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Featured Replies

4 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Just dropped $900 on a new salt cell. Still worth it. Right?

 

Right?

Got one around the same price in '23. I still think salt pools are worth it.  

How often you clean your cell? 

Edited by Mother mopar

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  • Here are some after pics for the project.  We started last September and have been swimming since Easter.  Pavilion/outdoor kitchen have recently been completed.  Sectional in the pavilion is incomple

  • Weather was a big slow down with the rain we had last year. Also removing an in-ground floor system I didn’t realize was installed was the other big delay...I don’t want my pool to look like it has 20

  • Before: pool built in the late 70’s. Major structural issues and ancient equipment that cost a fortune to repair over the years and maintain. Also had dated landscaping and flagstone After: wante

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1 hour ago, Mother mopar said:

Got one around the same price in '23. I still think salt pools are worth it.  

How often you clean your cell? 

Whenever the system tells me to check it. But I’ve never seen any build up on mine. 

  • 2 weeks later...

Any one use a smart pool chem tester? I had a Water Guru, but it just quit.

On 6/23/2025 at 7:34 PM, TexEx15 said:

Progress!

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More progress. Added a new 16x12 section of concrete to build a pergola/pavilion similar to this.  

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Concrete for the deck is done. Not a bad place to enjoy a burnt orange sunset. 🤘🏼

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm in the market for a new Polaris, anyone have good experience or recommendations of a brand/model?  My current one is a plug-in with a long cord. It does a good job cleaning, but I don't like it that much. It doesn't have any phone control, it's just a box with a few buttons, and every time the power drops it has to be reset to run once a day.  The cord is starting to chafe after 3 years, and I don't want the risk of an issue there.

I saw some battery powered models that have a charging station, kind of like a Roomba for your pool. Looks like a nice option, but wondering what others think of that style. Any recs would be appreciated.

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On 5/20/2025 at 8:32 PM, TexEx15 said:

A story in 3 parts…

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And 3 months later. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/18/2025 at 10:42 PM, Dutchrudder said:

I'm in the market for a new Polaris, anyone have good experience or recommendations of a brand/model?  My current one is a plug-in with a long cord. It does a good job cleaning, but I don't like it that much. It doesn't have any phone control, it's just a box with a few buttons, and every time the power drops it has to be reset to run once a day.  The cord is starting to chafe after 3 years, and I don't want the risk of an issue there.

I saw some battery powered models that have a charging station, kind of like a Roomba for your pool. Looks like a nice option, but wondering what others think of that style. Any recs would be appreciated.

I’ve replaced a few parts in my old school Polaris and it keeps kicking. I looked at some of the modern robots but they are expensive and you have to take them in and out of the pool yourself every day. Sounds like a hassle. 

1 hour ago, Buzzrock said:

and you have to take them in and out of the pool yourself every day

 

You’d think at current tech paces we shouldn’t be more than a couple decades, if that, from one that does that itself?

24 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

 

You’d think at current tech paces we shouldn’t be more than a couple decades, if that, from one that does that itself?

Not sure if serious but the old school Polaris can just stay in the pool.

54 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Not sure if serious but the old school Polaris can just stay in the pool.

 

Some can, yes. We’ve covered that.

That was more addressing the possibilities that could come to the product type in the. not too distant future.

If they can make a robot vacuum that can traverse stairs (they’re close last I saw), then surely at some point they’ll have a pool bot that can get on, clean, and get back out of the way, at a consumer level. 

I take mine out of the pool about once a month to clean the leaves off the filters. 

I have the BeatBot Aquasense 2 Ultra. I work from home, so I drop it in every couple of days to do a full clean of the pool. It’s expensive. That said - I haven’t had to sweep my walls at all since I’ve gotten it.

Disclaimer - I do not have any trees around us, so our pool stays pretty clean.

Hey party people. My pool sweep became disconnected from the wall and I can’t figure out what happened. The little trim piece broke off with it, but there’s literally nowhere for the thing to connect to. I’m not sure what happened. On a scale of one to fucked what am I looking at?

 


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3 minutes ago, HiggyBaby said:

Hey party people. My pool sweep became disconnected from the wall and I can’t figure out what happened. The little trim piece broke off with it, but there’s literally nowhere for the thing to connect to. I’m not sure what happened. On a scale of one to fucked what am I looking at?

 


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You need to remove the rest of the white piece that is still threaded into the wall and get you a whole new one to screw in (to the black socket surrounding it)

Since you broke it off you are probably going to need some needle nose pliers or something like that to grab the rest of it and turn it.  

Remember righty tighty, lefty loosey.

Edited by Surly Bevo

8 minutes ago, HiggyBaby said:

Should be based off the looks of it.  I used to have a Polaris before I went Dolphin robot.  Obviously still have the return for it in the wall.  I did what you did at one point as well and that was the solution.  

I poured a tall ranch water, put the dogs in the tube, and put on Jerry Jeff Walker and proceeded to have the most relaxing hour in a months. So yes, pools are worth it. 

  • 3 weeks later...

So my pool pump has sprung a leak. Pool techs are quoting an average of $3k to replace. I thought they were all full of shit until I saw these damn pumps averaging $2400 online. SMH. A little research shows it’s the main shaft seal that needs replacing. A $43 part. But one tech said he’d rather dismantle his truck’s transmission. Is it worth looking at this route? I can probably just replace the pump myself and save some labor but still. Do any of these cheaper 3hp Chinese pumps work as well or should I just replace with another pentair and chalk it up to being a damn homeowner? 
I’ll hang up and listen. 
 

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No one fixes shit anymore. Get the new Pentair and move on with life. 

4 hours ago, freyguy said:

How old is the broken pump?

Was there when we bought 6 years ago. Who knows actual age.

 

6 hours ago, tbone_ said:

No one fixes shit anymore. Get the new Pentair and move on with life. 

yeah that’s what I’m figuring 

If you have more than one pool pump, then I'd buy a new one to go ahead and replace, and take the broken one to try and fix yourself.  Then when your other goes, you have a swap to try out 

  • 2 weeks later...
14 minutes ago, joe dirt said:

how it started / how it’s going

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ASR? Been there. Fucking terrible and infuriating. You rebuilding?

I'm dealing with a shell failure too.  Pissed at my pool builder who failed to have the right kind of insurance coverage for the lifetime warranty they offered.

11 hours ago, TexEx15 said:

ASR? Been there. Fucking terrible and infuriating. You rebuilding?

yep, asr. absolutely shit situation, but we did get a settlement that helped offset the rebuild. 

luckily i was too lazy to do the landscaping the first time around or we’d have lost that money too. this time around lady dirt making sure we get that done plus we’ll be extending the patio to go with a full on pool redesign. fml. 

3 hours ago, joe dirt said:

yep, asr. absolutely shit situation, but we did get a settlement that helped offset the rebuild. 

luckily i was too lazy to do the landscaping the first time around or we’d have lost that money too. this time around lady dirt making sure we get that done plus we’ll be extending the patio to go with a full on pool redesign. fml. 

Glad you got something! We too took the opportunity to add on. Just like working on a car we figured well, while we were in there may as well.

  • 2 weeks later...

That is gorgeous.  I love pools surrounded by trees with sun filtering through.  Just glorious.

 

Pool sweeper is like....

 

Jim Carrey Omg GIF

On 10/12/2025 at 9:10 AM, scramblyn said:

Gorgeous Moroccan pool…

 

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Is that yours?  Mind sharing what waterline tile you used?

2 hours ago, LCHorn said:

Is that yours?  Mind sharing what waterline tile you used?

I wish it was mine. Luxury hotel in Marrakech 

Edited by scramblyn

I'm sure this has been asked before, probably by me, but it's beyond time to have our pool resurfaced. Any recommendations in the Houston area. I have no idea what to expect on cost as they seem to be all over the board. I want it done right though.

  

On 10/27/2025 at 9:18 AM, Okie State said:

I'm sure this has been asked before, probably by me, but it's beyond time to have our pool resurfaced. Any recommendations in the Houston area. I have no idea what to expect on cost as they seem to be all over the board. I want it done right though.

 

my input would be that there seems to be general contractor and performance contractor (not sure of official term) entities in this arena.  General contractor would come out, bid it and then hire someone else to do the work. If you need 3 or 4 things done like fixing a pump and heater, resurfacing the pool and repairing a sidewalk or coping it might make more sense to have one guy managing all that but you are paying for the oversight.

If you want to go straight to the guy who does the work and owns the equipment then look for that, not a general pool service and repair company.  You'll want the guys that do new pools and resurfacing.

Edited by TexasEd

On 10/27/2025 at 8:18 AM, Okie State said:

I'm sure this has been asked before, probably by me, but it's beyond time to have our pool resurfaced. Any recommendations in the Houston area. I have no idea what to expect on cost as they seem to be all over the board. I want it done right though.

The pool guy on this site may be a good place to start - Is it @Poolflood ?

gunite day. things moving along nicely. need to start figuring out how to block out the neighbors now. think i might line the back fence line with little gem magnolias and some kind of holly.

 

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18 hours ago, joe dirt said:

gunite day. things moving along nicely. need to start figuring out how to block out the neighbors now. think i might line the back fence line with little gem magnolias and some kind of holly.

Congrats.  Thigs to consider for a privacy screen:

  • It is evergreen or need to be, what times of the year do you want/need privacy
  • How much it drops and will it blow into the poo. Magnolias drop tons of huge leaves and their cones all year round. Crepe Myrtle flowers are horrible too.
  • how big will it get, you want something to grow vertical and not stretch out too far over the water
  • What is the drainage like there - will it drain if you have a big party and water splashes out

Edited by TexasEd

anyone got a an LED light that lasts more than a year?  Just had our globrites all replaced last April'24.  One just went out.

On 11/10/2025 at 12:09 PM, freyguy said:

anyone got a an LED light that lasts more than a year?  Just had our globrites all replaced last April'24.  One just went out.

I have 4 or 5 Jandy watercolors (small housing) LED lights and one went out in a year, under warranty but the rest are fine.

On 10/27/2025 at 9:18 AM, Okie State said:

I'm sure this has been asked before, probably by me, but it's beyond time to have our pool resurfaced. Any recommendations in the Houston area. I have no idea what to expect on cost as they seem to be all over the board. I want it done right though.

We’re about to do this in Austin and got quotes from $13k to $48k given all the same basic considerations and materials.  
 

In other words, there’s a clear disconnect between pool contractors in knowing market value for their service.  

9 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

We’re about to do this in Austin and got quotes from $13k to $48k given all the same basic considerations and materials.  
 

In other words, there’s a clear disconnect between pool contractors in knowing market value for their service.  

Holy shit...$48K? That's nuts.

32 minutes ago, Okie State said:

Holy shit...$48K? That's nuts.

 

What the fucking fuck with that?

They buying clients dinner before they fuck em?

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