Yes: Pools are worth it....

[TexasEd 8067]

My quote may not be a good reference but I think ours is $10-12 but it is over 400 square feet. 

[Poolflood 845]

48 minutes ago, Spur08 said:

This past year we bought a house with a pool  (approx 25'x15').  The previous owners seem like they ran out of money when it came to decking as there is only pebble decking around 3 sides of the pool (1 long and both short sides - think sidewalk width).  I'm thinking about ripping out the pebble decking and installing something more aesthetic.  Anyone have any idea what something like that might run?  I'm planning a larger covered patio addition as well so this is one element I was looking at during the refurb.  Also toying with the idea of adding a spa but not sure how do-able that is

If you're going to do all that go to designer to plan complete project.  Some, but not all do patio covers.  You don't have to rip out deck if you stay w/acrylic ( like a kool deck).  But you will for travertine.  Yes you can add a spa.  It's a pain in the ass, but can be done.

[BradInATX 9208]

Where does the responsibility lie if the pool company hits an underground power line? My company appears to have cut the underground line running to my septic tank. Line was not on the survey or marked. Am I SOL? I'm looking at a couple grand to fix.

[PantsTent 2002]

3 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Where does the responsibility lie if the pool company hits an underground power line? My company appears to have cut the underground line running to my septic tank. Line was not on the survey or marked. Am I SOL? I'm looking at a couple grand to fix.

Should be in your contract. Mine was a "we try not to break anything underground but if we do, good luck with that" type of deal. I had a T-joint in my main water line to the house in front yard that developed a crack (noticed the ground was soggy even though it hadn't rained in a while).  Luckily was just $200 to have somebody dig it all up and fix the joints.

[freyguy 4278]

3 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Where does the responsibility lie if the pool company hits an underground power line? My company appears to have cut the underground line running to my septic tank. Line was not on the survey or marked. Am I SOL? I'm looking at a couple grand to fix.

They probably did you a favor.  Now they can reroute the line to a safer path.

[Poolflood 845]

10 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Where does the responsibility lie if the pool company hits an underground power line? My company appears to have cut the underground line running to my septic tank. Line was not on the survey or marked. Am I SOL? I'm looking at a couple grand to fix.

It's on you.  But is it power line or water line?  If it's just the power running to septic see if builder's electrician can run for you.  Or if you have a 6 pack electrician,  that works as well.  Skeptics are run by county and it's mostly bullshit and they'll fuck you like you're south Austin's mom.  If it's water your builders plumber should be able to reroute as well.

[BradInATX 9208]

It's on you.  But is it power line or water line?  If it's just the power running to septic see if builder's electrician can run for you.  Or if you have a 6 pack electrician,  that works as well.  Skeptics are run by county and it's mostly bullshit and they'll fuck you like you're south Austin's mom.  If it's water your builders plumber should be able to reroute as well.

Turns out it wasn't a cut line. The electrician I called out just misdiagnosed it. Whether incompetence or money driven who knows. I gave some thought to the situation and property.. we just moved in a few months ago, still learning things. It didn't add up. It didn't make sense for power to run to and from where the guy was saying. And it doesn't make sense that the neither I or the pool guys noticed that they cut through buried PVC pipe.

Called another electrician. Septic pump was bad and tripping a single semi-hidden outdoor breaker that I never saw. Replaced the septic pump. All good.

Second electrician saved me about 3 large. Found my electrician for this house going forward.



Anyway my concrete is coming in next week. Ahead of schedule. Pretty pumped.

[Yarbr 123]

That gives me flashbacks when they cut my internet and att didn't come fix it for a week. This was BC so I didn't rely on it for work like now, but my wife and kids were none to happy.

[TexasEd 8067]

Rebar is mostly done. 
working on color selections. I think I want Walnut travertine coping but considering silver. 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10318]

15 hours ago, TexasEd said:

Rebar is mostly done. 
working on color selections. I think I want Walnut travertine coping but considering silver. 

We went very similar color scheme as shown. Looks great and changes colors depending on view/sun.  Keystone Aqua Blue is the tile color here (seen in last photo, looks way better when outside)

[TexasEd 8067]

@MonkeyDoughnut

Our designer had a spa like that in our original plans that overflowed 360*  We went to a traditional spillway so people could just put their feet in.

 

Thanks for sharing the colors. I want to go gray but we already have an existing patio with Oklahoma flagstone. I'm concerned about the transition from brown tones to gray

[Player 4575]

Ed - you have a pretty kickass backyard, and your selections so far all look great.

But I’m afraid the leaves and pollen from all those trees are going to kick your ass. Godspeed.

[TexasEd 8067]

Yep, we know about the pollen and acorns.  Getting my wife a blower for Valentine's Day.  Told her that's what I want too.

 

Here are more color selections.  Leaning more and more towards the gray.  Silver on left and Walnut on right.  Tile color is "Watercolors" and Stonescapes mini-pebble in Aqua Blue

[Poolflood 845]

52 minutes ago, TexasEd said:

Yep, we know about the pollen and acorns.  Getting my wife a blower for Valentine's Day.  Told her that's what I want too.

 

Here are more color selections.  Leaning more and more towards the gray.  Silver on left and Walnut on right.  Tile color is "Watercolors" and Stonescapes mini-pebble in Aqua Blue

Like left side selection but probably won't be swimming in your pool.  But if I do, you gonna give me 3 steps mister?

[mchookem 16337]

anybody have any experience with...Reliant Pools? Crystal Clear Pools and Spas? or Blue Science Pools?

got 3 estimates for a pool rehab, big variation, but two are in the same ballpark but are much less than i would have guessed...reviews for all three are all over the place, just wondering if anybody had any personal experience with either of the 3? 🤨🤔

[Landomatic 3813]

On 11/20/2020 at 8:39 AM, Landomatic said:

Woohoo...plaster day!  'Bout fuckin' time!

Update:

Quick recap...our pool has been a fucking nightmare.  We signed our contract with deposit and final selections on May 14, 2020.  They not only took forever, but every element of the build was done wrong the first time and had to be either redone completely or had to be fixed multiple times to get it right.  We're talking issues with plumbing, coping, decking, gunite, electrical, and plaster.  We finally got plaster on November 20, 2020 and had our driveway replaced and everything pretty much down to a few punch list items on November 24, 2020, so pretty close to 7 months with some straggler time remaining.

Now, here we are on February 3.  There was one fitting for the spa bubbler that was in crooked so it was shooting the bubbler about 20 degrees off center.  I was given 2 options...either rig it by bending the plastic pipe so it would come out of the water in the right spot but the pipe would be crooked, or redo the fitting which would require a small plaster patch that I could "barely see".  Option 2 seemed like doing it right and I'd had enough of the rig jobs up until this point, so we opted for option 2.  Supposed to be a one day job.

First try at the patch job that we'd barely be able to see was a fucking joke.  Huge patch that was nowhere near the color of the existing plaster and looked like a giant pile of dog shit in the bottom of my pool directly under the pool light so it has a spotlight on it.  Fine, once again, nothing is ever done right the first time and they'll need to come redo that as well.  Next attempt, it looks as bad or worse.  Mind you, we've now filled and drained the pool three times (I'm now receiving notices from the city that they think I have a water leak).

So, they decide the only way it's now going to look right is to re-plaster the spa.  What that really means is that it gets another coat over the old plaster.  I didn't buy a pool with a re-plastered spa, I bought a new pool with a new spa.  But, at this point, I just want the fucking thing done so I sign off on it.  They chipped the old stuff off around the edges and fittings and put down some kind of primer layer and they're all set to re-plaster.

Plaster guys show up and they're starting their setup and prep work.  After about an hour, I look out and they are packing their shit and leaving.  So, I go out to see what the hell is going on and they tell me the tiles are falling off like nothing just from sticking their tape to them for the prep, so they can't continue.  Are you fucking kidding me?!?!

Now they've determined that they will have to completely redo the tile work and that they will also need to re-plaster the pool along with the spa as there is no way they will ever be able to get them to match each other.  They also won't redo it with the tile we originally selected because they've decided that it's the product, not the install job that was shoddy.  Mind you, we've had to have them back to replace tiles that have fallen off at least 4 times up to this point.  MOTHER FUCKER!

At this point, there are several other issues in the pool that I was letting slide in an interest to just get the fucking thing done.  But, now the gloves are really off (I already had to threaten to sue earlier) and I'm fucking demanding they redo it all and get it all right.  The other issues are the main drain is in crooked, two of the in-floor cleaning heads are off center, the lights they used are way too bright for that size pool, and the plumbing was done wrong (understatement) so the in-floor cleaning heads that are under your ass in the spa shoot ice water out when the spa is on.  Also, I'm not accepting re-plaster over the old plaster.  I want it all off and completely redone from scratch.

To top it all off, they are having problems resourcing another black and white greek key tile to use.  That was truly the design inspiration for the entire project and I am not willing to just pick something else.  We have $50K plus worth of furniture, accessories, a custom cabana, awnings, landscaping etc that were all selected to coordinate with that tile.

In all of this, I find out my project manager has been fired.  They admitted to me that he has been the problem the whole time and that he should have been fired before Thanksgiving.  They told me he was having some personal problems (I got to hear about them from him all the time and none of them seemed that bad to me, he was just a whiney bitch) and that his lack of quality control has been unacceptable.  Well, no shit!  I guess the good part is they've admitted it's all on them and they have agreed to redo everything and get it right.

So, here we are.  Over 9 months in and I need new tile, new plaster, new plumbing, and new lighting.  Good times.  I won't put the company on blast publicly yet until this is finished, but if anyone in DFW is getting a pool and wants to know their name, PM me and I'll be happy to tell you.  They are one of the biggest in the metroplex based out of Plano.

Here she is in her current state in all her glory.  Kill me now...

 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10318]

1 hour ago, Landomatic said:

Update:

Quick recap...our pool has been a fucking nightmare.  We signed our contract with deposit and final selections on May 14, 2020.  They not only took forever, but every element of the build was done wrong the first time and had to be either redone completely or had to be fixed multiple times to get it right.  We're talking issues with plumbing, coping, decking, gunite, electrical, and plaster.  We finally got plaster on November 20, 2020 and had our driveway replaced and everything pretty much down to a few punch list items on November 24, 2020, so pretty close to 7 months with some straggler time remaining.

Now, here we are on February 3.  There was one fitting for the spa bubbler that was in crooked so it was shooting the bubbler about 20 degrees off center.  I was given 2 options...either rig it by bending the plastic pipe so it would come out of the water in the right spot but the pipe would be crooked, or redo the fitting which would require a small plaster patch that I could "barely see".  Option 2 seemed like doing it right and I'd had enough of the rig jobs up until this point, so we opted for option 2.  Supposed to be a one day job.

First try at the patch job that we'd barely be able to see was a fucking joke.  Huge patch that was nowhere near the color of the existing plaster and looked like a giant pile of dog shit in the bottom of my pool directly under the pool light so it has a spotlight on it.  Fine, once again, nothing is ever done right the first time and they'll need to come redo that as well.  Next attempt, it looks as bad or worse.  Mind you, we've now filled and drained the pool three times (I'm now receiving notices from the city that they think I have a water leak).

So, they decide the only way it's now going to look right is to re-plaster the spa.  What that really means is that it gets another coat over the old plaster.  I didn't buy a pool with a re-plastered spa, I bought a new pool with a new spa.  But, at this point, I just want the fucking thing done so I sign off on it.  They chipped the old stuff off around the edges and fittings and put down some kind of primer layer and they're all set to re-plaster.

Plaster guys show up and they're starting their setup and prep work.  After about an hour, I look out and they are packing their shit and leaving.  So, I go out to see what the hell is going on and they tell me the tiles are falling off like nothing just from sticking their tape to them for the prep, so they can't continue.  Are you fucking kidding me?!?!

Now they've determined that they will have to completely redo the tile work and that they will also need to re-plaster the pool along with the spa as there is no way they will ever be able to get them to match each other.  They also won't redo it with the tile we originally selected because they've decided that it's the product, not the install job that was shoddy.  Mind you, we've had to have them back to replace tiles that have fallen off at least 4 times up to this point.  MOTHER FUCKER!

At this point, there are several other issues in the pool that I was letting slide in an interest to just get the fucking thing done.  But, now the gloves are really off (I already had to threaten to sue earlier) and I'm fucking demanding they redo it all and get it all right.  The other issues are the main drain is in crooked, two of the in-floor cleaning heads are off center, the lights they used are way too bright for that size pool, and the plumbing was done wrong (understatement) so the in-floor cleaning heads that are under your ass in the spa shoot ice water out when the spa is on.  Also, I'm not accepting re-plaster over the old plaster.  I want it all off and completely redone from scratch.

To top it all off, they are having problems resourcing another black and white greek key tile to use.  That was truly the design inspiration for the entire project and I am not willing to just pick something else.  We have $50K plus worth of furniture, accessories, a custom cabana, awnings, landscaping etc that were all selected to coordinate with that tile.

In all of this, I find out my project manager has been fired.  They admitted to me that he has been the problem the whole time and that he should have been fired before Thanksgiving.  They told me he was having some personal problems (I got to hear about them from him all the time and none of them seemed that bad to me, he was just a whiney bitch) and that his lack of quality control has been unacceptable.  Well, no shit!  I guess the good part is they've admitted it's all on them and they have agreed to redo everything and get it right.

So, here we are.  Over 9 months in and I need new tile, new plaster, new plumbing, and new lighting.  Good times.  I won't put the company on blast publicly yet until this is finished, but if anyone in DFW is getting a pool and wants to know their name, PM me and I'll be happy to tell you.  They are one of the biggest in the metroplex based out of Plano.

Here she is in her current state in all her glory.  Kill me now...

 

Damn, that truly sucks. Hopefully can get it corrected before swim season starts back up.  That was my worst fear when we set out on the process, especially with any of the "smaller" guys who had much better bids, but sounds like you picked a bigger company too and still got completely screwed over.  No words for the tile coming off the way it has in those pictures.  At least all the crap hit the fan before final sign off.

[Da Fino 2783]

Jesus...

[Landomatic 3813]

42 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

That was my worst fear when we set out on the process, especially with any of the "smaller" guys who had much better bids, but sounds like you picked a bigger company too and still got completely screwed over.

Yeah, and a company we had already used once for our last pool and had good results.  So, they clearly oversold their pools during Covid and couldn't keep up and that "project manager's" wheels had apparently flown off.  Sadly, that guy was sold to me when we first started as the best PM they had, and we were getting their A crew for everything.  Their definition of "A" and mine are clearly two different things.

[Hate 20116]

Well, you certainly got “a” crew.

[Landomatic 3813]

1 minute ago, Hate said:

Well, you certainly got “a” crew.

Haha I got multiple crews...each time they've had to come back to fix shit.

[PantsTent 2002]

Damn, my argument with builder about concrete decking forms being a foot off from plan seems pretty minor.  Other than several "the crew will be out Monday" turning into Wednesday or the next Monday, that was about my biggest issue which I just had the crew move the forms.  Supposedly they charged him $700 for that 15mins of work but that sounded like a lie to me.  The skimmer and a bench being off center are among the minor things we didn't have fixed.

So glad to know we're done, and the water is perfectly balanced and clear (going trouble free pool method from the start) and ready for spring/summer.  If the weather is right, planning a March Madness in the pool/spa long weekend to break it in.

 

[williemackgarza 1826]

Yep, we know about the pollen and acorns.  Getting my wife a blower for Valentine's Day.  Told her that's what I want too.
 
Here are more color selections.  Leaning more and more towards the gray.  Silver on left and Walnut on right.  Tile color is "Watercolors" and Stonescapes mini-pebble in Aqua Blue

Heres ourson fill day with silver leuder and light tan travertine.

[BradInATX 9208]

How long was it to you guys opening your pools once gunite was finished?

[Landomatic 3813]

2 hours ago, BradInATX said:

How long was it to you guys opening your pools once gunite was finished?

You mean how long from when they shot the gunite to when we could swim in it?  I'm sure I'm an outlier, but about 13 weeks for me (not counting this latest major setback).

[PantsTent 2002]

2 hours ago, BradInATX said:

How long was it to you guys opening your pools once gunite was finished?

My notes show 6 weeks for me.  Stone coping and tile was pretty fast after gunite, but the concrete deck guys plus cleanup took a month and we only had 200 sqft of deck. Throw in Thanksgiving for another dead week.  But again, I had a pretty smooth experience all together.

Here's my notes if anybody gives a shit. Not included is the meetings with builders, etc...just from making the decision and telling builder to go.

• Permit application - July 20-24 - 1 week
• Permit from City - Aug 12 - 3 weeks
• Wait to start - Aug 17-Sept 14 - 4 weeks
• Excavation - Sept14-25 - 2 weeks
• Rebar, plumbing, equipment, elect inspection - Sept 28-Oct1 - 1 week
• Gunite - Oct 16 - 2 weeks
• Gunite cure - 1 week
• Stone, tile - Oct 26-30 - 1 week
• Deck forms - Nov 10-12 - 2 weeks
• Deck poor - Nov 19  -  1 week
• Cleanup - Nov 20
• Thanksgiving - 1 week
• Pebble - Nov 30-Dec1
• Fill, fence repair - Dec 2-3  - 1 week
• Lawn, irrigation repair - Dec 10-11
• Sundek - Jan 6-7

[MonkeyDoughnut 10318]

4 hours ago, BradInATX said:

How long was it to you guys opening your pools once gunite was finished?

9 weeks... everything went smooth in our build.  Tiling seems to go on forever

[Storm the Field 5295]

First world problem for sure, but worst part of moving into a new house with a brand new pool in mid-November is just sitting there staring at the pool for ~5 months before ever getting to hop in.

[Hate 20116]

Hear it up. It doesn’t cost as much as you would think.

[Dahobbs 17625]

47 minutes ago, Hate said:

Hear it up. It doesn’t cost as much as you would think.

That's going to take a lot of pee if he doesn't have a heater. 

[Hate 20116]

In a help with that. I drink enough water and whiskey to fill a pool with pee.

[Landomatic 3813]

2 hours ago, Storm the Field said:

First world problem for sure...

Yeah, I have to keep telling myself the same.  A LOT.  I was having issues with our new pool plus we were in the process of buying a new boat and the one I thought I wanted had a contract on it by the time I called on it.  Couple days later, I was bitching to a waitress friend of ours about all of it and at some point I was really struck with, "wow I must sound like an asshole to her."  I mean, I'm sure I always sound like an asshole, but that must have really made me sound like even more of an asshole.  First world problems for sure.

[Poolflood 845]

5 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Yeah, I have to keep telling myself the same.  A LOT.  I was having issues with our new pool plus we were in the process of buying a new boat and the one I thought I wanted had a contract on it by the time I called on it.  Couple days later, I was bitching to a waitress friend of ours about all of it and at some point I was really struck with, "wow I must sound like an asshole to her."  I mean, I'm sure I always sound like an asshole, but that must have really made me sound like even more of an asshole.  First world problems for sure.

You're not an asshole.  You're just Surly.

[williemackgarza 1826]

You're not an asshole.  You're just Surly.

Oh no, good sir.
He’s a surly asshole

[immamac 42868]

https://www.polarispool.com/en/rebates/quattro-sport

Got one of these on cyber monday - it's fucking incredible compared to our old 380. Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a pool cleaner.

[TexasEd 8067]

23 minutes ago, immamac said:

https://www.polarispool.com/en/rebates/quattro-sport

Got one of these on cyber monday - it's fucking incredible compared to our old 380. Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a pool cleaner.

cool,  how do these compare?  I think ours will be like this and electric.  Does not run off a pressure line

https://www.polarispool.com/en/products/robotic/polaris-9650iq

 

[Poolflood 845]

To anyone looking to buy a pool, do it now.  2020 was a horrific year specifically regarding labor.  Gunite was hardest hit.  Supply is catching up with demand.  However, equipment is going to be worse the way it is looking for 2021.  So get in line asap.

I've heard the 3 majors have orders in house in excess of total shipments for all of 2020 (fiscal year starting oct).

They can only produce so much and can't ramp that quickly.  Before signing a contract be sure to find out what the pool company has done to secure their supply chain.   And it has to be more than "I buy from xyz distribution and they're the largest...."  or "we buy direct so we're good"  they have to have orders in NOW.

I've put in orders for 6 months supply up front,  in excess of 7 figures and I'll still run short on a ton.  

If you have a contract, be patient.  

 

[BradInATX 9208]

To anyone looking to buy a pool, do it now.  2020 was a horrific year specifically regarding labor.  Gunite was hardest hit.  Supply is catching up with demand.  However, equipment is going to be worse the way it is looking for 2021.  So get in line asap.
I've heard the 3 majors have orders in house in excess of total shipments for all of 2020 (fiscal year starting oct).
They can only produce so much and can't ramp that quickly.  Before signing a contract be sure to find out what the pool company has done to secure their supply chain.   And it has to be more than "I buy from xyz distribution and they're the largest...."  or "we buy direct so we're good"  they have to have orders in NOW.
I've put in orders for 6 months supply up front,  in excess of 7 figures and I'll still run short on a ton.  
If you have a contract, be patient.  
 

What's overall demand for pools looking like? 2020 going to be a monster outlier year or are you still seeing huge new demand even as the end of Covid is near?

[Poolflood 845]

45 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

1 hour ago, Poolflood said:

To anyone looking to buy a pool, do it now.  2020 was a horrific year specifically regarding labor.  Gunite was hardest hit.  Supply is catching up with demand.  However, equipment is going to be worse the way it is looking for 2021.  So get in line asap.
I've heard the 3 majors have orders in house in excess of total shipments for all of 2020 (fiscal year starting oct).
They can only produce so much and can't ramp that quickly.  Before signing a contract be sure to find out what the pool company has done to secure their supply chain.   And it has to be more than "I buy from xyz distribution and they're the largest...."  or "we buy direct so we're good"  they have to have orders in NOW.
I've put in orders for 6 months supply up front,  in excess of 7 figures and I'll still run short on a ton.  
If you have a contract, be patient.  
 

What's overall demand for pools looking like? 2020 going to be a monster outlier year or are you still seeing huge new demand even as the end of Covid is near?

I'm hearing it's still strong but I stopped advertising couple months ago.   Will restart March 1.  Demand won't be as high for calendar year 21 as 20 imo but signed contract backlog is high. 

[Catpfish 618]

On 2/4/2021 at 7:57 PM, immamac said:

https://www.polarispool.com/en/rebates/quattro-sport

Got one of these on cyber monday - it's fucking incredible compared to our old 380. Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a pool cleaner.

Just make sure to use the fucking rebate as it expires fairly quickly.  Ask me how you find out when you misplace the card for a couple of months.

[BradInATX 9208]

Gunite got shot today. Starting to look like a pool. Trying to stay chill knowing were still 6-8 weeks out from swimming but the hard part is done.

[PantsTent 2002]

So about the upcoming weather...just run pump and hope we don't lose power?  I'm barely out of start-up phase so obviously didn't do anything to prepare for polar vortexes and shit.

[freyguy 4278]

Your controller should have a freeze mode setting that automatically kicks in.  But yes, just keep running all the pumps.  This ain't Minnesota, so there's little to no chance of shit actually freezing.

[boilerhorn 1393]

In addition to what @freyguy said, I recommend checking skimmer baskets periodically as the fronts move through the area.  If the baskets fill, it impacts flow and could result in a loss of prime.  Based on personal experience, I know that you do not want to be trying to prime the pool pump when its 15 degrees and windy.

[PantsTent 2002]

I turned off the auto cold setting on my pump because it only runs at full speed which is too loud for me since it's right across the wall from my pillow at night, but I've set a timer to run half speed all day.

The SWCG won't run for a week but I got the chlorine up pretty high to try and coast and algae isn't growing in this water temp anyway I don't think.

[freyguy 4278]

I would think you would be able to define the pump speed in the freeze mode routine somewhere in the settings of the controller.  May want to google it.

[BradInATX 9208]

Any of you guys go with your builder to the stone supplier to pick out the flagstone and boulders and materials? Did that this morning, that was a lot of fun. 

[PantsTent 2002]

2 hours ago, freyguy said:

I would think you would be able to define the pump speed in the freeze mode routine somewhere in the settings of the controller.  May want to google it.

I downloaded the manual and there is no setting for speed. Says will run on max speed for 8 hours once temp is reached. Temp can be set from 40F to 34F or something like that.  Thought that was lame too. Hayward Tristar vs 950...supposedly a pretty decent pump.  I can deal with setting manual timers < 10 times a year.  I haven't worried about the few low 30s or high 20s nights we've had.  This 9 degree shit is different though.

[HouTex 1884]

I turned off the auto cold setting on my pump because it only runs at full speed which is too loud for me since it's right across the wall from my pillow at night, but I've set a timer to run half speed all day.
The SWCG won't run for a week but I got the chlorine up pretty high to try and coast and algae isn't growing in this water temp anyway I don't think.

Correct on the algae. And at current temps chlorine demand in general is very low. If chlorine gets a little low just add some regular bleach.

[MonkeyDoughnut 10318]

First season with pool, freaked me out last month when my water features kicked on at 3am...  At least I know the freeze setting works though.