I finally have the plumber, steel people, electrician and the gunite people scheduled starting new week. I've decided to nix the in-floor cleaning system and go with a robot (PentairProwler 920). The SWG system consists of 4 IC60 units. And, the filtration will be two Pentair 420 cartilage filters. With the water features (falls, slide, etc.) I'm looking at 5 Pentair Intelliflo variable speed 3 hp pumps. I now checking (and reading on here) to see if the Pentair IntellipH unit works with this setup or if it even works that well. I have come to any firm conclusion on that yet. Any idea/thoughts would be appreciated. As things get underway, I'll keep you posted and take pictures along the way.
Pool Plans Finally...
- Thread starter Davwil
- Start date
I was also wondering if anyone has used one of the CircuPool CO2 units to maintain pH levels instead of muriatic acid.
Interesting. Never saw that before. I don’t know if I like using a pump drain plug as the delivery port. But certainly simplifies the installation. I wonder what co2 prices are like and how long the sensors for monitoring ph stay in spec.
- Jul 3, 2013
- 9,027
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-40
I agree, very interesting.. A 3 bottle setup that lasted 2 to 3 months would be nice...
I can get a 20 lb tank filled for about $22. I use them on my keg dispenser now. On there it last 6 months and I bought the tanks for about $100. I’m trying to decide if I should just go with the Pentair IntellipH unit for about $1300 ( which gets older yet mixed reviews in here and needs to be calibrated etc. ) or a CO2 unit.
I now have the steel and electrical conduits installed. I had them double the steel in the transition area and the deep end of the pool (6" centers instead of 12" like the rest of the pool). The deep end is the only area where we're not sitting completely on solid bedrock. It was probably overkill, but I thought it would be worth it. At least, I'll feel better. I'm ready for gunite now, but there's a backlog on their schedule so I don't have a date yet. Hopefully, within the next 3 weeks or so.
For now, we're working on the equipment room...pouring the ceiling and finishing the rock walls. And, I need to get the main power pulled to the equipment room.
I have a couple of questions, but I'm not sure anyone is following this post anymore so I'll probably post them elsewhere as well.
I know the gunite needs to cure for about 28 days before the plaster. At the waterline we intend to use travertine tile and that's something we will cut, seal and install ourselves. My questions involve the installation of the travertine.
(1 Is there a special "thin set" used in pools?
(2 Is there a special grout used for this in pools?
(3 Is it better to have a larger or smaller grout line between the tiles?
(4 Do we need to wait the 28 days for the gunite to cure before installing the tile? We obviously need to have it installed prior to the plastering?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.
For now, we're working on the equipment room...pouring the ceiling and finishing the rock walls. And, I need to get the main power pulled to the equipment room.
I have a couple of questions, but I'm not sure anyone is following this post anymore so I'll probably post them elsewhere as well.
I know the gunite needs to cure for about 28 days before the plaster. At the waterline we intend to use travertine tile and that's something we will cut, seal and install ourselves. My questions involve the installation of the travertine.
(1 Is there a special "thin set" used in pools?
(2 Is there a special grout used for this in pools?
(3 Is it better to have a larger or smaller grout line between the tiles?
(4 Do we need to wait the 28 days for the gunite to cure before installing the tile? We obviously need to have it installed prior to the plastering?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.
Last edited by a moderator:
Update...after doing some more searching here...duh.
It looks like the Laticrete 254 will work as the thinset. And the Permacolor Select from the same company will work as the grout. I chatted with one of the reps of this company and was told the tile could be set after the gunite has cured for about 5-7 days. And, then I would need to wait 14 days for the grout to cure before filling the pool. If this is correct, then this would work out well. I could get the gunite done and then the tile work finished, while the gunite was curing for 28 days prior to the plastering. If anyone has any thoughts or experience as to why might be a problem, I'd love the input.
Thanks again.
It looks like the Laticrete 254 will work as the thinset. And the Permacolor Select from the same company will work as the grout. I chatted with one of the reps of this company and was told the tile could be set after the gunite has cured for about 5-7 days. And, then I would need to wait 14 days for the grout to cure before filling the pool. If this is correct, then this would work out well. I could get the gunite done and then the tile work finished, while the gunite was curing for 28 days prior to the plastering. If anyone has any thoughts or experience as to why might be a problem, I'd love the input.
Thanks again.
That is correct for laticrete, 7 days on cure for thinset and about 2 weeks for that grout. Water the gunite for a week twice a day to slow the cure down. Technically you can tile 48hrs later if the concrete can still breathe elsewhere on the shell. Just can't plaster
Thank you. If all goes according to schedule (?) we may be swimming on the 4th of July! Gunite is scheduled for next Wednesday (so is rain) and then it’s tile, and plaster. I also have to drill supports and pour barstools. I guess I can do that a week or so after the gunite Has been shot?
After pressure testing for the last week we just discovered that the four skimmer fittings were leaking. I don’t know if the plumber over/tightened or if I’m they were a bad batch, but they are getting replaced this week and re-pressurized. Glade we caught it. I suspect over-tightening.
If you have open rebar where stools are going you can wire tie rebar uprights amd then just sonotube the stools right off of that. Saves a step. If they're smaller stool posts like 6 to 8 inches they may be able to do them in gunite at same time
I considered that and that seems to be the way it's commonly done; however, since the bar top is natural and irregularly shaped (attached pic), I would like to have the gunite done and then have the opportunity to position the bar stools afterwards. Thanks for the input.
Attachments
Just an update...for anyone that might be interested.
Everything has been shoved back so we might not be in the water on July 4th. I'm still waiting of the SWG units, but as I understand it we use chlorine for the first 30 days anyway. They are now scheduled to plaster on July 5th and the plumber and electrician are scheduled for the week before to hook up all the equipment. We've been trying to decide on the plaster color. I wish we would have started on that in the very beginning. It's not easy trying to pick colors by looking at pictures on the computer. Even the same mixes look different. Yesterday it was going to be Tropics Blue with one bag of colored glass beads per batch to get a darker blue. We don't want any green and want it dark, but not as dark as Midnight Blue. Today, it may be Tropics Blue Touch of Glass.
I'll try to attach more pictures tomorrow. We're working on the bar stools (almost finished) and need to finish the pool tile (travertine) before the plaster date. Everything and everyone is stretched right now. With prices of everything going through the roof, we just want to get this done as quickly as possible. As always, everyone I've reached out to on here has been great and very helpful.
Everything has been shoved back so we might not be in the water on July 4th. I'm still waiting of the SWG units, but as I understand it we use chlorine for the first 30 days anyway. They are now scheduled to plaster on July 5th and the plumber and electrician are scheduled for the week before to hook up all the equipment. We've been trying to decide on the plaster color. I wish we would have started on that in the very beginning. It's not easy trying to pick colors by looking at pictures on the computer. Even the same mixes look different. Yesterday it was going to be Tropics Blue with one bag of colored glass beads per batch to get a darker blue. We don't want any green and want it dark, but not as dark as Midnight Blue. Today, it may be Tropics Blue Touch of Glass.
I'll try to attach more pictures tomorrow. We're working on the bar stools (almost finished) and need to finish the pool tile (travertine) before the plaster date. Everything and everyone is stretched right now. With prices of everything going through the roof, we just want to get this done as quickly as possible. As always, everyone I've reached out to on here has been great and very helpful.
- Sep 3, 2018
- 1,340
- Pool Size
- 17000
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Yes it's a dive rock in the 10 ft. deep section. There's a another one opposite that, but it doesn't show in the picture.