New pool check list

[Bagwain]

25 yrs I have been in the pool & water industry with 1000's of customers in the commercial & domestic arena incl Ramayana Water Parks's 1st 12 months. Commissioning the pools, water quality control & staff training on maintenance & cleaning. Over the last 14 yrs my business has done ok just on swimming pool repairs & renovations. What I have seen is beyond belief with the way pools have been built here in LOS! 2 current projects, one a high end house & another pool up country, the native builders have absconded with large amounts of cash! We are having to deal with the mess they left. Many problems can be avoided if people do some homework & questioning prior entering into a pool build contract! I have compiled a list that will help people contemplating getting a pool built. It is not a guarantee as plenty of other factors need to be considered but they are mainly common sense. Mainly applies to a concrete pools however in most part it will apply to fibreglass pools as well. Fiberglass pools are another matter. There is one guy getting around selling his own f/glass pools that are not configured the correct way and lack the appropriate plumbing. We had to reconfigure one to work recently. (No main drain or correct amount of inlets) I peeves me that there is so many cowboys selling & building pools. Another mob have started selling above ground pools and setting them in the ground. It is a budget way of having a pool. But IMHO no longevity and unless the back fill is stabilized, subject to collapse. Seen this many times in Australia! Hope the check list is allowed?   

New pool checklist.pdf

[sappersrest]

How about turnover times.

Filtration rate.

Velocities of inlets and outlets .

Pipe sizes.

Feed water analysis as this will determine chemical choice.

Safety features.

Full electrical specification.

Specification of equipment used inc manufacture literature and conformity certification .

 The list can go on.

 

If your pool contractor cannot provide you with a list of worked calculations  and a detailed specification with choices of equipment walk away.

many are tied to a specific manufacturer in both chemical  treatment pumps and filters.

The info is out there Mr google is a good friend.

On that note avoid any thing written in the 70s 80s or early 90s it is way out of date.

 

[SantiSuk]

The max capacity of my reserve/surge/overflow tank at 5.5cu.m is only 6.5% of pool volume. I guess there's no serious issue with that*, but I wait to hear otherwise!

 

Designed by and supposedly checked out by a Bangkok pro-pool outfit subbed out of Fluidra Thailand (Fluidra no longer doing domestic pools afaik), but I guess my local Isaan builder may have skimped the design - yet another risk factor in pool build in Thailand!

 

 

*pool has worked fine for 6 years to the satisfaction of this uninititate! 

[Pilotman]

7 hours ago, sappersrest said:

How about turnover times.

Filtration rate.

Velocities of inlets and outlets .

Pipe sizes.

Feed water analysis as this will determine chemical choice.

Safety features.

Full electrical specification.

Specification of equipment used inc manufacture literature and conformity certification .

 The list can go on.

 

If your pool contractor cannot provide you with a list of worked calculations  and a detailed specification with choices of equipment walk away.

many are tied to a specific manufacturer in both chemical  treatment pumps and filters.

The info is out there Mr google is a good friend.

On that note avoid any thing written in the 70s 80s or early 90s it is way out of date.

 

Forgive me, but I  suspect that most people don't give a monkeys about pipe sizes, velocities, feed water etc. I  told my contractor, I want a pool this size, standard, all of it working, please .  I chose the type of filtration, chose the way it  dealt with cleaning and chemical balance and he built it.  It works  perfectly and me not knowing pipe sizes makes no difference.  What I did do was many months of research on the contractor and picked someone who clearly knew what they were doing and could provide references to that effect.  I find that often on this forum, on more technical matters, some posters try to make out that you need heaps of  technical knowledge to go about living here.  Frankly that is rubbish.  What you do need is common sense, awareness of the pit falls of unknown builders here,  and a  basic knowledge of a few things, electrics,. water, poos etc.      

[Bagwain]

2 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Forgive me, but I  suspect that most people don't give a monkeys about pipe sizes, velocities, feed water etc. I  told my contractor, I want a pool this size, standard, all of it working, please .  I chose the type of filtration, chose the way it  dealt with cleaning and chemical balance and he built it.  It works  perfectly and me not knowing pipe sizes makes no difference.  What I did do was many months of research on the contractor and picked someone who clearly knew what they were doing and could provide references to that effect.  I find that often on this forum, on more technical matters, some posters try to make out that you need heaps of  technical knowledge to go about living here.  Frankly that is rubbish.  What you do need is common sense, awareness of the pit falls of unknown builders here,  and a  basic knowledge of a few things, electrics,. water, poos etc.      

Pilotman - That is the approach to have. As I stated in the original post it is down to common sense. However what is important is the quality of the materials being used - such as 13.5 piping as apposed to 8.5 & the correct size & spacing of rebar. The pool builder should have the correct specs in building but too many times here in LOS it is not the case. This is why I have had regular work fixing & renovating pools here! Sappersrest - you are way over the top!!  

[Bagwain]

2 hours ago, SantiSuk said:

The max capacity of my reserve/surge/overflow tank at 5.5cu.m is only 6.5% of pool volume. I guess there's no serious issue with that*, but I wait to hear otherwise!

 

Designed by and supposedly checked out by a Bangkok pro-pool outfit subbed out of Fluidra Thailand (Fluidra no longer doing domestic pools afaik), but I guess my local Isaan builder may have skimped the design - yet another risk factor in pool build in Thailand!

 

 

*pool has worked fine for 6 years to the satisfaction of this uninititate! 

7% is the norm and will not give you grief!! 6.5% is not an issue!!  A lot of the times I have renovated pools it has been around 3% (Not Good) We always build at 7%

[SantiSuk]

Hey guys - stop ganging up on Sappersrest. Some of us appreciate knowing the geeky end of the spectrum even if we then use our judgement in the final balance. And then there are some who like to go the extreme and highest cost end of the spectrum anyway - perhaps so they can impress their pool buddies with their knowledge one-upmanship. Chill