I moved my septic about 20ft. actually crushed the previous tank and placed a new one since the county does not allow re-using your old tank. It was $4000 including the engineer designing and signing off on the new site. that price sounds high unless you have to move some leach fields.

Unfortunately, we do have to move a bunch of lines. They are all over our yard! Between that, cutting down some trees and doing a fence,we are already spending big bucks before we even begin the pool.
Thanks for your input!

Word of advice from my experiences if the "spa" is prefab shell. Set it at least 12-15" higher than the deck and have drainage under it. They are known to pop up when emptied during winterization or if they ever need a good scrub. They act like a boat and don't need a lot of water to float.

Have a liner for the inside of the spa when it's winterized. The drains on these are not normally sealable. The return jets are. When the jets are plugged and the drain blown free of water and the water from blowing the lines is removed from the spa, the liner is set over/in the spa and it is refilled with water.

The liner protects the drain as it's weight will seal the area around it and if there are small air holes in the seat, it will seal them too. The liner will overlap the spa so water doesn't get behind it. It's weight with the water will keep it down if the drainage below gets clogged.

I would skip the spa light. They can be problematic in these types of spas, both at installation and in the coming years.

The liner is usually made from a cheap above ground liner.

Skip the autocover. A solar cover with a reel is easy to use and a lot more cost effective and is easy to use. The auto cover needs the pump set when it's going to rain and the fabric replaced periodically, typically 6 to 10 years. There have been numerous reports of mechanism corrosion when salt cells are used by some of the sharp techs on this forum. They aren't cheap to fix either.

The fence around the pool with the alarm will serve you well till the little ones learn to swim. My girls were floatie free by 6 years of age. They knew the rules. Being kids, they pushed and we made sure they understood we weren't joking. I don't mean no Barney or Power Rangers either. It was a bit tougher than that and it has to be that way.Pools are great family fun but drowning is the silent killer.

Scott

Thanks Scott.
I will talk to the PB about the spa. A few more questions for an expert:

*Regular pool light or the LED Intellibright? That's a $400 upgrade. Also 1 or 2 lights in pool? On the sides?

*How much are solar covers and how hard are they to put on at night?

*Based on people's input, I think we will scrap the auto cover and auto controls and put that money into a fence that surrounds the pool and patio. Do you agree? I have 4 kids, all can swim, but 1 has special needs and it's nice to have her contained within a confined area.

Thanks so much for your advice!
Amy

2 Intellibrites! I can't tell you how many times we have heard people say coulda shoulda that didn't. Colorlogics are reasonable too on this size though the walls near the fixtures won't be quite a well lit due to the lens shape on the Pentair fixture.

Ask your dealer if there is a price difference using Pentair equipment. There is sometimes a premium but many here, myself include, feel it is usually worth it if its within 10% or so of the Hayward equipment.

Might want to change brands on the pump, filter and salt cell for warranty.

Solar covers are less than $200. Pricing varies by the grade of cover. I have heard that solarcovers.com is reputable though I have no experience with them.

Get a reel for it. The cover will last longer and it will be easier to use. A used cover is the best.

It might take 2 people two minutes to cover the pool and one person about a minute to take off the cover.

WRT the fence, please make sure there is enough room to work, walk, and pass others between the fence and the pool edge.

Scott

Great advice, Scott!
We are meeting with him this Sunday, so I will ask yet more questions! Thanks for enlightening me.
Amy

The others here are great too! If I am not here, they will offer great advice too.

Scott

why are you getting a gas heater if you don't have a hot tub that needs to be heated quickly? I would plumb for the heater and wire for a heat pump and use the pool for the first year before installing anything. The cost is minimal to prep for the equipment and you can always add it later. if you find that your swim season is long enough without the heater than you just saved yourself a bunch of money. If you feel like you want to swim in the early spring and late fall than a heat pump would be a better choice. I just asked on this forum how much it would cost to heat my pool using a gas heater and it ranged from $35-$55/day. Scott or one of the pool pro's can tell you how much cheaper a heat pump will be but it is quite substantial. I am thinking about using my gas heater for the hot tub and getting a heat pump for the pool.

Item 19 on the list is the spa.

Pool only energy costs with a heat pump is about 1/2 of a gas fired but will take over 3x longer to a body of water, more if there isn't a cover on it.

Scott

Terri-I didn't mean to leave you out! Thanks for your comments. So the deal is we live in CT so we need a heater. If we have an auto cover the PB says we could do a gas heater because with the cover on when the pool is not in use, we will conserve alot of the heat and thus won't be paying major bucks. However,it looks like the auto cover is just too expensive, so in that case we'll get a heat pump. We do have a spa and I assume the heat pump can heat the spa, too. I'd like to keep the water at 85 degrees thru the summer. I think this can be achieved with the heat pump, but it just takes longer, right?

Sorry about that, I did not see the spa. The heat pump is definately more efficient wether it is in your house or for the pool. If you have ever been next to a heatpump in the home, it puts out cooler air and heats slowly. The key is to keep it on and forget about it because It cost more to get to the temp you want than to maintain that temp. A cover makes a huge difference. I saw an awesome graph comparing this on line. Just realize, if it is snowing and you want to hop in your spa in February, that won't happen because it can't get your tub warm enough. I have been over the pro's and con's on this website and with my pool builder a thousand times. it is really personal preference of what is important to you...hot tub in winter or keeping pool warm during early and late swim season. I would definitely have them prep for both units so you can add the other later if you want. I am getting gas but my builder prepped a place for adding a heat pump for almost no cost. the electrical can be run later through conduit and the plumbing is right there already. The key is make a spot on your pad so something else does not need to get moved.

So Terri is the gas for your spa only? The heat pump would be added on later for your pool? Where are you located?Sorry for my questions, but this is all new to me and I am trying to make the most informed decisions I can! As long as the heat pump can heat the spa and pool thru early to late summer(may-sept) I am good. Like I said, I am in CT so I hope this is the best choice. Do you think so?

Just for grins:

Lets assume the pool is kept at 85. Since the spa is a spillover, it will also be 85.

Someone wants the spa @ 100. If the spa is a 4 person tub, lets call it 350 gallons as a number. 350 gallons x 8.33 lbs/gal =2915.5 lbs to heat. 1 BTU = 1 degree rise/lb water

2915 BTU x 15 degree desired rise = 43725 BTUs needed

Average heat pump is 125K BTUs - about a 10% loss for evap and pipe run and you're looking at about a half hour to heat the spa.

A 400K gas heater @ 80% (includes losses) will be ready in 10 minutes.

Scott

A half hour isn't so bad, is it?? Once the heat pump reaches the desired temps,can I keep the spa at 100 and the pool at 85 all summer? I know the gas heaters are great b/c they are so quick, but I am afraid of the $$$ I will spend especially if I don't have a cover at night. So what do I do-gas or heat pump(or I think Terri you may be saying both?) I am confused!

No, your spa is a spillover. You cannot keep your pool and spa both at operating temperature and filtered all the time.

Hey poolguynj, nice math ;).

just a couple things, I wouldn't assume such high efficiency for a heat pump personally and here, (Vancouver Canada) a heat pump just isn't sufficient for a spa that will be used in winter. I always tell my clients when they want to put anything other than a 400,000 btu pool heater on a combo that "nobody ever complained to me that their spa heats too fast"

Scott, what if the temp outside is 40 degrees and she wants the spa to reach 100 degrees? My understanding from my PB is that the heat pump only increases your temp relative to the outside temp (maybe 40degrees more). now she is stuck at 80 degree. I am getting a gas heater because I want to get in the hot tub in the cold winter nights and relax. If it is 40 degree outside, I don't want that tub to be below my body temp because I will feel cold. I want it 100 degrees and I know a gas heater can do that. What I think watermom wants to do is extend her swim season in Connecticut where the swim season is relatively short. that would be pretty expensive using a gas heater although it can do it easily and quickly. I am thinking about getting both since I want to extend my swim season in April and October but want the advantage of a hot tub in the winter. Is that overkill? I am holding off on the heatpump until after our first swim season to see how much we want to use the pool during these two months. Have you or any of the other pool builders done pools with both? would you recommend this or is it a waste of money?
Watermom, I live in North Carolina. The gas heater is for both my spa and pool. this is my first pool so I am learning just like you are. I plan on using my gas heater for times we want to swim and if I find we are using it more than 1-2 times a month for the pool, than I will add the heatpump. my set up is ready for the heatpump to be added.

At 40, the coils of a heat pump would likely ice up, if the system s/w didn't say NO! it too cold. A gas fired heater will heat the spa nicely,

Eastern Connecticut's swim season isn't much different than mine in central NJ near the shore,

I am not a builder. I just fix them and augment them for a living.

Scott

You can ask more about the minimum temp the heat pump is effective. There is a chart showing output drop off vs. temp. Ours in the house (not for pool) heat down to 20F before the aux. heat kicks in.

Unlike Terri, we will not be using the spa during the winter. I just want my swim season(with pool at 85 and spa at a nice warm temp)to go from mid May thru Sept here in CT. Can a heat pump do this for me or do I need a gas heater?
Slowly, I am getting this!
Thanks!
Amy

I expect it will work but don't expect to extend the swim season on either end of that range. You can have both. Start with the HP and if your needs change, add the gas unit later.

Scott