Quarantine Pool Build - Please Critique!

[Cluckr7]

Hmm I realized I had been thinking my pool would be around 16,000 gallons, but this must be an older design. I realized that the current design is probably around 21-22 kgal.

So now I’m questioning if the Jandy swg is big enough, and thus requestioning going with all Pentair equipment. Arg.

The Jandy can make 1.25 lbs of chlorine a day which according to PoolMath can produce 6.8 ppm of FC per day on a 22kgal pool running 24/7 at 100%.

I will have a VS pump so I guess could run the pump all day, but doesn’t this seem undersized?

I haven’t really researched Pentair equipment models much. If I switched to Pentair, does anyone have recommendations on the equipment list?

I would think I’d go with Intelliflo pump and IC60 SWG. What about the automation, heater, and filter?

Does anyone know what the peak FC usage would be in Southeast TX in summer? Pool would get full sun most of the day.

 

[HermanTX]

As I mentioned in earlier post, I have Pentair DE 60 sq ft filter and very pleased with that. Some prefer just a cartridge filter which Pentair also makes, so you have options for either type. I also have a Pentair MasterTemp 400 BTU nat. gas heater. It works great. I mainly use it for heating the spa - not the whole pool but I would be very comfortable to heat the pool in a reasonable time if I ever needed to. I do not have SWG so others need to comment on that.

 

[Cluckr7]

Thanks. Waiting to hear back from PB

 

[Cluckr7]

I realized that two other PBs I talked to were planning on adding piers and footers as extra support because my backyard is slightly sloped. My current PB that I plan on going with says they aren’t needed.

The current yard where the back of the pool will be is about 27-28” below the existing patio. The existing patio will be the “ground level” for the new deck and pool.

I’m a little confused if I should push this further.

Does anyone have any insight?

 

[Cluckr7]

Is there any sensitivity I should know about with building in the fall / winter?

It looks like gunite is booked until mid to late October, which means plaster will probably be December.

I’m in Houston area so October is usually still pretty warm. December lows can get around or below freezing though.

 

[HermanTX]

I personally feel if you can complete by end of December it is better than doing it in Jan or Feb when real cold snaps can hit the Houston area. You will need to contend with rain meaning delays in certain works being done. with PB being so busy, you could also plan for March so you be ready for swim season starting late April.
I do not have a SWG but I consume 2-4ppm per day in CL due to sun in August.
With regard to automation, just about all on the forum have given good reviews to Pentair IntelliCenter. I have an old Jandy Aqualink that fits my needs.
Using piers and footers is an interesting topic. Why does the 1 PB say he does not need it? Is his explanation believable compared to the others that say they will install them? It becomes an issue as to how you want to derisk your investment. Obviously everything has a cost-benefit relationship. Can you get another opinion from a house contractor or maybe someone who does house inspections or foundation repairs to give you some other insight?
Hope this helps.

 

[Cluckr7]

Thanks @HermanTX ! Good points about Jan and Feb.

Do you or anyone else know - is it mostly the plaster install that has the cold sensitivity?

I’ve read gunite does too but I’m not too concerned about that since it’ll be October.

I guess worst case if it got cold by the time plaster came around, I could tell the PB to wait until a warmer forecast of days to apply the plaster. There’s no issue with waiting for the right temps to apply the plaster right?

 

[wilkj1]

any temps at 40 deg. and rising your good . your ground temps just do not ever pour concrete on frozen sub grades other than that hope for good temps for 3 day at least .

 

[Cluckr7]

Here’s a picture of the plan.

Any thoughts on skimmer placement (not having a slimmer on the left side). I don’t have deck on the back left, so I guess there would be a little box sticking out that we could hide with landscaping if we did the back left corner. Or I guess another option would be on the front left above the 9” sundeck.

I don’t think there’s any prevailing wind direction.

any other comments?

 

[wilkj1]

what i see is over by the spa you do have landscape and no to much of a drop off behind that may be a option at least ......it is by your ledge i have one on a ledge it does not bother anyone just a thought i see if it is over to the long side it would stick up and probably look out of place

 

[Cluckr7]

what i see is over by the spa you do have landscape and no to much of a drop off behind that may be a option at least ......it is by your ledge i have one on a ledge it does not bother anyone just a thought i see if it is over to the long side it would stick up and probably look out of place

Thanks! I spoke with the PB and agreed to put a skimmer on the left side just past the spa. There will be a little tiled concrete box ,like a 2’x2’ extension of the deck that sticks out past the coping that’ll look weird, but I figure I can landscape around it to hide it and don’t want to deal with leaves collecting.

Thanks for the insights! Hopefully we start building in about a month.

 

[Cluckr7]

Does anyone have any recommendations on return locations? I get 5 returns. The PB said I can pick them, otherwise they'll let the plumbing folks decide.

Here's the plan again with new skimmer locations.


@Jimrahbe

 

[Cluckr7]

We have a hole! Excavation subcontractors dug this out in a day, I was pretty impressed.

I did measurements and all seem OK.

I do have some questions for the experts out there though:

1. The shallow end is supposed to be 3.5 feet deep. I measured from the bottom of the coping board, which should be around the waterline level, and it’s 4 feet deep, maybe a hair over. That leaves around 6” for gunite floor and plaster. Does that sound right?

2. I noticed that I must have some compacted fill dirt on top of original soil. You can see there’s a dark layer, which has some roots and such, and below that is deep red clay, and above that is reddish dirt again which I’m guessing is compacted fill. I was wondering I should be concerned, especially on the shallow end and spa where the hole doesn’t go too deep past this old dark layer. All the dirt does seem to be really compacted for what it’s worth. Also my house is also built on this same dirt, unless the home builder handled the dirt under the foundation differently. Any thoughts?

 

[Cluckr7]

(post was merged)

We just excavated our IG gunite pool, and it didn’t occur to me that there would be a pretty big void behind the deep end wall where the Bobcat went in and out of the pool. You can see this in the picture below - our deep end is 6’.

I asked our PB how this will be back filled, waiting for a response, but I’m guessing based on the pile of clay soil behind that that’s what will be used. I am no expert in construction, but I’m a little concerned about settling.

Is it acceptable to use this dirt, and if so what should I look for / ask about in terms of compacting?

We are going to have pavers on a sand base where this void is. Is the main concern with improperly backfilled dirt settling of the pavers, or is the structural integrity of the pool wall also a concern?

@jimmythegreek

 

[Cluckr7]

A couple updates - we have gunite! I’ve been watering every couple hours.

So far, I’ve been pretty impressed with the subs the PB used. However I ran into a disappointment with the rough plumbing. Unfortunately, I didn’t really appreciate this until after gunite, but the plumber used a good amount of flexible PVC in the rough plumbing - he used it for the spa loop, the main drain, the skimmers, and the waterfeature drains. It’s everywhere I didn’t know this was even a thing. I’m disappointed that the PB would skimp on this.

Oh - Is this an issue with a SWG?

On a positive, so far I’m pleased with how the gunite turned out.

 

[JMSMommy]

Sorry I can't comment on the plumbing issue...but what decking/coping, etc did y'all end up going with? Was about to finalize with a builder this week, but now very seriously considering doing a SWG. We had our heart set on travertine decking, coping, etc...but now rethinking it all. =)

 

[Cluckr7]

We are going with travertine decking and coping. The general consensus on TFP from what I can tell is that it should be fine with SWG.

 

[Jbrillo]

We are going with travertine decking and coping. The general consensus on TFP from what I can tell is that it should be fine with SWG.

It’ll be fine with a SWG. Salt damaging travertine is a myth in Texas for some reason. I only have travertine coping but I can’t tell you, over a year and a half later, everything is fine.