New Pool w/ Falls & Slide in Baton Rouge, LA
- Thread starter Matchless1
- Start date
Thanks. I think we'll be "done" in about 3 weeks. Still have landscaping, irrigation, sod and fence left. We have been down the slide. It rocks!
cbink
0
I'm still not 'done' three years later!!
Glad you like the slide. I wasn't sure if the novelty would wear off but ours still gets lots of use.
Glad you like the slide. I wasn't sure if the novelty would wear off but ours still gets lots of use.
I have the same concern, so that's good to hear.
Kim, you mentioned getting the kids in there to splash around. That would imply that the water is safe to swim in even with my current levels. Would you agree or not yet?
I was not thinking about safe............until that PH and TA come up lets keep them out. You can and should raise it fast. Once PH gets to 7.2 and TA to 50 or so it will be safe for them to get in again. (Bad Ms. Kim, Bad! Think of the kid's safety!)
Here is a thread about PH levels:
what does High/Low Ph do to your skin?
Do some playing with Pool Math and look at the CSI. This is very important for plaster pools. I am still learning about it. It is pretty laid out in Pool Math BUT I am sure a search would bring up more info if you need it.
I would add one thing for PH and another for TA aiming for the lower level to give you wiggle room to adjust it. I have not had to do this so can only what I have learned on here by reading.
Kim:cat:
Here is a thread about PH levels:
what does High/Low Ph do to your skin?
Do some playing with Pool Math and look at the CSI. This is very important for plaster pools. I am still learning about it. It is pretty laid out in Pool Math BUT I am sure a search would bring up more info if you need it.
I would add one thing for PH and another for TA aiming for the lower level to give you wiggle room to adjust it. I have not had to do this so can only what I have learned on here by reading.
Kim:cat:
Ok, I went to the pool store for the first time yesterday (Pinch A Penny) with my numbers and a print out of Jesse's Pool Calc sheet. They entered my numbers into their system and made some "recommendations". I tried not to let them, but they "sold" me some stuff:
1. 25 lb box of total alkalinity increaser (100% sodium hydrogen carbonate) for $30 (could I have not just used baking soda?). I added 12.5 lbs of this.
2. 1 qt bottle of Super Metal Control for $22. He said our water is very high in iron content and this will help with staining. I added 1/2 the bottle for initial treatment, then he said to add 4 oz each week. After I run out he said there's a similar less expensive product that we can switch to for maintenance.
3. 5 gal of 10% liquid chlorine for $5 ea. They do rent the jugs, which were $7 ea. I added just a little over a gallon (as Jesse's calculator suggested) around 7:30 yesterday evening.
Pump has been running at 2200 rpm since 7:30 last night, so water has turned over more than 4 times. After testing this morning, here are my (much better, I think) numbers:
CL = 5
pH = 7.5
TA = 120
CYA = 60
CH = 275
Any recommendations at this time?
Yes you could have just bought Baking Soda:
Arm and Hammer CD-01192-1 Baking Soda 13. 5 lbs. Bag - Walmart.com
Here is the Walmart baking soda. You did not do too bad with that much.
Talk to me about the chlorine....."5 gal of 10% liquid chlorine for $5 ea"..........You paid $5 for 5 gals of 10% chlorine? OR you paid $5 for each gal of 10% chlorine for a total of $25?
Now lets talk about the metal/iron............did you know your fill water had iron in it before? Do you have a staining problem in your toilets? shower heads? Washing machine screen?
I will wait for you answers before going any further with this stuff.
YES your numbers look a LOT better!
Do you still have pucks in the inline? If so take them out as your CYA is purrfect where it is right now.
Now go throw the kids in the pool for real this time!
Kim:cat:
Arm and Hammer CD-01192-1 Baking Soda 13. 5 lbs. Bag - Walmart.com
Here is the Walmart baking soda. You did not do too bad with that much.
Talk to me about the chlorine....."5 gal of 10% liquid chlorine for $5 ea"..........You paid $5 for 5 gals of 10% chlorine? OR you paid $5 for each gal of 10% chlorine for a total of $25?
Now lets talk about the metal/iron............did you know your fill water had iron in it before? Do you have a staining problem in your toilets? shower heads? Washing machine screen?
I will wait for you answers before going any further with this stuff.
YES your numbers look a LOT better!
Do you still have pucks in the inline? If so take them out as your CYA is purrfect where it is right now.
Now go throw the kids in the pool for real this time!
Kim:cat:
I'm glad to hear that, too....my son insisted on having a slide. I told him I'm going to make him go down it every day whether he wants to or not haha.
Sorry, I must have mis-typed. I paid $5 for a 2.5 gal jug, but I got 2 of them for a total of $10 for 5 gal.
There is some staining in the toilets, but I'm not sure what others experience in other cities. Is there a way to test for iron in pool water?
I never actually put any pucks in the feeder, and may not ever. I may just go straight to the stenner pump/tank setup once I get some more time. Until then, I'll just dump it in manually.
We did get in again today for the 2nd time. So glad the water is finally ready (somewhat).
Ok, switching gears, I'm finally catching up on pics of the progress that happened late last week. They started and finished spray deck on Thursday and Friday. Palms were planted Friday. They also cleaned up some of the trash out front, but will come back to get the left over rocks tomorrow (I'm told). As for myself, I've been working around the yard non-stop the past 3 days with various things including removing the goo off all the coping (from the gorilla glue the spray deck crew used to mask off the coping...should have used painter's tape), acid washing and sealing the coping, doing some manual grading myself (not fun at all in 100F heat!!), connecting a valve actuator (electricians forgot to...no surprise though), trying to start figuring out chemistry (thanks Kim!), moving about 80 rocks from the front to the back for future use, and finally making 2 trips to Home Depot to pick up all the lumber (minus pickets), concrete and gravel needed to build my back fence. Oh, and I almost forgot, Friday, when I had about 3 crews at the house, I also had a garage door co. show up to fix my garage door, which had a broken spring ($$$:grrrr
. Although it is nice to be there when multiple crews are there so I can make sure they all know what to do and I don't have to make as many trips back home, it's also a little difficult running between 4 of them at once. Luckily the overlap was minimal, but man, I need a REAL weekend soon! Major things left: Final Irrigation (for lawn), Landscaping (Phase 2), Build Fence, Lay Sod, Finish Running Landscaping Wiring & Dog Fence, Set Last 2 Speakers and Connect to Wires in Attic, Set Stepping Stones and Stones Around Palm Beds, etc.
Anyway, here are some pics from the past few days...
Spray deck prep
Acid/Pressure washing deck and coping
More prep
Spraying 1st coat
Spraying 2nd coat
Touch up spray (next day)
Painting/sealing with "Kaluha Cream" color (1st coat)
2nd coat
All the dirt/dust I had to brush and vacuum out from the spray deck prep (about a 2 hour clean up job)
Cleaning up the trash pile
Palms
Removal of Gorilla Glue adhesive from coping :grrrr:
Acid washing coping
Sealing coping (with Elsa...don't worry, I made her go inside so the fumes didn't take her powers)
Current state as of the 4th of July
Love those palms. I wish i could plant some in my yard. Just out of range, it gets too cold
That is great price on the chlorine! Our local p.a.p. is out of the way for me so I get my chlorine from the ACE Hardware that is up the road from me. It is a tiny bit more but my time and gas out weigh the price difference. When you go back to get more they will just trade you jugs from now on. In with two empty, out with two full.
Okay lets talk about your plaster. It is looking great! With it being new your PH is going to rise on a daily bases as the plaster cures. This is normal. It might last 3 month or a year. This is another reason to keep a good log of your tests. You will start to see when it stops pushing up as much and know you are about done with the curing process. Once it cures your PH and TA will find their "sweet spots" and stabilize.
Chemical storage........chlorine and Muriatic Acid do NOT play well together. There should be about 15 mins in between putting them in the pool. Muriatic acid should not be stored by metal as the fumes can cause it to rust. Outside in a shady, well vented area is best. Here is the purrfect thing for it. It LOCKS to keep little ones out.
Sterilite 2-Shelf Storage Cabinet - Walmart.com
Now the fun stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUDE that pool looks awesome!!!!! The palm trees are just the right touch where they are. Love them coming from way out there to bring them in. Here comes the tree!
What a mess up front! I KNOW you will be glad when that is gone!
Hi Elsa! Use some of your powers to help Dad move smeo rocks to the back yard LOL! So cute!
3 crews AND the garage door people at ONE time!! OUCH! I hear you on the springs $$$ but that is NOT a DIY thing. Those things are monster to work with. What anyone home with it let go? SCARY sound when it happens!
Kim:cat:
gurrrrrrrrr on the gorilla glue! REALLY??? "hey it works and we do not have to clean it up so why not"
Okay lets talk about your plaster. It is looking great! With it being new your PH is going to rise on a daily bases as the plaster cures. This is normal. It might last 3 month or a year. This is another reason to keep a good log of your tests. You will start to see when it stops pushing up as much and know you are about done with the curing process. Once it cures your PH and TA will find their "sweet spots" and stabilize.
Chemical storage........chlorine and Muriatic Acid do NOT play well together. There should be about 15 mins in between putting them in the pool. Muriatic acid should not be stored by metal as the fumes can cause it to rust. Outside in a shady, well vented area is best. Here is the purrfect thing for it. It LOCKS to keep little ones out.
Sterilite 2-Shelf Storage Cabinet - Walmart.com
Now the fun stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUDE that pool looks awesome!!!!! The palm trees are just the right touch where they are. Love them coming from way out there to bring them in. Here comes the tree!
What a mess up front! I KNOW you will be glad when that is gone!
Hi Elsa! Use some of your powers to help Dad move smeo rocks to the back yard LOL! So cute!
3 crews AND the garage door people at ONE time!! OUCH! I hear you on the springs $$$ but that is NOT a DIY thing. Those things are monster to work with. What anyone home with it let go? SCARY sound when it happens!
Kim:cat:
gurrrrrrrrr on the gorilla glue! REALLY??? "hey it works and we do not have to clean it up so why not"
Thanks for the link to the storage container. I was looking at one a bit taller, but same idea. Does the cabinet need to be vented or just the area that the cabinet sits? Also, is it ok to store the chlorine and acid (and other chemicals) in the same unit? Once I get my Stenner pump and tank set up, I won't need to store the chlorine in there, but just curious for the short term.
Never store MA and chlorine near each other, particularly in a enclosed area. The caps are made in such a way to vent them and the mixture of these two chemicals is deadly. Seriously.
I keep my MA outside in a small plastic box near my pump, and the bleach in the pool house.
I keep my MA outside in a small plastic box near my pump, and the bleach in the pool house.
Those storage containers are not air tight at all so would be considered "vented". The area it is kept needs to be VERY well vented AND away from metal. Most people find an out of the way place outside to store it.
No sir, chlorine and MA do NOT play well together so may not be in the same area. The cabinet will only be for the MA really. MA needs to be a lonely guy LOL
Kim:cat:
No sir, chlorine and MA do NOT play well together so may not be in the same area. The cabinet will only be for the MA really. MA needs to be a lonely guy
LOLKim:cat:
Those storage containers are not air tight at all so would be considered "vented". The area it is kept needs to be VERY well vented AND away from metal. Most people find an out of the way place outside to store it.
No sir, chlorine and MA do NOT play well together so may not be in the same area. The cabinet will only be for the MA really. MA needs to be a lonely guy
Kim:cat:
Ok. But can anything else (like baking soda, calcium, etc) be stored with the MA?
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Baking soda and MA will definitely react with each other. I remember toy volcanos made in elementary school that were powered by a mix of baking soda and vinegar (a much weaker acid) that would foam all over the place.
Love those palms. I wish i could plant some in my yard. Just out of range, it gets too cold
You can plant windmill palms. They can handle temps down to 0-10 degrees. People plant them all the way up to Canada.
Matt
I'm so happy about having our driveway back (for the moment)! Fence pickets are being delivered Tuesday, but until then, it sure is nice not having to delicately maneuver our vehicles in and out of the garage. A very good friend of mine and I were able to get the posts set for the fence on Saturday. We rented a two-man auger, which was well worth it! We didn't get started until late due to an obligation I had that morning, so from about 3:30 - 9:30 (working in the dark at the end with head lamps) we managed to get all 10 posts set in concrete. The plan is to put up the runners next weekend and pickets after sod is down. Hoping also to have irrigation completed this week as well as a few pool punch list items.
Just a few pics of the progress lately...
Clean up (phase 2)
The hard part is done!
Just a few pics of the progress lately...
Clean up (phase 2)
The hard part is done!
That IS a very good friend! Hope you had a beer or few waiting for him and let him do down the slide!
Look at the pretty front of the house! Gone is all of the stuff and dirt! I love it when I am able to do a major clean up after a project is done!
Kim:cat:
Look at the pretty front of the house! Gone is all of the stuff and dirt! I love it when I am able to do a major clean up after a project is done!
Kim:cat:
Very good friend indeed! No beer, but dinner and planning to return the favor by helping him install his surveillance system (when it's much cooler of course).
My irrigation guy was able to make it out Tuesday and run the system for the back lawn. One of the valve boxes is still pretty low, so I need to see about extending it up somehow before they sod next week. Also hoping to get the fence runners up this coming weekend with the same good friend (weather permitting). Here are some pics of the irrigation work...
