New pool install in Tampa, need some help with design questions

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The free form looks so much better...but that's just my opinion, and you aren't married to me!

I would normally say "give in" to your wife, but it sure *sounds* like you have been vetoed time and time again on this deal. But...in my house, the wife gets the final vote...if she ain't happy, no one is happy! :)
 
I said go bigger earlier. But that was when freeform was off the table. Here's why I think the freeform is much better for your space. Yes, your space is geometric, but at every corner of your rectangular pool you have a constriction point while navigating the area. You are always walking practically over each corner of the pool. It's also that same concept that make rectangular setup not look aesthetically pleasing to my eye. It doesn't flow in that space.
 
Thanks again for the feedback!

@HeyEng - I am almost always outvoted here. And when I am not, then that gets held over my head... like I am the one that wanted the alley load garage that is impacting her pool, and I got the cars I wanted, etc. But thats marriage LOL... and when she isn't driving me crazy over the pool, she is funny and gorgeous and we get along well!

@YippeeSkippy - I think it looks great too, and I was the one that didnt want freeform originally. But I dont really know why she doesnt like it. Her reason for things tends to be something along the lines of "I just dont like it", "its not what I want", or "I hate it its hideous". She doesn't really give me actual reasons. My guess here is that she originally wanted a 14x28 pool and me (and the home builder) said that would fit. But what she meant was she wanted a 14x28 pool swimming area, with the spa and sunshelf in addition to that area... so more like a 21x28 pool, so she feels like she was misled. The freeform looks even smaller because of the rounded corners. Oh, and then the stupid pool designers told her that freeform pools are outdated and not modern and that sealed the deal right there. These guys know who the decision maker is here and they have been telling her what she wants to hear the whole time!!

@kimkats - Actually at this point she is at least looking at it more, and showing ppl and at least acting like shes having second thoughts about it. Which is way better than a day or two ago when she was not even considering anything else. :)

@bmoreswim - Exactly! That is a very clear and concise description of what I have been trying to figure out how to say! I just didn't have the words. I am going to copy that and see if I can bring it up with her in a non-confrontational way, see if she will look more at the freeform option. :)
 
mnm4ever said:
@bmoreswim - Exactly! That is a very clear and concise description of what I have been trying to figure out how to say! I just didn't have the words. I am going to copy that and see if I can bring it up with her in a non-confrontational way, see if she will look more at the freeform option. :)
Click to expand...

Just redact my name!

And enjoy your rectangular pool.
 
I think the difference is that your wife wants as much pool as possible, and everything else is secondary. You see the bigger all around picture of how that space will be used and how it fits your lifestyle. I personally really like the freeform design, how it fits the space and based on how you said the pool will be used. I can't imagine why she doesn't love that design. I'd lobby hard in that direction.

That said, lets step back a second and remember, at the end of the day, we're still talking about having a built in swimming pool right outside your door. How many people would kill for that?!? All I'm saying is that there are far more important matters in a marriage to rift about. If you end up with a rectangular pool, a little less deck, and a very happy wife, I say sit down, have a cocktail and enjoy it. You have a pool! And a happy wife! And if by chance down the road an issue comes up with her design, never (and I mean never) say 'I told you so'. :)

It's not worth sleeping on the couch over. Trust me.

;)
 
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I lobbied for it today... didn't work out. The PB told her that 95% of the pools he does since around 2013 are rectangles. They both think that the freeforms are outdated. I told them both they are crazy. But as she said... not sure I mentioned this before... she is paying for the pool. All of it. I don't have to spend any of my own money. So that's why I get outvoted so much. :)

So we are getting the same original design, 14x29, spa to the side, 5' of deck all around, etc. I am still getting my 7' sun shelf. The pool is still going to have 3'6"-5" depth, but I did get the sun shelf depth set to 10" instead of 6-7" that was spec'd from the PB. That was my win! Oh, and the tile, she went with the one I picked, though she liked it too. We are getting the white diamond PebbleSheen, and silvergrey pavers in large format paver-stone size.

@BMK - Yea, thats exactly right. It isnt like I am going to hate it, I am sure it will be great. And now I have a free pass to get whatever car I want, she cant complain... I negotiated that into the deal at the tail end... LOL

Oh, and I am totally going to say "I told you so" if she ever complains. We have that kind of marriage LOL
 

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So.....Not only will you have a great pool to enjoy, but because your wife made most of the decisions, you can now parlay that into having sole discretion of the type of car you get....regardless of practicality or cost??

Well played, sir. Well played.
?
 
Well, to be fair, she pretty much lets me get whatever car I want, she even let me pick out her car, so technically I got two. She even pushed me to get my current car... a completely impractical 2015 Mustang GT with Performance package in Competition Orange. I told her I would keep it forever, or at least for a very long time. And I do love it, its very fast and fun to drive and everyone loves it, gets a lot of thumbs up and stuff. But its a bit tedious to drive, its kind of big, and the clutch is very heavy, its hard to park, ride is very rough. So I have been thinking of trading it for something, else, but she thinks I will regret it and I should just keep it. I have always lusted after an Acura NSX (not the new ones, the originals). I have been keeping an eye out for a decent deal on one, and I am very tempted to snap one up before prices go through the roof. My logic is that I would have gotten one instead of the Mustang, but back then I was commuting to work and didnt want to daily drive a classic NSX, I wanted something new and under warranty. But now I work from home, so I can get away with it more.

No, she isnt paying for it, I have to pay for the cars. Even her Jeep Wrangler... because in her mind, I was the one that wanted a Jeep... LOL

Oh, and I have another thread asking about automation.... not getting much attention... here is the link to it if any of you want to comment:
New pool build - Next question, need help on Hayward automation options
IMG_2803.PNGIMG_2834.JPG
 
OK, this is just my opinIon and I am an old guy, but I just don't get the purpose of a sun shelf. It just seems like a waste of pool space. What is it used for? Just sitting in 6" of water? If I am sitting I am out of the water. If I am in the water I want deeper than 6". YMMV
 
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Well two reasons:
First, here in Florida in the summer the sun gets intensely strong. For a cpl months you can’t really sit outside comfortably in direct sunlight without being in the water. A sun shelf lets you sit in a lounger partially in the water and it keeps you cool.

Second, (and this is the real reason) it’s for the dogs. We have small dogs and they can play in the 8-10” deep water without having to swim.
 
mnm4ever said:
Well two reasons:
First, here in Florida in the summer the sun gets intensely strong. For a cpl months you can’t really sit outside comfortably in direct sunlight without being in the water. A sun shelf lets you sit in a lounger partially in the water and it keeps you cool.

Second, (and this is the real reason) it’s for the dogs. We have small dogs and they can play in the 8-10” deep water without having to swim.
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@mnm4ever I have been following this thread and I would like to share my opinion. Go with the largest deck space so why not cut the sunshelf by about 2 feet. We have a Spool AKA social pool and it is only 10ft x 20 ft ( 13.5 ft at the widest point ) This is plenty of pool look at our pool build thread in the sig bar below. You will regret not having the extra deck space, we have over 1600 sq ft of pavers and we regret not building more. You will be quite surprised how much space a couple of lounge chairs and a table and 4 chairs will take up. Plan on a summer kitchen with a bar, fridge, possible griddle, grill, smoker, sink etc. Trust me your space will get eaten up very quickly. DW wanted a larger pool in the beginning but now she is very happy with out present size and would not change a thing EXCEPT she wished we had more deck space.

Congrats, some more suggestions if I may?
1. Speaking from experience if you are putting in a pool cage. Put in a double door on one of the sides. I only had one door and ended up putting in a double door and another single door on the opposite side. I should have listened to my wife
2. Plan on plumbing electrical and water for a future summer kitchen.
3. Plan on adding solar and heat pump in your equipment pad.
4. Make sure that you have a very large equipment pad, our equipment pad is 19 ft long x 9 ft wide.
5. Put lights at pool equipment pad.
6. Put in water spigots in all 4 corners of the screen cage both inside and outside the screen cage.
7. Put in electrical outlets in all 4 corners of the screen cage both inside and outside the screen cage.
8. Go with a large outdoor space as possible. We have 1800sq ft of pavers and we wish we did a larger space. You will be quite surprised how much room tables chairs and lounges take up.
9. Run conduits for speaker wires if you plan on wired speakers.
10. Put in footers for future screen cage. Some people do not like the pool cage however we believe in it as we swim a lot at nighttime.
11. Plan on positioning your pool so that you can watch TV comfortably when you are in it. I know that this may sound strange but we love watching TV, football games, NASCAR races and movies when we are relaxing in the pool.
12. Place pool light facing away from the house, we had ours facing towards the house and we notice some glare from it.
Look at the 3 links in my signature bar for ideas. Post lots of pics
 
@Brentr - Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually have read your build thread before, when we first started planning our pool! Thats where I came up with the idea to go with a smaller pool, larger deck. I thought it would look terrific in our "courtyard" area, with lots of lounge space and entertaining areas. I had planned for these large flat sectional seating areas similar to what we found at Restoration Hardware, and a dining area, outdoor kitchen, and several low chaise lounges, also similar to the RH display we fell in love with.

Long story short - I lost that battle.

My wife has made the command decision to go with the size pool we originally spec'd out. I don't have to pay for it, so I can't complain. We have more yard space to expand the deck if we need more, so there is that. We are not getting a screen enclosure, most likely never will, but if we do then adding the footers is very easy, as we only need them along one edge, right near the road, so easy to pour later and saves me $1500 or so now. We already had several hose bibs installed on both sides of the pool area, and I am planning some added electrical outlets beyond what we already had the builder install. Equipment pad is a very large space, already going to have a gas heater for the spa. There will be room for solar too if we decide to add that. It is lit too. Not sure I will be able to manage the TV positioning, there just isn't a good spot for that, but its a good suggestion!

Oh, and I dont want to give up space on the sun shelf, that was my only win! I think we are going to use that a lot and the dogs will too.
 
mnm4ever said:
@Brentr - Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually have read your build thread before, when we first started planning our pool! Thats where I came up with the idea to go with a smaller pool, larger deck. I thought it would look terrific in our "courtyard" area, with lots of lounge space and entertaining areas. I had planned for these large flat sectional seating areas similar to what we found at Restoration Hardware, and a dining area, outdoor kitchen, and several low chaise lounges, also similar to the RH display we fell in love with.

Long story short - I lost that battle.

My wife has made the command decision to go with the size pool we originally spec'd out. I don't have to pay for it, so I can't complain. We have more yard space to expand the deck if we need more, so there is that. We are not getting a screen enclosure, most likely never will, but if we do then adding the footers is very easy, as we only need them along one edge, right near the road, so easy to pour later and saves me $1500 or so now. We already had several hose bibs installed on both sides of the pool area, and I am planning some added electrical outlets beyond what we already had the builder install. Equipment pad is a very large space, already going to have a gas heater for the spa. There will be room for solar too if we decide to add that. It is lit too. Not sure I will be able to manage the TV positioning, there just isn't a good spot for that, but its a good suggestion!

Oh, and I dont want to give up space on the sun shelf, that was my only win! I think we are going to use that a lot and the dogs will too.
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(y) this is going to be an exciting build and as you know this is a grest resource for all your questions. Don't forget to get the TF- 100 pool chem test kit TFTestkits.net I recommend getting the speed stirrer also. If you make a small donation you will get Hugh discounts on these. Take a look at this
Trouble Free Pool

:cheers:
 
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