Pool Build - Baltimore

[bmoreswim]

Thank you katierose! You must be ecstatic about your pool right now. What an exciting time. Travertine is my favorite look.

Yesterday I played mason and replaced a pool tile and a few grout pieces. Hanging upside down and reaching in the skimmer. Not too fun but rewarding.

 

[pooldv]

Nice work! The big question is will those tiles still be there in a year? :-D

 

[bmoreswim]

50-50.

 

[Paul & Crystal]

Just gorgeous! I love all the travertine and the rectangle. You don't see too many newer rectangles. I love them for sports and great parties.

 

[bmoreswim]

Thank you P or C. The autocover was a driver towards the shape, but I love rectangle pools and probably would have gotten it anyway.

Water temp is 55 degrees. Winter cover is off. Autocover is on (complete with another softball size hole that a rodent created in the EXACT SAME SPOT as last year. Right through the patch in fact. Mothballs were clearly ineffective. He's let off his volley, this fall I will come up with my volley in reply.

Our Dolphin Active 20 took its maiden voyage last night. Ok, probably not the best analogy because the first thing it does is sink. It's more submarine than ship. Before the pump is even on for the year. Getting some pad re-plumbing work done Thursday and I did some last night. Appears he is going to be fantastic. Never underestimate the power of a blue blinking LED to mesmerize. He did actually beach himself that first time out on a bench after 30 minutes. I'll go down that road more on the Discovery robot thread. https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/120447-First-Robotic-Cleaner-Doheny-s-Discovery But then I deployed him for two consecutive tours of duty immediately after and he shied away from the steps and finished his deployment resting in the middle of the pool. Maybe he's a quick study.

I know ships and submarines are she's but he comes off as a he. He goes back and forth, pausing occasionally, but never asking for directions.

 

[Paul & Crystal]

It's just Crystal. Paul doesn't ever show up here. I've got him in charge of other things...like making $$$ . That auto cover is sweet. You did a great job on all your build decisions. The Beast Master is definitely a male. But he gets the job done eventually!

 

[Marlahoutex]

I know ships and submarines are she's but he comes off as a he. He goes back and forth, pausing occasionally, but never asking for directions.

If the robot is constantly adjusting, then it's definitely male!

 

[bmoreswim]

Ha! Watching baseball now!

 

[Paul & Crystal]

You or the robot?

 

[bmoreswim]

Both of us. He finds baseball confusing.

 

[bmoreswim]

So I was never happy about two things on our build. Well, maybe more, but the point of this post it about two things in particular. The layout of the equipment pad and the fact that we had a pressure side cleaner with booster pump instead of a robot. The second item we took care of with our purchase of Earl our Dolphin Active 20. The equipment pad redo hinged on being able to remove the booster pump which we could now do.

Goals of the pad reno were to:

1. Raise the pump and filter up out of the stones
2. Remove the booster pump
3. Maintain the pressure cleaner line as a return
4. Allow more space for accessing the pump and filter
5. Make the river rock deeper by removing grey rock which was right below the surface
6. Remove a few of the 90's at the pad
7. Vertically orient the SWCG to take up less space

Here is the original rough plumbing to the pad. The writing was on the wall for how disorganized it would be.



Then the original in process shot. The grey rock hides the poor plumbing layout below deck.



Then how the original layout ended up. Too tight, too low and unappealing to boot.



Then the new layout still exposed. There are lots of extra unused lines. Two for solar (probably won't do it, not a lot of surface area on the pavillion and orientation), two that just go outside of the retaining wall (won't be used) and one that is an extra line to the main drain should something happen to the current one.



The new layout with river rock.



The new layout up close. One nice feature of the valves is that even though they were installed without unions, as most are, they can be re-used by going on the outside of the fitting, which I believe is 2 1/2" (or 3") then reducing back down to the original diameter. Definitely takes longer to prime when the pump basket or filter are opened since the suction lines and pump are now all above ground more, but no worries.



The hanging equipment partition.



And backing away.



And from the main viewing direction. I'd like to build a roof for it with cedar shakes to match the pavillion, and maybe a sliding wall or door on the diving board side to keep the sun off of it, but for now, it's done and I'm much more satisfied.



Kreepy Krauly Legend pressure cleaner and Hayward 6060 booster pump now for sale!

 

[pooldv]

Yeah, that's a little better! Wow, that was chaotic for sure.

 

[kimkats]

The first set up what did what??? LOL

Now..............

Why did you want the filter and pump up so high? I THINK I know the answer but wanted to ask.

I like the ideas for the future. They will really "finish" up that area.

Kim

 

[bmoreswim]

Why did you want the filter and pump up so high? I THINK I know the answer but wanted to ask.:

The main reason was to get the pump up out of the rocks. It was partially subterranean. This was likely the reason for the pump not starting last year after only three winters. I was not removing it (it wasn't really practical to do so as buried and tight as it was) and with the snow sitting on/over it and just regular rain would not dry out quickly, that was the likely reason it seized. In fact I could see that the bottom third of the motor housing is partially rusted from frequent dampness. He did free it up then also repaired it but said it was in poor shape and he wouldn't do it again. So now I can easily remove it if I choose but the snow will not bury it as much either. The other reason is to make the plugs (pump and filter) easier to access and the pump basket is at knee level instead of ankle level for opening (though my skimmer hair nets keep it pretty darn clean). It also allowed for a vertical install of the SWCG which saved room in that area. And since I was raising them, I didn't want to go just a little and wish I had gone higher. This way, they may be a little high, but I would have been frustrated with a little low.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Yeah, that's a little better! Wow, that was chaotic for sure.

LOL no, chaotic is that picture Richard has of the spaghetti like pipes all over the place. Remember that?? I have to wonder if that was real though?

Maddie

 

[bmoreswim]

Yeah, that one was chaotic on steroids, etc.

 

[bmoreswim]

Lows in the 30's for a few nights calls for a fire and s'mores. Swimming will have to wait but I'm happy for now.

 

[pooldv]

Yeah, if you can't swim then lighting stuff on fire is the next best thing!

 

[bmoreswim]

And here's a little tftestkits.net love. Bought a Sample Sizer & a Glycerin filled pressure gauge. Sure, I've been making my own sample sized tubes of water for 4 years, by why? Oops too much - now too little. And I also needed a new pressure gauge anyway. I do see that it's safe down to -4 degrees F. But we only get below that, maybe to -10 every 5 years or so. That's an easy risk to take.

 

[bmoreswim]

Geez, still haven't installed that new pressure gauge.

This is the color scheme that says "Summer" to me...