Vinyl Pool Build Chesapeake Va- bidding phase and have ?s

[TX2OBX]

prevailing winds by me using a cheap weather show them primarily blowing East towards the ocean. In that picture the skimmers are on the E side so that would be most common. This isn't true always which is why I wondered if one on either side would be better but would be fine 99% of the time im sure. The builder liked this one the best as well as it makes the plumbing run easier.

The jet idea on the benches came from staying at an Airbnb over the summer in FL that had a bench running along the entire length of the pool with spa jets on it. It was pretty fancy and even had a blower. Trying to recreate this. It was very therapeutic without having to have a whole separate spa. That pool was gunite however.

 

[Newdude]

prevailing winds by me using a cheap weather show them primarily blowing East towards the ocean. In that picture the skimmers are on the E side so that would be most common. This isn't true always

It changes for all of us, but one general direction comes up most often. I went back and forth on it myself with one direction favored about 60% of the time. In the end I went with the wind instead of opposite sides. Sometimes the wind blows 90 degrees to those 2 choices and they'd both be wrong.

Got a pic of the yard ? Is it as open as the 3D rendering suggests ? You won't have much debris to skim if so.

 

[Vol Family]

I am currently in the building process of a vinyl pool and have a 14 feet bench on the deep end as well. The contractor was able to find 3 spa jets to place on the wall. The jets have a center that rotates and will cause a massage like movement. The three jets are plumbed seperate from other jets and bubblers so I can control the the flow of the spa ones.

 

[TX2OBX]

It changes for all of us, but one general direction comes up most often. I went back and forth on it myself with one direction favored about 60% of the time. In the end I went with the wind instead of opposite sides. Sometimes the wind blows 90 degrees to those 2 choices and they'd both be wrong.

Got a pic of the yard ? Is it as open as the 3D rendering suggests ? You won't have much debris to skim if so.

Literally nothing in my yard, the neighborhood didn’t exist 2 years ago so there’s no mature trees or anything. So mainly skimming out lawn debris’s and bugs lol.

 

[TX2OBX]

I am currently in the building process of a vinyl pool and have a 14 feet bench on the deep end as well. The contractor was able to find 3 spa jets to place on the wall. The jets have a center that rotates and will cause a massage like movement. The three jets are plumbed seperate from other jets and bubblers so I can control the the flow of the spa ones.

View attachment 606888

Ok I like this, simpler than the manifold. Three across my bench would be nice. Wonder if they could work in an air Venturi system or if I’d want to do a small blower.

 

[Newdude]

So mainly skimming out lawn debris’s and bugs lol.

So go with the most frequent wind path and when it's fighting you, chances are you won't have anything to skim anyway. I have a similar open yard and maybe across the season I fill my skimmers once. It's probably only half. Its literally one leaf and a pinch of grass clippings each week. And 6000 beetles.

 

[Vol Family]

Ok I like this, simpler than the manifold. Three across my bench would be nice. Wonder if they could work in an air Venturi system or if I’d want to do a small blower.

I had the option of buying an additional small pump just for those jets.

 

[TX2OBX]

So to update this, After months of being strung along by the builder they decided they couldn't do the build for me (kept being told waiting on just one signature for this permit, or the owner to sign off on something, come to find out from permit office they never even had a request from them for my property) and finally a couple weeks ago told me they were no longer interested in doing the build. We have found another company, already visited them, saw some of their work and next week were going to look at their design for our yard and hopefully sign the deposit check that day. They were PM'd to me a couple a times, local Chesapeake builder that's been in business for a long time but under new ownership I was told about 5 years ago.

Promising part is they think they can fit a larger pool in than the last company so were trying for either a 14x28 or 16x32 depending on budget. (about a 5k difference in base price) But the designer/salesperson said we had plenty of space for that if we moved the pool and was very surprised the last builder didn't notice that. So in a way other than a huge time delay it might have worked out for the better. Lesson learned is trust your gut. I had a feeling about the old builder back in June and should have cut and run right then.

Only real negative is were looking at late Feb/ early March as a dig start but should be done in time for next season which I guess not much swimming would happen between now and next year anyway so not a huge deal. Just more months of looking at a barren empty yard lol. But hopefully next week I will have updated plans. They also use Hayward equipment so the equipment on the pool should be similar to what the last builder was quoting, mainly just a different pool layout and they are also trying hard to talk me out of a tanning ledge and instead do a shallow endbench with corner steps which I might do depending on what other bells and whistles we decide to do.

 

[Saturn94]

local Chesapeake builder that's been in business for a long time but under new ownership I was told about 5 years ago

Which builder? You can PM me if you prefer.

 

[TX2OBX]

OK we finally have a nailed down new design with the new builder. I should have gone with this builder to begin with as they have been so much better To work with and answer my questions. Minor details are still being worked out (such as lighting, plumbing and water features). Dig day is set for Feb-March per contract but were hoping to be on the earlier side as were ready to go vs other houses still waiting to be finished before they can build the pool.

But we finally settled on a 14x32 vinyl pool with 8 foot tanning ledge. 3-6 feet deep as its standard and not looking for diving pool. Butterfly Effect liner with no tile line. Small Radius corners.

Also to save some money were not doing the paver surround and are going to do the grey "flat face" coping so it has the cantilevered look without the expense.

Equipment is very similar to original build. The only difference is we're holding off on the heater for now as this builder really only does electric and I def want an NG heater so I will have that installed after the fact. The pad will be built big enough to accommodate a heater and will have plumbing ready to go with the bypass.

so for now it will be a pretty simple equipment pad
Omni PL automation.
Tristar VS950
60 sqft DE filter (could switch to 425 sqft cartridge for no charge)
pre plumbed for heater
1 auto valve for water feature
25k salt cell
2 skimmers
dual MD
4 returns
still trying to talk them into three home runs for suction.

have a lighting question though

PB wants to do one big LED on the deep end wall (hayward brand not sure the exact model), they say its 12v but it looks like the big old fashioned 500w pool lights. Id really rather do like CL320s. But is there any benefits to the Big led over the 320s?

Also I really want some lighting on the tanning ledge, I didn't do this on my last pool and really regretted it. So were still working out wether to do the big LED in the deep end and a small 320 on the lounge, or 3 320s (two in pool facing fence) and one on lounge facing deep end. Or potentially doing a couple LED bubblers on the tanning ledge in lieu of an LED light on it. Again any advantage to do one way over the other?

I really want a water feature as I loved the fountain sound on the old pool. Budget doesn't work for deck jets and bubblers so one or the other. PB isn't crazy about tanning ledge penetration so they would rather do deck jets. But this is more expensive as im paying for extra LED on the ledge and deck jets. LED Bubblers lets me have my cake and eat it too so to speak.

thanks all!

 

[Saturn94]

I’m glad to hear your experience with this builder has been good so far.

 

[TX2OBX]

So minor details to work out, but getting conflicting info on the bubblers. The PB is claiming that CMP had discontinued the 4" Led bubblers that work for vinyl pools. When I search online I see an 8" model for sale and some sites say for concrete pools only, and other sites say there is an adaptor for the vinyl pools. So im not sure if this is old stock or if now they only sell the 8" model (and whether that actually works for vinyl pools still or not).

I actually still have my 2 CMP bubblers that were not used in my last pool with the fiberglass/vinyl adaptors. But PB won't install anything they don't source (and honestly I don't really blame them). Mainly a warranty thing. But PB will only put in standard bubblers unless they have a source for LED ones but from what I can tell CMP was the only one that had anything that worked with vinyl. Don't know if anybody else has any info on this. PB is an authorized CMP dealer so im inclined to trust what they say, but also they were not super psyched to do anything on the tanning lounge.

If we can do Lit bubblers we're just going to do a large LED light on the deep end wall facing the shallow. If not we're going to do 3 CL 320s, two facing the fence and one in the step of the tanning ledge. But id prefer doing bubblers as I liked that water feature, it wasn't as noisy as the deck jets and added some pizazz to the pool.

 

[PCR]

So minor details to work out, but getting conflicting info on the bubblers. The PB is claiming that CMP had discontinued the 4" Led bubblers that work for vinyl pools. When I search online I see an 8" model for sale and some sites say for concrete pools only, and other sites say there is an adaptor for the vinyl pools. So im not sure if this is old stock or if now they only sell the 8" model (and whether that actually works for vinyl pools still or not).

I actually still have my 2 CMP bubblers that were not used in my last pool with the fiberglass/vinyl adaptors. But PB won't install anything they don't source (and honestly I don't really blame them). Mainly a warranty thing. But PB will only put in standard bubblers unless they have a source for LED ones but from what I can tell CMP was the only one that had anything that worked with vinyl. Don't know if anybody else has any info on this. PB is an authorized CMP dealer so im inclined to trust what they say, but also they were not super psyched to do anything on the tanning lounge.

If we can do Lit bubblers we're just going to do a large LED light on the deep end wall facing the shallow. If not we're going to do 3 CL 320s, two facing the fence and one in the step of the tanning ledge. But id prefer doing bubblers as I liked that water feature, it wasn't as noisy as the deck jets and added some pizazz to the pool.

Don't know if these will work with your automation, but I have 2 Pentair Colorvision bubblers on my sunshelf which is a part that is really the bubbler piece. You buy Pentair Globrite or Microbrite lights separately to install into the Colorvision part. They sell a version for vinyl/fiberglass and one for gunite. I really like them, although I am going to replace both lights this year. One is out and so I'm just going to do both. Got about 6 seasons out of them.

ColorVision® Bubbler

The ColorVision Bubbler from Pentair is a combination of the ColorVision Niche and the GloBrite or MicroBrite LED light to create vivid fountain-like water movement.

www.pentair.com

 

[PoolStored]

I'd eliminate the MDs. They are often a source of leaks, and things are expensive to fix when the drain leaks. They are not needed and you will save some money and future headaches.

I'd get the largest cartridge filter you can get. With a 420 or 520, you likely can go a full year without cleaning. DE w/multiport is nice, but DE is a pain, and when (not if) they breakdown it is a mess. Have them put in a diverter before the filter so you have a pump to waste function.

 

[ajw22]

There is no benefit to a Main Drain in a pool only 6 feet deep.

There are benefits to a Main Drain in the hopper of a pool 8 feet or more deep.

Add another skimmer instead of a Main Drain.

 

[TX2OBX]

Don't know if these will work with your automation, but I have 2 Pentair Colorvision bubblers on my sunshelf which is a part that is really the bubbler piece. You buy Pentair Globrite or Microbrite lights separately to install into the Colorvision part. They sell a version for vinyl/fiberglass and one for gunite. I really like them, although I am going to replace both lights this year. One is out and so I'm just going to do both. Got about 6 seasons out of them.

ColorVision® Bubbler

The ColorVision Bubbler from Pentair is a combination of the ColorVision Niche and the GloBrite or MicroBrite LED light to create vivid fountain-like water movement.

www.pentair.com

I prefer pentair to Hayward but not sure Pb is a pentair dealer so prob they won’t install them. But glad to know there is another vinyl option for led bubbler.

I'd eliminate the MDs. They are often a source of leaks, and things are expensive to fix when the drain leaks. They are not needed and you will save some money and future headaches.

I'd get the largest cartridge filter you can get. With a 420 or 520, you likely can go a full year without cleaning. DE w/multiport is nice, but DE is a pain, and when (not if) they breakdown it is a mess. Have them put in a diverter before the filter so you have a pump to waste function.

My last pool had the 425sqft cartridge and I honestly had to clean it out about 3 times in the season I maintained the pool, but was a lot of sand, don’t have much sand up here. It’s my choice to do DE or cartridge PB doesn’t care, my only side to De over cartridge this time is no filters to buy. Breaking down the cartridge to clean seemed about the same as breaking down a de filter but de is supposed to filter better (smaller) so idk. Could go either way here.

There is no benefit to a Main Drain in a pool only 6 feet deep.

There are benefits to a Main Drain in the hopper of a pool 8 feet or more deep.

Add another skimmer instead of a Main Drain.

Pb already doing 2 skimmers with their own home runs to pump. Is a third one in place of an Md setup really necessary? Also when heating won’t md help “mix” better? I’m all for leaving them out just want to make sure it won’t mess up heating the pool.


Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

Pb already doing 2 skimmers with their own home runs to pump. Is a third one in place of an Md setup really necessary?

2 skimmers are fine for your size pool unless there is a natural place for a third.

Also when heating won’t md help “mix” better?

Not for your size 6 foot deep pool.

If you want to improve heating circulation, then put two returns in the 6 foot deep floor.

 

[TX2OBX]

Womp Womp. Apparently our site plan is totally different from the site plan on file with the city. So were back to the drawing board after a new site plan was drawn up with accurate septic field placement. The original PB might have known something that I and new PB didn't as were back to a 10-11 foot wide pool again potentially. But the new site plan might give us room for an L. So a skinny L but it makes it so the tanning ledge won't impede swimming space.