Your build: What would you do differently?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
G

grumpiebk

0
Jun 22, 2016
906
FL
I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts after finishing their build. What would they have done differently? Upgrades, swap outs, design changes, size, equipment, pool builders, etc.

The pool we are building today is much different than the pool we planned to build 3 months ago. If you had one shot, to change anything about your pool/build, what would it entail???


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Biggest regret: I would have bitten the bullet and paid the extra $ for automation. My pool equipment is far enough away that my laziness gets the best of me... I've been trying to train my 6 year old though... automation via reproduction, per se. I can still have it installed, but it would be a pain.

Other random regrets:
- I wish I would have done a California spa (jets aligned in the pool area as if to mimic a spa) - with a warmer climate like Austin, we can swim now and I have a heat pump - but would be cool to have jets with it. (By the way, single thing that I'm happiest with is getting the heat pump)
- I always wonder if I would have built the pool into the contour of the wall (existing landscaping better)
- Wish I would have pre-plumbed for a pool slide
 
I have a fibreglass pool but my two big things are

-Going for a bigger pool and not choosing the wedding cake steps that encroach on the floor area of the pool
-Before finding this site got the standard SWG for my pool size. Gets a hammering in Summer with high pump run times to generate enough chlorine- we get very hot summers- so sizing the SWG to be twice the manufacturer's recommendation. Should be more cost effective when the higher cost for the bigger SWG is taken into account.
 
We didn't think about equipment location. Like at all. When we got our hand me down Intex, pool location was "over there, but not too close to the swingset or the raised beds" and the pump was where we could run an extension cord to.

Then we replaced it with a bigger, nicer pool and the pump just sort of naturally got put in the same place... where the sound bounces nicely off the hard side and there's a big sand filter and mess of pvc staring at the neighbors and the street.

Our main work this year was on the deck. Once we got it painted and we got some lattice painted and up around the equipment, things looked a lot better. Next spring I'll be working on making all that more effective- plumbing in a discharge line and whatnot. Then more shrouding for sight and sound and eventually... does it ever end? I don't know, but the pool's awesome. These are just details.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I batted around the idea that I should have made my pool a swim lane wider and put one in. I can swim laps (although I have yet too..lol) , but can't do a proper turn on one end because of the steps... But that's also why I am not sure, would I really use it..
 
daddymack said:
I batted around the idea that I should have made my pool a swim lane wider and put one in. I can swim laps (although I have yet too..lol) , but can't do a proper turn on one end because of the steps... But that's also why I am not sure, would I really use it..
Click to expand...

I second this. Although not a regret, having an open swim lane determined by pool design. We were initially going to do a rectangle pool with full length steps on one end. We decided on a rectangle pool with corner steps and a bench to keep an open swim lane. I will definitely use it and I hope to get my kids into competitive swimming and they will use it.
 
Dont focus only on cost. Our most expensive decision after pulling the trigger on pool was changing from concrete deck to white travertine marble deck. This was the best thing we ever did. It gives that whole luxury pop to the pool area. Everytime I go to the pool area, I am amazed. Not just the travertine look, but also the benefits - travertine does not get hot - can walk barefoot on a hot Houston afternoon. This also means that my AC is not working overtime to cool the house from radiated heat. Glad I did not listen to my frugal wife on this one :)

Love the SWG - after the ease of the SWG, I cannot imagine pouring liquid bleach and handling all these chemicals on a regular basis.

Love the remote - definitely worth the extra dollars.

Pool overflow and autofill - I think they must be standard features.
 
My one thing I wish was different changes a bit with the time of year, but right now I wish I had a second skimmer. The wind swirls around and the one we have works 'OK' but two skimmers would be better, as long as they were also plumbed separately and valved at the filter box.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cyclist7531
We wish we had more patio space. You would be quite surprised how much room lounge chairs and tables and a summer kitchen takes up. BTW we have @1600 sq ft of space. Also we wished we placed the light on the opposite wall facing away from the house. Make sure you have plenty of electric outlets and an oversized pool equipment space for any additions like heat pump in the future.:D
 
I'd say add a SWCG during the build. I needed to control costs initially and this is a fairly easy add later (plus would cost me the same later on). I'll add it this year or next (3rd or 4th season with the pool). I know you didn't ask but the best thing I did was add a bench at the deep end of the pool :)
 
Bought a robot versus a pressure cleaner and booster pump.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply