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Finally Finished (Almost) - Pics (Warning, there are a lot)

15 years ago

Pool finish went in June 23, and we've been swimming since June 27. Have not had pool school yet, but that'll happen this week I think. Also need Final Inspection, and close out on the punch list items. This forum has been the best!!!

Specs (just an FYI)

Length - 40'

Width - 20' (24' at steps)

Steps - 8' long, top step is 2'

Depth - 3'-3" to 7'

Plumbing - 2" main and 2" skimmer. 4 returns. Dedicated pool cleaner line

Volume - 30K Gallons

Finish - Premix-Marbletite Marina with Black

Lights - 2 Pool IntelliBrites, 1 Spa IntelliBrite

Coping - American Pavers in Cream

Deck - Flagstone Pavers in Cream/Beige/Charcoal. New England pattern. 12' on 3 sides, 4' on 1 side.

Pump - Pentair 4x160

Filter - Pentair CNC Plus 420

Heater - AquaCal H155 heat pump

Fence - Aluminum 4' by Ideal, Alamo model. 2 gates.

Spa - 8' x 6', 6 jets, 3" suction, 2 1/2" return

Thoughts in general:

- We absolutely LOVE the LEDs. Makes nightime swimming is so enjoyable. Our last pool was built in 1998, and had a plain white light. Looking back, I cannot believe I considered non-LED lights for our new pool. But hindsight is 20/20

- We really like the pool water color... no too dark, but a nice blue/green color

- Purchased chaise longes at Target (closeout). Powder coated steel for $118 each. Requires more maintenance over the long haul, but hey, they have wheels :)

- Absolutely love all the deck space. Have approx. 1475+ SF

Here's my latest photos (ignore the dark circle in many of the pics... it's a camera thing)...

"Marbletite" Quartz Aggregate - Marina with Black

View from spa

Non-raised spa

Water color at deep end

Water color at shallow end

Water color over main drains

Chaise Lounges

8' wide steps. I tell my wife the top step is my Baja shelf :)

View from shallow end

Marble spillover

View from roof

View from roof

View from roof

View from yard

Tiki Torch from Lowes

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Construction Pics (older thread)

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Comments (13)

donnawb
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It came out very nice. Love the fence also. Looks so serene.
cdavmd
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Really really nice.....came out very pleasing to the eye. I especially love your pavers....similar to ours. What paver is it?
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lmhall2000
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Gorilla!! That is sooo close to the plan I'm working on trying to build right now! I've put in my plan to 3 builders and am so discouraged by their pricing...I love your pavers! I have three seat shelves planned that jut out on the other three corners and my steps are just like yours but they're more L shaped...I'm not putting in a spa or heater but I am putting in 3 small deck jets to keep a water sound going and movement in the water...also planned on using 2 intellibrites so I'm glad they're lighting up the whole pool ( they are the 250 watt, right?)

I have been given quotes of 60-70k for that pool without spa but with concrete decking...I think that is way too high....or is that in the ball park of what you received for the spa and pool pavers? Also at 3.3' would it be too deep in shallow to start at 3'6" or even 4' for a shallow end? and then go to 6.5'? I worried about a steep incline going into the deep..how gradual is it for you going to 7'? Sorry for so many questions! Yours is the first pool that is almost identical to my plan....thanks!!

Tara
smbnobles
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It looks so classy! I thought our pools were going to be very similar, but yours looks very different from mine. Yours is classy, while mine is earthy. The shape is very similar though!

Very pretty!
ga_peach
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Very nice! The pavers look great!

I just posted our pics yesterday. We've been swimming for about 3 weeks. We still have a few things left on our punch list, but all in all, we're swimming and we're happy!

Enjoy!
terrier96
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I love your pool!! Very nice and Huge.
I am so glad you posted your pictures because I have several estimates on a 20x40 rectangle pool, but now that I am looking at your pictures, I realize.......we don't need or have to have a pool THAT big.
Also, I am curious as to why you only went 7 ft on the deep end. You say you have had pools before????? so I am guessing you have a specific reason for 7 ft instead of deeper on a pool that size?????
gorilla_x
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for all the compliments...

cdavmd:
Paver brand is Flagstone Pavers. White based concrete, in cream/beige/charcoal. We used Orlando Brick Pavers in Orlanfo, FL. We went with American Pavers coping since their cream color looked nicer than the Flagstone Paver light color (I forget the color name).

lmhall2000: I believe the wattage of the IntelliBrites is 75W... that is what I recall seeing on the box. The datasheet on the Pentair site states "IntelliBrite pool lights need only 37 watts to create the same light
output as traditional incandescent and halogen pool lights do at 161 wattsmore than 75% less!"

So a 75W LED (when displaying white light) is equivilent to a 300W bulb. Colors are less brite. We were originally going to put a spa LED on the shallow end, but received advice to put a full size pool light instead. Glad we did. But to make a full size light fit, we had to have a minimum of 3'-3" depth... PB did the extra depth for free (3' was standard).

The first 8' of the shallow end is pretty level because of the stairs are 8'. At the deep end, the floor is essentially level for about 10' out from spa wall. The pool is 40', so subtracting the 8' and 10', the floor drops from 3'-3" to 7' over a span of 22'. If you look at my Progess Pics (see link above), you can get a feel for the slope. The slope feels pronounced for me, but I don't mind it. We would have gone with 3'-6" but did not want to pay the extra costs... the deeper you go at the shallow end, the more steps you need... and that is the extra cost.

I personally think 4' is too deep at the shallow end if you have small kids.

As for cost, if I subtract off the heat pump and spa, then our cost was approx. $37K. Fence was $5K on top of that. That's Orlando pricing. Concrete coping ran about $15 per LF, and pavers ran about $4.50 to $5.00 per SF. Total cost of my pavers/coping was approx. $8300. However, the price of stamped concrete ranged from $9.50 to $15 per SF.

terrier96:
Technically, the deep end is 7'3", but I say 7'. Our last pool was 5' deep (very common in FL with the high water table). Most PBs include a standard depth of 5'. The additional cost to go from 5' to 7' was $700. But the cost to go from 5' to 8' was $1500. We were just not willing to pay extra for 8' because we thought we did not need it. The 7'3" is deep enough for shallow diving... I can dive in across the width of the pool. We don't dive, and did not want a pool deep enough for proper diving (most residentail pools built with diving boards are not safe enough for diving anyway). We did want a pool long enough for laps, and 40' is good for us.

One reason we went with a 20 x 40 was cost. In FL, folks can build a basic 400 SF pool (no coping and no decking) for X dollars, or build an 800 SF pool for 20% to 25% more. We had the room, so spending an extra 20% to 25% to double the pool area was an easy decision. We had 5 folks in the pool on the 4th, with rafts... all in the shallow end and we were not cramped.

-Gorilla
tresw
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It turned out great, those photos from the roof look like postcards :-) The pavers look really nice too!
momof3littleboys
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Your pool looks great! Congratulations! The pavers look so nice. You could certainly have a nice sized party with that pool and decking. Enjoy!
davemartin88
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Looks great, love the decking/pavers and the amount of room you have- looks like a nice setting as well with the trees!
cncguy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
gorilla_x-
well...im stunned! absolutely beautiful! came out very very nice.love the lounge chairs too!.well,now i know where ill be swimming next time im in orlando! (jk)
enjoy your pool!!
colt357_2004
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
How refreshing! With all the curves, raised bond beams, grottos, etc I see in most pools these days, this looks like a swimming pool, made for.............SWIMMING!
Simple elegance.
WELL DONE.
nylsor107
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Greetings Gorilla-
Just happened upon your magnificent pool pictures. Are you still pleased with everything? Would you be willing to share the name of your spa manufacturer and the model number please? How do you like this spa? We are looking for a rectangular-shaped spillover spa and just love this one. Many thanks!

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