New Pool Construction bid, north DFW - Feedback appreciated

[nrhone]

Just found this site. We have had 4 different bids and we feel like the below bid/company is who we like best and want to go with. But after reading lots of posts would like feedback from experienced pool owners. We would be first time pool owners and want to make sure we are careful, especially with prices jumping up in the past year. Here is our bid. Lots of opinions on IFCS (which is what we have below). But they are not pushing that, they just offered and it sounded like an easier way to clean with less things in the pool to deal with. They also use Jandy exclusively. I think biggest question for equipment for us is the pump and filter, any thoughts? And the size of the pool is a little concerning for us. We think it might be a little to small but our budget is already at the top. The gallon size seems small compared to our perimeter (compared to other posts we have read here).

Any feedback is appreciated.

Pool/Spa Specifications:
85’ Perimeter / 28’ Perimeter
3’6”–6’/3’6”
29’ Length x 14’ Width / 11’ Length x 5’6” Width
11,500 Gallons / 600 Gallons
400SF/40SF

Grade 60 – 1/2” Steel on 10” Center
Steel & Gunite Surrounds on Skimmers and Drains
Concrete Supports

Plumbing:
2 A&A Manufacturing Venturi QuickSkim Ultra Deep Skimmers
Schedule 40 PVC Throughout Project
3” Pool Suction
No 90 Degree PVC Fittings; All Sweep bends, Heat Bends or 45 Degree Fittings
3 A&A AVSC Pebble Top Drain With Hydrostatic Relief Valve
Hose Bib Fill Line
2” Pool Overflow

Equipment:
(2) Main Circulation Pump: Jandy “E-pump”, Including Parts & Labor
(1) Jandy High-flow Commercial Grade “Water Polishing” Cartridge Filter
(1) Jandy iAqualink, Internet Based Control System (Jandy RS – PS4)
(1) Jandy Pro Series 400k BTU JXi Natural Gas Heater
(1) Jandy 1.5 HP 240V Spa Blower
(2) Jandy 12w LED Lights in Pool, (1) Jandy 12w LED Light in Spa
(1) In-Line Chlorinator
(2) A&A Venturi Skimmers
(1) A&A QuikCirc Circulation System
(1) LED Bubblers

Other:
200’ Main Electric Supply By Licensed Electrician – Pool/Spa
$6/sf Ceramic/ Porcelain Tile Allowance – Waterline & Spa Spillway (120’)
Basecrete Waterproofing on Spillway & Drop Beam
3cm Diamond Blade Cut Travertine Coping – Eased Edge or Bullnose (105’)
300 Sq Ft. of New Poured Concrete
300 Sq Ft of New Koolcote Overlay
315 Sq Ft of Existing Koolcote Overlay
4” Solid Drain Pipe as Necessary
3/16” Steel on 24” Centers
(1) 10’ x 5’ x 3’6” Grotto (Multiple Stone Options)
(1) Stonework Covering Back Wall
(1) Stonework with Spa Spillover

 

[HermanTX]

Welcome fellow Texan. It is a great forum with many contributors to help with construction or maintenance solutions.

Your design looks great.
You have 2 pumps which indicates one will be used for the water features and the other for filtration.

There is no model number for the Jandy filter but get a large cartridge filter as that increases the time between cleanings.

The Jandy RS automation system works fine (I have it) but you may want to ensure it is sufficient to handle all your needs. They have proposed a RS-4 for Pool & Spa (PS) but they also offer a RS-6, RS-8, etc. based on how many things you need to control. It is best to meet with the PB to walk through that now, such as do you want to control each light independently or as a group, do want to have your water feature control to operate in either Pool Mode or Spa mode., do you want to automate how you control your bubbler, etc.

Suggest that you have 2 skimmers and have each independently run back to the equipment pad and controlled by a valve. This helps you fine tune the skimming efficiency.

There are many factors on IFCS and several contributors have it. The one item that is recommended is that the system should be able to be isolated if there is an issue and the other is that one of the zones should be wall returns i.e. just do not have only floor pop up returns.

The inline Chlorinator is just a dispenser for chlorine pucks which is not recommended for long term use. Have you considered a saltwater pool using a Saltwater Chlorine Generator (SWCG)? That is a preferred option and Jandy makes a AquaPure 1400 which is sized for 2x your pool volume.

Suggest you enlarge your equipment pad to space out the equipment for easy maintenance and have a light over it.

The manual fill line is fine, just ensure they do not forget to do it (several construction threads have highlighted that it is easily overlooked by the PB because of his workload or poor communication to his subcontractors).

Do you have a water softener? If so, you want to check if the fill line will be using softened water or not. You can handle either but good to know now so you can consider some options.

Good Luck.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

If the budget is getting tight my advice is to dump that $$$ in-floor cleaner and get a robot instead. Not only is the robot cheaper, it often does a far better job and can be run independently of the pump with a fraction of electricity.

About half the folks here with those in-floor systems are disappointed in them.

Maddie

 

[nrhone]

Welcome fellow Texan. It is a great forum with many contributors to help with construction or maintenance solutions.

Your design looks great.
You have 2 pumps which indicates one will be used for the water features and the other for filtration.

There is no model number for the Jandy filter but get a large cartridge filter as that increases the time between cleanings.

The Jandy RS automation system works fine (I have it) but you may want to ensure it is sufficient to handle all your needs. They have proposed a RS-4 for Pool & Spa (PS) but they also offer a RS-6, RS-8, etc. based on how many things you need to control. It is best to meet with the PB to walk through that now, such as do you want to control each light independently or as a group, do want to have your water feature control to operate in either Pool Mode or Spa mode., do you want to automate how you control your bubbler, etc.

Suggest that you have 2 skimmers and have each independently run back to the equipment pad and controlled by a valve. This helps you fine tune the skimming efficiency.

There are many factors on IFCS and several contributors have it. The one item that is recommended is that the system should be able to be isolated if there is an issue and the other is that one of the zones should be wall returns i.e. just do not have only floor pop up returns.

The inline Chlorinator is just a dispenser for chlorine pucks which is not recommended for long term use. Have you considered a saltwater pool using a Saltwater Chlorine Generator (SWCG)? That is a preferred option and Jandy makes a AquaPure 1400 which is sized for 2x your pool volume.

Suggest you enlarge your equipment pad to space out the equipment for easy maintenance and have a light over it.

The manual fill line is fine, just ensure they do not forget to do it (several construction threads have highlighted that it is easily overlooked by the PB because of his workload or poor communication to his subcontractors).

Do you have a water softener? If so, you want to check if the fill line will be using softened water or not. You can handle either but good to know now so you can consider some options.

Good Luck.

Thanks Herman for all the great things to ask my PB. So many things to think about, really glad I found this forum.

 

[joel98z]

Interesting note on the autofill, my PB said cities in our area are pushing back and sometimes not approving autofill anymore on pools because they can cover up leaks and waste water. Which can be a precious resource here in north TX