South Alabama build - conclusion

[Auburn02]

Getting close now, despite a couple of hurricanes rolling through the builder is still on schedule for a November 9th dig. I got a call from the County permit office about a week ago letting me know he was submitting the permit so I have one year to get my fence, door alarms, etc sorted out. My trees came down last week - all 3 that I was hemming on in the beginning of this thread, plus 1 more that had to go thanks to Hurricane Sally ripping half of it away for me.

 

[Auburn02]

Now it's feeling real, we have paint on the ground!

The back of the house faces north so while we're seeing right now the pool catching a lot of shade off the house, I have to keep reminding myself that in the normal swimming season the sun will be much higher in the sky. The bumpout on the house side will be more pronounced as that will be the tanning shelf thing also.






There will be a privacy fence on the left side of this pic from just this side of the AC units going to the left. Oak tree will be on the front side of that fence. The equipment pad will be between the two side windows toward the back corner of the house, and we'll shield it from view with a small wall or some shrubbery or the like.



Dig starts Monday!

 

[spd500]

Make sure you measure where it is laid out for the dig. It should be at least 1' larger in every direction than you are expecting the finished pool to be.

Also, I didn't see one listed, but if you are installing a gas heater you need to make sure it is far enough away from any window that will open.

 

[Auburn02]

Make sure you measure where it is laid out for the dig. It should be at least 1' larger in every direction than you are expecting the finished pool to be.

Also, I didn't see one listed, but if you are installing a gas heater you need to make sure it is far enough away from any window that will open.

Keep in mind this is a vinyl pool, so no need to leave room for rebar and gunite/etc.

No heater planned but good point, I’ll think about options if we think we might ever do it in the future.

 

[Auburn02]

Builder suggested today 3 Pentair Microbrites instead of the planned 2 Amerilights, but need to decide on location. Hoping for quick input from the group here. He's proposing them spaced well, but one would be pointing back at the patio. I know this is a general no-no but I'm not sure what better alternative to suggest, so here's a horrible sketch.

The red lines are a rough idea of the inlaid linered steps. The orange line is a bench/ledge, and the yellow arrows are roughly where the proposed lights will be. The one in the shallow end on the left would likely be more around the bend and pointing back at an angle I suspect. I've sat on enough patios in my 40 years looking at the one light in the deep end shining back at you and to be honest it never bothered me until I started reading this forum so I'm not too worried if that's where we end up, but again just trying to get thoughts from the group on possible alternatives to suggest. Have to decide today (the hole is dug and the walls are in, I'll update with fresh pictures soon).

 

[Newdude]

I've sat on enough patios in my 40 years looking at the one light in the deep end shining back at you and to be honest it never bothered me until I started reading this forum

Yeah, But now that you know........ lol. My easy answer is to point the middle third light away from the patio at the close to the house wall.

personally I rarely used my light but it was also a boring spotlight type so it was never needed for ambiance and only used for function when we were night swimming If I had pretty lights I probably would have used them more so maybe placement would have bothered me.

 

[Auburn02]

I hear you. So I wonder how this might work out then. Also of note, where I show the middle light is where they've already cut in the skimmer so I imagine the light won't be right there unless it's deeper below the skimmer, not sure if that's typical or not.




And one more option I came up with, sort of a hybrid of the two. My main purpose here being to light up the stairs a little better, but not sure if it would really make much difference. Also I think the non-symmetrical nature of this one might disturb me.

 

[Newdude]

Also I think the non-symmetrical nature of this one might disturb me

+1 for sure.

 

[spd500]

Is there a reason to not consider putting it in the front of the bench facing out away from the patio? I think that would be my choice, unless there is something I am not considering.

 

[Auburn02]

Is there a reason to not consider putting it in the front of the bench facing out away from the patio? I think that would be my choice, unless there is something I am not considering.

I had not even considered that - I like it, but I will say now that I don't think it's an option without some serious intervention into their build plan. This is a vinyl pool with polymer walls, but the front wall of the bench/shelf will be formed concrete so that would require them planning a conduit into the form/pour instead of just drilling a hole in an existing wall. Not to say it couldn't be possible, just outside the scope of work and not something I feel I'd want to push too hard for.

I'm also hoping that if we do have the light directly across from the ledge, it will allow some light to illuminate the shelf itself vs leaving it dark if the light was emitted from underneath.

 

[spd500]

Not to say it couldn't be possible, just outside the scope of work and not something I feel I'd want to push too hard for.

If it really is out of scope I would ask what the cost would be to add it. sometimes you will be surprised at how inexpensive small changes can be.

 

[Auburn02]

After looking through some other pictures and video, seen below, I think I actually prefer one light on the opposite side to disperse the light more, even if it is pointing toward the house. Side note - the part of the house it will point to is the sunroom/office off of the master bedroom, where we will not be looking out at the pool from at night anyway.

In other news, my robot showed up today - thought I was getting the S300 as a direct substitute for the Polaris, turns out it's the S300i, score!

 

[spd500]

In other news, my robot showed up today - thought I was getting the S300 as a direct substitute for the Polaris, turns out it's the S300i, score!

Great News !! Mine will be here tomorrow, and I can't wait to put it to work! Having 4 dogs in and out of the pool has kept me busy!

 

[Auburn02]

Ok, I feel good about the lighting decision, moving on. As promised here are some dig pictures.

Day 1 was yesterday, had the hole dug by noon and the pool walls assembled and called it a day by 3 or 4. I was very impressed with the efficiency.







Day 2 today, they replaced a section of wall to form up the shelf/ledge, cut some holes for skimmer and return jets, and concrete came and poured the collar. Back tomorrow for plumbing.


Side note: I can't wait to clean our house, with the trees we had the green mildew grows back quite quickly - should be able to keep it cleaner now with the trees gone.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Lights are almost never put facing the house because when on they can be quite annoying. Almost all pool builds I see, and builders we hear from, place them facing out from the house side wall.

Addendum- I see now you're aware of the issue w/ the lights. ignore my post. In the second pic above- is that a tree root!? Wow...good thing you got rid of that tree, the roots would have been in the pool in no time!

Maddie

 

[Auburn02]

In the second pic above- is that a tree root!? Wow...good thing you got rid of that tree, the roots would have been in the pool in no time!

Maddie

That it is @YippeeSkippy, that was the 1 tree that from the very start of this thread we knew would have to come out. We were on the fence with 2 others and ultimately decided to take them all down, a very wise decision I think!

 

[Auburn02]

New question, how should the bonding wire be attached to the pool to accommodate paver coping and decking? I plan to talk to the builder tomorrow but his crew only does concrete coping/decking, so I assume they’re used to this type of attachment for the bonding wire to the liner track which just gets embedded in the poured concrete. But we’re going to be using pavers, which will be done by another contractor. I don’t think I can leave these bonding clips here if the plan is to use pavers for coping, but what other attachment method is there for this type of pool (polymer walls, aluminum liner track, paver coping)? I have access to the back/underside of the polymer walls, my theory is I could replace the sheet metal screw with a through bolt and just attach the clips and wire underneath the lip of the wall and still have it tied into the liner track, but obviously won't do anything without discussing with the builder. Searching for other threads using similar materials now.

 

[Auburn02]

We’re currently having an inground vinyl liner pool installed with polymer walls and concrete pavers for the coping and deck. Our pool builder only offers concrete decking so we have him doing the pool and will have another contractor complete the coping and decking.

First, can anyone comment on what is required as far as bonding goes for this particular setup? And then assuming a bond wire is required which I’m sure it is, what would be a standard method of attaching it to the pool in a setup like ours? Obviously no rebar in the shell and no steel walls, so the only metal at all really is the aluminum liner track so I assume that’s where it needs to be tied into.

Here’s what I have at the moment - I suspect this is the way this crew is used to doing it knowing their poured concrete coping and deck would just encapsulate the wire and clips, but this obviously won’t work with my plan to have pavers installed. I’m going to check with the builder in the morning but hoping to get some additional input here as well. My initial thought is to install stainless through bolts and place the clips and the wire on the bottom side of the polymer walls, would that make sense?

 

[cowboycasey]

you would use an Equipotential Bonding Grid under your pavers and the coping

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[Auburn02]

I did find several threads mentioning that but by and large I seemed to find that was an older requirement, though it could depend on my inspector.

From this thread: Bonding grid under pavers?

The answer depends on which version of the electrical code is currently in use in your area. The more recent versions of the code (2008 and newer) allow you to place a single loop of #8 copper wire around the outside of the pool and below the pavers (18-24" from the water and 4-6" below sub-grade. Older versions of the code require a full copper grid underneath everything within 3 feet of the water. Different areas update which version of the code they are using at different times, and so it is possible, though no longer all that likely, that your area is using the older version. It is best to ask your inspector for clarification.

So I guess my question still remains though, whether it’s just a wire or the grid, what’s the best method to attach it to the pool since there’s no rebar and the walls aren’t metal?