Hi again dgm, Here is a better site: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/hazen-williams-water-d_797.html First section of Case 1 is: a. 0.297 ft per 100 feet of run b. 0.1 psi per 100 feet of run c. 15.58 feet of friction head loss d. 6.7 psi friction head loss e. 4.86 ft/sec velocity. GL with rest. Got these calcs from site using H-W formula. Aloha.

I think you've got the right idea to do wall pockets along the front, eventually building it into a living wall of plants. I would plant lots of sedums along the edges of the rocks to help soften the edges of the rocks and they will help fill in the area pretty quickly. I would also plant some mounding plants or bushes at the edge of the retaining walls you already have to help transition between the different building materials. On cutting the back, are you using a push mower or riding mower? Do you have a self-propelled mower? My hill is steeper than yours and I couldn't cut it at all until we got the self-propelled mower. I can now cut across the hill with no problem, the self-propelled mower keeps it going across the hill with little effort. I would highly suggest wearing shoes with cleats or boots though when the grass is damp. Good Luck and keep us updated!

Terminox has gotten good results. Like any of the iron-removal methods I listed, it will depend on water conditions. When dealing with well waters, dissolved oxygen will be a concern with any system. You will want to know how much dissolved oxygen your water has in order to determine the best system for your water. This requires a special procedure for sampling that you will need to discuss with the lab that will be doing the test. TAC variants: They will all be expensive to maintain - the media is not cheap. Softeners: If you decide to purchase a softener, a 0.75 cubic ft softener will work nicely for your situation. If you install a separate iron removal system upstream, the softener will only need to regen every couple of weeks. If you choose to use only the softener, it will regen every 4 days. As to specific systems, this is where your research takes place. I can tell you what to specify, and help to evaluate quotes once you have them, but ultimately you are the one that has to have a comfort level with the vendor you choose. I suggest starting with the local water treatment pros to see what they can offer. The benefit of this approach is having someone to turn to if something goes wrong. You pay for that benefit, of course, but for most people it is the way to go. If you decide to order online, you will be provided only what you specify and any and all problems are yours to diagnose and fix. Provided you are comfortable with that, it can be a good option. Be aware that though you will spend less money, you will spend more time. The following requirements are for an industry standard softener. If you are looking for a non-electronic softener, Kinetico offers the more reliable options at a premium price (and you would need to deal with a local Kinetico rep). Any decent softener vendor should be able to provide the following: High quality American or German made resin. This will provide a tight size distribution for optimal flow within the resin Since you have WELL WATER: 8% crosslinked resin. Top basket. This serves two purposes. It sets up a proper water distribution during normal operation and prevents resin loss during backwash. Gravel underbed. The gravel underbed is there to set up proper flow patterns, improve backwash, keep the bottom basket in place and prevent basket failure, and prevent channeling. Many softener sales companies like to leave this out or sell softeners with a vortex system instead. Vortex systems weigh less than gravel so they cost less to ship. In addition, they are a more expensive item that adds profit for the softener salesperson, but provides no additional benefit to the homeowner . It simply adds another piece of equipment that can break. Fleck or Clack valves. These set the industry standard. Be aware that you will not be able to purchase Clack valves online. This is not a problem if you purchase locally. The valve should regen based on...

Day 4 Build (Day 6 calendar) - Gunite I'm a little behind with the progress updates. Going into gunite, we were worried if a few things were going to turn out right. And then inspecting the pool afterwards threw us into a wave of second guessing some of our decisions and designs. Gunite in process Gunite Completed So, here are the things that we fretted over. Tanning Ledge Step location - we moved the steps from far driveway end to the middle. I think it looks much better plus it didn't make sense to have steps going into the deep end. Tanning ledge edge - after moving the steps, we didn't think to extend the tanning ledge. Doh! Bubbler location - managed to get it in. Originally had it in the far flat area but then moved it to bottom of the beach entry. And what's with the return sticking up from the middle of the beach entry? We originally wanted a return that came back across the beach entry to keep it clean. I looked at this and thought they are giving me a bubbler return. But then they said they put an angled jet on the return so it sweeps across. Do you pool builders ever get annoyed with our questions? Beach entry angle - it seem too steep. I'm not sure what my options are. Maybe we can flatten the slope and angle it back into the deck? Would this comprise the pool beam integrity? Weeping wall and moss rock below water line - we wanted the rocks in the water and not above the tile line. I thought they were going to build a ledge into the beam to support the rocks. Instead they angled the beam down. I was told that this is preferred since it can accommodate bigger rocks. Reverse beam - In this area, they also transitioned from the angle too late. We should have more beam and less rock. I was told that they can address this with the rock guys. Deep end step out - We had a seat in the deep end. We thought it would be good to add some steps to make it a deep end step out. I think this turned out well. Spa Oh, where do I begin with the spa? Size - dang this thing looks huge. It seems more like a small wading pool! And it looks really high. I remember making sure it was 18" (vs 12") so that it would be a good seat height from the deck. It just looks like a castle turret now. Multi level spa seating - managed to get a section 21" deep as I wanted to be fully seated and submersed. Never did measure the length of my upper body... Seating - they did a horseshoe seating arrangement. Seems like the wall along the spillway is just wasted space. This was to prevent playing footsies with the person seated across from you. Spillway - we didn't spring for the fancy spillway. Nor did we cut it open as we were hoping the notches would give us a scupper effect. Now I wonder if that was a wise choice. Again, castle turret... Piping - What's the deal with the piping outside the gunite? I know it'll be covered up with the mortar and veneer. Should I be worried about this kind of stuff? In pool table We thought this was a cool idea. Being able to have a drink or a meal while sitting in the pool. Well... Pedestal placement - I posted before that the pedestal had to be a mere 9" from the pool wall to prevent the cleaner from getting in there. I thought that was too close. In actuality, there's no problems. The pedestal itself is very small and the corner seating is wide so it's not like having to shuffle into booth seating at a restaurant. We are planning on using one large oval piece of rock as a table top. Table height - now this is where we didn't think it through (or the PB didn't educate us). The table is going to be at water level. They did standard in-pool bench seating. So it appears that when I sit on the bench, the table is going to be up to my neck! At this point, they can't raise the seat with gunite. The only thing I can think of is adding a layer of flagstone to the bench seating to raise it up a few inches. Any other ideas? Of course we also changed our tile selection for the 3rd time and made some last minute changes to the light locations. All of which I hope were the right decisions. Anyways, enough of my rants. It's good to document this stuff as I'm sure my wife is tired of hearing me talk about these things. Sounds like I'm just a worry wart. We're still very excited and can't wait for the pool to be all done and the backyard mess all cleared up. Cheers! Here is a link that might be useful: Day 4 - Gunite