Swimming by March 2020!!! (We hope...)

[kwest]

Hi all and Happy Thanksgiving!!
After an arduous process of decision making, we have signed a contract for a new build!!
We hope to start in about a month- or as soon as we can get HOA approval. I’m totally new to this, so hopefully I’m providing the most helpful information.
We have a fairly small backyard, with a good slope to it, so we have tried to use the space as best as possible.

Info on our build:
Gallons- 12744
Area- 433 sqft
Depth 3.5x5x4
Length 29
Width 16.5
Pump- Pentair intelliflo vsf x2
Filter- Pentair quad DE 100
Skimmers- 2 with paramount leaf cleaner
In line Chloe with ultra UV system
Lighting- 3 Pentair globeite led 12v
PV3 infloor system
Pebble sheen- blue surf (Really wanted a darker blue—- would LOVE feedback here!)
2 magicfalls
3 arched pencil jets
Coping- flagstone
Decking- 644sq ft- salt finish (thoughts on this finish?? Don’t like sun decking texture/look and stone/Rock is out of the budget)
Custom flagstone fireplace ?

really wanted a spa, but the gas line alone was going to be 7-8k...so out it went.

I hope this is gives you what is needed for a review on our plan. I have read more than I ever wanted to on IFC...lol...and we are comfortable with that decision!

Again, this is a totally foreign process to me! One major goal was to make the maintenance of this pool as easy as possible, and I believe our pool builder has sent us down the right path...but would love some additional feedback.

Also- thinking about artificial turf in the backyard. Anyone with experience there- pros/cons? I do have two big dogs...

Our selections...fire away:

Our plan:

 

[Nectarologist]

That's an awesome layout. As far as the artificial turf goes, it gets very hot. You can feel the heat radiate off of it big time. I have grass right up to my coping around 80% of the pool and I considered replacing the grass with it. Maybe they make different types that don't heat up as much as others. I'm not sure but worth exploring since you're starting from scratch. I would change the In line Chloe with ultra UV system to a salt water chlorine generator (SWCG) only. Ditch the UV...and the inline chlorinator is just a holding chamber for pucks which you won't need with a SWCG.

Good luck,
Chris

 

[bdavis466]

I know you said your mind was made up in the In-Floor cleaner but if you dumped it that money saved would probably cover your gas line for a spa. The general consensus around here is that the IFC are not worth the expense (both initial and long term).

Why is the gas line so expensive? Are you on propane?

 

[jmikeb]

nice layout... forget the UV for sure. as far as the pucks go, most of us are on this site because of using them. SWG or liquid is better. i also think the dark coping is going to be HOT in the daytime getting in and out of the pool. one other thing is the 3 1/2 foot depth is too shallow for me.... just my opinion

 

[kwest]

That's an awesome layout. As far as the artificial turf goes, it gets very hot. You can feel the heat radiate off of it big time. I have grass right up to my coping around 80% of the pool and I considered replacing the grass with it. Maybe they make different types that don't heat up as much as others. I'm not sure but worth exploring since you're starting from scratch. I would change the In line Chloe with ultra UV system to a salt water chlorine generator (SWCG) only. Ditch the UV...and the inline chlorinator is just a holding chamber for pucks which you won't need with a SWCG.

Good luck,
Chris

thanks Chris! Really appreciate the info on the SWCG. We haven’t looked into that at all. Will do that now!
Really appreciate the info on the turf, we have enough heat here in Texas, so def not wanting to add to that.
appreciate the expertise!

 

[kwest]

I know you said your mind was made up in the In-Floor cleaner but if you dumped it that money saved would probably cover your gas line for a spa. The general consensus around here is that the IFC are not worth the expense (both initial and long term).

Why is the gas line so expensive? Are you on propane?

Thanks!! The gas line is so expensive because of how far the line would have to gur pool builder told us we could look into subbing this out on our own and save about a grand, but we still weren’t interested at that cost. We are sold on the IFC. Paramount will engineer it out for us, so very optimistic. Time will tell if it was a good move or not.

 

[kimkats]

LOVE the design!! That shelf and those steps are purrfect! I would also think about running a "bench" from the steps to the shelf. That will give you extra seating to chat or watch TV on the porch.

Lets go over your equpment:

Pump- Pentair intelliflo vsf x2
Filter- Pentair quad DE 100

Need model numbers please.

in line Chloe with ultra UV system

nope-If you want a truly Trouble Free Pool then you want a SWG as seen here: Salt Water Chlorine Generators - Trouble Free Pool The inline system uses pucks/tablets that adds extra stuff to your water such as CYA (stabilizer). While you DO need some the tablets keep adding it. It will get to the point you have too much so you will have to drain and replace some of the water. Here is a chart about it: FC/CYA Levels

Here is some info about the UV system: Alternative sanitizers and "chemical free" pools--The Truth! Not to mention you get all of the free UV you need from the sun.

Here is what we teach: ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry This should help you learn about what your pool will need to get it and keep it Trouble Free.

Lets talk about those neat water features. While they are neat IN THE BEGINNING you will find you will not use them that often due to the noise and the fact they will push your pH level up when you use them. Here is the "story" behind that: Recommended Pool Chemicals - Trouble Free Pool Note the part about raising pH. They are more of a party trick than anything.

Blue surf smurf is VERY pretty! I will tell you the risk of mottling gets greater the darker you go. It all depends on the skills of the plaster crew. Ask to see some of the PLASTER crews work (note most PB sub out this kind of work so make sure to see the crews that will be working on YOUR pool).

I love your waterline tile. Make sure to go through the box when it gets there to cull out the "ugly" pieces and hide them as well as the really pretty ones to be used on the wall where your eyes fall when you walk out to the pool.

Did I cover everything? If I missed anything? Let me know!

Oh and where is our picture of the yard this thing of beauty will be?

Kim

 

[kwest]

LOVE the design!! That shelf and those steps are purrfect! I would also think about running a "bench" from the steps to the shelf. That will give you extra seating to chat or watch TV on the porch.

Lets go over your equpment:


Need model numbers please.


nope-If you want a truly Trouble Free Pool then you want a SWG as seen here: Salt Water Chlorine Generators - Trouble Free Pool The inline system uses pucks/tablets that adds extra stuff to your water such as CYA (stabilizer). While you DO need some the tablets keep adding it. It will get to the point you have too much so you will have to drain and replace some of the water. Here is a chart about it: FC/CYA Levels

Here is some info about the UV system: Alternative sanitizers and "chemical free" pools--The Truth! Not to mention you get all of the free UV you need from the sun.

Here is what we teach: ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry This should help you learn about what your pool will need to get it and keep it Trouble Free.

Lets talk about those neat water features. While they are neat IN THE BEGINNING you will find you will not use them that often due to the noise and the fact they will push your pH level up when you use them. Here is the "story" behind that: Recommended Pool Chemicals - Trouble Free Pool Note the part about raising pH. They are more of a party trick than anything.

Blue surf smurf is VERY pretty! I will tell you the risk of mottling gets greater the darker you go. It all depends on the skills of the plaster crew. Ask to see some of the PLASTER crews work (note most PB sub out this kind of work so make sure to see the crews that will be working on YOUR pool).

I love your waterline tile. Make sure to go through the box when it gets there to cull out the "ugly" pieces and hide them as well as the really pretty ones to be used on the wall where your eyes fall when you walk out to the pool.

Did I cover everything? If I missed anything? Let me know!

Oh and where is our picture of the yard this thing of beauty will be?

Kim

Thanks so much Kim! I will get the specifics on the equipment and post that here...doesn’t look like I have anymore detail on my quote ?!
I will def spend time reading all the posts you referenced- I really appreciate that!
As for the additional bench, we did initially have one there, but removed that and added a bench the entire length of the pool on the back wall instead.
Very much appreciate the feedback on the blue smurf...lol...and tile. I would not have thought to go through the box of tile- great idea!
Pic of my existing yard (kinda) with one of my much loved pups!
More to come!
Kathy

 

[kimkats]

Doggy!! Name? "one of" there are more?

I see the back bench now! Well done!

Yeah I got in the habit telling everyone to go through the mixed color tiles when one set of tile setters MESSED up a pool bad! They put all of the lighter tiles together and all of the darker together. NO mixing or such The pool owner called the PB and he agreed it was BAD. The PB had to pay for the replacement tile AND came out to help sort and place the tiles. No pride in their work at all

Is there a slope to the yard or is it camera angle?

Kim

 

[walkinpool]

Congrats on getting started! I like the lounge area down the steps, unique. Good luck with your build!

 

[kwest]

Doggy!! Name? "one of" there are more?

I see the back bench now! Well done!

Yeah I got in the habit telling everyone to go through the mixed color tiles when one set of tile setters MESSED up a pool bad! They put all of the lighter tiles together and all of the darker together. NO mixing or such The pool owner called the PB and he agreed it was BAD. The PB had to pay for the replacement tile AND came out to help sort and place the tiles. No pride in their work at all

Is there a slope to the yard or is it camera angle?

Kim

We do have a slope- nearly four feet I think....so we are above ground on the back about 2 ft to 30 inches. That’s why we decided to do the small counter top area. Not the ideal yard for a pool by any means, but trying to make the best use of the space that we have!
And yes- two labradoodles- Mela and Pria. We adore them...in fact the sun bench was planned just for them (18 inches of water) as they love to lounge in water!

 

[kimkats]

I LOVE doodles!! My next door neighbor has one-Rosie! She is SO smart and sweet! If I were getting another dog it would be a doodle! Do you groom them yourself? I help my neighbor. It was quite a learning experience. Biggest take away is to make sure she is "picked out" often to avoid knots.

I did not notice your seating area of the left. That is NICE! What are you thinking you will be using for the top there?

What will be used on the back side of the pool that is above the ground to "finish" it?

I think I see gutters but you want to make sure they are up to the task to keep water out of your pool.

Kim

 

[kwest]

I LOVE doodles!! My next door neighbor has one-Rosie! She is SO smart and sweet! If I were getting another dog it would be a doodle! Do you groom them yourself? I help my neighbor. It was quite a learning experience. Biggest take away is to make sure she is "picked out" often to avoid knots.

I did not notice your seating area of the left. That is NICE! What are you thinking you will be using for the top there?

What will be used on the back side of the pool that is above the ground to "finish" it?

I think I see gutters but you want to make sure they are up to the task to keep water out of your pool.

Kim

We take them to a groomer- I’m not brave enough to do it! They are amazing dogs- smart, great with kids, and don’t shed!


we have gone back and forth on the bar top of using flagstone (cause I want it to match the coping) or leuder (which is what our builder is recommending) since it would be smooth top.

the back of the pool will just be “brown coat”...thoughts on that? We wanted to do stone, but cut that out due to budget. The columns on the pool will be rock on the back, but that’s it. Hope that will be ok...

we do have gutters and they have planned for retaining walls around the stairs, so hopefully we will be ok there. They did ask if we wanted a drain on the patio area (near the fireplace) or just weep (sp?) holes in the rock benches. We decided against the drain...kinda rethinking that!

 

[kimkats]

CUTE pic!! Thanks for sharing!

I like the idea of holes in the walls to allow water to drain off and out of the fireplace area. If they slope it right you will not really notice the slope but will see it at work when it rains. I would do several areas along that way for the water to get out.

I would do the shelf as an accent piece. Make it stand out with some BLING stone. It does need to be flat/smooth. You could use large tiles if you wanted I bet.

The brown coat will work fine. If the installer has good skills they can make it look pretty with texture. You can also ask them to color it if you want.

That flower bed should catch water that escapes from the gutters so you should be good there.

Oh I just thought of something----------the dogs and potty time early in the morning or last one of the night..........do you think they will stay out of the pool when you let them out? I wonder if you should put some steps right off the house porch to the grass. That way you can use a gate of some sort to keep them from heading down to the pool area. You could use a sliding gate or a swing gate. You know your dogs but wanted to get you thinking about this just in case it might be a problem. It WOULD have been a problem with my lab!!! He was ALL about the water!!

Kim

 

[thomasandanita]

Looks great!
Get chlorine generator
Wanted to share my doodle picture also. Here is cooper! A golden doodle.

 

[kwest]

Looks great!
Get chlorine generator
Wanted to share my doodle picture also. Here is cooper! A golden doodle.
View attachment 123226

Thank you- Cooper is beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!! Does he love to be in the pool?

 

[thomasandanita]

Thank you- Cooper is beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!! Does he love to be in the pool?

He doesn’t yet. He is 7 months old and we have had him for 3 months. We really thought he would be in the pool all the time. I think next spring he will be fetching tennis balls from it!
We got the splash deck in the pool only for the dogs. lol
Your doodles are sure good looking also.

 

[kwest]

Hi all! Moving along here. The excavation started after Christmas and we are being told gunnite will be end of this upcoming week! I can’t believe how quickly (and smoothly) things have gone so far.
here are pics:

 

[kwest]

A few more:
Should we be concerned either the pipe that is not underneath the others and bent a bit (last pipe pic)? It appears that those two pipes are for pencil jets.

 

[kimkats]

They are moving along! SWEET! Expect things to slow down some now as the shell will need to cure before time and such. They CAN work on the plumbing and electric during this time so here is hoping they will.

-small lines-those look like they are an after thought. I am going to call a master pool builder in to get his input on those pipes. I know what my gut says but have nothing to base it on. He will KNOW! @bdavis466 your input please kind sir!

Kim