Three years from initial planning to this point. Included major detour to move septic field but totally worth it in the end.

20x40 vinyl w/ salt, full width steps, deep end bench step, jump rock
7x7 spillover spa
16x14 pavilion
new patio and pool deck
wood fire pit
all new landscaping w/ lighting
full perimeter fence + vinyl privacy panels

Can't believe this is my backyard now!

I’m in Houston, TX (USA), and the outdoor temp is 101F. Still mighty refreshing though. How’s everyone else’s pool? (folks with chillers need not to brag 😂😜)

I’m short on time so i was thinking maybe i’ll have a pool company do the cleaning. Well it’s $150. Why bother cleaning and not just pop in a new set from amazon every few months?

i think i’ll just buy a new set every few months and save time from cleaning.

swap filters: 3 minutes

clean filters: 30+ minutes

edit: wow i didn’t mean to poke the pool guys hornets nest. guys im not coming for your job, just asking what home owners like me are doing.

edit 2: doing myself is something im trying to do less of. now making over $300 an hour so im going to either pay $120 or $150 and save the time but i just dont understand why not buy new? am i missing something? toss in trash and swap is easy and i think my new system.

I‘m an idiot. I backwashed for 5 hours. I turned it to backwash when I was letting the dogs out this morning and forgot to switch setting before going to work. I didn’t remember doing it until after lunch. I just came home to the water being below the skimmer. I’ve turned off the pump and the pump and water inside the pump basket are both hot. What have I done? I’ve managed basic pool maintence myself since buying a house with a pool, but aside from cleaning and chemicals I leave it to the pros. Should I call my local pool company or wait and see what damage I’ve caused.

I have a Hayward sand filter and a Howard pump.

Just got the proposal back from one of the pool companies.

Have put in piers due to proximity of the house. I think my biggest concern is depths/countour. 3.5ft by the basketball goal seems very shallow. Especially considering I know my kid is going to want to jump off the side to slam dunk it like 1000x a day.

Anyways just looking for general feedback.

Hi all.

We’re in the process of building a house here in Spain. The pool is currently in the process of being built (pic added as everyone loves photos!)

The team at the house building firm encouraged us to go with traditional chlorine when I raised about the cost difference vs salt.
This was a while back now and the more I think about it the more I think I’d prefer a salt water system.

The overall build is already behind schedule and communication isn’t always great so I’m conscious of picking my battles vs letting things slide to change later on.
My question is whether the pool is one of those things? Is it as easy as adding a salt water system inline with the standard fittings and then rebalancing. Or are there other technical things where it makes sense to set things up as a salt system from the start?

The pool is below ground and will be tiled with porcelain tiles. Unheated.

I had a company install a new filter and they quoted me and invoiced me for an Aquastar PLF 35000, but the filter is Xtreme XF35000. The installer said that it is Aquastar, but just Branded differently. Just trying to understand if these are in fact the same filter, branded differently, or if I’m getting screwed! Thanks for any help here!

Hi!

My pool was replastered 3 months ago, and the entire deep end floor is feeling like coarse sandpaper on bare feet. Here's a wide shot from above, and macro underwater photos, to try and capture what's going on down there.

Some context...

the builder/plaster company handled the startup, all levels were good at handoff to my tech. The tech then let the pH sit too high (8.4+ and 300+ calcium) for the first two months, so I suspected scaling. Seeing these photos now, I'm not so sure. And since I wasn't swimming in it during the curing, I don't know if the roughness was always there.

Of course the builder and tech are blaming each other. One says the marks are from the trowel, other says it was bad brushing.

Please, I really appreciate any advice. Drain and sand? acid wash? or a total redo 😔

THANK YOU

Hey all, I've had my above ground pool for aprox. 9 years all the original parts from the previous home owner.

2 year ago I bought a new pump as the old one died. Simple plug and play with no problem. Last year over winter I didn't completely empty the bottom of the filter and it cracked while in my garage (we had a really cold winter here). So I just went and bought a new filter (cartridge like my previous)

I hooked everything up same as previously however when I start the pump it pulls water gets to maybe 10psi for a few seconds then stops completely drops to 0 and the pump runs dry, however there's water in the line and above the skimmer, it's like there's a blockage but when I turn the pump off and back on it starts pulling again for a few seconds then stops. All the hoses are also brand new so there isn't debris in them either.

I'm at a loss.

No matter how pristine my pool is, if I use this shock I will absolutely have this cloudy white stuff settled at the bottom of the pool the next morning.

I used to think it was dead algae that the shock had taken care of but I’m not convinced anymore.

Anyone know for sure? Is it just some component of the shock itself?

The concrete between the stones of my pools waterfall is deteriorating, I’m worried about catastrophic failure especially since my kids are always playing under it. Can I just knock out any loose concrete and fill it following basic concrete instructions or is this a professional job?

Hey everyone, I’ve got a small pool/hot tub in the back yard. I can not for the life of me keep pigeons away from the hot tub where it spills over to the pool. They just bird bath all day while I’m at work. Came home the other day to one dead in the skimmer. I have set all sorts of stuff to block them from bathing in the spillover from hot tub to pool but they just hang out around the hot tub now and they poop everywhere. I’ve got the spinning reflectors, I’ve got bird spikes along every edge of roof that borders the pool, I’ve got these stupid predator eye beach balls and an owl decoy.

All that together makes a minor difference but ya still get the pigeons that DO NOT GIVE A WHAT!

What is the real solution to keeping pigeons out as best as possible?

We have a pool that appears to be leaking. We are currently considering whether to monitor the water level in stages — skimmer box first, then pool wall lights, then lower jets/outlets to see where it stabilises.

Does anyone have experience with this approach, or would it be better to arrange formal leak detection now and not allow the pool level to continue dropping?

Thank you.

A few years ago I lived in a mobile home area. They have a pool there. I live in California so rn the temperature is absolutely hot and my friend and I kinda just wanna cool off and spend time in water. Every time we pass by the area there’s no one there despite it being open. The area isn’t specifically private property where we aren’t allowed in and the manager from the place is still the same one from when I was there. But do you guys think we’re allowed to go in? Should we ask first? They were very two faced with us so I don’t know if they would allow us if we asked. I don’t know if that’s maybe a sign that we shouldn’t go. Idk. I’m sorry if anything in my post sounds stupid.

Just replaced pool liner and filled with new water.

The surrounding interlocking / stone pavers around pool deck appear worn and dirty. Solution is to pressure wash, resend, and seal.

In hindsight, I should have done this first (prior to changing liner and filling pool with new water) but ship has sailed. Lesson learned for future situations.

Contacted a few companies; they said they will handle pool surround stone with care, with minimal debris entering pool (and anything can be vacuumed) during refinishing process.

Worth noting I live in a climate where pool is winterized, closed and covered from October to late-June, so one option is to do this next season.

Question - has anyone refinished / pressure washed interlock pool decks mid-season? Did the process ruin your pool water? Probably not a good idea to do right after a brand new liner change?

Any thoughts and opinions appreciated.

Hi all, I really need some help here and I'm hoping I can get some answers because I'm getting frustrated.

I got my pool installed last year, all was well until about August when the pressure on my cartridge filter would go up so fast that I would need to wash my filter once a week. I have a single pump filter (Hayward) and a swim clear cartridge filter.

This year, I bought a new filter, it was working well until that filter was getting dirty fast and the pressure was shooting up quickly (washing once a week). I have tried soaking the filter chemicals that I got from my pool place. Before I had issues, when I cleaned the filter, put it back, I would get a psi reading of 13 which was normal, now it's reading above that once I take it out and clean it.

It's getting frustrating because of cleaning the filters every week. Would anyone know what is happening?

The water and chemical levels are all good, and generally the water is clear once I shock it with salt shock packets.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

We are in Tampa FL, putting in a freeform 12’ x 27’ swimming pool with a raised 7’6’x7’6’ spa with spillway. We are in a historic district so we can’t screen in the pool, but we are raising the edge of the pool 6” above ground level to guard against critters and swamping during heavy rains. The pool’s depth will go from 4’ to 5’ and there will be a curved 22’ bench along the far deep end of the pool. We’re putting in a 6’6 x 8’ sun shelf with four steps coming off of it and a LED bubbler with umbrella sleeve. The interior will be Stonescapes mini pebble finish in Tropic blue. The pool will have two Pentair 2 color LEDs in the pool and one 2 color LED in the spa. The pump will be a Pentair variable speed 200CL 3 hp pump with intiliflo, a Pentair clean and clear 200 square foot filter, a Pentair intellichlor salt generator, a Therm 125 heat/cool unit, and a Pentair Dorado robotic cleaner with leaf catcher; pump/spa will have Intilicenter automation.  We’re putting in 2”x2” tiles around the waterline and on the outside of the spa and raised edge of the pool on the exterior, and we’re putting in 1”x1” mosaic tiles on the spillway. Travertine coping and flagstone pavers around the exterior – we’re thinking of going semi-light since our sun is brutal, but are worried about staining. We’ve tried to think of all variables before getting to this point and we think we’re in pretty good shape, but wanted to get any other thoughts, feedback, or ideas on things we aren’t thinking about. Renderings are attached – we appreciate any feedback you may have!

Quick edit. 6.12 chlorine was from Sunday. .62 chlorine was from today. Chlorine was significantly higher Sunday afternoon because I added four gallons after the 6.12 test.

So, on Sunday I looked at the pool and it was turning green a little bit. Because of the CYA I did the trouble free pool calc and added 4 gallons of liquid shock and covered (Sunday's reading is the one with the 6.12 ppm).

Took the cover off yesterday morning and went to test water again this afternoon and all of that chlorine just evaporated. I am in the midwest and it is 100 degrees and sunny outside. The pool gets a solid 10 hours of direct sunlight a day.

What should I do? I am really at a loss here. Is it a filter issue? I will likely need new sand next summer. It has filtered just fine so far this year and this has only been an issue recently.

I really don't want to dump 9 more gallons in without having a game plan moving forward.

Pool right now is murky blue but I know it will turn green shortly.

Any advice is appreciated. I’ve cleaned most of the leaves out but not sure what to do, I have the pump running and may add algae removal liquid afterwards. It wasn’t this bad until the storm recently, what else can I do? 😭this is my first time experiencing this since we usually just clean the leaves and have the pump running.

Do I need to do anything with my TA? I keep hearing that 80-120 ppm is ideal so I am right in the middle. Since I need to raise pH by about 0.5 should I reduce my TA first? Planning to use Borax (sodium tetraborate) for the pH.