(BTW I had also posted this on www.troublefreepool.com ...)

All right, the contract is signed. I got a decent and realistic price IMHO after some negotiating.

I obtained quotes from four pool builders - 2 national chains, two local companies. Checked the BBB, talked with references - one of whom was extremely helpful on all the option and equipment choices and even invited my family over (but that makes more sense when the pool is open).

These open items remain:
- tile choice
- 3M Quartz - which color ? (we are currently thinking the standard blue, with 60% aggregate in the mix - PB says some builders use less)
- Automation system for the IntelliFlo - see below

Here is what we have decided on, feel free to comment
- Pool as drawn, 746 sq ft, 115 lin feet perimeter, up to 7 feet deep. I am guesstimating 28K gallons.
- 6' Sheer descent in a 18" raised beam with fiber optic light bar
- 2 Hayward LED lights
- HelioCol 480 sq ft solar heat (most likely, I am getting alternative quotes)
- Pentair InteliFlo VF
- Goldline Aquarite SWG
- JetFlow infloor cleaning system
- Hayward Phantom with booster pump (or can I use it on the IntelliFlo ?) - I thought about the Aquabot but we have many huge decidous trees nearby, mostly maple, and I am worried the Aquabot may not be able to cope with the leave and debris load. I hear Phantom can be tricky to adjust but once it works it works great.
- Upgraded to 2 1/2" plumbing to lower dynamic head by over 60%
- Hayward 450 sq ft cartridge filter
- Hayward VacAlert as required by local code - although the IntelliFlo has that function built in. Curious how it will interact with variable speed, i.e. suction - but PB said he'd figure it out.
- Travertine coping and decking. PB to to the coping and compacted gravel base with bonding grid for 1000 sq ft of decking, yours truly to set the pavers. I am not looking forward to lugging around tons of stones, but at $12+ per sq ft for the installation alone I will. If I find a reputable contractor to do it at a reasonable price I'd be thrilled to outsource this ! My friendly PB agreed to try to get me better pricing on the material (Gothicstone light colored Travertine)

Now for the big remaining question - automation system that can:
- control solar by thermostat (1 valve actuator)
- control sheer descent (1 actuator)
- pick one of the three speeds (filter, solar, waterfall) programmed into the IntelliFlo, maybe add a fourth for the in-floor (and yes I have read that the VS might do better with some in-floor systems because it is unlike the VF not too smart for its own good)
- control the Hayward LED lights
- control the waterfall lights
- I would like a decent remote control like the Jandy or Goldline PDA style but will use
an indoor wall panel if necessary.

That's it, really. (for example, I don't need to change the SWG settings on a remote)

Does not sound like much, does it ?

My choices appear to be

1) IntelliTouch - which should work best with the IntelliFlo. But the wireless remotes are clunky and/or expensive !

2) Goldline - nice because it would be one enclosure with the SWG controller.
It could be talking to the IntelliFlo via an IntelliComm so all it needs to do is put a voltage (any)
on the four ports of the IntelliComm - which will then tell the IntelliFlo which program to choose.
This would use three relays (aux ?) of the Goldline.
Nice remote.

I called Hayward/Goldline tech support and explained that this might be possible. I am not sure if the tech I spoke to
was unwilling to help, unable to understand the approach or knew that for some reason that he was not able to
articulate in spite of my insistence - but he said it does not work. Weird.

3) Jandy PS8.
Pentair Reps installed it with the IntelliComm/IntelliFlo combination for a PB's show pool - works great I hear - and in other forums I have also heard it works well.
Nice remote.

So if anybody can help me figure out the pitfalls with any of the three choices I'd be grateful !

Cheers,

Patrick

Hey Patrick,

Well you've certainly done your homework, kudos for that!

Quartz color- ours is 3M "sapphire smoke". There are pictures at the link below. Notice that the plaster color is quite grey, but as it cured and the water cleared up it looks a lot more blue. Plaster colors look much different in the pool than they do on a sample board! Luckily one of the display pools at our PB had this color in it, so we knew what we were getting.

Hi tresw,

thank you for the link - that's a beautiful pool you built ! An inspiring project (while we are in the "permit about to be filed, man, this takes forever phase") !

Patrick

Automation should be a Pentair Easytouch with Intellichlor. Built in transformer, direct control of the Intelliflow. 3 year warranty with the full system. The egg-timer feature is great. You can apply it to the sheers so you don't have to remember to turn them off, they'll do it automatically.

Pentair has a small 4 function remote about the size of a car's remote as well as the full function Moby.

With your lighting, I suggest a DE filter. If you want the best of both worlds, a Quad DE filter.

Intellibrites for lights.

Solar in our area is not a realistic source of heat for a pool. A RayPak/Rheem (Different badge) gas heater IMHO is more effective.

Lose the Phantom. Too many reported issues. A Legend is less trouble prone. In-Floor system isn't needed with the Legend or a Polaris. Inteliflow can push it just fine.

Travertine will chip, heave and crack. Safety covers are harder and more expensive to install.

Thanks Patrick! Fortunately we didn't have to deal with the permitting process, that's got to make for a rather annoying wait!

Quote: "Pentair has a small 4 function remote about the size of a car's remote as well as the full function Moby."

The 4 function remote he mentioned is the QuickTouch. We have one that is hooked up to our SunTouch automation. The SunTouch wouldn't cut it for your needs as it doesn't have enough circuits. The QuickTouch does work with the more complex systems too though. It's a simple on/ off remote in which the buttons can be assigned to any 4 circuits. It's great for turning lights and valve actuators on/ off along with altering pump speed, but if you want more control than that you'll need the Moby (not sure how big that one is).

Moby's a good name for that ugly white whale of a remote (no offense Pentair - you guys build great stuff usually) !

I really hope Pentair can come up with a PDA style waterproof remote like the one Jandy and Hayward/Goldline offer ...

Well, time for an update. Guess I should post the usual mud-hole / steel / gunite pictures now !

Things have been moving along ... with some hick-ups, but we are now waiting for the sheer descent to arrive so the coping and tile installation can start.

First plan:

My son helping:

Hole with gravel:

Steel:

Who's your PB? Caribbean Blue?

Blue Haven - Hatfield, PA. Anthony Calvitti was the sales guy, his father Ray runs the business.

I have been quite happy with them so far ! Not with the plumber they used, but that's another story.

Well, progress ! I now have 480 sq ft of Heliocol panels on the roof, all hooked up. Coping and tile are scheduled for Monday. then we can to the final electrical work (Jandy PDA PS8 etc)

I was told plaster (quartz) would only be done if fence and deck were complete. The former I can understand (because of code/safety when we fill the pool), but why do you need a deck ? Isn't a gravel base a temporary solution ?

Can anyone recommend a water delivery company in NJ ? We often get red residue in our city water (rust, essentially) and the city has not been able to fix it. I don't want to risk staining uncured plaster ...

Well, more progress, we are 3 inches away from turning on the pump for the first time ! Can't wait until tonight !

Congratulations! Seems like your pool was completed fast. That is great. When did they actually start? Looks like you decided to plaster before you did your decking? Is your decking scheduled?

It took about eight weeks all in all.

I'll do the decking throughout the summer (hooray). The stone people wanted $13 / sq ft just for the labor. Crazy !

I have about 250 sq ft down so far - out of 1000. the last 450 sq ft will be the hardest because it'll be a 3 ft wide path around the pool, all curves.

Now we just need the waterfall hooked up (and fiber-optic lighting) and the variable speed function hooked up to the controller, and then test, adjust, repeat - the fun part !