Newbie here - looking for any advice I can get!!

[Twipper333]

Good Morning Everyone!

New here and my wife and I are in the process of design and selecting our PB. We are in the DFW area and are excited to get going. I drew up the plan that my wife and I wanted and the attached renderings are what the designer came up with. We have a 5 yo and a 3 yo and are not wanting a dive pool so with this design we are currently sitting at about 10,000 gals. We love the design and we have been trying to gauge if there is anything we are not thinking of. I would love to hear some feedback on initial thoughts, any ideas that we may not have thought of yet. Also, I would love to see some photos of your pools to get some ideas. We are struggling with the finish material selections, tile colors, coping colors, etc.

Also, one area that I am having a hard time figuring out is the plaster. I understand the differences in the products when it comes to pebble and plaster but what is a bit confusing is the quartz products. I have heard that quartz finishes tend to mottle and look spotty and inconsistent but then I hear some people say that you want plaster with quartz in it. Any help with actual experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Sean

 

[Mdragger88]

It looks beautiful!

Hopefully some more knowledgeable members will be along soon to help w/ your concerns
If u don’t get any feedback in this thread try posting in the under construction area of the forum :

Under Construction

Choose a builder, design, construct, and renovate - we love photos!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Twipper333]

It looks beautiful!

Hopefully some more knowledgeable members will be along soon to help w/ your concerns
If u don’t get any feedback in this thread try posting in the under construction area of the forum :

Under Construction

Choose a builder, design, construct, and renovate - we love photos!

www.troublefreepool.com

Thank so much for the response. I will copy and paste my OP into the section you mentioned, might get some more foot traffic!

 

[Randrx2]

Really, really, really think about if you want that sunshelf. It eats up a lot of room in the pool. If I did it again, I would not have shelf, and ours is out of the swim lane. Being in TX, you will not be sitting out of the water. It will get hot quick. Seats inside the pool like you have on the one side of spa are great. A pool finisher told us that the plaster lasts a long time if you take care of it and keep your chemistry. So we went with plaster in lieu of pebble. Our friends went with pebble and do not like the rough finish. They like ours. Since the pool is not very wide and the sunshelf takes up room, some of the transitions to the the middle depth may be drastic. You may want to have the deep part on the far side of the stairs/sunshelf. Since you are in TX, they most certainly will try and steer you away from salt. I don't know why. They will say the salt will damage finishes and corrode equipment, but that is false. Most of the time, the damage is due to inferior material.

 

[spd500]

Good Morning and welcome to the group! We went to a place called Master Tile Pool to choose our tiles and finishes, they have a showroom in the Dallas area also I believe. What I heard with the quartz was that the colors with added pigment can fade and have spotted areas of discoloration, but any of the colors with no added pigment are not prone to that problem. We are using Wet Edge Luna Quartz in our build, they have a video on their site that explains what the discoloration is caused by and the video shows examples of it.

 

[Twipper333]

Really, really, really think about if you want that sunshelf. It eats up a lot of room in the pool. If I did it again, I would not have shelf, and ours is out of the swim lane. Being in TX, you will not be sitting out of the water. It will get hot quick. Seats inside the pool like you have on the one side of spa are great. A pool finisher told us that the plaster lasts a long time if you take care of it and keep your chemistry. So we went with plaster in lieu of pebble. Our friends went with pebble and do not like the rough finish. They like ours. Since the pool is not very wide and the sunshelf takes up room, some of the transitions to the the middle depth may be drastic. You may want to have the deep part on the far side of the stairs/sunshelf. Since you are in TX, they most certainly will try and steer you away from salt. I don't know why. They will say the salt will damage finishes and corrode equipment, but that is false. Most of the time, the damage is due to inferior material.

This is great advice and thank you so much!!

Our thinking with the ledge is that with our little being less than 3' tall, she would have a place to kind of sit and play in the bubbler when she doesn't want to actually swim. Also, we have lots of other babies in our family that have the ledge there would give the momma's a place to sit in the water with their littles and not having to be in the actual pool.

Does that make any sense at all or am I just not thinking about it clearly?

 

[Twipper333]

Good Morning and welcome to the group! We went to a place called Master Tile Pool to choose our tiles and finishes, they have a showroom in the Dallas area also I believe. What I heard with the quartz was that the colors with added pigment can fade and have spotted areas of discoloration, but any of the colors with no added pigment are not prone to that problem. We are using Wet Edge Luna Quartz in our build, they have a video on their site that explains what the discoloration is caused by and the video shows examples of it.

Awesome!! I will go check that out. It makes sense that the pigment in the plaster is what causes the mottling and not necessarily the quartz itself. Thanks for the reply!

 

[spd500]

Our thinking with the ledge is that with our little being less than 3' tall, she would have a place to kind of sit and play in the bubbler when she doesn't want to actually swim. Also, we have lots of other babies in our family that have the ledge there would give the momma's a place to sit in the water with their littles and not having to be in the actual pool.

We are putting the ledge for our dogs, lol. Everyone has their own needs

 

[bmoreswim]

This is great advice and thank you so much!!

Our thinking with the ledge is that with our little being less than 3' tall, she would have a place to kind of sit and play in the bubbler when she doesn't want to actually swim. Also, we have lots of other babies in our family that have the ledge there would give the momma's a place to sit in the water with their littles and not having to be in the actual pool.

Does that make any sense at all or am I just not thinking about it clearly?

It's a common issue. Plan for today or all your tomorrows. Kids with pools can be swimming as a 2 year-old. I saw a family member's 2 year old swimming (good swimming across the pool taking breaths) and it was weird to see but they have a pool. This is all not to say that ledges are useless unless you have small kids, but I'd want to be kind of sure I'd use it regularly after littles to devote that S.F. to one.

Toddler Swim Lessons. 2 Year Old Swimming Ability

 

[Newdude]

Our thinking with the ledge is that with our little being less than 3' tall, she would have a place to kind of sit and play in the bubbler when she doesn't want to actually swim

We are putting the ledge for our dogs, lol. Everyone has their own needs

Dogs need the ledge their whole lives, and you'll probably get more dogs. Toddlers outgrow the need quickly and its not needed again until they have their OWN toddlers. But if someone truly likes the look, or thinks they will actually get enough use, then shelf away !!

 

[spd500]

Dogs need the ledge their whole lives, and you'll probably get more dogs. Toddlers outgrow the need quickly and its not needed again until they have their OWN toddlers. But if someone truly likes the look, or thinks they will actually get enough use, then shelf away !!

We actually plan to get alot of use out of it for ourselves as just a nice sitting area as well. I am installing a 75" so we can watch football or whatever from the tanning ledge and spa. But it is also just my wife and I so we have no kids that will want more space to swim when they are teenagers, so that is a consideration that doesn't apply to us. I do agree that it is important to consider how you will use the pool years down the road because it is a major investment that you want to get right.

 

[l1ltaral1l]

Could you swap sides for the hot tub? It may block the pool view from inside as it sits now.

I will agree with the above regarding kids and where they will be. We put in an IG pool in the fall. My youngest just turned 4 last week, but has been swimming (independently) most of the summer. Our depth is 3'-6', and I wish we went deeper. My oldest just turned 7 in June, and when his friends are over, it is a constant jumping/diving/flipping contest. And this is already at 7 - I can't imagine they Crud they will pull next summer

We have a liner pool and went with grey fiberglass steps (instead of vinyl lined) for the dogs. So I totally get adding certain features for the furry kids too

 

[Lineman7]

I've read enough on this site to tell ya, the shelf is what ya think best. It's a 100% personal decision.

You couldn't talk me outta ours. I know it'll get a lot of usage. Not only do I like the look, I like the function.

 

[l1ltaral1l]

I would also consider moving the extra patio area to closer to the house. I found out that even if it is only 20 extra feet away, people tend to cling to the area closest to the house.

 

[Newdude]

I would also consider moving the extra patio area to closer to the house. I found out that even if it is only 20 extra feet away, people tend to cling to the area closest to the house.

+1. It’s the same age old problem like everyone hanging out in the kitchen during the party, even with a formal dining room and living room. Nobody cares. They lean on the counter in the kitchen and enjoy that spot instead.

 

[Twipper333]

Could you swap sides for the hot tub? It may block the pool view from inside as it sits now.

I will agree with the above regarding kids and where they will be. We put in an IG pool in the fall. My youngest just turned 4 last week, but has been swimming (independently) most of the summer. Our depth is 3'-6', and I wish we went deeper. My oldest just turned 7 in June, and when his friends are over, it is a constant jumping/diving/flipping contest. And this is already at 7 - I can't imagine they Crud they will pull next summer

We have a liner pool and went with grey fiberglass steps (instead of vinyl lined) for the dogs. So I totally get adding certain features for the furry kids too

We initially thought about putting the spa on the opposite side of the house but a couple of things we considered that made us put it closer to the house.

1) When it is cold outside (when you actually use the spa) we didn't want to walk to the other side of the pool in the cold.
2) We have a large TV under the existing covered patio that is always on and if we're hosting a viewing party, the spa on this side give us another area for built in seating while watching. Not to mention being able to sit in the spa and watch the TV ourselves.

 

[Twipper333]

+1. It’s the same age old problem like everyone hanging out in the kitchen during the party, even with a formal dining room and living room. Nobody cares. They lean on the counter in the kitchen and enjoy that spot instead.

Makes complete sense! Our thought was that having that little bump out up there would allow us to perhaps put a small fire pit and a couple chairs out there for when the weather permits. We could even extend the concrete there, if what we are doing on day 1 isn't quite big enough. We also thought that with that bump out up there it is a natural place for a couple loungers for tanning given the direction of the evening sun in relation to our backyard.

 

[Newdude]

Our thought was that having that little bump out up there would allow us to perhaps put a small fire pit and a couple chairs out there for when the weather permits

Even when the plans don’t go to plan, you’ll have an amazingly beautiful area to gawk at. 98% of the time it’s just your immediate fam looking out and admiring it all. That part is a win no matter what. When folks are hanging out it will be at the most convenient spot because people are funny like that. Whattayagonnado????

 

[JJ_Tex]

We initially thought about putting the spa on the opposite side of the house but a couple of things we considered that made us put it closer to the house.

I get what you are saying, but I really dont like how the spa blocks your sight lines from the patio and inside the house. Your kids are young now and probably wont be swimming alone, but they will grow up. When they get old enough to swim with minimal supervision, you will not be able to see them at all from inside of the house.
Heck, mine are 12 and 15 and we still make sure someone is nearby (aka in the kitchen or living room) so we can see them and make sure nobody is acting a fool, knocked their teeth out, or worse.

Maybe there is an option to slide it a bit closer to the tanning ledge so you can see 3/4 of the pool from inside?

 

[Randrx2]

This is great advice and thank you so much!!

Our thinking with the ledge is that with our little being less than 3' tall, she would have a place to kind of sit and play in the bubbler when she doesn't want to actually swim. Also, we have lots of other babies in our family that have the ledge there would give the momma's a place to sit in the water with their littles and not having to be in the actual pool.

Does that make any sense at all or am I just not thinking about it clearly?

We had the exact same thought. Now he swims like a fish. Never stands in the pool He is always swimming, diving, jumping, hanging onto us, or hanging onto a float. When friends are over, they are in the pool or sitting on the steps.

It looks really cool, day and night. We have the bubbler which keeps the water circulating. It's nice to just walk out and stand there and dip our feet.

But on my next build, there will not be one.

I still recommend moving the hot tub to the other side though.