New Pool Build with Grotto/Slide/Waterfall- Temecula, Ca

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justinfrancisjudd

justinfrancisjudd

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Dec 24, 2014
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Temecula, Ca
Hey everyone we are proud to announce we will be building our first pool in our lovely home! A huge thanks to everyone on here as there has been an abundance of knowledge gained from this forum! I love watching everyones builds and we are proud to now share ours as it gets underway!

Please feel free to share any of you thoughts on the design and any words of wisdom you have to share as this gets going! A huge thanks to two labs for all the advice thus far! Our grotto waterfall expansion is influence by his design! Coincidentally and somewhat ironically I own two labs (a chocolate, and black)- they're ready for a pool. Pool inspired by our neighbors building and the fact its 90+ degrees here 2/3's of the year! We are planning on starting our dig here on January 13, 2015. We are using a Pool Builder for the project as my schedule is unpredictable and busy, for builder/price details send me a PM and I'm more then happy share privately until the pool is complete.


Lets start off with some pictures of the home and the pool concept! Equipment list etc below also!


Our home




It Even Snows here in SoCal now too!



The side we will be accessing the back yard from for construction! (So glad we have a corner lot! Way less yard to repair after all is said and done)



Our Existing back yard! We will be coming in right between the fire pit and Alumawood Patio! Existing waterfall will stay too! For landscaping we plan to keep as much of the existing for the design, we will be replacing the large trees with king palms!








Ok now the part you have all be waiting for!!!! The design and Concept! The waterfall will be larger to the right of the slide then it is in the concept and the patio should be all quartzite from the patio to the wall- keeping the existing concrete off the house which we plan to stain eventually or replace with pavers potentially(Phase 3 after pool construction and re landscaping). Will update the drawn out yard tomorrow!





Equipment and Design:45x25 IG Shotcrete (my understanding stronger then gunite) 3.5' to 8.5' deep- Lifetime structural warranty

PB is including all the below! They are knowledgeable, within our budget, and have a strong reputation from being around for quite a while. Pleas let me know you thoughts on all the below!

Engineered structural plans
City or County building permits
Underground services alert called prior to excavation
Access wall removal and reconstruction
Pool engineered for expansive soil conditions

UPGRADED 4 BAR BOND BEAM

UPGRADED HIGH FLOW POOL VERSAPLUMB SYSTEM

UPGRADED ENERGY STAR RATED FILTRATION PUMP

AUTOMATIC JANDY PREMIUM SLAT CHLORINATION SYSTEM (SWG)


Electrical:
Breakers at house included-
110 volt GFI protected light circuit with outlet
220 volt circuit for sub panel
Control system included
Bonding as per N.E.C. Code




Baja Shelf with jump in rock/umbrella holder (12x10)

All shotcrete Grotto/2 Waterfall/Slide

8' Spa with waterfall into pool

Retaining wall Right of existing waterfall refaced with stacked stone finish and Quartzite cap

2 Skimmers

Partial 12 head infloor cleaning system

One set of shallow-end access steps

Deep-end loveseat bench


Steel:
4 bar bond beam with 1/2 inch steel ; 3/8 inch rebar tied 12 inch on center each way
6 inch on center in transition slope by 20 feet length
4 inch on center in deep end coves
4 inch dobe blocks
Bond beam and wall steel schedules are beyond code for protection expansive soils 4 inch spacing for a thick floor


3" Piping for suctions and return

45 degree elbows

Separate dedicated lines for surface skimmer and bottom suction

Jandy Ball Valves

Spa Jets with adjustable eyeball fittings (spa only)

Dedicated pool cleaner line for use with suction or pressure sweep

Larger plumbing provides fast turnover for a cleaner, more energy efficient pool

Dual plumbing allows greater adjustment and cleaning control

Jandy never lubricate valves with Lifetime Warranty on Neverlube Seals

Hose bib at pad for draining pool

All circulation lines are under pressure test throughout construction

Auto fill line

2- Jandy Stealth Series VS pumps WARRANTY 3 YEAR PARTS AND LABOR

1- Jandy 3/4HP FLOPRO PUMP for 2nd water feature on grotto

Jandy C Series cartridge filter 580sqft


Whew!! Thats a lot! Share your thoughts and I have a few questions below that hopefully you guys can answer!

Peble Tec Finish

Anti-vortex main drain grate (DUAL)

AUTOMATION WITH IAQUALINK AND REMOTE

L.E.D COLOR LIGHT PACKAGE UPGRADE (3- pool 1-groto 1-spa Nicheless design by Zodiac Pool Systems)

POOL VACUUM

RAISED POOL WALL WITH STACK STONE FINISH

UPGRADED FLAGSTONE QUARTZITE COPING

Equipment turned on and start up chemicals added after fill up

Full month of chemical service

Timer set for filtrations cycle

All pool & spa waterline tile 6" pool tile (stone)

Telescoping pole, Brush, Leaf Skimmer

580 sq ft C series Cartridge Filter

Jandy 400000 btu heater
 
So here is a few questions I had:

1) Do I really need two pumps for my grotto / slide / 2 waterfall feature? -Right now a Jandy 2hp VS pump, and a 3/4 hp Jandy 2 speed Flo Pro pump.
-It will be about 8-10 foot wide a for the grotto (Outside edge to outside edge water will span 90% of that), the slide itself, and another 6-8 foot shotcrete rock waterfall to the other slide of the slide

2) Do I need two skimmers or is one enough(initially quoted 1)?

3) Is 8.5' Deep enough of a deep end for the jumping off the grotto(roughly 6 feet tall)?

4) How many suctions and returns should a Pool my size have? (45x25 ft 3.5 to 8.5 depth)

5) Overfill drains? Do I need one or are the patio drains sufficient should the water overfill with rain etc

6) Is a cartridge filter size sufficient or should i look at a different filter option?

Thanks everyone for the advice!
 
I noticed that your design doesn't have a secret cave...Two Labs must have given you the heads up that Glock will ask to come live there if you had built that in! Beautiful everything, and let's not talk good deals :) - Karen
 
justinfrancisjudd said:
So here is a few questions I had:

1) Do I really need two pumps for my grotto / slide / 2 waterfall feature? -Right now a Jandy 2hp VS pump, and a 3/4 hp Jandy 2 speed Flo Pro pump.
-It will be about 8-10 foot wide a for the grotto (Outside edge to outside edge water will span 90% of that), the slide itself, and another 6-8 foot shotcrete rock waterfall to the other slide of the slide

Seems reasonable to me.

2) Do I need two skimmers or is one enough(initially quoted 1)?
I would go with 2.

3) Is 8.5' Deep enough of a deep end for the jumping off the grotto(roughly 6 feet tall)?
Yes

4) How many suctions and returns should a Pool my size have? (45x25 ft 3.5 to 8.5 depth)
Don't know for sure. Bottom drain and two skimmers and probably 5 or 6 returns.

5) Overfill drains? Do I need one or are the patio drains sufficient should the water overfill with rain etc
Yes, definitely get the overflow, otherwise the water will overflow your skimmers and make a mess.

6) Is a cartridge filter size sufficient or should i look at a different filter option?
Yes, looks fine.

Thanks everyone for the advice!
Click to expand...

Let's see if the answers post ok.
 

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Forgot to answer your questions!

justinfrancisjudd said:
So here is a few questions I had:

1) Do I really need two pumps for my grotto / slide / 2 waterfall feature? -Right now a Jandy 2hp VS pump, and a 3/4 hp Jandy 2 speed Flo Pro pump.
-It will be about 8-10 foot wide a for the grotto (Outside edge to outside edge water will span 90% of that), the slide itself, and another 6-8 foot shotcrete rock waterfall to the other slide of the slide

I would say yes and go on your PB's recommendation here. It's always better to have too much water that you can dial down than not enough water going full blast. As I mentioned to you in private message, we have 2 3HP pumps to power our waterfall, and they are both going full blast (even though we have bypass valves plumbed in). Anything less and it just wouldn't look the best. As Ryno wisely once said, "Mo water....mo betta..."

2) Do I need two skimmers or is one enough(initially quoted 1)?
I would definitely go with 2. We don't have a ton of trees in our backyard but during the fall it would't take long for both of them to be overwhelmed. Put one at the far end of your prevailing wind (Divin Dave's suggestion I believe) to catch the majority of the stuff floating on top.

3) Is 8.5' Deep enough of a deep end for the jumping off the grotto(roughly 6 feet tall)?

I can't provide any real world advice yet because we haven't exactly tested ours out yet, just a little too chilly! For what its worth, ours is 8 ft so I'd think you will be fine.

4) How many suctions and returns should a Pool my size have? (45x25 ft 3.5 to 8.5 depth)
I'm still a newbie here so I can't say what it should have. Ours has 2 main drains, 2 skimmers, and 2 spa drains with 6 returns back into the main pool and 6 spa jets.

5) Overfill drains? Do I need one or are the patio drains sufficient should the water overfill with rain etc
Again, still new around here, but I'd say a definite yes on overflow drain. You dont' want the pool overflowing into flowerbeds causing a bed mess. My PB hid the overflow drain in the top of the skimmer and it empties discretely into the side yard. It's been getting a workout lately as we've had about 6 inches of rain the past 36 hrs.

6) Is a cartridge filter size sufficient or should i look at a different filter option?

We have a 525 sq ft cartridge filter and I only have 30 days of time with it, but from everything i've read on here it should be good for us. I'm sure others will have a more informed opinion.

Thanks everyone for the advice!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks everyone for the replies! Everyone has been spot on and my pb is actually on par with your replies for his recommendations!

Only thing right now is maybe just 1 skimmer, we want two if we can squeeze it into budget, or iil fork out the extra come installation time if they don't do it. But the yard doesn't get a lot of dirt blowing in and my trees that are existing will become palms so that should solve the issues there, especially with the 12 head infloor system and vacuum on top of that. Thoughts on if its a must for 2 skimmers?


We signed the contract officially yesterday! Even got the builder to agree to a 5% final payment not being payed until the final inspection is passed and i was able to break it down to seven smaller installments vs larger installments so that they will only be 50 Payed when the shotcrete is done to motivate the final steps of the build! Couldn't believe that! They must be Hungary for business this winter.


Changed up a few things, after doing more research the Jandy VS Epump 2.0hp has the same rated flow as the 3hp tri stars so we cut back to 2 pumps (one pool/spa and one for the wf) and decided to have just art rocks on the other side of the slide vs a small second waterfall since we already have the other in the yard thats staying! Plus we wanted more wall to jump off of and have more landscaping / a small patio up there like we have now. Everything else is a go! Dig should start the 13th, let hope theres no surprises under ground!


Oh and i said pebble tec finish, but my builder uses stonescapes mini pebble (same thing basically just not Pebble tec brand)


Ill post pictures as it all gets going! Considering our home is only 9 years old hopefully its all up to code! Also going to add a bbq pit which ill be doing myself throughout the build! Wish me luck on that!
 
I've owned three houses with pools now. One thing I'm amazed with is where the skimmers are located. In my current house the skimmer is on the opposite end of where all the surface debris collects during windy days and storms. So, regardless of pool pump operation during windy stormy days I get a large area of debris in one corner that I have to manually clean out.

I think the most important question therefore is where are you planning to put the skimmer(s). If it were up to me I'd put some kinda wind direction pieces in the yard and take note of the predominant wind direction during normal and stormy days. Is there an area in your yard where all the leaves collect after lots of wind? Questions like that will narrow down where the skimmer(s) need to be. If it is strategically placed you may be able to get away with just one, regardless I'd do some homework and place it/them in the best position to grab 90% of the prevailing wind and area where the debris collects. Just my thoughts.
 
Av8 said:
I've owned three houses with pools now. One thing I'm amazed with is where the skimmers are located. In my current house the skimmer is on the opposite end of where all the surface debris collects during windy days and storms. So, regardless of pool pump operation during windy stormy days I get a large area of debris in one corner that I have to manually clean out.

I think the most important question therefore is where are you planning to put the skimmer(s). If it were up to me I'd put some kinda wind direction pieces in the yard and take note of the predominant wind direction during normal and stormy days. Is there an area in your yard where all the leaves collect after lots of wind? Questions like that will narrow down where the skimmer(s) need to be. If it is strategically placed you may be able to get away with just one, regardless I'd do some homework and place it/them in the best position to grab 90% of the prevailing wind and area where the debris collects. Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...


Thanks AV8, my neighbor brought that up as his is in a worthless spot, his pool is still *****ing and stays pretty clean to with the infloor and the skimmers poor placement, ill be sure mine is in the far deep end for our normal west to east dominant wind.

- - - Updated - - -

Twolabs said:
Of course you can always just put in a Pool Skim. All it requires is one return. http://www.poolskimusa.com/
Click to expand...


Thats creative, guess i could always add that if the one isn't doing enough, fingers crossed they decide to do two vs one because of the sq footage, i should have been more adamant about two and made sure it was in the contract.
 
Fun times! Another pool build to follow WITH pics!! THANKS!

I do not see a test kit listed. Need to get on that so you will have something to play with while you watch your pool get built!

I love how you did the payments! That sounds like a great plan!

Kim
 
Fun times! Another pool build to follow WITH pics!! THANKS!

I do not see a test kit listed. Need to get on that so you will have something to play with while you watch your pool get built!

I love how you did the payments! That sounds like a great plan!

Kim
Click to expand...

Definitely need to get a kit, I get a month of service with the pb, but after that... Whats the recommended kit? I know a lot of people here are doing their own and I plan to as well after the month of service.
 
One skimmer is fine without a lot of trees/leaves/debris. As others say, it becomes much more important to be downwind during the spring and fall. Wind blows here either north or south, usually 15mph one way one day and 15mph the other way the next day! We have one on each side. Works amazingly well. I am always amazed at how many leaves I pull out of the skimmers on each side during the fall.
 

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