New Southwest Austin Build

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walkinpool

Gold Supporter
Jul 19, 2019
109
Austin, Texas
Our build is scheduled to break ground in mid-January! It's been all consuming to get here but the family and I are thrilled. Here's the design
1574871730260.png

It's going to be about 10-12 yards off the back of house before the deck starts.

Excavation:
- floor 18" overdig, 9" gunite, 9" gravel substrate

Plumbing:
-2.5" Schedule 40 PVC suction lines, 2" where the penetrate
-dual split drains to NSPI and NSF code
-1.5" spa venturies
- 6 water way jets 2" Schedule 40 PVC

Equipment Pad:
- poured concrete slab includes flood light

cleaning:
- 14" flexible vac head, 30' "waterking" vac house, deluxe leaf skimmer, 18" curved floor brush, 16' telescopic pole, polyethylene sleeve, and DPD "all in one test kit"
- plumbing for pressure-side cleaner, scheduled to get the Polaris Quattro Sport with booster pump. I can change to robot later

Pool/Spa:
- 30x18' pool, ~18,000 gallons
- 3.5' to 5.5' depths
- 2' wall on back of pool
- Pebbletec sheen
- shotcrete shell #4 on 8" O.C. grade 40, 40,000 psi
- travertine coping
- Two 4' water sheers
- 1 intellibrite LED pool light
- 1 intellibrite LED spa light
- Bubblers in sunshelf with light

Equipment: all Pentair except cleaner
- 3 HP IntelliFlo filter pump - model 011028
- .75 HP whisperflo water feature pump
- 2 HP whisperflo spa pump - to power the jets, spa controls near spa
- Intellicenter
- IC40
- Mastertemp 400K
- Clean and Clear Plus Cartridge 420

walkway:
This will probably change and we will be fencing around the pool for safety. May do a D.G. walkway over the limestone pads. limestone pads are more rectangular than in the design pic. Walkway may enter into a different part of pool, right side. Plan to leave 4-5 feet of grass around deck if we fence it all off.

Construction:
Overall I'm very pleased with the builder, things like #4 rebar on 8" centers. 2" to 2.5" plumbing. Can get into specifics if people want to know but I'm not one bit concerned about it with this builder.

Outdoor Kitchen:
I need to figure out which appliances we want. So far thinking will put my egg out there, add refrigerator, sink, storage, and likely a gas grill (still on fence about the gas grill).

Fencing:
We originally planned to fence off the pool with wrought iron, leaving quite a bit of space on the left and back. Although we are considering other options kid safety is our first priority.

This forum has been invaluable and has brought lots of peace to me through the process of selecting a builder to where we are today. Thanks TFP!
 
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walkinpool said:
Intelliflo 011028
www.pentair.com

sku-page

Pentair IntelliFlo High Performance Variable Speed Pool Pump is a certified pool & spa pump delivering dramatic energy savings vs traditional pumps.
www.pentair.com www.pentair.com

I'll update post
Click to expand...

That is the best pump.
 
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Well here you are! Love the design! There is nothing for me to tweak as you did everything I would have told you to do!! SWEET!

So how deep will the shelf be? Make sure to make it WATER depth instead of depth from shelf to the bottom of the coping. What about the step and that wonderful bench?

Kim:kim:
 
kimkats said:
So how deep will the shelf be? Make sure to make it WATER depth instead of depth from shelf to the bottom of the coping. What about the step and that wonderful bench?
Click to expand...

You know I don't remember now :). It all made sense when we discussed it. I'll get specifics next week on step depths. I know the spa has 18" depth benches and that is why we are putting a tiny step in the lower right corner. Don't need to be doing lunges to get out :).

This builder seems very thoughtful. the back wall dipping from 24" to 18" was his idea and we weren't too fond of it until we actually set up something to sit on at those heights. 18" makes sense between the pool and cabana.

The back wall will be slightly set back so the kids can have a lip to grab as they crawl along the pool. This was already in the plans but I made sure because of something @kimkats has called out in a previous build thread. Thanks y'all!
 
Great job on spacing Intellicenter and the IC40. Did you consider a DE filter?

Also, I’m not sure I understand the logic of the spa having it’s own pump. We have a blower to put bubbles in the spa (which we never use), but the jets run off the main pump. Intellicenter changes the 2 smart valves to divert the water to the spa or pool.
 
Just thought DE does a better job of cleaning, but yes, backwashing does waste water. If you follow the TFP way of maintaining your pool, you won’t have to backwash often. I only do it every 4 months or so.
 
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I also edited my last post while you were responding. I added: Also, I’m not sure I understand the logic of the spa having it’s own pump. We have a blower to put bubbles in the spa (which we never use), but the jets run off the main pump. Intellicenter changes the 2 smart valves to divert the water to the spa or pool.
 

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The way I understand it is a dedicated pump will power only the jets. It will have a loop and bypass the filter/heater. Should be powerful and "therapeutic". PB does all builds this way. I read a bit about it willing to give it a shot. I won't have an air blower.

I'll only run this pump when using the spa jets.

The spa will have a return from main filter/heater circuit to provide warm and clean water.
 
walkinpool said:
The way I understand it is a dedicated pump will power only the jets. It will have a loop and bypass the filter/heater. Should be powerful and "therapeutic". PB does all builds this way. I read a bit about it willing to give it a shot. I won't have an air blower.

I'll only run this pump when using the spa jets.

The spa will have a return from main filter/heater circuit to provide warm and clean water.
Click to expand...

That is the setup I have in my spa. You can relax in it with or without the jets on.
 
wip,

I have two rent houses that have DE filters... When we built the pool at my house I also wanted a DE filter, but the City requires them to be connected to the sewer.. This would have been pretty expensive to do, so I settled for a larger cartridge filter (CCP-520)... Now, five years later I keep waiting for the DE filters at my rent houses to bite the dust so that I can replace then with cartridge filters... :mrgreen: You just don't know, what you don't know, until you have some experience under your belt.. I will never own another DE filter again... With a cartridge filter you don't have a multiport valve to go bad, hard turn or leaking spider gasket... You don't have to mess with DE.. No measuring mixing, etc... Cartridges filters are simple.. I am simple.. We make a good match.. :)

I believe you made a good choice, but I would get bigger one.. The little increase in cost will soon be forgotten.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thanks for posting Jim. Wouldn't the 420 be enough for my under-20,000 gallon pool? I can get the 520 just seemed overkill.

I almost wanted to get the DE. DE sounds nice especially after talking to the PB. However I think he has a service company for his pool. Messing with the screens, which I'll have to eventually, sounds like no fun. The quad DE could be a good compromise but @JoyfulNoise implies in other threads he is going all cartridge after his quad DE dies. From what I gather he's mainly tired of getting DE in pool and cleaning up for days after. Maybe he can further enlighten us.

I think in the end I'll be happy with any choice and cartridge seems like the least amount of work over time. I'm not too worried about the filter capability between the two systems.
 
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wip,

The 420 will work just fine, the 520 will just work a little better... I have a 17K pool and the 520. I'm sure I could go a whole year between cleanings, but my internal clock will not let me do that, so I clean the filter, once in the Spring before the pool season, and then again in the Fall.. I have found that cleaning either a DE or Cartridge filter is a wet job.. You want to be able to do it when it is not too cold to get wet. The larger the filter the lower the speed that you will be able to run the pump. The lower the speed, the less your electrical bill. I run my pump at 1200 RPM most of the time and even though I run the pump 24/7, it costs me less than $20 bucks a month.

There is no such thing as overkill when it come to a VS pump's HP and a filters size.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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As I anxiously wait on permits I wanted to post outdoor pics of where this sucker is going. Still lots to think about on exact location, how far out from the current deck. Where exactly do I fence? Originally we wanted to wrought iron fence around the new pool, new deck, enclosing the cabana and fire pit as well. Fencing off the entire yard is pricey and then doesn't ensure kids are safe. Preventing any chance of accidental drowning is our top priority over looks. Another option is to fence only the pool with a removable option. Unlikely we go this way however leaving it as an option.

I'll feel better once we lock in fencing and landscaping to button this all up :).

I have a pretty decent idea of what I want to do for the outdoor kitchen. Will get feedback soon.

Two pics, one looking from the current deck where the pool will go and the other looking from the new pool spot at current deck/backdoor.

I'm also working out exact look of cabana with a separate contractor. Working directly with them to save a little.
 

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Wrought iron fencing outdorrs is high maintenance. It will rust over time and needs to be rust proofed and painted every 5 to 10 years. Consider an aluminum fence instead if you want a metal look.
 
ajw22, yeah definitely will be the aluminum 'wrought' look. just what people call 'wrought iron' in my area, it's really aluminum. It's required by my HOA too. I can't have a full privacy fence on lot perimeter, unfortunately.
 
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