Yes: Pools are worth it....

[milkman 428]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

So 150k for pool and double level pergola?

Pool designer messed up on the rendering.  There is no deck.  Just a big outdoor living space with a shed roof that apparently is a double level pergola!

Edited July 12, 2021 by milkman

[Tailgate 3022]

2 hours ago, milkman said:

Looks like I'm going to bite the bullet and put a pool in at the new house.  I don't know the first thing about a pool other than it holds water.  I just got a preliminary drawing back from my pool builder and its less than mesmerizing.  Could some of you help me out here? 

Beach entry looks a little on the small side.  I would like enough room for two lounge chairs in the water there.

On the equipment placement I don't want it next to the house.  Has anyone seen the equipment located remotely in the backyard?

Thanks in advance!

They should be able to place the equipment in an area where it’s not highly visible…we put a stone wall up around ours and can’t see it or hear it while swimming. Not sure what that cut out is on the stairs. We also opted out of no bubblers on the tanning ledge and am happy we did as we can put chairs anywhere and our dogs like the ledge. Also, personal preference we went 4’ 6” depth all over our pool. We don’t have small kids who want to jump and really like the fact we can stand anywhere in the pool…especially with parties. Overall design looks pretty good…just check the length and depth of tha tanning ledge to make sure you can get your chairs on it.

[Buzzrock 14926]

I’d be worried about the water being too warm with a shallow pool.

[BurntOrange&White 39934]

What are ideal depths? 3ft 9in - 5 ft to 4 ft 6?

[TexasEd 8067]

7 hours ago, BurntOrange&White said:

What are ideal depths? 3ft 9in - 5 ft to 4 ft 6?

My position is if you can walk across it you have a wading pool not a swimming pool.  Ours is 6' at the deep end.

[TexEx15 17545]

On 7/13/2021 at 8:22 AM, BurntOrange&White said:

What are ideal depths? 3ft 9in - 5 ft to 4 ft 6?

Ours is 3.5 - 6.

[Fudbelty 2788]

Checking in with 4’ to 12’.

[williemackgarza 1826]

Beach entry to 7.5’.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[MonkeyDoughnut 10326]

On 7/13/2021 at 4:23 PM, TexasEd said:

My position is if you can walk across it you have a wading pool not a swimming pool.  Ours is 6' at the deep end.

Agreed, most people wade in their pool and don't swim in it. I'm big fan of being able to use entire pool. Every time I swim  wade at someone else's house with a deep end the pool size is basically cut in half and occasionally someone will make the swim across the pool (most will assume it's to relieve themselves... but that's another story.... )

[Grimas 670]

3.5' - 5' - 3.5'.  Can string volleyball net across the deeper middle section so adults can stand by the net and kids can stand on the shallower sides.  Run fountains at night to drop the temp.  

Edited July 15, 2021 by Grimas

[Buzzrock 14926]

Well, now that I have all my pumps working again and should have smartphone automation soon, it looks like I need to replaster. I have some worn spots and one is starting to bleed rust. Anyone been through that and have any tips? I’m guessing it’s about a $10K - $12K project.

[TexasEd 8067]

Finally 

 

[Quagmire 2147]

You be having sex in that hot tub in no time

[mchookem 16338]

On 7/22/2021 at 8:50 AM, Buzzrock said:

Well, now that I have all my pumps working again and should have smartphone automation soon, it looks like I need to replaster. I have some worn spots and one is starting to bleed rust. Anyone been through that and have any tips? I’m guessing it’s about a $10K - $12K project.

i just went through this and that's about right...maybe closer to $14K in the end, but less than the $20K i was expecting. no real tips...it was pretty painless process. we had a 2 week day in the middle of it for the actual plaster just due to scheduling constraints, but the whole thing only took about a month start to finish. 

[TexasEd 8067]

Don't forget to cross post empty pool in skateboarding thread.

[Buzzrock 14926]

i just went through this and that's about right...maybe closer to $14K in the end, but less than the $20K i was expecting. no real tips...it was pretty painless process. we had a 2 week day in the middle of it for the actual plaster just due to scheduling constraints, but the whole thing only took about a month start to finish. 

Did you have to let it cure 28 days before putting water in?

[Buzzrock 14926]

Oh and going straight to the pool after coaching a hot as hell summer little league game is one of life’s pleasures.

[mchookem 16338]

49 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Did you have to let it cure 28 days before putting water in?

oh no... but that might be bc of the finish we picked?? it's a blue pebble texture. it cured IN the water, if that makes sense....they did the plaster in one day, acid wash the next, and we started putting water in that evening...it was ready to go within 24 hours. 

[TexasEd 8067]

This

19 hours ago, mchookem said:

oh no... but that might be bc of the finish we picked?? it's a blue pebble texture. it cured IN the water, if that makes sense....they did the plaster in one day, acid wash the next, and we started putting water in that evening...it was ready to go within 24 hours. 

Pictures are days apart. Put the hose in right after the acid wash. 
 

water color should change once we get the chemicals balanced and the plaster cures over 30 days. 
 

Edited July 30, 2021 by TexasEd

[TexasEd 8067]

First pool beer

[williemackgarza 1826]

Texased congrats man, no better feeling than finally jumpin in. My kids have used ours a ton

[TexEx15 17545]

Acid wash tomorrow and start filling.  Going to catch the tail end of summer!

[LebongJames 1813]

Bought a new house and it’s got a pool. Pretty pumped. We will have September.

Any ideas on how to keep dogs out the pool?

[Quagmire 2147]

Cut the end of electric cord off, when you see dog in the pool plug it in and dip it in the water.

Good luck , had a golden retriever , would let her out for 10 secs in the morning to go piss and she’d come back to the door soaking wet. Guess you are staying outside for a few hours to dry off fucker.

[TexEx15 17545]

Water going in!  Color will lighten up a bit as we get it balanced and plaster dust removed but this give a good idea of the color combo.

[Your Mom 4824]

What color pebble is that?

[TexEx15 17545]

11 hours ago, Your Mom said:

What color pebble is that?

NPT Stone Scapes Aqua Blue Mini

https://www.nptpool.com/pool-finishes/all-finishes/ssmpabm/

[Quagmire 2147]

What size is your pool? Looks huge

[MonkeyDoughnut 10326]

On 8/3/2021 at 12:44 PM, TexEx15 said:

Acid wash tomorrow and start filling.  Going to catch the tail end of summer!

looks awesome... time for some privacy hedging... shit takes time and appears to be a long exposed walk for the naked hot tubbing that's about to commence.

[Grimas 670]

On 8/4/2021 at 7:06 AM, Quagmire said:

Cut the end of electric cord off, when you see dog in the pool plug it in and dip it in the water.

Good luck , had a golden retriever , would let her out for 10 secs in the morning to go piss and she’d come back to the door soaking wet. Guess you are staying outside for a few hours to dry off fucker.

I wish...  My golden goes from pool to then roll in the flower beds...

[TexEx15 17545]

On 8/6/2021 at 7:43 AM, Quagmire said:

What size is your pool? Looks huge

17x36

[HiggyBaby 2541]

Ok so I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve not been able to keep up with my pool. I hired a guy to come right the ship and he says he can’t do it because the cyanuric acid level is too high. Fair enough. He wants to drain the pool and start over, which is apparently a thing I’m learning. Is this something I can do myself or should I rely on him? The internet seems to imply some risk with the pool structure buckling etc if not done right. On the other hand, a few you tube videos seem to imply it’s as easy as shutting off all but the main drain and let it rip in backwash mode.

If I wait for him I’m out $500 and he can’t get out till the 19th.

Surly?

[HouTex 1887]

Ok so I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve not been able to keep up with my pool. I hired a guy to come right the ship and he says he can’t do it because the cyanuric acid level is too high. Fair enough. He wants to drain the pool and start over, which is apparently a thing I’m learning. Is this something I can do myself or should I rely on him? The internet seems to imply some risk with the pool structure buckling etc if not done right. On the other hand, a few you tube videos seem to imply it’s as easy as shutting off all but the main drain and let it rip in backwash mode.

If I wait for him I’m out $500 and he can’t get out till the 19th.

Surly?

When I had a pool I was a disciple of troublefreepool.com. Go there and follow the advice. CYA levels should never get too high if you are doing it right. If they do then you basically are fucked and you have to drain to get it down.

[HiggyBaby 2541]

Yeah that’s my problem. I’m at the point now where i need to drain my pool and wondering if can do it myself. Thanks for the link.

[Poolflood 845]

53 minutes ago, HiggyBaby said:

Yeah that’s my problem. I’m at the point now where i need to drain my pool and wondering if can do it myself. Thanks for the link.

You probably don't need to drain completely/all at once .  Even if you do, you can do it in stages.  Couple feet a weekend til cya levels come down to range.  I've heard to brush walls at beginning of drain.  

 

[Grimas 670]

3 hours ago, HiggyBaby said:

Ok so I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve not been able to keep up with my pool. I hired a guy to come right the ship and he says he can’t do it because the cyanuric acid level is too high. Fair enough. He wants to drain the pool and start over, which is apparently a thing I’m learning. Is this something I can do myself or should I rely on him? The internet seems to imply some risk with the pool structure buckling etc if not done right. On the other hand, a few you tube videos seem to imply it’s as easy as shutting off all but the main drain and let it rip in backwash mode.

If I wait for him I’m out $500 and he can’t get out till the 19th.

Surly?

Just blow and go! Unless you have a shallow water table where the pool might "float" because of the loss of weight, you should be fine to drain and then refill right away. As Poolflood said, you don't have to totally drain it - just enough to get the CYA down.  If it's at 100 and want it at 50, just drain half.  You don't want it at zero as you need some to keep the chlorine from burning off... You want it in the 20-50 range... If you can find liquid chlorine, its much better than just tablets... (I second using trouble free pools site and the pool math app...)

Edited August 9, 2021 by Grimas

[Surly Bevo 25076]

CYA is another reason glad to have saltwater pool.  First you usually keep the level higher in a SW pool, especially if it gets a lot of direct sunlights (ours does) For instance mine we shoot for 60-80ppm.  Second I don't have to worry about pucks shooting that level through the roof.  Usually just add a full gallon of conditioner into the skimmer sometime right around the time the water temp gets high enough to routinely kick the SWG on and I am good to go for the year.  If it rains a lot a lot of the time may have to refresh but that isn't usually a big summer problem in Texas.    

[MonkeyDoughnut 10326]

14 hours ago, HiggyBaby said:

Ok so I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve not been able to keep up with my pool. I hired a guy to come right the ship and he says he can’t do it because the cyanuric acid level is too high. Fair enough. He wants to drain the pool and start over, which is apparently a thing I’m learning. Is this something I can do myself or should I rely on him? The internet seems to imply some risk with the pool structure buckling etc if not done right. On the other hand, a few you tube videos seem to imply it’s as easy as shutting off all but the main drain and let it rip in backwash mode.

If I wait for him I’m out $500 and he can’t get out till the 19th.

Surly?

Can do yourself, all you are looking to do is dilute it, the more you drain at once the fewer drains you have to do. As long as the ground is not super saturated there is little risk of "floating" the pool (very rare anyways).  That said, can be cautious and drain 1/3 to 1/2 or so each time (drain water downhill or far away from pool to not saturate near it), checking CYA levels after each drain/refill.  It will eventually come down, then just use fewer pucks and more liquid chlorine and you are set.

[El Tri 412]

13 hours ago, HiggyBaby said:

Yeah that’s my problem. I’m at the point now where i need to drain my pool and wondering if can do it myself. Thanks for the link.

i did this in the spring and it was easy. go to home depot and rent a submersible pump and do it this way. you don't want to use your expensive ass pool pump to backwash all that water.

[immamac 42872]

5 minutes ago, El Tri said:

i did this in the spring and it was easy. go to home depot and rent a submersible pump and do it this way. you don't want to use your expensive ass pool pump to backwash all that water.

Depends on drain system. If he can drain it with his pool pump it is not expensive at all. What are you referring to here? 

[El Tri 412]

Just now, immamac said:

Depends on drain system. If he can drain it with his pool pump it is not expensive at all. What are you referring to here? 

I'm saying I didn't want to put my pump through the work of draining an entire pool and risk anything going wrong. 

Spend $50 to rent a submersible pump from home depot instead, and it drains at a much faster pace than using the waste function on the filter/pump

[immamac 42872]

Just now, El Tri said:

I'm saying I didn't want to put my pump through the work of draining an entire pool and risk anything going wrong. 

Spend $50 to rent a submersible pump from home depot instead, and it drains at a much faster pace than using the waste function on the filter/pump

Do you never run your pool pump? You do realize that the pump works harder in the filter mode than the rinse or backwash mode right? You also realize that your pump should filter all the water in your pool at least once ever 4 hours. 

Do you have a severely undersized pump? 

[El Tri 412]

21 minutes ago, immamac said:

Do you never run your pool pump? You do realize that the pump works harder in the filter mode than the rinse or backwash mode right? You also realize that your pump should filter all the water in your pool at least once ever 4 hours. 

Do you have a severely undersized pump? 

that's the advice I got from troublefreepools and that's what I went with.

don't get your panties in a wad

[HiggyBaby 2541]

Thanks guys, I’m going to drain it myself this week. We’ll see how it goes…

[Dutchrudder 11142]

Friend just finished his salt water pool last week, and we got to try it out. No chlorine smell, your eyes don't burn under water, and the water feels great. I don't know why anyone would want a chlorine pool vs salt water. Is there something I'm missing?  It seems cheaper and easier to maintain a salt water pool, and the enjoyment factor is huge. 

We are looking to build a pool next year, so any recommendations would be appreciated. 

[PantsTent 2002]

On 8/5/2021 at 9:00 PM, TexEx15 said:

NPT Stone Scapes Aqua Blue Mini

https://www.nptpool.com/pool-finishes/all-finishes/ssmpabm/

Yeah, your pebble looks a lot like ours which is CLI Aqua Blue.

[PantsTent 2002]

1 hour ago, Dutchrudder said:

Friend just finished his salt water pool last week, and we got to try it out. No chlorine smell, your eyes don't burn under water, and the water feels great. I don't know why anyone would want a chlorine pool vs salt water. Is there something I'm missing?  It seems cheaper and easier to maintain a salt water pool, and the enjoyment factor is huge. 

We are looking to build a pool next year, so any recommendations would be appreciated. 

About $1500 cost upfront for the SWG.  I'm 9 months in and no issues so far.  Dumping some liquid chlorine every day or two I guess isn't that much work but glad i don't have to do it.  And you do want to use liquid chlorine and not 100% tabs (save those for vacations) or you'll end up like Higgy! 

No offense Higgy, you can do the drain yourself no problem.  I've had to drain a couple of inches 4 times this year due to the pool overflowing with rain water.  Even after this I noticed CYA levels were down and even salt level got diluted enough that the SWG stopped generating chlorine.  There's always something to keep an eye on.  I have a hose bib on the output of my pump so can just run a hose out the back fence which has a retention pond back there anyway.

[texhorn 351]

Friend just finished his salt water pool last week, and we got to try it out. No chlorine smell, your eyes don't burn under water, and the water feels great. I don't know why anyone would want a chlorine pool vs salt water. Is there something I'm missing?  It seems cheaper and easier to maintain a salt water pool, and the enjoyment factor is huge. 
We are looking to build a pool next year, so any recommendations would be appreciated. 

Had a salt water pool for about 15 years. Only downside as far as I’m concerned is the salt water loves to eat away any porous stone that gets wet. Be careful with limestone trim, sandstone, etc. otherwise it was great.

[Poolflood 845]

6 hours ago, El Tri said:

that's the advice I got from troublefreepools and that's what I went with.

don't get your panties in a wad

TFP has some good advice and some sketchy advice.  

[Quagmire 2147]

Friend just finished his salt water pool last week, and we got to try it out. No chlorine smell, your eyes don't burn under water, and the water feels great. I don't know why anyone would want a chlorine pool vs salt water. Is there something I'm missing?  It seems cheaper and easier to maintain a salt water pool, and the enjoyment factor is huge. 
We are looking to build a pool next year, so any recommendations would be appreciated. 

Nope, just get some hard stone coping around it or seal the stone every few years.