General Advice - yes or no answers

[topnotch]

I am building a wooden pool in NJ on a hillside (near free) 32x16x4.5 ...my engineer friend says it will work (slightly nervous). I have a bunch of questions since I havent built or cared for a pool since I was a kid. here are my assumptions...please disagree as you see fit.

1. -A liner that is 20 mil will last me ok if I take care of the water, etc.
2. -1" foam on the ground is as good as the gorilla pad.
3. -foam on the walls behind the liner is a good idea.
4. -It looks like the chlorine generator is a no brainer.
5. -Cove strips are not critical unless I want the cleaner to run up the walls.
6. -I will use the Weil Mclain Indirect Pool Heater on my home boiler and its 175K capacity is enough for my 17500 gallons (their advice 1 degree per hour)
7. -A 20" sand filter with a 1 1/2 hp pump is big enough and brand isnt critical.
8. - The inexpensive return type low voltage lights will be OK (solar pv doesnt like 300 watt pool lights)
9. - It is tricky to put a main drain in a sand bottom vinyl liner pool.
10.- Solid winter covers are better than mesh.

[CarlD]

Wow! Quite a project. I'm not fond of P/T where it can get in contact with pool water. Others tell me it's OK, that the days of arsenic-based Pressure-treated are long gone..

I am building a wooden pool in NJ on a hillside (near free) 32x16x4.5 ...my engineer friend says it will work (slightly nervous). I have a bunch of questions since I havent built or cared for a pool since I was a kid. here are my assumptions...please disagree as you see fit.

1. -A liner that is 20 mil will last me ok if I take care of the water, etc.

Yes, but if you are investing SO much, why not get 25 or 30--they are more abrasion resistang

2. -1" foam on the ground is as good as the gorilla pad.

No idea. Sand or vermiculite is normal.

3. -foam on the walls behind the liner is a good idea.

Not sure, but probably.

4. -It looks like the chlorine generator is a no brainer.

Not really. They work great but they cost a good bit. A properly balanced and maintained pool (according to THIS forum's rules!) requires so little maintenance, that all you are saving is a pouring in some bleach every other day.

5. -Cove strips are not critical unless I want the cleaner to run up the walls.

Cove strips aren't critical, period. People have used sand for years. But they do work nicely, and I think, give a nice look.

6. -I will use the Weil Mclain Indirect Pool Heater on my home boiler and its 175K capacity is enough for my 17500 gallons (their advice 1 degree per hour)

Can't help you.

7. -A 20" sand filter with a 1 1/2 hp pump is big enough and brand isnt critical.

Easily. IMHO, I think 1.5hp is too much. More importantly, is that your pump not put out more GPM than your filter can handle.

8. - The inexpensive return type low voltage lights will be OK (solar pv doesnt like 300 watt pool lights)

I have inexpensive 50w 12 lighting, just two through-walls in a 40'x16' with a 5.5' deepend and that's plenty.

9. - It is tricky to put a main drain in a sand bottom vinyl liner pool.

Yup. And not recommended. You are building a flat-bottomed pool...the return on one end, the low drain in the same wall in the middle and the skimmer on the same wall on the end will EASILY circulate your pool nicely--that's experience talking.
10.- Solid winter covers are better than mesh.

Fiction. I have a mesh cover and LOVE it--I don't worry NEARLY as much as other people about it collapsing my pool. I like the safety covers, though.

[topnotch]

Carl - you are the king... your generosity with your knowledge and experience is greatly appreciated.....chris

I am grooving on the whole bleach concept...my yankee nature is so fond of efficiency.

I built this whole thing with recycled 6x6's set vertically in concrete and I left things a little low when I excavated (about 60") . I originally wanted to make it 4.5' deep but I came to realize that little kids in the pool will be working really hard to enjoy themselves at that depth so I am thinking of filling in the one end and making it 46" deep at one end and 54 or 56" at the other. Ideal for a kids vs adults volley ball game. Would family members agree this is a good plan...I have friends with fancy deep end pools and their kids hate that they cant really play or dive (in NJ) in the deep end.

If this is the case can you turn me onto a good, fast, cheap liner source.

I was thinking about my skimmer in the center of the long wall flanked by the two returns (because the lights wont shine in the windows).

Is it ok to put an inlet down low on one wall ( tee'd into the skimmer) so I can have a passive or active drain for the pool?

As far as the pump..if I used a Hayward S210T rated at 44 GPH and match it with a pump rated 44GPH at a 5' head I am ok?

Is a pool filler a good idea?

Good NJ source for a package of parts like this?

The concept of using the house boiler with an indirect tank appeals to me since I can replace the boiler with a super high efficiency condensing boiler down the road. If I do this would the PEX pipe for hot water be the way to go for direct burial and I am thinking i should insulate it. Am i trying too hard?

I wonder if I should run the gas line out there anyway since the trench is dug.

[poolmom06]

Do you have any pictures of this pool? I am curious to see this!

[topnotch]

We just finished framing it...pictures soon

[CarlD]

I'll answer what I can help with, Chris.

Carl - you are the king... your generosity with your knowledge and experience is greatly appreciated.....chris

I am grooving on the whole bleach concept...my yankee nature is so fond of efficiency.

I built this whole thing with recycled 6x6's set vertically in concrete and I left things a little low when I excavated (about 60") . I originally wanted to make it 4.5' deep but I came to realize that little kids in the pool will be working really hard to enjoy themselves at that depth so I am thinking of filling in the one end and making it 46" deep at one end and 54 or 56" at the other. Ideal for a kids vs adults volley ball game. Would family members agree this is a good plan...I have friends with fancy deep end pools and their kids hate that they cant really play or dive (in NJ) in the deep end.

My pool is very similar--40' long, one half is about 46" deep (the water)--though I say it's 4' deep for ease. The other half has a deep end hopper--a flat area about 5'4" deep with ramps on all four sides. The ramps go up to a safety ledge about 18" wide that's also 46" deep. Kids can play in the shallow section, but those that can swim are OK in the deeper, and I can stand in it.



If this is the case can you turn me onto a good, fast, cheap liner source.

I was thinking about my skimmer in the center of the long wall flanked by the two returns (because the lights wont shine in the windows).

Curiously, in this kind of pool, the end is preferred for the plumbing. I have the skimmer, the low drain and the return all on one end--the shallow end--that's the way it was constructed. The skimmer is about 3' from one corner, the return as 1' from the other corner, and the low drain is in the middle of that wall, about 6" or so off the bottom. It works EXTREMELY well to keep the water circulating and clean. I don't know that it HAS to be this way--some of the members who are better on the mechs can answer that.

Is it ok to put an inlet down low on one wall ( tee'd into the skimmer) so I can have a passive or active drain for the pool?

Well, yes, that's what I have. But I suggest you put cut-offs at each so you can shut either off--there's lots of reasons you may want to do that, PLUS you can shut the low drain down slightly to increase skimmer suction.

Slightly tangential: I would suggest you put quick releases EVERYWHERE you think you MAY need them--you'll be glad you did. I would also suggest you stick to Schedule 40 glue-on fittings and PVC. Both hard and TigerFlex make a good combo for the plumbing.

As far as the pump..if I used a Hayward S210T rated at 44 GPH and match it with a pump rated 44GPH at a 5' head I am ok?

I'm not knowledgeable enough to answer intelligently, but I'm using the same sand filter and I use it with a Hayward 2 speed 1hp SuperPump with no problems--you will LOVE a 2 speed pump! I THINK you're OK, but don't make book on it.

Is a pool filler a good idea?

Good NJ source for a package of parts like this?

Shop around. Some places like Branch Brook will have the basic stuff cheap, but you can't get everything from them--and a lot may be compromises. Sun Pools generally has good quality and competent staff--and you pay for that. I am so-so on Harrows myself. Leslie's is all over, and National Pool and Spa sometimes has stuff others don't. Pelican can be good but watch prices. Some stuff is very reasonable, some 'way over priced. Rix Pools is like Sun Pools, but they are a little better on mechanical stuff (not much) and worse in chemical issues.

Plus there are a zillion on-line companies.

The concept of using the house boiler with an indirect tank appeals to me since I can replace the boiler with a super high efficiency condensing boiler down the road. If I do this would the PEX pipe for hot water be the way to go for direct burial and I am thinking i should insulate it. Am i trying too hard?

I wonder if I should run the gas line out there anyway since the trench is dug.

I hope I helped on some stuff.