New Pool in MA coming Soon

[mpkelley20]

I've been lurking here for a few weeks as I plan my pool build. It's been overwhelming to say the least. Learning about concrete vs. steel vs. polymer vs. permacrete taught me some valuable lessons. The biggest one being that the best method I should use is the method that the specific pool builder I am talking to uses.. really...everyone says their's is the best. LOL!!

Anyway, I am pretty sure I am going with the following (sorry this is probably more high level/lack of details than others post)

** The brands of stuff listed below are based on the builder's choice of product (I'm sure I have options if I want to go differnet route)

Steel 20'X40" Oasis design made by Cardinal Pools
10' bench built into one of the sides
Filter and pump will be Pentair
Natural gas heater by pentair
colored light by Pentair
Diving board
4' concrete around the pool plus an additional 10' at one end for patio


I had a bunch of other things priced out such as saline generator but I opted to hold off on that for now.

I was hoping I could get a couple of quick opinions on a few things.

1. I have a ground water issue and the builder said he will deal with it as best as he can. One options is a blind drain line. I don't know much about these but do they work well? What are some other things I should consider?

2. Pool liner - Oh my....too many choices. The liner quoted in the price will be 28/20 Dura wall liner. My question is on what shade is best (don't laugh!!). I've been reading that the darker liners are better for naturally heating th epool more than lighter shades. Is picking a shade really just a personal prefernece or is there any real benefits to selecting a lighter or darket color?

3. time of year to install - we are winding down the warm weather here in MA and I'm trying to figure out if I rush the guy to install soon or take my time and get it done by the fall (and close it without using) or wait until the spring. I;ve heard that installing late in the season might be better as a lot of installers aren't as busy so I might get better work done becauase they are not rushed. Looking for some thoughts.

I will post up pics whenever this gets started. Still dealing with final specs and options and actually haven't singned the contract yet but I have picked my installer after a long search.

Her is a pic of the specs of the pool I believe I will be doing. Comments are welcome (pros and cons). Still time to change my mind on just about evetrything!!

 

[arvven]

Welcome to tfp! Congratulations on your pool!

I am very new myself, my pool is still under construction. I must admit some of what you are asking, I don't really know much about, but from what I have researched, here's a few things I can speak about:

3. time of year to install - we are winding down the warm weather here in MA and I'm trying to figure out if I rush the guy to install soon or take my time and get it done by the fall (and close it without using) or wait until the spring. I;ve heard that installing late in the season might be better as a lot of installers aren't as busy so I might get better work done becauase they are not rushed. Looking for some thoughts.

Based on your option for the pool heater, I think you could install the pool late summer/fall and use the heater to enjoy for a few weeks. But waiting until the spring is only a few more months, so there are benefits either way.

2. Pool liner - Oh my....too many choices. The liner quoted in the price will be 28/20 Dura wall liner. My question is on what shade is best (don't laugh!!). I've been reading that the darker liners are better for naturally heating th epool more than lighter shades. Is picking a shade really just a personal prefernece or is there any real benefits to selecting a lighter or darket color?

I wanted a darker color myself, more of a natural look, but I didn't I chose a medium shade. My main decision was probably opposite of yours. I have a pool in Texas with no shade anywhere nearby, so I didn't want my water to get too warm..lol!

Welcome again, and I look forward to updates as you progress!

 

[mpkelley20]

Thanks for thw welcome!

Interestingly, I received a call from on of the other PB to say that they are having a fall discount. This guy installs polymer pools and his price was going to be around $4K more than the steel. Now, with the discounts and specials, his pricing comes in around the same. Still not sold on polymer pools though....living in the northeast in an area with ground water issues.....

Anyway, I am meeting with the PB I was planning on hiring next Monday to go through my questions and finalize shape/size and options. I guess I have some leverage to see what discounts (if any) he can offer me. Not like PB in my area are doing a ton of installs right now.

 

[mpkelley20]

Well,, finally about to start contruction. Going with the Oasis style pictured above. It took a while to pick the final location of the pool as I have 2 areas where I was considering it. Final location will require me to take down part of a fence but it will be closer to my house and will require less backfill to be brought in. I will also be able to put in a more usable and bigger patio when all is said and done.

My ONLY remaining issue is deciding between Propand and Natural gas for the heat source. I am getting some rather high quotes for installing a gas line from my house (so far $3000 to $4800). This would be 1.5" piping about 50 feet to the area where the heater will be. Trench will be dug by the pool installer so I am either getting way too high quotes or I'm in the wrong business.

Other option is Propane and I have a place coming out tomorrow that deals in both propane and natural gas and hopefully they can maybe install gas line cheaper. We shall see...

As soon as the break ground, i will post up pics.

 

[oohnoo]

I'm in the process of having my pool built. I went with a polymer one as I hear they're better for a salt pool and also if you have a low water table. I also ran into water issues when they started digging. They hit water at 5'6" and my deep end is 8ft. They're going to install what's called water set points that will basically pump out the water below the 8ft mark and then finish the pool floor and add the liner. Once waters in it's hold it all down in place.
May also want to consider a heat pump which is more ecnomical than gas, and this is coming from someone in NY where we have the highest electric rates

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

I'm in the process of having my pool built. I went with a polymer one as I hear they're better for a salt pool and also if you have a low water table. I also ran into water issues when they started digging. They hit water at 5'6" and my deep end is 8ft. They're going to install what's called water set points that will basically pump out the water below the 8ft mark and then finish the pool floor and add the liner. Once waters in it's hold it all down in place.

Does the pump stay put so that if you have to partially drain or totally drain you have an option to do so? If so how do you get to it to replace it?

May also want to consider a heat pump which is more ecnomical than gas, and this is coming from someone in NY where we have the highest electric rates

Per the consensus around here - heat pump works well to warm up during the main season - but not good for extending season.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

Anyway, I am meeting with the PB I was planning on hiring next Monday to go through my questions and finalize shape/size and options. I guess I have some leverage to see what discounts (if any) he can offer me. Not like PB in my area are doing a ton of installs right now.

Add more concrete than you think you need. They fill up quickly with chairs and stuff. Perhaps you can take graph paper and mock it up and make tiny furniture stand shapes out of cardstock to put on the plan to be sure you have enough space.

As for the water issue - some here have talked about sump pumps - but that seems like a hard one to maintain should it ever die.

Also I saw you ask about propane - the cost per unit of heat is something you need to have very clear before you bite the bullet. Then I would ask around for others with a similar surface area to your pool and ask what their heating experience has been, my guess is that Propane is 3x or more higher per unit of heat than Natural gas - which could quickly errode the cost to put the gas in. Solar is another option - as is a heat pump but the heat pump is mainly good for making the season more comfortable - not extending the season significantly.

 

[mpkelley20]

I ruled out a heat pump since my main purpose of the heater is to extend the season. The area where the pool is going bakes in the sun all day and other people around me with pools have no issues with water temps as most get to the mid 80's in peak months. It's the April/May and September/October time periods where I would like to still use the pool and average temps can be 70's to 80's during the day to low 30's to 50's at night. From my research, heat pumps don't seem to work very well in those situations.

Looks like propane is running around $3.29 a gallon in my area and the propane place I spoke to said most people use "less than 300 gallons" during a season. So yes, propane will be expensive compared to natural gas which is practically being given away up here. The propane place I spoke to also runs gas lines (not plumbing so can't do water...) and they said that the most expensive ever hookup they did was $1800 and it was not a straightforward job. They would be surprised if I came close to that. So natural gas is looking a little better now if I can cut the install proce in half from what has been quoted so far.

With regards to the deck, due to where I decided to place the pool, it will allow me to build much bigger than I originally thought so I have visions of massive parties taking place when I'm finally done. LOL!!!

As far as the water issue, because we are moving the pool much closer to the house and away from the wetter area, we are hoping that ground water will be less of an issue. We pulled the septic plans from the town and it has the ground water table listed and it "should" be about 2 feet below the deepest part of the pool. However, if the PB hits it, he has several ways of dealing with it including a french drain type fix which re-driects it. But keeping my fingers acrossed that we don't have the problem.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

Sounds like you have done the homework. Good luck on this - it looks like a nicely shaped pool and hopefully one that you will enjoy for years to come. If you don't go with an SWCG I assume you plan to use bleach to maintain it? The only downside to this is vacation and how to keep things chlorinated - but temp use of floaters or an inline chlorinator can solve that issue.

Alternately look into a metered chlorine pump system to maintain the flow of chlorine into the pool.

 

[DBfan187]

solar blanket + heater = pretty warm

 

[mpkelley20]

Sounds like you have done the homework. Good luck on this - it looks like a nicely shaped pool and hopefully one that you will enjoy for years to come. If you don't go with an SWCG I assume you plan to use bleach to maintain it? The only downside to this is vacation and how to keep things chlorinated - but temp use of floaters or an inline chlorinator can solve that issue.

Alternately look into a metered chlorine pump system to maintain the flow of chlorine into the pool.

SWCG is still an option but I've heard so many mixed reviews about it. My PB is not a fan of it. He doesn't have a retail store like others in the area so he is not supporting himself with the selling of chemicals so I "think" I believe him. LOL!! it's really tough with all the options these days!!

I am having a programmer/timer setup for the filter. It won't release chlorine into the pool but it will at least turn the filter on and off if we are away. With 2 young boys, my wife and I don't exactly take long vacations these days so I will look into addking something more involved as we think about 2 week long cruises!!! Thanks for the suggestion. I will probably have questions on that in a little while!

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

SWCG is still an option but I've heard so many mixed reviews about it. My PB is not a fan of it. He doesn't have a retail store like others in the area so he is not supporting himself with the selling of chemicals so I "think" I believe him. LOL!! it's really tough with all the options these days!!

Depending on what your pool surfaces are - the SWCG can cause issues for the pool company. Also not everyone bothers to monitor and maintain their pH and one side effect of switching from pucks to SWCG is that you no longer have a fairly neutral pH (or slightly negative bias) but you have a pool that will drift up in pH unless you take action to lower TA or dump in acid from time to time. This could be a hassle of the pool builder in terms of warranty work or just good advice from him for most people who won't understand the relationships.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

BTW - I have to tell you that every time I see this post I think - "why is that pool pool being filled in Muratic Acid..." (MA)

 

[mx702]

Unless your doing some sort of soft nautral stone coping/patio or have an aversion to slighlty saline pool water I seriously suggest you reconsider the SWG option. Not sure where you've received all the mixed reviews, but it generally regarded around here as a beneficial upgrade. For us, we love the silky feeling of the salt and from a maintenance perspective its a blessing. It's literally hands off when it comes to mainting CL in your pool. I too, was on the fence about it and now I couldn't imagine not having it. Tweak up the %age as the water warms up in the spring and dial it back in the fall. Simple, effective and time saving. This is money well spent.

 

[mpkelley20]

Construction has officially begun!! I'll post pics as it progresses. The main hole is being dug today (thanks to a more favorable weather forecast!) but they spent the day yesterday taking off the topsoil and figuring out the recommended grade which will hopefully make a retaining wall obsolete. So here are some pics


here is my yard and what it looked like before. My yard expands out about 40' from my fence so the pool edge will still be about 25' from my property line.

After I took down my fence on that side

The digging begins

And as I mentioned, today they are digging the full hole and will begin setting up the pool quickly so they can get everything backfilled. Here is the pool that was delievered yesterday as well

And finally, after 2 months of stairing at liners, I opted to go a little different from normal blue but not totally different with a sand/tan color (although I think it would look beautiful). This was the compromise with my wife. It was actaully my first choice so I guess I win anyway!!

More pics to come as it progresses!

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

More pics to come as it progresses!

We like pictures!

 

[mpkelley20]

I assume this is the "worst" part of the install process. My yard looks like a war zone hit it!! Pool was dug so all the dirt has been put aside until backfill. Definitley puts ones mind out of sorts a bit! And its amazing how small 20x40 looks!!!

 

[mpkelley20]

Rain rain rain...........

So due to rain, not much has been done to the actual asteroid crater in my yard. The electrician did come out yesterday and installed a sub panel in my garage (which I asked him to do) and he ran most of the pre-wiring which will go for the pool. So at least that part is done. And now I have an easy way to add additional outlets in my garage. Yeah....think I will buy that welder I want!

We also decided on lighting around the pool. Since I already have a flood light that lights up most of the area, we are going to add just one line towards the deep end side where he will install some type of post light. That coupled with the flood light and pool lights should be plenty of light for now!

 

[mpkelley20]

Walls went up today. Now need to wait for building inspector to do first sign off then the cement will be done. Hoping that will be by Saturday with backfilling on Monday. Here are some pics. I'm very happy with the overall design. The shape os called Oasis and I love the fact that I can still do laps in it even though its a shape. And looks like I ended up with 3 skimmers and will have 5 returns.

 

[mpkelley20]

Some progress has been made on my build. We have had a lot of rain so its delaying a lot of work. They poured the main concrete around the outside of the walls and did the flat shallow end and flate deep end. Still have to do the concrete on the slant part which is done by hand. Walls will be vermiculite (spelling??). So here are some pics of the cement so far.

They also ran the majority of the plumbing. The one thing I did not do during this entire pool process was reserach much about the filter/pump. He is using Pentair but no clue how good this model is. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

And finally, some pics from insdie the pool.