Owner build in Apache Junction, AZ.

[Kingzero]

This whole thing started on August 4th but my HOA drug their feet and cost me a month. The layout hinged on them approving me moving a wall and I couldn't apply for my permit till then. After some calls expressing my extreme aggravation I had my approval and off to the permit office I went. I did my own site plan on floor planner after I saw another member use it. It only took 6 working days to get my permit......talk about fast service. The new wall went up, I built a new gate and we dug a couple days later. The dig took two days because we hit some hard stuff and had to hammer out the last foot or so.

 

[kimkats]

SWEET! So the wall.......all you wanted to do was move it up some? Or was there more to it?

I can't see your plans very well. Do you have a bigger pic of it?

What about your equipment? Want some input on it? Give us the kind and model and we make sure it will be purrfect for your pool!

Kim

 

[Kingzero]

Sorry, I fixed the plan pic. I was originally going to move the wall South to accommodate the equipment but decided to build a gate instead for easier access. I put up the wall and built the gate before I tore down the old section cause I had to go out of town for training. I wasn't sure I would get the gate done before I had to leave and didn't want to do something temporary to keep my mutt from getting out. This explains it....

The final shape......

I already bought the equipment and am actually going to fill the pool tomorrow. I was going to upload things as they progressed but with work, family and this project I hardly had time for anything else. My days have consisted of work from 5am to 3:30pm, pick up kids, work on pool till dark. I'm ready for it to be over.

Anyway, this is what I went with equipment wise.......

Pentair Superflo VS
Pentair Clean & Clear Plus 420
Pentair 5G Intellibrite color LED
Pentair Globrite color LED for baja
Pentair Intellibrite Controller

The plumber supplied a Hayward skimmer and Paramount auto fill and plumbed in 4 returns (I added 3 more), 1 vac port, 1 aerator and 2 bubblers.

The mutt trying not to fall in.

The boys ready for water.

 

[Kingzero]

Next was steel. They had to put extra steel in the East side cause it was 4' from the block wall. I guess the distance and load from the wall required it. One guy got it done in one day. It was a long day and he didn't seem too happy when I added the two benches on the South end.

The electrician stopped by in the afternoon and said as long as the steel was finished that day, he would come back and finish up what he needed so I could call for inspection the next day. He said he would call in an hour to check up on things. I lost track of time and two hours later the steel was done and I called the electrician. He seemed surprised I called and said the steel was done and he started back pedaling. He said he didn't think steel would be done and he wasn't really in a position to come finish the conduit and bonding. I told him that was his fault for not following up like he said and that I already called for inspection. He showed up with another guy and worked till 7:30 to get it done. The next day I passed the first inspection and had shotcrete scheduled for 2 days later. The shotcrete guys left a mess and it took me forever to get all the concrete out from under all the plumbing.

During all this I was moving and sifting dirt, replumbing and installing new irrigation, trenching and running conduit for landscape lights and the future BBQ island. I also poured concrete and built a uni-strut frame for the electrical to mount to and even pulled the wire from the main service to the pool sub panel. I also poured the pad for the pool equipment as well.

Pavers came next but I will continue this tomorrow.

 

[kimkats]

Looking at your plans I was thinking what a good idea those benches were! Left an opening between them for a swim lane and the benches will be a good getting out spot by the house. Sorry the guy was not happy to do them but I am glad you did! Interesting on the extra steel by the wall. I guess better safe than sorry.

Sad when people do not have pride in their finished product and leave messes to clean up behind them That had to be hard to clean up.

LOL on the electrician back pedaling when you called him "ummmmmmmmmm, butttttttt, oh man BUSTED" Glad you got him to come out and do the work. Bet he thinks twice before he opens his month next time!

The two boys waiting for the water! LOVE IT! They are going to love having a pool to brush and take care of! How close in age are they?

No mutts on the loose! Good call getting the gate and wall done before you left.

How are you planning on adding FC (Free chlorine) to your pool?

You say you are close to adding water. Do you have a test kit yet?

THANKS for sharing your build with us!

Kim

 

[Kingzero]

The benches were actually a buddies idea and glad I did it. That area is always shaded so it will make a good hang out area.

Other than the one incident, the electrician was really good.

The boys are 16 months apart.

I plan on using liquid for chlorine. Either bleach or a higher percentage solution. I have to get some stuff today so I will probably just get bleach for now.

What is a good brand sequestering agent to use? The mini pebble was installed yesterday and they will be back to acid wash and start filling today.

Also, what is a good liquid stabilizer to use?

I ordered a TF-100 kit and tested my water already.....

FC 2.0
PH 7.5
TA 130
CH 225

I didn't test for CYA and CC was 2.5 ppm. I was surprised at the FC level. I work in the water industry and while 2.0 ppm is ok, it's on the high side. I even brought my HACH Colorimeter home from work to double check.

 

[mknauss]

Does the water in Apache Junction have iron in it? Why the sequestering agent?

You can use any liquid stabilizer as long as it is cyanuric or isocyanuric acid. Powder form is far cheaper. Your choice. Use Pool math to determine how much you need for 30 ppm CYA. Next spring you will want to take that to 50 ppm if using liquid chlorine.

You realize you will need to add your liquid chlorine daily and sometimes twice daily during summer, right? No extended vacations unless someone is able to maintain the pool daily.

Take care.

 

[Kingzero]

All the water out here has iron in it. I will probably switch to tabs by the summer but will most likely stay with liquid through the winter. I know the battles of maintaining residuals in the heat since that is a major role in my job. I maintain a municipal potable water system and chlorine is always a challenge in the summer. Especially in our 2-4 million gallon reservoirs where we blend a large percentage of treated surface water that has organics in it. The chlorine consumption rate can get ridiculous......like 55 pounds of 68% cal-hypo tabs per day at one site.

 

[kimkats]

Jack's is the sequestering agent I see most using.

CYA-Lowes or Walmart if they still have some. Put it in a sock and let it hang in front of a return or two.

16 months??? I bet the first couple of years were rough! Now you are enjoying it but wait until you hit high school age aka open wallet blow the dust out! LOL

Kim

 

[Kingzero]

Pavers were next and took 2 days. I had to rework and recut the ones around the skimmer and autofill. The West volleyball sleeve ended up right in the middle of the deck so I added more pavers to make it easier for people to walk around it when the net is in.

This was after the first day....

The finished deck....

You can see the pavers I pulled out from around the skimmer and autofill.



Tile was a couple days later and that's when I decided to add 22 or so square feet to the deck. The string line in the picture is the inside edge of the border.

 

[Kingzero]

I spent the weekend moving dirt and rock and on Sunday I cleaned the pool interior to prepare for the finish guys on Monday. After chipping off globs of shotcrete and protruding rocks, I swept, pressure washed and pumped/ vacuumed out all the debris. I thing the paver guys got more sand in the pool then between the pavers.

Monday the interior finish guys showed up early and got to work. There was 10 or 11 guys and they didn't mess around....except one. Him and I got sidetracked talking about bow hunting and who got drawn for what this year. He finally said "man, I better get to work or I'm going to hear it". A couple hours later they were gone and I just stood there wishing it was filling.

Mini Pebble in Tahoe Blue........

One guy showed up this afternoon to acid wash and install the drain covers and fittings. Super nice guy and didn't seem to mind all my questions. We threw the hoses in a little after 3:00......just in time to get the kids from school. The pool is a little over 17,000 gallons and my meter is topped out at 18.5 gpm. It should take 15 to 16 hours to fill and then I will fire up the equipment and test the water.

I still have a fair amount of yard work to do and install landscape lights. I'm going to add an umbrella sleeve to the deck by the entry, but am waiting till we sit out there to decide on proper placement. I also have to figure out what to do about the calcium build up on the walls from the sprinklers. I put some muriatic acid on it but didn't put much effort into it. I am going to try again and scrub with a brush, but it may come to sealing and painting it.

 

[kimkats]

SO much right with everything you did! You really needed that extra decking! Good move on your part!

That decking is SO pretty! Love the color and stone shape and layout.

LOL on bow hunting getting him sidetracked!

Your water/plaster color will take some time to settle into it's finial color. There might be some green to it at first. This is very normal. Brushing and getting the water balanced will take care of that.

The wall...........what ratio did you mix the m. acid and water before you sprayed it? What kind of brush did you use? I have some ideas that might work.

Kim

 

[Kingzero]

I didn't brush it before. I sprayed the block with water and then a 50/50 solution of acid and water. I let it sit for a while and then hosed it off. It was a spur of the moment thing, the acid was old and I didn't have much of it.

Im open to any suggestions. I need to get it taken care of before I do anything else in those areas.

 

[kimkats]

Cleaning wall:

Wear eye protection and throw away clothes while doing any of this please!

First off pick a small, as out of sight area as you can to experiment on to see what works.

Try muriatic acid at 1/3 with a being acid and 3 being water. If that does not work move to 1/2 and see what happens.

Try different brushes. Move from soft to very hard. CAREFULLY brush and watch to make sure you don't make more of problem. I wonder if a wire brush would help knock it off once the acid wash had time to sit on it.

Get some good paper towels. Wet them down with your acid mixture. Put them on the wall with something leaning on it to help hold it on the wall. I would even spray the wet towels again once they are on the wall. See if this helps hold the acid on the spots long enough to do some good.

I am also wondering about CLR. I know this stuff work on everything else........so will it work on a block wall?

Let me know what works! Good luck!

Kim

 

[Kingzero]

So it took a little longer to fill and was around 1500 gallons more than I expected. It took 17 hours and my meter shows around 18,500 gallons. I fired up the equipment around 7am and has been running since. It was much clearer than I expected, and already looks great after the first brushing. I tested the water and added a gallon of stabilizer and will test it again later. I know I will have to add more but curious to see exactly what the gallon got me. I forgot about the jets I made and had to do some last minute plumbing in the dark last night. I think they turned out pretty nice.

Initial results were...

PH- 7.8
FC- 1.5
CH- 225
TA- 140
CYA- 0

A little after 7am when I quit filling, water is a little cloudy.

After a brushing and a couple hours of run time through the filter.

 

[nefarious]

Looks good.

What did you use for the 3 jets (laminars) along the wall into the pool?

 

[Kingzero]

No, I made my own.