Yes: Pools are worth it....

[Damor 1,236]

Maiden voyage of the projector.

Worth it.

[SMUlawUTgrad 81]

What kind of projector set up did you get? That’s my next idea.

[Damor 1,236]

I still have a lot to figure out in terms of placement and setup.

I was using an Optoma HD143 I got for something like $450 on Amazon, with a Camp Chef screen I've had in a box for over 10 years after buying it on Woot for somewhere just north of $100, I think.  I hooked a Chromecast into it to stream Netflix, Google Play stuff, LHN, or whatever.  I have a boombox hooked up with an AUX cable for sound, hoping Google will soon figure out how to sync audio streaming from a video Chromecast to audio sources.

My expectations were, to be honest, quite low for the price of what I'd put together, but they were well exceeded.  The screen is not super portable, difficult for one to move, and looks like a moderate PITA to set up/disassemble on a frequent basis, but for the price, I can't say it wasn't a good deal.  The picture significantly exceeded my (low) expectations.  It was clearly viewable by 8pm, and as good as a TV by nightfall.

[Bill Clay 48]

Anybody got a cooler/chiller setup on their pool? Some light research shows me a bunch of homemade PVC gadgets with a pump that spray water into the air to cool. Then there's the Glacier unit which looks pretty baller but is probably an energy hog. Thoughts?

[bluto 4,934]

For how hot it is peeing in it probably brings it down a few degrees

[utee94 15,835]

3 hours ago, Bill Clay said:

Anybody got a cooler/chiller setup on their pool? Some light research shows me a bunch of homemade PVC gadgets with a pump that spray water into the air to cool. Then there's the Glacier unit which looks pretty baller but is probably an energy hog. Thoughts?

I'll run my sheers overnight which helps to cool it down. 

[Horn of Gabriel 1,654]

Has anyone here every taken an existing in-ground pool and enlarged it?  We have a relatively small ~15x25' rectangular pool and wife (no pics) is making noises about wanting to make it larger.  I think she's watched too many episodes of "extreme pools" ...

[solamente73 1,132]

On 6/2/2018 at 8:35 AM, Bill Clay said:

Anybody got a cooler/chiller setup on their pool? Some light research shows me a bunch of homemade PVC gadgets with a pump that spray water into the air to cool. Then there's the Glacier unit which looks pretty baller but is probably an energy hog. Thoughts?

I have something similar to these that just screw into the pool's return jets.  I run the pool motor overnight and the evaporation drops the temp from 93 to 84.  It's a lifesaver in August.

 

Edit: that one on Amazon is expensive.  You can find cheaper ones or you can make your own.

Edited June 5, 2018 by solamente73

[Newdoc 3,448]

On 6/3/2018 at 1:14 PM, Horn of Gabriel said:

wife (no pics) is making noises about wanting to make it larger.

Hate to break it to you, but she ain't talking about the pool.

[Horn of Gabriel 1,654]

3 hours ago, Newdoc said:

Hate to break it to you, but she ain't talking about the pool.

Oh my god you got me!  Good one!

Back on topic, she was saying that she wanted the pool to be wider/girthier and longer, and that she'd find it much more satisfying if it were.  Also that the finish was too light; she really wanted it darker.

[Walte464 450]

Thinking about getting one this winter, 15 x 30 with a waterfall. It’s going to be pretty simple, anything that’s a necessity when building, I’m in the valley btw.

[BottleRocket 647]

Just replaced my Polaris 280 with a new one for $410 with all new hoses and everything included. eBay running 20% off today. Thought it was a great deal since these used to run $600-800. Granted that was 10 years ago.

[Hate 20,128]

Thinking about getting one this winter, 15 x 30 with a waterfall. It’s going to be pretty simple, anything that’s a necessity when building, I’m in the valley btw.

Spa. Make sure you have a spa. Don’t let your wife/husband try to talk you out of it.

[Stunns38 3,538]

Oh my god you got me!  Good one!
Back on topic, she was saying that she wanted the pool to be wider/girthier and longer, and that she'd find it much more satisfying if it were.  Also that the finish was too light; she really wanted it darker.

You’d have to pretty much start over. Dig out the existing pool, redo the drains, etc. re-pour concrete or you’ll have major problems.

[Newdoc 3,448]

6 hours ago, Stunns38 said:

 

You’d have to pretty much start over. Dig out the existing pool, redo the drains, etc. re-pour concrete or you’ll have major problems.

 

And know it’s money you will never ever get back. Pools are not a great use of investment to begin with but extending a pool sounds like problems and high expense.

[woohorn 1,131]

Has anyone here every taken an existing in-ground pool and enlarged it?  We have a relatively small ~15x25' rectangular pool and wife (no pics) is making noises about wanting to make it larger.  I think she's watched too many episodes of "extreme pools" ...

How many gallons is your old one?

I would just make your old one look bigger by doing nice patio/deck/kitchen. Or adding a big spillover spa to existing pool would be doable without ripping original pool out.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,913]

It would be a lot easier and cheaper just to get a smaller wife

[Texas_Rocks 346]

There is a surprising lack of pictures in this thread

Not a bad place to kill some time. We use the hell out of our cement pond.

[rage-a-holic 4,428]

On 6/2/2018 at 8:35 AM, Bill Clay said:

Anybody got a cooler/chiller setup on their pool? Some light research shows me a bunch of homemade PVC gadgets with a pump that spray water into the air to cool. Then there's the Glacier unit which looks pretty baller but is probably an energy hog. Thoughts?

I have 3 of these. Around $12-15, work pretty well.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026MTCOU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Bevo 13,591]

Does anyone have a good gunite, plumbing, and/or rebar guy(s) in North Austin?

[Stunns38 3,538]

Not a bad place to kill some time. We use the hell out of our cement pond.

User name checks out

[SKJ 1,311]

I have a very small pool.

Been using this Clorox test kit and shit. I think it's fucked. The levels are always fucked when I use the app.

The alkaline shit is driving me nuts

[El Diablo 4,232]

I've got a Leslie's a half mile from the house but I can't figure out from their website what sand they carry. Looking for #20 silica. Anyone bought from them or know what they carry?

[Gil Bang 25,984]

Pump took a shit yesterday. Ordered a new WhisperQuiet on amazon with next day delivery and she’s up and running now.

[Gil Bang 25,984]

I've got a Leslie's a half mile from the house but I can't figure out from their website what sand they carry. Looking for #20 silica. Anyone bought from them or know what they carry?

Home Depot.

[Poolflood 845]

13 hours ago, El Diablo said:

I've got a Leslie's a half mile from the house but I can't figure out from their website what sand they carry. Looking for #20 silica. Anyone bought from them or know what they carry?

Leslie's, home Depot.  Just make sure it's #20 silica.  And check filter specs to see if there's recommendation for gravel to cover the laterals.  Speaking of which, empty the filter prior to buying the sand and inspect the laterals to make sure they're in good shape.  Save a trip

[Poolflood 845]

11 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Pump took a shit yesterday. Ordered a new WhisperQuiet on amazon with next day delivery and she’s up and running now.

Whisperflo?  Good pump.  

[El Diablo 4,232]

32 minutes ago, Poolflood said:

Leslie's, home Depot.  Just make sure it's #20 silica.  And check filter specs to see if there's recommendation for gravel to cover the laterals.  Speaking of which, empty the filter prior to buying the sand and inspect the laterals to make sure they're in good shape.  Save a trip

I think I'll check out Leslie's just because they've been in the same location for 30 years here. Home Depot? I know it's just sand but I'd rather spend the few extra dollars and have someone to talk to if I have questions. I called and the girl quoted my I think $15 or so for 50 lbs of #20 silica. Thanks for the tips on the filter.

[Bevo 13,591]

Do any of you guys know a good pool electrician and gas guy in Austin?

[Poolflood 845]

59 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Do any of you guys know a good pool electrician and gas guy in Austin?

Two distinct trades.  What do you need done?

[Bevo 13,591]

1 hour ago, Poolflood said:

Two distinct trades.  What do you need done?

New pool construction. Need electric run and gas run to the equipment pad. Also, need a gas regulator installed inside the house before the gas service is upgraded to accommodate the 400K BTU heater. For electric, we will have 3 Pentair Pumps that run about 15amp peak amperage each and are to be put on 20amp breakers so I assume we will need 60amp service run to the equipment pad (Landscaping and Pool lights are 12V LED so they shouldn't have much draw).

[Poolflood 845]

Ok I'm not even gonna ask....

If you just need gas run get the phone book.  There's nothing special.  Yellow pages.

So is your pool already through stub out and long plumb?  If yes, they should have done the gas as well -.call them first.  If not, call a local distributor (SCP, SPP, PEP, FWP) and beg for a recommendation.  

Electric depends on automation.  Fuck it.  Ask one of the above for your area.  Probably PEP is best.  they have a tight relationships with plumb and electric.

Good luck

[Bevo 13,591]

7 minutes ago, Poolflood said:

So is your pool already through stub out and long plumb?  If yes, they should have done the gas as well -.call them first.  If not, call a local distributor (SCP, SPP, PEP, FWP) and beg for a recommendation.   

Yeah, some minor problems but it is basically done. There are 4 water features and they were done on a single run. They need to be run individually so that I can regulate the water flow going to each feature.

Also, some minor excavation needs to be done where the excavator missed a small area.

Other than that, everything is plumbed and the pool is formed, rebar is in place, and the pool is grounded.

And for what you aren't asking, I had to fire my low cost GC for many reasons. I have built a pool before so it isn't that big of a deal. But, I have talked to a couple of gas guys and they haven't gotten back to me with bids and my wife does accounting for a commercial electrical company and their bid was way out of line with what I would expect (9K: It surprised me because they have done work at my office for free).

[Poolflood 845]

Yeah I'd go to pep or fwp and see if they'll get you sub names.  Pool plumbers will do the gas.  Probably Pep (pool electrical products) is probably best bet for pool electrician.  

From the subs you hire you can probably get recommendations for gunite, tile/coping and deck.  Sorry you had issues with your original contractor

[Quagmire 2,147]

Anyone recommend a good suction cleaner? Have a dedicated vacuum port. Tired of fixing my keepy krauly

[HouTex 1,887]

Anyone recommend a good suction cleaner? Have a dedicated vacuum port. Tired of fixing my keepy krauly

When I had a pool I had the Polaris 280. Loved it.

[Poolflood 845]

pentair rebel

Hayward aquanaut

Polaris 280 is pressure side cleaner

[catoars 0]

Ok just bought a new house with a pool that needs resurfacing. This will be my third pool to own and both of my previous were standard white plaster. I'd like to do something different, and hopefully longer lasting, so was thinking of a quartz or pebble product.
What's y'all's experience with these materials? Any recommended installers or ones to avoid in Austin?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[Damor 1,236]

Brews, great in-laws visiting, and The Goonies playing.

Worth it.


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[troph 24,899]

Brews, great in-laws visiting, and The Goonies playing.

Worth it.


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Goonies R Good Enough !

Super cool set up!

[troph 24,899]

Ok just bought a new house with a pool that needs resurfacing. This will be my third pool to own and both of my previous were standard white plaster. I'd like to do something different, and hopefully longer lasting, so was thinking of a quartz or pebble product.
What's y'all's experience with these materials? Any recommended installers or ones to avoid in Austin?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

I love my pebble product got one up from smooth and it’s easy on our feet and looks great. Going on 5 years no issues.

[Damor 1,236]

We did Quartzscapes Tahoe Blue.  Very happy with it.  Evidently, it's more prone to some heterogeneous distribution/patchy areas that Pebbletec, but it's not noticeable in our pool.  We'd also heard some polarizing reports (including from our builder) on the pebble stuff being rough on feet, especially if you've got kids playing volleyball and such.  We really like the quartz texture on ours.

[mrhorn 1,383]

We're in the process of bringing in contractors and hoping to start digging in December.  Our first pool and we pretty much know what we want.  What are some things that you wish you would've put in and what are some things that you have that you don't use / need?

[HouTex 1,887]

On 7/8/2018 at 10:30 PM, Bevo said:

Yeah, some minor problems but it is basically done. There are 4 water features and they were done on a single run. They need to be run individually so that I can regulate the water flow going to each feature.

Also, some minor excavation needs to be done where the excavator missed a small area.

Other than that, everything is plumbed and the pool is formed, rebar is in place, and the pool is grounded.

And for what you aren't asking, I had to fire my low cost GC for many reasons. I have built a pool before so it isn't that big of a deal. But, I have talked to a couple of gas guys and they haven't gotten back to me with bids and my wife does accounting for a commercial electrical company and their bid was way out of line with what I would expect (9K: It surprised me because they have done work at my office for free).

I had to fire my GC several years ago when the guy took about 75% of my money and wouldn't/couldn't finish my pool.  He used my money to finish his prior project.  I was caught holding the bag.  My pool was stub-plumbed, gunited, and some of the electrical was done, but I had to do the rest.  I hope your pool worked out ok.  

When people ask me for a recommendation on a GC, I say go with a company that's been around a very long time.  Don't hire a guy in a pick up.  That, or make sure you pay about 50% at completion--but none of the guys I got bids from would do that.

[Bevo 13,591]

21 minutes ago, HouTex said:

I had to fire my GC several years ago when the guy took about 75% of my money and wouldn't/couldn't finish my pool.  He used my money to finish his prior project.  I was caught holding the bag.  My pool was stub-plumbed, gunited, and some of the electrical was done, but I had to do the rest.  I hope your pool worked out ok.  

When people ask me for a recommendation on a GC, I say go with a company that's been around a very long time.  Don't hire a guy in a pick up.  That, or make sure you pay about 50% at completion--but none of the guys I got bids from would do that.

Thanks. In retrospect, I regret the project. However, it doesn't seem like we wasted as much money as you did. We probably lost about $10K or so on the dig. Now everything is moving along. The gas guy should be coming today to put a regulator on the house. The gas company is coming tomorrow to install a 2 PSI meter to increase supply enough to meet the demand of the 400K BTU heater. Also, tomorrow the inspector is coming by to do the pre-pour inspection so we should be able to do gunite by the end of the week. The project has been a pain in the ass because of my neighbor, the HOA, and the contractor. However, we are getting there. Everything looks to be in order and I don't see any obvious problems if the subs don't screw up.

We will be short on money, though. We will have to take care of the ancillary stuff over time. Right now, the roof of our patio is curved and will dump water directly into the pool. Later, we will need to cut the roof to make it rectangular and put in gutters to direct the water away from the pool. Also, we will probably want to enclose a small portion of the patio so we can watch TV outside if we want. All that kind of stuff is going to have to wait. Otherwise, we are in pretty good shape.

[HouTex 1,887]

IIRC, my loss was about $12k.  Still pisses me off.

[GlenFromTheMailRoom 1,613]

23 hours ago, mrhorn said:

We're in the process of bringing in contractors and hoping to start digging in December.  Our first pool and we pretty much know what we want.  What are some things that you wish you would've put in and what are some things that you have that you don't use / need?

Infinity edge looks cool but can run your water bill up if the edge pump settings are slightly off.  

[DaysOff 7,963]

We're in the process of bringing in contractors and hoping to start digging in December.  Our first pool and we pretty much know what we want.  What are some things that you wish you would've put in and what are some things that you have that you don't use / need?

Don't need a tanning ledge. Nobody's gonna lie on that hard surface and it takes up swimmable area.

[solamente73 1,132]

49 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

Don't need a tanning ledge. Nobody's gonna lie on that hard surface and it takes up swimmable area.

Ha, I was coming here to post that pools are totally worth it when you have little kids.  I’ve got 2 and 4 y/o boys.  When it’s 100+ degrees out and it’s too hot for the park, the pool is critical for wearing them out, er, I mean, letting them expend their endless energy.  Our ‘tanning ledge’ has never been used for tanning, but the kids love to have the ‘shallows’ as a place of their own, so to speak, where they can easily play, splash etc.  

[Damor 1,236]

Yeah, you have to think about your needs and how you'd use it, but for us the tanning ledge has been useful.  But at our builder's recommendation we made it deeper (12") than most, so you can set a lounger in the pool instead of sitting on the surface if you want.  He also put in umbrella sleeves to add some shade, though we haven't gotten one yet.  We also plan on being in this house when grandkids come along, so that's a little more playable depth for little ones (for now, the new pup likes it).

That said, they do take up space, so I can see how they might be a waste for some people.