Request for advice on spa niche issue during pool build

12 years ago

I'm looking for advice on an issue with our spa jet niches during pool building. Our spa jets niches are currently set between 1" and 1 3/4" out from the shotcrete spa wall. Some of these are just at or below the waterline tile so there's not much room to fill in with plaster. The pool builder is discussing the options and is working with us to get the issue resolved.

I'm looking for advice on the best way to resolve this.

The current proposed solution is...

For the lower jets: add extra plaster as needed around the lower jet niches so that they are flush with the plaster

For the upper jets that are close to the waterline tile: chisel out a bit of the wall so they can get the current niches out and then cut the back piping of the jet niches a little as needed to get the jets recessed properly.

We have one jet that is high enough that the plastic housing of the wall fitting will overlap the waterline tile once it is set in the niche. Can that one sit on the waterline tile or does that need a more major fix?

Most of this issue happened because the spa was accidentally shot with a thicker wall (13-14") when it was supposed to be 11-12" thick to accommodate the 12" travertine coping. They shot the spa wall with the plaster niches in place. They then cut away at the spa interior wall to get the wall thickness to the right dimensions but then the jet niches are left sticking out too far.

Questions I have:

1. Would it really be a problem (comfort and performance) for the spa jets niches to stick out a bit from the spa wall (might be as much as an inch)?

2. What would be the best way to fix this issue?

3. What are alternate reasonable solutions for this issue?

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Comments (8)

poolguynj
12 years ago
I would really like to see what you are describing. Would you put a picture in a Photobucket album and copy it's 3rd option to a reply so we can see it.

Scott
Rack Etear
12 years ago
If they jets are waterway jets, they should be able to chip them out, and move them back.

They also could float out the inside edge of the spa, and then chip the outside edge making the spa 2-3" smaller which shouldn't be that big of an issue.
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vanessafall
12 years ago
Hi Kate,
May I ask who you are using to build your spa? I am in the process of bidding out a pool/spa project and this is the most current post I've seen. Thank you.
kateonline
Original Author
12 years ago
The coping and waterline tile are already in place. The pool builder is using waterway parts.

One picture below has a niche they have been working on (which ends up overlapping the tile when the wall fitting is in place). The others show the niches they haven't yet tried to fix (as is after the chiseling) which jut out a bit currently.

Here are some pictures:
kateonline
Original Author
12 years ago
Followup to VanessFall - I'm in a completely different part of the country (believe you are in California) so my pool builder info won't help you. Sorry!
poolguynj
12 years ago
Can you post a pic of the whole spa.

Did the PB go over jet heights with you prior to shooting the pool?

Scott
Rack Etear
12 years ago
Those dont look like any gunite jet niches I have ever seen.
kateonline
Original Author
12 years ago
Following up to post what happened...

They ended up chiseling out and further recessing the jets that were higher on the spa (not enough room to fill with plaster due to the waterline tile). They filled in more plaster material around the lower jets. It looks fine visually, but we haven't yet been able to try them out since they are still finishing up some other things.

The jet niches looked a little odd in the pictures above because they had duct tape covering them from when the pool was shot. The one uncovered picture had part of the fitting in place already (so wasn't just the niche piece).

The pool builder did go over the jet heights with us prior to installation and the heights were as expected (other than the one that ended up a tad high and just overlapped the pool tile). Our main issue was the fact the spa wall was shot too deep and then adjusting the wall depth caused more issues. They are working to make sure everything is fine for us. Hopefully no one else has this issue, but if you do you can see what they did in our case. If we have issues with the jets I will post more, but at this point I'm expecting the issue has been resolved.