I am in the process of building my new pool. I am new pool owner who is getting a gunite pool.
I am located near Charlotte, NC but in South Carolina.
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I am in the process of building my new pool. I am new pool owner who is getting a gunite pool.
I am located near Charlotte, NC but in South Carolina.
Welcome.
The forum is pretty inactive currently, as I'm transitioning it from an active discussion forum, to a repository. Most of the questions that can be usefully asked and answered here . . . already have been
What remains -- like specific consultation on new pool design and construction -- is not something I can do in my spare time. However, there are some pretty good old posts and FAQs if you'll take the time to look through them. And, I'm adding a new one . . . right now:
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5 Common Mistakes New Pool Buyers Make
1. Not actually 'vetting' their builder or pool company properly. There are some good builders out there. But there are also some bad ones, and even some criminals. Most buyers seem to discover this after the fact.
+ Check BBB, local reputation sites, business licensing department and permitting department.
+ Ask to SEE actual insurance, permit and licenses (if applicable in your area).
+ Ask to SEE evidence that they have been in business under the SAME EXACT LEGAL name for at least 3 years.
2. Confusing 'features' with function. 'Latest and greatest' features almost ALWAYS are less reliable and less often installed properly than 'old stand-by' features (for YOUR area -- they vary around the country).
+ Many automatic cleaners do NOT work well; none are 'trouble-free'
+ In-floor cleaning typically DOUBLE your electric bill (bigger pump, more hours). Plus, they almost all fail within 5 years.
+ Few pool builders can PROPERLY design and install a zero-edge or infinity-edge pool.
+ Lighting systems often fail within a year or two.
+ Less than half of pool builders who ATTEMPT combo pool/spa units can build them well.
3. Pursuing the non-chlorine dream. Ozone systems, UV systems, Ionizer / mineral systems, "natural pools", PHMB based treatment . . . we've looked at it all . . . extensively!. Ozone and UV systems -- as installed in the US -- are useless or worse on outdoor pools. Cu/Ag (copper/silver) systems work to control algae, but that's all. Chlorine is STILL necessary. If you are very, very careful about pH and chlorine doses, and monitor copper levels carefully and have no swimmers with blond hair (to turn green), these systems work. Some people like them. But more people end up hating the blue, green, or black stains . . . and green hair . . . that comes with copper. Natural pools are a will-of-the-wisp. They are expensive, super high maintenance, and only seem to work well in climates where it's too cold for most people to swim. PHMB (Baquacil, etc) works OK . . . IF you drain and replace AT ONE TIME 1/2 of your water annually. But it's expensive. It always works well the first year. It will always work well IF you drain your pool completely every year AND replace your filter media every year.
4. Thinking "salt pools" are non-chlorine pools. Common, common mistake, but still completely wrong. Salt pools are pools with 'Salt Water Chlorine Generation' (SWCG) units installed! Plus the added salt in the water (~4,000 ppm) GREATLY increases corrosion of metal parts -- heaters, ladder anchors, diving board stand anchors, light niches, etc -- and it can even damage some types of stone decks! Salt systems are rapidly becoming (or have become) the most common cause of premature above-ground pool failure.
5. Believing that your pool 'automation' will make your pool automatic. Long story short? Pool automation just makes pool equipment more fidgety. Electronic time clocks with back batteries are OK, and don't have to be reset after a power failure. ALL other forms of automation are not "trouble-free" but "trouble-some", compared to electro-mechanical alternatives.
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Upgraded membership and moved thread to the Pool Construction section. You may need to log out and back in to see everything.
PS.You can search use Google to search multiple pool sites, using Google's 'advanced search operators" to limit your search to specific sites. This page of mine will create the search links for you. Google knows my site -- and all the others -- much better than those sites internal search functions! And, if you need to post pictures -- of your pool, filter, pump, piping, what-not -- there are instructions on this page
Please note: the Super Search page does NOT search directly; it only CREATES special Google links, that enable a FOCUSED Google search!