[mneumann02]

Wife and I made our decision. New pool from Fiesta pools starts construction Feb. 3. Finalize design next week. Looking for advice (no anti-pool people please, don't want to hear it). What should I look out for? e.g. dimensions (I want to swim laps), depth, deck area, pump, filter, no-seeums birdcage, spa, heating, payments, contract terms, experience with Fiesta, etc. It is a tight fit for the pool. All good hearted advice wanted. Thank you.

[Kenswing]

Originally Posted by mneumann02

Wife and I made our decision. New pool from Fiesta pools starts construction Feb. 3. Finalize design next week. Looking for advice (no anti-pool people please, don't want to hear it). What should I look out for? e.g. dimensions (I want to swim laps), depth, deck area, pump, filter, no-seeums birdcage, spa, heating, payments, contract terms, experience with Fiesta, etc. It is a tight fit for the pool. All good hearted advice wanted. Thank you.

First off your lot will determine what size pool you can build. When we built, the pool had to be 1 foot away from the house (roof line) for every foot of depth. So a 6 foot deep pool would need to be 6 feet away. Because of the size of our house we ended up with a 10' wide by 32' long pool. We could have gone longer but were maxed out on width. We built during house construction so we had to go with T&D. If I had to do anything different it would be to go with a Pebbletech <sp> finish. Some of our friends have that finish and I like it better than the standard plaster. All windows and sliders that face the pool will need to be tempered glass. You will also need to have an entry/exit alarm on those windows and sliders.

We opted not to have a hot tub built into the pool. We went with an above ground fiberglass hot tub after the fact. A concrete hot tub just doesn't sound very comfortable to me. Plus a stand alone has so many more jetting options.

Our pool came with a salt water system. We love it. We also opted for a gas heater. Make sure they install an auto fill/drain system.

On the bird cage we went with the 20/20 screen. It's a tighter screen and keeps the noseeums out.

Hope this helps.

[Papa_lecki]

We have a large backyard, and with the set backs, the biggest pool we could put in is 30’ - so that’s 10 yards. It will be tough to swim laps in a 10 yard pool.
i don’t know many yards that could get even a 20 yard pool in, let alone a 20 yard pool.
Maybe rethink the lap swimming.

[PoolBrews]

I've had an inground pool for the last 35 years no matter where I've lived. We just installed a new pool here in The Villages, and love it. I'm an engineer/IT guy, so I research the heck out of anything I buy. Below is a list of Do's and Don'ts for any new pool, no matter who the builder is:

Do's
Make your shallow end 4' deep. Most builders go with 3' or 3 1/2'. This is too shallow. My pool goes from 4' to 5'. I've heard folks say the 3 1/2' is for the kids... but this depth is only good for a few years, then you're stuck with that depth for the rest of your life.

Go with salt water. My first pool was chlorine - my next two were salt water. Easier and far cheaper to maintain as salt water requires far less chemicals. (FYI - salt water is still chlorine, but the chlorine is generated using a cell and salt water.)

Ensure salt cell is rated for a minimum of 2x pool size. You don't want the cell running at 100% all the time.

Replace dual drains with a channel drain. If your deep end is only 5-6', folks will hit their feet on the standard drains, and if you get a cleaning robot, it will get hung up on the standard drains. Make sure the channel drain is installed flush with the bottom.

Install handrail at build time. It's much more costly and harder to do after.

Get a robot to clean pool and sidewalls (Buy on your own after install). They work fantastic!

Get a heater so you can swim year round and keep temps enjoyable. A heat pump cost far less to run than gas, and works fine in Florida climate. The only reason to get gas is if you are getting a hot tub and need fast heat.

If you do get a heat pump, get largest available (140K). Larger heaters are more efficient, cost less to run, and run for less time to heat pool.

Get autofill/drain. In Florida, you will be adding water with hose weekly in the summer due to evaporation, and draining manually during heavy rain in the spring and fall if you don't. This is a MUST for all pools here.

Get full automation. You'll be able to save a tremendous amount of money on energy if you use it right, and the saving will pay for the automation within a year or two.

Make sure your pump is Variable Speed. One speed and two speed pumps cost far more to run.

Go with a larger filter (300-400 sq ft). Most builders will put the minimum on (100-200 sq ft), and you'll be cleaning filter monthly instead of once or twice a year.

Get a water line run near equipment pad, and have a light installed over the equipment.

Go to a site called Trouble Free Pool (TFP). It's a site run by a number for former pool folks that provide a very easy method of maintaining your pool. You'll have a LOT of money if you do this yourself... more than $1K per year). Even if you don't maintain your own pool, the pool school section on TFP will give you a good background on what the people taking care of your pool should be doing.

Don'ts
Get solar heating. Solar heating alone costs around $5K. It only works well when it's hot out (you don't need it), and it doesn't work well when it's cold out (you do need it). With solar you will need to have another heat source, either gas or electric to supplement the solar. If you do an analysis, you'll never pay for the solar. It's far cheaper to just use gas or electric for full heating.

Install suction return line. All builder will include a suction return line for suction cleaners. Suction cleaners do not work well, and the line is worthless. You end up with a fitting sticking out in the pool that is never used along with a line that can cause potential issues down the road. Eliminate the suction return line, then buy a cleaning robot.

Give full payment until pool is operational (If you can get builder to agree - most won't).

If you have any questions on the above, shoot me a note and I can provide specifics for each item.

[tophcfa]

Some thoughts. A regulation lap pool is 25 yards, or 75 feet long, way longer than most lots will allow. Our pool is 12 x 24 feet and 3.5 to 5.5 feet deep. Check out superswim.com. It’s a great product that allows you to swim forever, and vary your pace from leisure to sprinting, in a relatively small pool. We have one set up in our pool and there is plenty of room. Nothing replaces actually swimming laps in a regulation lap pool, but the super swim is a great alternative. Between using the super swim in our pool and swimming laps in the sports pools, a day never passes in the Villages were I don’t swim the equivalent of a minimum of a mile. For swimming don’t go any shallower than 3.5 feet, and preferably deeper. Salt water pools are great, as are waterfalls. We love standing under the waterfall with warm water cascading onto the back of our necks. Also, deeper water allows for a great workout with water weights. Also, build a rectangular pool. Kidney or other strange shaped pools are a waste of useable space. Rectangular shaped pools both maximize usable pool space and make it very easy to put on and remove the pool cover. Yes, get a good pool cover. Ours is stored on a roller that is built into the pool deck. It literally takes one person about a minute to put on or remove the cover with that set up. Hope that helps and good luck with the new pool.

[Tblue]

My pool is about 18 months old and we purchased new pool furniture, chairs tables and such. I purchased from Lowes aluminum furniture, I did not want my furniture to rust and leave rust spots on the new deck. It turns out the welds on the furniture will rust if the paint is chipped off and sure enough rust spots on the deck. If I had it to do over again, only wood or plastic, something that will not rust.

[CTgolfer]

My husband asked our contractor to install a self-cleaning feature. Small pop-ups are installed on the bottom of the pool. While the pool pump is on, the pop-ups rotate and swirl any debris into the drain. Pool is 5 years old and he has never had to clean it. An occasional sweeping of walls and floor. Most efficient pool we have ever owned.

[Grill Meister]

Also....after you have your new pool installed and operating, you will need someone to service it weekly. Scrubbing, vacuuming, adjusting chemical levels, etc. I originally went with T&D, which became Patriot....lots of turnover of personnel, no shows and just plain old poor customer service. One of their original technicians LaTonya Marshall, started her own pool service, Touched By Angels Pool & Spa. She did such a good job, previously, I hired her again....in a heart beat....she's that good. Give LaTonya a call (352) 304-3447 or email her touchedbyangels333911@gmail.com. DID I MENTIONED THAT HER RATES ARE BETTER THAN ANY OF THE OTHER COMPANIES I RESEARCHED? But, the main thing is have you pool served regularly and professionally.

[milling73]

Are any of you willing share ballpark cost of installing your new pool ? We are considering but have no idea of initial cost range.

[LuckyS]

We went with T&D, no complaints there. The pool is 39 feet long. The deep end is 5 ft. If I could do it over again I would have gone 4 ft. for the entire pool, reason being is my wife is pretty short and not a great swimmer so she doesn't feel that comfortable in the deep end.

[damvillages]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

We have a large backyard, and with the set backs, the biggest pool we could put in is 30’ - so that’s 10 yards. It will be tough to swim laps in a 10 yard pool.
i don’t know many yards that could get even a 20 yard pool in, let alone a 20 yard pool.
Maybe rethink the lap swimming.

We have a smaller pool and installed a Badu swimjet to swim against resistance. It takes a little getting used to but works well.

[thevillager1988]

We received good advice before we designed our pool. Someone told us, like a boat, "they shrink" when you put in water. Also, I had the same of goal swimming laps. As a result, we went with the largest rectangular pool our lot would allow. Still, it's not large enough for laps. We looked at the swim against the current device, but it was more than we wanted to spend. So my husband found Swim Tether - Belt Systems for Resistance and Tethered Swimming It works and I love it.

It's my hope this is helpful. Enjoy your new pool!

[vagent711]

We used Fiesta pools and were very happy with all aspects of the project. 10-15% cheaper than the big guy, owners on site supervising and doing the critical work and all workers documented. Less then 3 months from contract to completion

[coconutmama]

Originally Posted by LuckyS

We went with T&D, no complaints there. The pool is 39 feet long. The deep end is 5 ft. If I could do it over again I would have gone 4 ft. for the entire pool, reason being is my wife is pretty short and not a great swimmer so she doesn't feel that comfortable in the deep end.

Lots of good feedback. I agree with this post especially because I like to walk in the pool for exercise & wish ours was one depth, not graduated as it is. No one jumps in the pool so 6’ at one end is pretty useless for us.

Also we live in a SECO area so an electric heater is inexpensive for us. Check if you are in a co-op for electricity to help with your heating options if cost is a factor.

Lastly, we like our powder coated handrail to get out of the pool. Always cool to the touch, unlike aluminum.

[PoolBrews]

Originally Posted by CTgolfer

My husband asked our contractor to install a self-cleaning feature. Small pop-ups are installed on the bottom of the pool. While the pool pump is on, the pop-ups rotate and swirl any debris into the drain. Pool is 5 years old and he has never had to clean it. An occasional sweeping of walls and floor. Most efficient pool we have ever owned.

I looked at this, but the added cost is way out of line. And an in-ground cleaning system only swirls the water - it does not brush the bottom or the sides of the pool. If you do have an algae bloom, it's far worse since the algea tends to gain hold on the finish of the pool. This is why every pool manufacturer recommends brushing the sides and bottom of the pool weekly. A robot does all of this for less than $1K. Just set it in the pool every week or so, push a button and your pool is cleaned and brushed about 3 hours later.