Preparing for initial fill

titleistseemore

Gold Supporter
Jul 8, 2014
343
Lodi Ca
Pool Size
16700
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hello All,
Should be filling our new pool with water soon, did my fill water test ( my hose in the backyard) and have a concern.
CL: 0
CH: 25
TA: 39
PH:7.6
CYA: not tested

I am concerned about the low CH with our new pool which will have a Micro Fusion interior.

I went back to look at my test results from a few years ago with my old 18’ index pool and the CH was also at 25, with the vinyl liner, I never worried about it. Have not spoken with the builder yet as we are still about 10 to 14 days away from ini fill. Any thoughts?
 
That is some very soft water, so you are right to be concerned. Discuss their start-up procedures and chemical balancing so that you are on the same page. After day 3 of start-up, I would anticipate adding stabilizer for a minimum CYA goal of 30, balancing the FC to that CYA as noted on the FC/CYA Levels, and of course increasing the CH to at least 250 to optimize good curing.
 
CH is easy to fix with granular calcium chloride - can usually find some fairly pure snow-melt options, over the extremely pricey pool versions.

Remember calcium chloride has an exothermic reaction (creates intense heat) - the CH should not be pre-mixed in a bucket.
 

Get educated and get involved in watching over your project. Trusting a contractor and just writing checks is rolling the dice on getting a quality plaster job.

To get an idea of the pool plastering process you can read the EXPOSED AGGREGATE POOL FINISH GUIDE from SGM the makers of Diamond Brite plaster.

Pool Plaster Tips for the Average Homeowner is a good place to begin reading about how to get quality plaster installation.

Ten Guidelines for Quality Pool Plaster There are proper steps to follow for the making of durable pool plaster. There are also improper practices that can lead to early deterioration, discoloration or other failures. Above is a ten-point checklist that will help achieve a lasting and discoloration-free plaster.

A Plastering 'Watch List' Taking control of the plastering process is within reach of any quality-oriented designer or builder, declares Kim Skinner. To help you on your way, he offers this step-by-step guide to managing what should happen on site before, during and after plaster application takes place.


 
Thanks for the replies, everyone, looks like I will need to get some calcium chloride. Today was my pre interior inspection and We passed. It seems like everything that has happened with this pool project has been difficult. This morning I installed the 2 door alarms, first one would not stop alarming (UGH!!!!!) second unit worked great, but I have 2 doors, So I quickly ran to the second nearest Home Depot because the one closest did not have a pool / door / gate alarm, I quickly get back to my house and quickly install the unit, a quick program and it worked. The inspector knocked on my door 5 mins later .... My 2 gates leading the backyard, the one spring stopped working Never worked well anyways, quickly got a basic spring and some eye hooks, The pool builder told me that the locking mechanism had to be 60 inches above the ground (That would have been good info prior to me building my new gates) so I had to move up the gate latches this morning as well. Then the inspector does his walk through (3 mins max) pushed each gate, checked the door, I asked him if he wanted my tape measure to check the gate lock height and he says looks good to me ... I moved the locks 6 inches higher and the inspector told me that I didnt have to do it ...

I am tired to say the least and just want this finished.

1. The pool company will be back out on Thursday for the 3rd time re-doing some of the rock work on our raised spa, We had to go to 2 levels higher than the GC to get what we want and how we want the rock to look on the spa
2. The cement for the deck was delayed for over 3 weeks due to the pool company not putting in an additional outlet for my Traeger, it was discussed and omitted on the final plan, they wanted to charge an additional 3500.00, after allot of discussion, I had the original text thread and email chain, and then the pool company put it in at no cost but a very long delay.
3. They installed the pool panel box in a different location then on the plans, stating they had to do because of code and they could not move it. It would have been the biggest eye sore I could have imagined, 2 weeks later it was moved, I guess it was not a code issue.
4. we added length to our side yard by moving the gate further towards our street, looks great but another long process similar to issue 2. Which I then had to build / extend my fence and build a new gate.
5. My neighbor wanted some dirt and asked if he could have some, no problem. The pile of dirt stayed on my small side yard for a long time before he moved it to his backyard, and I still have not finished getting all the dirt out of my small side yard (No Help from the neighbor either). I will have to re-sod etc ... The project length extends
6. I had to trim the very tall trees from both neighbor's house, So I rented a pole saw from Home Depot, worked great and quick, but then the engine (2 stroke) leaked small drops of oil (fuel) on my new concrete, I tried everything and can't get it out completely, my wife was not happy to say the least.
7. The contractor painted all the white PVC flat black, looks good except the over spray on the new cement. It is not allot but after what we have paid ... Still not fixed but have been assured that it will
8. When the concrete company put the color powder on the concrete, some made it onto our nice vinyl sliding glass door, I can't get it all off, Wife not happy again!
9. The GC we had from the pool company moved to Florida, the new one is not a nice person to deal with ... Hence why we have the bosses contact now.
10. My garage has been full with the shed that I had to move for all the Contruction work, so I have had no use of my garage and even had to rent a temporary storage unit to keep my shed stuff in ...

and this list is not complete, but you get the idea. Everything seems to be an issue or does not go to plan. With my intex pool, I was the GC, the installer, the cleaning company, and everything else, if something went wrong, I grabbed a beer, fired myself and then would re-hire me the next day!!!!


So I am preparing for the next phase, still have some more reading to do on the plaster (thanks for the links), Our city added water meters to all housed so we would pay by the usage instead of a flat rate (Surely did not like that) but now there is one good thing about it I have a water meter at my house that measures cubic feet of water, simple math will convert it to gallons, Read a great post on TFP about how this would be the only time to be able to have how many gallons my pool actually is (what a great read that post was), the post even had ways to account for showers and toilet flushes. I have 3 3/4 inch hoses with good water pressure ready to go. Now if only I can get a fundraiser going for the cost of the water (Flat rate would have been good). The pro's and con's but at least I will know the true gallons for doing pool math. 1 Cubic Feet of Water = 7.4805194805 gallons of water.

Any ideas on number 8 that could get the colorant off?
 

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I purchase my Stenner Pump and Stenner tank (Got it all mounted and ready, just need to hook it up to the return line, again allot of good posts on not mixing pucks and liquid Chloring (No blow ups wanted here). One of the moderators mentioned about not drilling into the in-line puck holder, just in case someone or if I sold the house the next owner would not have this potential problem (Just to be clear I do not use pucks, my intex pool was on the Chlorinator). Now the next problem, the plumbing is very tight, so I decided to create a piece of PVC that could easily be inter changed with the in-line Chlorinator, this was not easy, but I did it, 2-inch unions have a difficult to find thread, but Leslie's pool had an adaptor that worked (Unfortunately they were expensive for me) but the length was too long so I rented a mitre saw and cut the PVC T and threaded adaptor by 5/8" then glued all together. I then was worried about the strength of glued parts since I cut them and there is not as much glue area and did not want to realize someday that my adaptor was broke and I lost a ton of water, so I used fiberglass cloth and high strength epoxy and applied to each glued area to add more strength then painted it to match the flat black. My wife calls it ugly but I am proud of my ugly duckling. I tried it out just for fit purposed and the fit is tight, I feel great that this is never going to leak.
 

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I completely ordered new testing chemicals, and then found out there is a new TFP Pro kit, had to have that cool case so I ordered a new CYA tube as well. This is better than the plastic tray of the standard TFP kit. So I am good to go for Testing. I also noticed that there are discounts on pool tools so I ordered 2 new nets, new brushes and a new pole. The lifetime warranty from the Pro Tuff was the selling ticket for me, I have all my old stuff but it has been in the weather for 4 years without any use. So a couple of new Wall Whale brushes and I am ready for 30 days of scrubbing (Hoping to get the kids to help, so I now have multiple Wall Whale brushes)image0[3560].jpegimage0[3562].jpeg
 
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As winter is fast approaching, pool fill after interior and acid wash, Hopefully next week. I am concerned about Pool closing (Freezing issues) and still doing the 3o days of brushing etc ... Any thoughts?
 

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