Moving to AZ - research thread

They’re my secondary teams and that disappointment is still too much to handle.

 

At least with @TRDFerguson liking the bears and cubs - he is always at least as miserable as we are.

 

the bears provide enough grief for me

as far as the dodgers , the long time fans like me had to endure the
McCourt era when they sucked beyond belief, I’m enjoying this run of being a decent team

 

The only thing the Cardinals have going for them is their stadium being across the street from Cabelas...

 

dude , bears fan? Ok we have to get together and scream at my 85” tv together

I have to figure ont how to stream those out here

 

I’ve got an 86” by the pool. It works great to have a second game on screen when the Bears start to shit the bed.

I’ve just been biting the bullet and adding Sunday Ticket to my YouTube TV plan

 

The Bass Pro in Mesa gives me even less reason to drive to Glendale. I really wish they’d move in somewhere more central to the city. Maybe if we get another hockey team it’ll either be in Phoenix proper or Scottsdale

 

Kinda cool to see a Kershaw sherzer game tonight

two HOFs easy 2-1 top of 7

 

I remember the first time I set foot in Cabelas in Glendale after moving to AZ from CA. The wall to wall guns, pallets of ammo and standard capacity magazines, right there on the show room floor! Oof.

At first I was like:


Then I was like:

 

There was 2023 to reflect back on! 1998 or something, too! But, yeah.

 

ok, pool dude meeting friday, so I wanted to get a small punch list from you pool experts

1) in floor cleaning (do I want this or is it problem waiting to happen, I've been told both)
2) chair shelf or whatever you call it, maybe 10-12' long?
3) propane heater (for special occasions, get a price anyways
4) pebble tech finish
5) cleaning system, salt water , but what else do I want?
6) maybe some kind of basic water feature, fountain or something just to make it a little fun
7) built in umbrella holders around the sides, maybe 3 spots

 

Coming from a guy that just has his pool filled in -
I thought the in-floor cleaning sucked. We would have to brush it at least a few times a week for it to not get nasty. From what I've seen, the vacuum/creepers to better at keeping my it clean.

I'm not a chair / shelf guy - so I can't help you there.

I wouldn't incur the cost of a pool without doing a heater. The water doesn't get nice until late May if you don't have a heater to use. Being able to bring the temp up in the early season will allow a lot more use.

All finishes have their downside - pebble hides dirt well but will scratch you up pretty good.

I had chlorine and it can be a challenge to keep the water chemistry good in the blazing sun - salt seems to work better here in the desert.

I'd pass on the water feature - it will be mineralized and look like it needs redone after 2 years max.

Yes - lots of umbrella holders. In the pool and on the deck. Maybe a spot for volleyball net posts?

 

ya, the in floor system seems to be the most debated, I can't get a clear answer. I'll see what the guy friday says, he seems to be a straight shooter.

noted on the water feature, Ill see what they have, maybe just one or two of those jets that shoot up on the chair area or something to spice it up.

they have another level of pebble tech now that is softer , I may look into that.

 

1) we didn't get the in floor cleaning. In my mind, its more parts/plumbing to have a problem with later. I got a sucky vacuum robot that gets teh job done just fine on 2hrs a day
2) figure out how many "people" you want to hang on the shelf. Ours fits 2 adirondak style chairs (polywood) really well with room to walk around get in/out
3) get the price for the heater (and or chiller combo). natural gas is PRICEY here. From what I gather having a heater gets you about 2-3 weeks on either side of the "swim season" which would be mid to late-March, and then into November. I had the electrical upgraded to 70 amp, so we could expand later. We have gone 2 years now w/out a heater and are okay, I would like a chiller as our pool hits 90-92 on those hot days...
4) We love our pebble finish vs straight plaster. i think ours is "pebblesheen"
5) we're not a salt pool. but I hear people love that. I've got an Ozone and UV systel. I am putting in 1-2 pucks a week, and half a gallon chlorine every couple of weeks. Yes my CYA might be high, but we'll deal with that end of season water drain and fill (30%). you could consider a chlorine tab auto feeder/dispenser (about $120)
6) we have a 36" wide waterfall that is nic!
7) yes to some umbrella holders- be thoughtful as to the sun's bath and where you plan to sit so they are placed well. One of our spots in the deep end bench seat is kinda worthless. Consider getting some inground umbrella spots on the pool decking to supplment.

definitely make sure you get a variable speed pump. We have a 3HP Pentair Intelliflo. Cartridge filters are pretty common now and easy to maintain vs DE based systems.

 

what do those robot things cost and how well do they work? does it just dock itself and you clean it once in a while?

Im on propane so it would be even more pricey , but I like to have the option to heat if I want I think once in a while.

I hear great things about saltwater so Im going to ask him about that for sure.

he told me heat pumps here for pools work for shit, skip it.

does the waterfall look like shit like boat hauler said? I would like a little something , not sure what, maybe even some bubblers or something just to make it kinda cool. maybe misters around the side, I stayed at a pool that had that and it was awesome, they integrated high pressure misting system into the pool sides. but not sure I want to get that crazy

 

One thing you haven't mentioned - explore solar heating as an option.

 

do you mean the covers type things, or do they make like solar panel powered heater?

 

I'm taking about the black coils that go on your roof. A pump sends water up to bake in the sun then cycles it back to the pool.

 

Re: pool

Salt water generator allows for automated chlorine delivery at an overall lower cost plus no build up of CYA (all solid forms of chlorine will cause this to build up requiring more chlorine to disinfect, etc. ) I can't see how anyone would not go this route today. UV is a bit of a joke, waste of money IMHO.

Pool robots works great (I use a Dolphin model). They can be rebuilt to a degree but expect them to last a few years at best. I have a pool built a long time ago and run my robot every day. expect to pay $1k for a good one.I leave it in the pool 24/7.

I have a DE filter but will eventually go to a cartridge as it is easier to deal with. Theory says that DE filters the best for filtering ability but from what I have seen, a good cartridge provides the same level of clarity.

Suggestions: Have pool fill water on a water softener. Get a good Taylor chemistry testing kit. The local pool store results are not reliable. After you learn how you pool reacts chemically over time, it is easy to keep it in top shape. I have a 25K gallon plaster pool and I empty the robot once a week (not even needed that often), brush it once for best appearance, and add water (mine is not automated) as needed. I do have to add muriatic acid (more common need for plaster pools or pools with water features) and sometimes think about adding automatic acid delivery...Having borates in the pool act as a pH buffer so that you need not address pH fluctuations as often. That is a cheap one time thing, but now I am getting into the rabbit hole...

 

Also, if you go the salt water generator route, get one that is rated for double your pool size. The idea here is that it will slowly degrade over time so get double capacity and run it at 50% the first year (and you can go 100% to shock) and then the next year run it at 65% etc. Circupool is what I use and gets a lot of great reviews on pool forums.

check out troublefreepools.com. It is "the" pool forum and lots of folks from southern AZ there.

 

the vacuum i have is effective, but this exact model (Pentair Rebel) that i have is a bit finicky. I have some friends w/ those new robotic kind- Aiper and Dolphin that are very pricey (like 800-1000) but they say they work. We have hardly any trees nearby, so the yard litter is next to minimal

my waterfall looks okay, esp given the hard water here. i have scrubbed it w/ a brush a few times, and no bad build up.

 

ok, met with the guy, seems pretty good, 28 years experience, etc

he said

1) he will price out and have option for salt water generator or UV, he said honestly, the water is so hard in this area, it messes up the salt water generator and cuts the life significantly. He personally has UV and it takes 50% of the chlorine and it feel great to swim in. He said in other areas with less hard water, salt water systems are great

2) Ill get pricing for propane heater, etc, umbrella holders, multiple lights, pebble sheen which is smaller and softer, etc.

3) he said they do recommend in floor cleaning systems that do all the shelves, walls, floors etc, and its lifetime warranty on everything. only thing that is wear item is O rings on pop up things but those are super cheap and they have newer models that have been Bullet proof, he said they do 95% with this system

4) variable speed pump is included

5) he said he has sand cleaning system but cartridges if we use a good system would be jsut fine, all you have to do is clean the filters every two months or when gauge tells you that, sand system is more expensive and you have to backflush, etc, but will give me both options

6) will include a couple water features to consider .

so well see what they come up with

 

nice!

snapped a better pic of the waterfall this morning.

 

cool, I want at least something, be nice to listen at night and have at least something small to make it a little cool

 

You were smart to go with white. Nearly all the tiled water features I've seen look something like this -


Do you fill your pool with RO water?!?

 

I can see I have my work cut out for my with the sanitizing decisions, lol

doing some reading there is a ton that say UV is great, you have to use way less chlorine, etc and then those that say UV doesn't do dick go with salt water generator , but thats more expensive, lol.

I just wonder what having hard water and the salt water system would mean for it working and lasting, etc.

The guy that came over today, said with how hard the water is here the salt water generator system just need constant upkeep and dont last as long and it will get a little pricey to deal with. I dont think hes BSing as UV is cheaper so its not like he's upselling.

anyways, on I go.

 

I can see what you're saying with the scale all over those blue tiles, lol. geesh

Ill take that into consideration for sure

 

No, just off the auto level/filler thats tapped into the garden hose spigot off the house.
I use a general medium bristle cleaning scrub brush and a magic eraser every couple of months with a little elbow grease and it stays pretty clean. I've used a pumice stone on the tiles at the water line once. took 3 of those smallish stones to complete.

My wife picked this tile as it reminds us of the Waldorf La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs that we used to goto a lot.