Pros and cons of trucking water versus hose fill

[jillp913]

Hi,

Well it's just our luck that our pool refinish timing looks to be ending up the day before we leave for a weeks vacation, really?! We begged to get it moved up, but it doens't look good.

So, we're considering trucking in the water as we won't be there to babysit the hose. Our PB says he will come to brush it once a day while we are gone.
This all has me anxious as you can imagine, but our weather in the northeast is to blame, or this would have been done a month ago.
Any concerns with trucking it in other than cost? What do people usually do after a remodel?

Thanks!

Jill

 

[ajw22]

I filled my pool from water trucks when it was done last year. You can find pics of my pool being filled on this this thread - https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/160804-Replastering-a-Pool-A-1-Year-Saga-Problems-amp-Lessons-Learned

My pool took four 7,000 gallon water trucks and then I did the rest with hoses from the house. It was two trucks making two trips each. Of course nothing happens smoothly and one truck blew a tire on the highway with a load. So it took longer then planned.

Only concern I would have is to know the quality of the water you are getting. My pool builder arranged the water delivery and knew the water source.

This year I had to drain and refill the pool and did it with two house hoses running and it took 38 hours for a 35,000 gallon pool. About 1,000 gallons and hour.

 

[jillp913]

Thanks, I just read your thread, your pool is very pretty. I hope it's now holding up. I sure hope after 2 months of delays due to weather that we end up with a perfect product, ugh, nothing is ever easy. We're going with luna quartz, fingers crossed.

I will definitely ask about the quality of the trucking water!

Thanks

 

[Husky25]

Assume city water (vs. residential well), don't make the mistake that running the hose doesn't cost anything. If you are on city water and get billed for both water and sewer, the water company will assume it is going down the drain, unless you let them know. Sewer rates are typically more than those of water.

Filling from a residential well runs the risk of the well running dry.

 

[MrBfromNC]

I decided to use my own water since I can test it ahead of time and see exactly what I'll be dealing with once it is inside my pool. And my county water dept. told me it would be about $100-$120 worth of water on my next month's utility bill. But if you decide to go with your own water hoses, I've read elsewhere on TFP that you can use the 5-gallon bucket method to estimate how long it will take.

Using an empty 5 gallon bucket, turn on your garden hose full blast and fill the bucket. Then use simple math. My pool is 15,000 gallons and my bucket filled in 25 seconds. So 15,000 gallons is equal to 3,000 buckets. It is 25 seconds for each bucket so filling 3,000 buckets will take about 75,000 seconds. Divide by 60 and that's 1,250 minutes. Divide by 60 again and that is 20.8 hours. Means my pool should fill in about 21 hours.

Of course, it's only an estimate but I'm about to find out this coming Tuesday when my pool is installed!!

 

[jillp913]

oh yeah, I know it will cost about $800 to truck it in and $200-300 with hose, but it may be worth it to avoid spider cracks in the plaster and to be there when it's filled. I'm not concerned about the money as much as what is best for the pool finish. Thanks

 

[Dirk]

I don't know what luna quartz is, nor the best solution for your situation. I can only share my experience. Knowing what I now know about pool startup and contractors and maintenance "pros," there is no way I would be absent for the first week of a brand new pool surface's life. That is hands down the most important week of its existence in terms of how it will look, feel and last. If your new surface is like mine, it needs to be brushed as least twice a day, and the water chemistry balanced at least once a day. Not "pool guy" balanced... TFP balanced!

Has the finish been applied? Otherwise, my advice would be to reschedule either your time away or the finish installation. Assuming you can't or won't reschedule your time away, let the gunite sit until you get back, then have the PB shoot the finish after you return.

 

[jillp913]

We have a completely chipped out pool....for a month and a half! No tile, no finish, it is so frustrating.
I know, it has me SO nervous that we won't be here. I don't want to say wait because our luck with weather around here lately then we'll be in July. And we have our entire family coming for the first week in July.
Plus I'd rather he push it up!
Or maybe it gets done the week we are gone, which is likely, with another 5 days of rain on the way, ugh, the weather in PA this year is unreal. Our PB literally lives 5 minutes away and I completely trust him, but yes, I am still nervous.

 

[Dirk]

Well, I'd weigh the factors. What is another month in the grand scheme? My goal with my new finish was to put something down that will last the rest of my life, so that I don't have to plunk down another $10K (which will be $20K+ in a few decades). This will be my last house. So that means doing everything I can to maintain the longevity of my pool's surface. TFPC everyday, forever. And an as-close-to-perfect startup. 30 days of due diligence for 30 years of pool surface (if I'm lucky). And that first week is the most important for the curing process. How long do you plan to own house and pool? How important is the pool party you're envisioning? How many years worth of pool longevity is impressing your family worth to you? Do you believe your PB will care as much as you whether your pool lasts 10 years or 15 or 20? Trade offs...

 

[todd.brock]

I will end up using our garden hose and faucet outside. We have a faucet in the basement before the pressure regulator and it puts out a lot of pressure and volume.

I’m just not sure I trust a hose through the basement and out a window for 24 hours or so! If that thing breaks, it’s flooded city.

My neighbor just refilled and said sewer rates are based on winter usage so the amount of water used during summer is billed without sewer rates added in.

 

[ctrav]

We used hose from the house and cost was $300-$400. Much cheaper than being trucked in. Plus the house water is what will be used to top off and when I test before adding water to pool I know exactly whats in my water. Since PB lives so close can he start the fill with hose somewhere between 3-6 pm then come back the next day to turn it off since he lives so close? Can you have a trusted neighbor check on it a couple of times as well?

 

[ajw22]

oh yeah, I know it will cost about $800 to truck it in and $200-300 with hose, but it may be worth it to avoid spider cracks in the plaster and to be there when it's filled. I'm not concerned about the money as much as what is best for the pool finish. Thanks

I paid $450 per 7,000 gallon water truck load.

I pay 4.0743 per CCF. 1 CCF = 748 gallons. 35,000 gallons took 47 CCF = $191 in house water.

A water truck load is about 10X the cost of filling with hoses from the local water company.

Check your local water rates.

How many gallons is your pool?

 

[jillp913]

wow, that's a big difference, our pool is just under 30,000 gallons.

 

[awstevens]

I started using the hose to save a few $ but the water looked like this:

So I pumped it out and filled with two truckloads instead.

 

[ctrav]

Oh no...my water was and has been clear from the beginning with water hose. Then again Texas water is good

 

[PoolGate]

Where do your water trucks get their water from? Around here they tap into any available fire hydrant and put a special meter on it. So it is no different than house water. Arguably it is dirtier since hydrants aren't used as much and could have sediment in them. I thought that is what they did everywhere.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

I don't know what luna quartz is, nor the best solution for your situation. I can only share my experience. Knowing what I now know about pool startup and contractors and maintenance "pros," there is no way I would be absent for the first week of a brand new pool surface's life. That is hands down the most important week of its existence in terms of how it will look, feel and last. If your new surface is like mine, it needs to be brushed as least twice a day, and the water chemistry balanced at least once a day. Not "pool guy" balanced... TFP balanced!

Has the finish been applied? Otherwise, my advice would be to reschedule either your time away or the finish installation. Assuming you can't or won't reschedule your time away, let the gunite sit until you get back, then have the PB shoot the finish after you return.

That could be November, just sayin- things are a bit different on our coast.. never give up your spot in line.

 

[jillp913]

poolguyinCT, exactly!! I am not giving up my spot. With another 5 days of rain projected we're probably already pushed into the week OF our vacation, which would work! I can't take this spring, we better have a perfect summer

Ok, I guess I need to find out where the water is from, although scheduling water delivery is also going to be tough. My PB recommended trucking, so he must know the water quality is fine.

 

[ajw22]

Ok, I guess I need to find out where the water is from, although scheduling water delivery is also going to be tough. My PB recommended trucking, so he must know the water quality is fine.

If you trust your PB with building a quality pool then let him arrange the water trucks. They do it all the time and should know who delivers quality water and how to work out the schedules.

 

[jillp913]

Well it's a fortune but i'm getting the water trucked in Saturday... we leave for vacation on Sunday. I can't believe this timing. I'm so stressed over it I feel sick. Guess I just need to trust they will show up and brush it every day. I'm insanely thinking of staying home from an already paid for, much anticipated vacation Getting a pool remodeled is not fun. But the tile IS gorgeous!