New Roman Geometric Pool in Cypress TX

[CCTX]

We are interviewing pool builders and ironing out a final design in Cypress, TX.

There are so many other questions I have regarding finishes and the big salt water vs. chlorine debate, but I wanted to start my thread with some pictures of my sketch and the first pool builder's renderings. The outdoor kitchen portion already exists, but will still need to add the pool bathroom in the back corner of the garage, and outdoor shower on the back wall of the garage, and the pool, of course =) I wanted to squeeze in a narrow fire feature at one end of the pool b/c roasting marshmallows is something my three boys LOVE to do, and it will provide much needed shade on the west side (sun sets behind the fire feature in the drawings). I have 4 Japanese blueberry trees there now, and they will be removed - possibly replaced with Eagleston Holly, or more Wax Myrtle hedges like we have on the back fence. There is a 14 ft. easement on the back (can't build behind the line of the garage) and a 5 ft. builder's line behind the fire feature. We have existing travertine TILE in our outdoor kitchen - need to figure out if it is okay to put travertine tile all around the pool, or if you must use travertine pavers.

The first drawing is my landscaper's interpretation of my sketch, and then the second drawing is my sketch - I revised the spa location so we would still have a good pool length to swim, and I added my fire feature back in. Following the sketches are the first builder's rendering.

 

[CCTX]

I'd like to attach more photos (an overhead rendering), but it is not letting me at the moment. The rendered pool is 22x30 and the spa is 8x6.5. For depth, we discussed 4 ft. to 6 ft. or 6.5 ft. (the jumping in point is the bench by the fire feature/fireplace). I really don't want the depth to drop off too quickly and want to maximize my shallow end. Our kids are 12, 9, and 6. Also, the first step as you enter the pool would wrap around and become the tanning ledge - it is not pictured that way here. Those are aluminum shutters on the fireplace - keep them open for air flow, and view of the greenery, close them for max shade. The pergola may be brought forward to create more shade.

Burning questions:
- Salt Water Generator or Chlorine? Is the UV and Ozone feature just wasted money? Do I want to hassle with re-sealing the travertine regularly for the SWG? Almost sounds easier than dealing with chlorine pucks daily. I'm a busy mom to three boys - need easy, but HEALTHY.
- What is the best brand (or supplier) of porcelain tile for the water line?
- Can you use travertine tile around the pool, or do you need to use pavers? Tile exists in the outdoor kitchen area. We seal it with "shark skin" and it's not slippery at all. But, tile is not as flexible with ground movement.
- In-floor cleaning vs. robot? I can't have a polaris b/c my dog will bark at it endlessly!
- What size pump do we need for this pool? There are three water bowls, the spa overflow, bubblers on the tanning ledge, and possibly, an in-floor cleaning system.

We are newbies at the pool lingo, but I grew up taking care of a pool. I'm hoping to catch on quickly! Thank you for your input -- it is greatly appreciated =)

 

[hotchalupa]

I'm sure you'll get many useful responses, but I just wanted to reply just to say....wow! That is going to be one amazingly beautiful pool!!!!

 

[CCTX]

Thanks, hotchalupa! I feel like I’ve been sketching forever, and can’t believe it’s real

 

[Goob]

CCTX,

Welcome! Lots of great info here.

We are nearing the end of building our geometric pool just up the road in Magnolia.

We we decided to use travertine with a SWG. Wandering through many posts, a lot of issues could be caused by chemistry and we are going to seal our stone. You mentioned the hassle but there are products out there that seem to be easy o apply. Besides, we want a wet look for our stone so we killed two birds with one stone.

Can’t help with tile or paver question

We will be going with a robot cleaner. Seems to be the consensus pick here. We debated the newer in ground cleaner for shelves and steps but decided against it.

Good luck with the builders. A lot of good ones out there. Ours has bent over backwards to make us happy.

 

[mknauss]

Burning questions:
- Salt Water Generator or Chlorine? Is the UV and Ozone feature just wasted money? Do I want to hassle with re-sealing the travertine regularly for the SWG? Almost sounds easier than dealing with chlorine pucks daily. I'm a busy mom to three boys - need easy, but HEALTHY.
- What is the best brand (or supplier) of porcelain tile for the water line?
- Can you use travertine tile around the pool, or do you need to use pavers? Tile exists in the outdoor kitchen area. We seal it with "shark skin" and it's not slippery at all. But, tile is not as flexible with ground movement.
- In-floor cleaning vs. robot? I can't have a polaris b/c my dog will bark at it endlessly!
- What size pump do we need for this pool? There are three water bowls, the spa overflow, bubblers on the tanning ledge, and possibly, an in-floor cleaning system.

I am SWCG all the way. The UV / Ozone stuff is in the words of another moderator "all magic and no rabbit". Worthless. Pucks create a situation of moving CYA and FC requirements and draining alot of water often. Not sure on the sealing of Travertine, lots of folks here have SWCG and Travertine, and never heard of issues.

Tile choice is very personal. Look at lots of them.

Decking, another personal choice. I have pavers. Ground movement is no big deal.

Robots sound great. Especially if the pool has minimal shallow areas. They can struggle in those. But no automatic cleaner handles them. The in floor is complex and costly, but when they work, people love them.

Sounds like multiple pumps. You want to be able to circulate your pool for chlorination and cleaning without running all the water features. But you do want to be able to program the water features to run every day for 15-30 minutes so they get chlorinated water run through them regularly.

Hope this helps -- take care.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Burning questions:
- Salt Water Generator or Chlorine? Is the UV and Ozone feature just wasted money? Do I want to hassle with re-sealing the travertine regularly for the SWG? Almost sounds easier than dealing with chlorine pucks daily. I'm a busy mom to three boys - need easy, but HEALTHY.
- What is the best brand (or supplier) of porcelain tile for the water line?
- Can you use travertine tile around the pool, or do you need to use pavers? Tile exists in the outdoor kitchen area. We seal it with "shark skin" and it's not slippery at all. But, tile is not as flexible with ground movement.
- In-floor cleaning vs. robot? I can't have a polaris b/c my dog will bark at it endlessly!
- What size pump do we need for this pool? There are three water bowls, the spa overflow, bubblers on the tanning ledge, and possibly, an in-floor cleaning system.

We are newbies at the pool lingo, but I grew up taking care of a pool. I'm hoping to catch on quickly! Thank you for your input -- it is greatly appreciated =)

CCTX,

A saltwater pool is a chlorine pool. The saltwater is used to generate the chlorine so you do not have to add it manually. I would never... ever... have a non-saltwater pool again.

UV and Ozone are all Magic... Run as fast as you can away from them. They are only good for transferring money from your pocket to the pool builders pocket.

Over time all pools have saltwater in them. If the only reason you are thinking about sealing your deck is because of the saltwater pool, I can't see a reason to do it at all...

I would not use travertine tile as the water line tile, no matter what kind of pool. If you are taking about decking tile, then I see no reason not to use it.

In the old days, when I was a kid , and when the only type of pool cleaner was either a pressure side cleaner or suction side cleaner, then an in-floor system was not a bad idea... The down side to all of those systems is that the pump must be running to use them. The pressure side cleaner uses two pumps, and the in-floor cleaner has to run a long time at high rpms to work. Today, these three systems are like the old Black Rotary-Dial telephone technology wise... They have been obsoleted by the new Robotic technology... I will never... ever... not have a Robot cleaner. They are self contained, do no require you to run any pumps, and do 100% better job of cleaning your pool...

You will quickly find that running a bunch of water features will be very noisy and cause your pH to continually increase. I know it is hard for you to believe at this point, but there will be a time when you only what to run them to impress your guests... I suggest that you make sure that you can turn any water feature on/off at the equipment pad using Jandy Never-Lube valves... Do not let them install any "ball" valves as they will freeze up and break over time.

Pump wise, I would suggest that your main pump be a large variable speed pump. I would talk with your pool builder as it might make sense to have a separate water feature pump.

What about automation? Do you plan to get automation or not?


Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[SpringPool]

I really like the design and it’s a great use of space. We have a similar shape if you take a look at my recent build.

Depth is a preference but I would go with 6.5ft. Our kids love jumping in and they will only get bigger. One change we did during the dig was cut our stairs down to a small arc. We had it designed like yours to run the width of the pool but realized we’d prefer the extra swim area. So just a thought.

Let me see if I can answer some of these.

Burning questions:
- Salt Water Generator or Chlorine? PB’s in Houston don't like SWG’s and will try and talk you out of them. Check out the SWG section. I should have installed one and a, planning on it in the spring. With full Texas sun and a western exposure even in September I was using over a half gallon of bleach a day. Just make sure it’s double or tripple the size for the pool. I’m going with a circupool RJ-60 plus.

Is the UV and Ozone feature just wasted money?Waste of money, the sun has plenty of UV rays

Do I want to hassle with re-sealing the travertine regularly for the SWG? Read the swg sub forum. I wouldn’t seal the travertine and I’m not going to on my pool

- What is the best brand (or supplier) of porcelain tile for the water line? I’m not sure if there is a preferred brand. I would go with a 6x6 tile since it has less grout lines and I think is easier to clean when needed.

- Can you use travertine tile around the pool, or do you need to use pavers? Costs are about the same. Tile needs a cement deck and pavers use a sand base. One benefit with pavers is if you ever have plumbing issued the pavers can be pulled up and reset.

Tile exists in the outdoor kitchen area. We seal it with "shark skin" and it's not slippery at all. But, tile is not as flexible with ground movement. Depending on the travertine you used for the kitchen they may carry it in a paver. Our original plan was tile the existing patio and paver the rest. Then we found the Spanish tile we used on our patio.

- In-floor cleaning vs. robot? I can't have a polaris b/c my dog will bark at it endlessly! Didn’t research infloor cleaners but I love my robot.

- What size pump do we need for this pool? There are three water bowls, the spa overflow, bubblers on the tanning ledge, and possibly, an in-floor cleaning system.

i would use two pumps. One vsp for the filter,spa and bubblers and a 1hp or 1.5 for the bowls. This is what our PB did. I also have automation on the bubblers and spa fountain so I can remotely turn them on/off.

If you only go with one pump go with a VSP so you can run it on low and save money. Especially if you get the SWG. I also recommend automated control valves so you can turn the water feature on and off when you want them on. Leaving them on all the time will cause aerration which can drive PH.

I would consider the pentair magic bowls (https://www.troublefreepool.com/thr...ing-TX-by-PB?p=1319756&viewfull=1#post1319756)

I hope this helps and good luck with your journey. Also don’t forget to get at least 4 bids if possible. Also if you do go with automation consider not getting the touch screen controller. I saved by going internet only and use my phone and iPad to control the pool. Also one less thing to break or loose

 

[CCTX]

Thank you ALL for your responses! This gives me confidence in the SWG choice (thanks, mknauss!), and gives me helpful data in my pocket when the pool builder's are quoting our project. I have met with 3 PB and am considering the 4th. No numbers have been given yet - only one design so far - and am waiting on that sticker shock to hit.

Goob and SpringPool - love your pools! The geometric designs are fabulous - I wish I had just a little more space to expand on our design. I also like the contrasting coping, Goob. Could you message me your builder name? The curved spa, with surrounding shallow entrance, is beautiful, SpringPool. I had not seen the magic bowls before now!

Jimrahbe - definitely plan on having automation, with a remote in addition to and app on the phones (we are STILL dealing with terrible intermittent cell service after a tower went down in the floods a couple years ago). Going to research these robots a bit more now. How heavy are they to lift in and out of the pool? I'm assuming you need to store it in the garage or in a small shed, when not in use. I will have a little storage space in the garage. Thanks for the feedback on UV and ozone too - all magic no rabbit

Now I'm dealing with mapping out the pool bathroom to be built in the garage. The plumbing was placed when we built our house, so it just needs to be finished out. However, I'm frustrated trying to work with where they placed the toilet stack! It appears they did not do it per the plans when we mapped the house. It has all been disguised behind fishing poles and gardening supplies for many years...

More updates to come =)

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PS - How are you posting multiple pictures? Am I limited by space because I'm "new" or is there a standard allotment? I know not to use PhotoBucket (have seen too many little PhotoBucket squares where there were once pool pictures!).