New pool in SoCal

[fyton2v]

Pool fence is now in. If all goes to plan plastering should happen on Thursday this week.

Thanks for the info on the gas line, CraigMW. If the line off of the street is higher pressure than hopefully I'll be fine with a just a bigger meter. The pipe diameter from the meter to my pool equipment is 2" so I should be fine there. We went with 2" because the run is a little far. Maybe 180 feet.

 

[fyton2v]

Question on starting a Pebble Tec pool...

I have some questions that I didn't learn in the "pool school" section and, hopefully, the smart folks here can help. I know that applying the finish happens in 1 day, but what exactly happens next.

1. Do you acid wash on day 2?
2. When exactly do you fill the pool with water? Day 2 also?
3. Assuming a 30K gallon pool, how long does it generally take to achieve balanced water?
4. How long before you can turn on the heater? Is it some specific amount of time, or is it until I stop seeing dust from brushing?
5. And lastly, and I assume this will probably be driven by #4, is there some prescriptive amount of time I should wait before I let people swim?

Thanks all!

 

[Nightmare]

From my very limited experience:

1) Acid wash is done the day after the plaster. The acid is nasty, keep kids and pets far away
2) Fill immediately after acid wash
3) I think my pool took about 12 hours to fill. There was almost no 'dust' with my generic version of Pebble Tec
- The guys added chlorine a couple days after the fill. The sun was burning off the chlorine almost immediately.
- Correct me if I'm wrong [ Experts ], but Using "Stabilized Tablets" is just about the easiest way to start a Pebble Pool
- You will need to run the tablets for 30ish days before you start to really balance anything except pH
- After 30 days you can add the CYA to whatever level you want to run. Then balance from there.
- My pool was super easy for the first 30 days, the tablets didn't change the pH much at all, TA was good and the water was clear
4) My PB didn't want the heater on for a week (or something like that), I think we started it up right about that time for the spa
5) My daughter was playing on the Baja Step the day after the fill. We didn't do any real swimming for about a week.

 

[fyton2v]

Pebble finish tomorrow. At last.

 

[fyton2v]

Day 1 of Pebble Tec application complete. I'm not exactly happy with the smoothness in one particular area, but after it's acid washed it might not be that noticeable.

Also, I'm really bugged that the plaster company installed a return fitting where my pool vac port should be. All my returns are 1.5" threaded fittings that allow for 1" eyeballs to to be added. I think I can make one of those safety, locking vac-ports work since it's the same thread. But I'm bugged that instead of 1.5" inside diameter fitting I now have 1". I'm worried that it could be prone to clogging or might not move enough water.

Anyway, is this something I should have the plaster company replace? Not sure if it's an issue.

Here are some pics during the application:

Midnight Blue Pebble Tec
[attachment=2:357zhozm]pt1.jpg[/attachment:357zhozm]

[attachment=1:357zhozm]pt2.jpg[/attachment:357zhozm]

[attachment=0:357zhozm]pt3.jpg[/attachment:357zhozm]

 

[fyton2v]

Acid and fill. The wash really transforms the finish. One thing I'm happy with is how the pebble matches the stone. I wasn't sure the "blue" part of Midnight Blue would match all that well.
[attachment=0:14uza04c]photo1.jpg[/attachment:14uza04c]

Filling at last!
[attachment=1:14uza04c]photo2.jpg[/attachment:14uza04c]

The lights came in this week. They're made of brass with a chemical brushed on that gives the brass an aged, green look. It might be a little too green and I'm going to use some steel wool to tone it back a bit.
[attachment=2:14uza04c]photo3.jpg[/attachment:14uza04c]

It's been filling now for about 10 hours. By the time it's done I think the pool will be a little more than 20,000 gallons. I had originally guessed it might be 30K, but I must have misread the irregular shape. I hope the plumbing works! Wish me luck.

 

[Flippy]

Looks awesome.

 

[JamesW]

The lights came in this week. They're made of brass with a chemical brushed on that gives the brass an aged, green look. It might be a little too green and I'm going to use some steel wool to tone it back a bit.

You shouldn't use steel wool near the pool. Little bits of steel get everywhere and cause rust spots. You also don't want to remove copper, brass etc. near the pool, as it will cause oxidized metal spots. If you do want to rework the finish, the work should be done away from the pool or care should be taken to avoid metal dust getting in the pool and on the deck.

Once the metal finish is how you like it, you can use a clear sealer to prevent further oxidation.

 

[fyton2v]

Excellent advice! Thank you.

The lights came in this week. They're made of brass with a chemical brushed on that gives the brass an aged, green look. It might be a little too green and I'm going to use some steel wool to tone it back a bit.

You shouldn't use steel wool near the pool. Little bits of steel get everywhere and cause rust spots. You also don't want to remove copper, brass etc. near the pool, as it will cause oxidized metal spots. If you do want to rework the finish, the work should be done away from the pool or care should be taken to avoid metal dust getting in the pool and on the deck.

Once the metal finish is how you like it, you can use a clear sealer to prevent further oxidation.

 

[satx66]

pool looks awesome...congrats!

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Those lights are great! Where'd they come from, if ya don't mind me asking?

 

[fyton2v]

Sandwich Lantern in MA. They can be found http://www.sandwichlantern.com.

Those lights are great! Where'd they come from, if ya don't mind me asking?

 

[fyton2v]

OK... I need to close out this saga with some final pics. Pool has had water for about 1.5 months and the bulk of the landscaping is done as of last week. I still need to add a couple of more trees and some other plants, but I think I can finally start relaxing. The best part was when I called the roll-off company this morning to pick up the 40ft container full of trash. It's amazing how much debris this type of job can generate.

Anyway, here it is and overall I'm pretty happy.

[attachment=2:4vrcxe9y]P1010512.jpg[/attachment:4vrcxe9y]

[attachment=1:4vrcxe9y]P1010513.jpg[/attachment:4vrcxe9y]

[attachment=0:4vrcxe9y]P1010514.jpg[/attachment:4vrcxe9y]

 

[fyton2v]

And a couple more from a different angle. The mastic material is being installed this week and I still need to put a coat of sealant on the flagstone, I'm taking a little break first.

[attachment=0:2kua1xok]P1010515.jpg[/attachment:2kua1xok]

[attachment=1:2kua1xok]P1010516.jpg[/attachment:2kua1xok]

Best of luck to everyone currently building their own pool!

 

[jasonlmarsh]

BEAUTIFUL! I think you missed your calling in life... You should be a Pool Builder

 

[fatcatdj]

sweet looking build, looks like something at Hugh Hefner's house! really adds to the yard, too bad its freakin cold.

 

[fyton2v]

Thanks for the compliments!

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Overall you're pretty happy!?
That is amazing!

 

[Puffin]

Wow beautiful pool. I really like the beach entry. Do you have any night shots? I bet it looks great lit up at night.

 

[fyton2v]

don't have any nighttime shots, but I'll take some this weekend.