipes to match your house color. And get a good label maker and mark all the flow directions (so that when you're not there, the misses can figure it out too).

Still wondering what the 1" pipe is for?? Sheer descent water feature? I don't like their choice of using a ball valve there though because they're not very good and fail too easily. Maybe 1" BVs are ok, but the larger ones stink.

Disclaimer - everything above is my two cents worth if opinion. Ignore any of it you don't agree with.


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As for the slow drain you have a cartridge filter so there's no backwashing to be done. So the problem is this - if you ever needed to drain water off your pool, how would you do it?

On my pool, I have a DE filter and that very same hose bib. So I have the option of a fast drain (backwashing the filter @ ~ 80-100gal/min) or a slow drain (~ 6gal/min through the hose bib). I have used both quite often.

So just tell the plumber to leave it as-is. Do keep in mind though that it is made of plastic so it is not as robust as a metal (brass) spigot so it will be the first suspect if you should ever develop a pressure-side leak.

I do think that 1" line is your sheer waterfall. Too bad they plumbed it with a ball valve instead of a Jandy shutoff valve. You can not automate a ball valve easily. They saved you a few bucks on a shutoff but you'd have to redo the PVC there if you ever wanted to add a Jandy valve with automation.


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Hey, when they install the light niches, make sure they do it right and use the rubber grommet and sealing nut on the wiring (power and bonding wires) so that the PVC conduit housing the electrical wiring remains water-tight.

I've seen installations where the guys doing the wire runs and pulling forget to put the nut and rubber grommet on first before pulling all the wire and then they're like, "oh $&@@& we forgot to put the sealing nut on it....oh well, who cares, just leave it cuz the noob will never know what he's looking at anyway."

You can look up "pool light niches" on Google to see what I'm talking about.


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Some other thoughts popped into my head -

1. When they do rebar, make sure they bend back any end points of the steel so that they are pointed away from the plaster surface. If they won't bend them, then at least ensure ends of the rebar will be several inches away from the plaster surface. Rebar near the surface can sometimes lead to metal staining.

2. Double check all electrical bonding. Make sure the rebar is properly connected to any rails and the pump. Anything metal and electrical needs to be tied together for good grounding.


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Ideally, the rebar should set to where it is in dead center of the gunite once its shot. Metal staining is less important than the main problem of doing this wrong (weakening the gunite/shotcrete shell). The rebar has to be positioned correctly to give the shell its tensile strength.

Bonding is something to definitely double check before inspection. Also check where your nearest electrical outlet on the house is. Code requires one at most twenty feet away, I believe. GFCI protection is required. Six feet away from the water's edge is the absolute minimum. If the outlet on the house is any closer, pull it out, and put up a blank cover plate, at least until final inspection. The idea here is to not have one so far away that someone is using an extension cord around the pool, and not so close that the radio or whatever can get kicked in the water.

Do some more reading on your in-floor cleaners. I am not too crazy about them, and would not have them in my pool, but i understand their benefits. Make sure they are plumbed to where you do not have a serious problem if one of them breaks. I am not entirely sure on how to mitigate the risk here, but someone posted something about this topic somewhere on here. Search on it before the gunite is shot.

Measure the height the light niche is set below the bond beam. NEC requires it to be 18'' below the bond beam. This is to avoid someone's chest organs from being flush against the light if they are hanging on the ledge, and are somehow shocked.
 
minimonster17 said:
Do some more reading on your in-floor cleaners. I am not too crazy about them, and would not have them in my pool, but i understand their benefits. Make sure they are plumbed to where you do not have a serious problem if one of them breaks. I am not entirely sure on how to mitigate the risk here, but someone posted something about this topic somewhere on here.

This is to avoid someone's chest organs from being flush against the light if they are hanging on the ledge, and are somehow shocked.
Click to expand...

The posts you cite for in-floors is that some folks recommend that you have in-floors and wall returns plumbed and valved on completely separate loops so that if the in-floors go haywire, you can always isolate them and just use standard wall returns (kind of like having skimmers and main drains separate). It adds to the plumbing complexity and cost to do that and the in-floor fanboys argue that it is totally unnecessary.

The in-floor conversations always get heated because people seem to have a bi-polar response to in-floors - you either love them or you hate them and there's no middle ground in between. Kind of funny (and sad) to watch a thread devolve into a shouting match between the two camps.

As for the lighting niche position, it's to avoid getting burned more than getting electrocuted. A standard 500W halogen pool light can get extremely HOT right at the lens surface and you can easily get burned by it. LEDs make that situation much less likely as they are much lower power and voltage for roughly similar lumens.


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cwescapexlt4x4 said:
Thanks for the feedback, the steel was done today and waiting for me at home (they arrived as I was leaving at 5:15am for work).
I have heard both camps on in-floor and skimmers and hope we have a set up that works well.
Click to expand...

Your setup looks AWESOME to me so far!!!

Careful inspecting the rebar! It can be sharp, pointed and just screaming for a tetanus shot!! Plus, rebar guys are not know for their work site cleanliness ;)


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The blue ball valve is an aerator line. Probably never used much.

In AZ (home of the infloor system) we put a lot of them in. No freeze thaw, very few issues.
Unfortunately (the Pres) decided they didnt like paying for the tried and true systems so he made his own.
Not the best of quality, not sure what kind of warranty comes with those.
Pres does other little things to cut $$. Like a 10" bond beam. Saves some shotcrete, but also makes it easier to put a single 12" coping on, smart............Maybe?
All looks good and normal from my view. Just make sure the bars under your drain are continuous and not cut, cant see it in the pics.
Not sure on Avondale/Litchfield inspections as I have never built out there, but if those windows near the front of the house on the side where the pool equipment is are bedrooms, you could have an Egress issue. Not sure how they deal with that there, but 30" is usually the min.
 

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