Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The 12-Gauge Garage

[Jack Olsen]

Re: How to test a deck

Can you add input on how much of an increase in water temperature the tankless unit is providing?

It is doing a surprisingly good job. When no one is in the pool, I can run it at 140° output, which could potentially scald someone by the jet. But even running it at 120°, it is in the neighborhood of 2° per hour. Bringing it up from 70° to 84° took five hours. Recently, it's been dropping down to about 83° overnight, and we run the heater for an hour or two and get it up to 87-88°.

It's just a small pool, at 4,600 gallons. I'm sure an engineer could work out what 186K BTU will do to change its temperature, but that's more math than my brain can do.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Re: How to test a deck

And I appreciate the voices of caution. I would not recommend that ANYONE try this themselves. And in my own case, I proceed fully prepared to bear the cost of it going south. This is not the sort of thing that homeowners insurance is designed for.

 

[yellowbox]

Re: How to test a deck

The pool built to code? It's an inexpensive seasonal pool meant to be taken down every year. For what they are, they are awesome.

He isn't gonna take it down every year
It's built on a platform which is strong enough but not code
It's too close to the house to pass code

 

[Falcon67]

Re: How to test a deck

I'll admit didn't give a lot of thought to a failure of the liner. This is season one (of one) with a reasonably significant reduction in UV (because of the shade fabric) and a perfectly level base. That seems like a fairly gentle test of the liner.

But I'll acknowledge, it's within 6' of the house, which reduces the safety margin if there's a manufacturing flaw that produces a catastrophic failure.



I wonder: am I so far gone that this project would be an insult to rednecks?

We ran an Intex - same build structure, same liner color, 18' x 48" for about 6 years. $389 close out at Sams. I put our big old 3/4 HP Tagleus sand filter on it after re-freshing the sand and replacing the pump drive. It eventually got out of level about 3". It never leaked, sat in full sun in west Texas, up continually - rain, hail, snow, high winds, etc. it got hit with rocks from the mower, regularly weed-eated around the base hitting the liner, etc. I just pumped it down below the skimmer in the fall, shocked the hell out of it and covered it until spring. Basically it was a 7000 gallon plastic pond that sat in the yard for 6 years.

So I wouldn't worry too much about your fancy little 15' tub running indoors LOL. If it was outdoors, you'd get tired of changing that puny filter nearly every day. If you plan to go with it a while, I'd upgrade to a better filter, something in the 1/2 HP range I'd guess.

What did ours in was age - the liner had faded to nearly white. The liner over the support bars was black from the sun. I let an algae bloom get away in conjunction with a dust storm (frequent - nothing like vacuuming mud out of a pool every 3 or 4 days). The combo etched into the liner and would not clean off. Water was clear but the liner was permanently gritty under foot and looked like ****. The grandkids weren't really using it and we weren't either so we threw the flag. I pumped it down to about 12" of water and took a box cutter to it. Nice wave ran towards the shop, turned right and went under the fence into the alley. Not a big deal. The sliced up liner filled one of the KWS dump cans, the poles went into the scrap pile at the city maintenance barn.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: How to test a deck

The redneck comment made me laugh. A redneck that graduated from Harvard maybe.

"I say, hold my champagne and take a gander at my exuberating exploits."

 

[mrodgers]

Re: How to test a deck

He isn't gonna take it down every year
It's built on a platform which is strong enough but not code
It's too close to the house to pass code

It doesn't matter if one takes it down or not. It's a temporary pool, thus does not have to pass code.

Perhaps code for the deck for the amount of weight you put on it, but there wouldn't be any code for a temporary pool. You can put it anywhere you want, it's still designed to be a temporary pool whether you leave it up or not.

 

[Arps]

Re: How to test a deck

Pretty awesome, but I wouldnt call it redneck.


This is how rednecks get down

 

[930dreamer]

Re: How to test a deck

A belly dump trailer would be great also. I was in one and thought without a ladder I don't think I can climb out of this.

 

[Jeepster04]

Re: How to test a deck

Pretty awesome, but I wouldnt call it redneck.


This is how rednecks get down

Sure miss that show. Just kids doing nothing productive, shame what happened to Shane.

 

[James E]

Re: How to test a deck

The redneck comment made me laugh. A redneck that graduated from Harvard maybe.

"I say, hold my champagne and take a gander at my exuberating exploits."

Hold my Grey Poupon.

 

[nh_yota]

Re: How to test a deck

If people can put a fully-loaded hot tub on a deck then you're probably okay with that pool because you have a lot of supports underneath it to spread the load.

As others have said I'd be more worried about the liner failing and sending thousands of gallons of water into my house.

 

[TRITOON]

Re: How to test a deck

I completely get the desire to do it, i wouldnt myself, but i understand. Where i live space isnt at a premium like LA, so i just dont understand taking that risk of it failing and doing 10's-100's of thousands of dollars in damage to your house.

With that said, its a good looking setup.

 

[PoorOwner]

Re: How to test a deck

I have done some research on these pools, bad reviews are only due to small leaks but it's not that common. Never heard of ones that sudden burst and release all the water.

The most killer thing for it is being on not a level surface but I think we can agree his deck is probably more level than his house at least for now.

We have a small one 2-3 years old from memorial day to labor day Only 900 gallons though not really concerned..

ok I'll just leave you guys with this

 

[mrodgers]

Re: How to test a deck

We have a small one 2-3 years old from memorial day to labor day Only 900 gallons though not really concerned..

I had the 22' Ultra Intex, out in the yard, not on the deck, LOL. 54 inch total depth so water level was 48-50 inches. The blue Intex are usually 48 inch rail height.

For the price, $700, it was fantastic. We left it up all winter in PA. I would recommend the grey Intex Ultra pools over conventional above ground basic circular pool. Everyone eventually gets sick of them and want them gone. For $900 including an Intex sand filter and a salt water generator, which for $99 each, both worked great, when you are sick of the pool, that's all you have in it. Get rid of it. Give it away, there will be someone willing to take it for their kids. For that bit of money, shred the liner up and recycle the posts and rails.

We had ours 7 years. With the added filter and SWG, just a little more than $100/year. Chemicals were a case of bleach to open it because I sucked at winterizing, LOL, adding 2 or 3 $2 bags of salt, and stabilizer which a bottle lasted a couple years if I recall. Once cleared after winter (about 4 days and less than a 6 bottle case of bleach) and checked for balance (using household baking soda and borax to balance) the SWG took care of the rest. Simple. All I eventually had to do was I checked the chlorine level once a week and adjusted the timer through the summer.

Best $900 we ever spent for the family. The kids were in it constantly. In 1 week my youngest went from screaming all excited, "Did you see me Dad! I put my face in the water! Watch!" to the following week on vacation at Myrtle Beach I was warning her past the line the water would be over her head when she disappeared, and reappeared on the far side in the 5' side.

 

[alfred0809]

thanks for sharing with us

 

[tab2]

I like it. Screw the haters and keep running it. YOU know the risks, YOU made a choice and YOU will live with any consequences; not sure why anyone else would care.

A laser level and grade stick will tell you about any deflection changing. At least it's an excuse to buy a laser if you don't have one...

 

[shortykorte]

Wow interesting comments. To add to the fun.
Did you calculate the impact heating that much water has on global warming?
Did you get a permit to take all the water away from farmers and public works?
Do you have a storm (pool) water retention pond to handle the water?
Is there a UV system in line with the heater to kill any virus?
Is the pool and swimmers tested daily for Covid19?
What safe guards are in place to keep neighboring cats and wildlife from drowning in pool?
When the pool is drained, do you have a proper disposal plan?
PVC!!!!! You can’t you PVC for anything other than water lines. Run for the hills.

Jack, looks like a feature your children are thoroughly enjoying. Being a long time follower of your thread, you have always thought things through and reading about the pool install, you did the same and preceded cautiously. Good for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[jbmatth]

I say set back and enjoy, what is life without risks? Yep boring, no one wants to be bored. Think about is as being mid way through a corner in your Porsche, now is not the time to lift off of the pedal!

JB

 

[racer-john]

"Think about is as being mid way through a corner in your Porsche, now is not the time to lift off of the pedal!"
So right!

 

[PhantomEB]

Re: How to test a deck

Im highly curious, why did you use so many concrete pads? Its great that you did since you put a pool on it, but I've never seen someone build a deck so above and beyond.

I ever have to do a ground level deck again, you can be sure I be leaning towards jacks thinking. If I had done similar to my current deck I sure would of put a spa berry on my deck.

Back on topic, ain’t been in this thread for some time now. Screw the jealous folks or the ones yipping can’t, shouldn’t etc. Your kids are happy, you happy with the Porsche and the wife sure can’t have anything not to be happy about, life is great that’s all that matters.

 

[rixtrix1]

Pretty cool idea,Jack. We had both a 15' and then an 18' of the same kind when our boys could still use a pool. Each lasted 3 years sitting out in the middle of the backyard with a cover on when it wasn't in use in Phoenix. June thru August was pretty sketchy as the water temp often hit 115-120F in those months. Drain and fill got 92F out of the tap. Oct- march was out, too and I was too lazy to take it down. Kept the water shocked and it would be fine.

 

[ChallGray]

Hi Jack,

Amazing garage--an inspiration to the rest of us. Wondering what is the specific color name of the green you have? I really love the color and am interested to see how it would look in my shop.

Thanks!

Cheers,

Chall

 

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks. The green is a Sears WeatherBeater color called Tarragon. It's discontinued, officially -- but as long as you know the name, they can mix it. I used exterior semigloss, and I'll warn you that the WeatherBeater paint is not very good.

The cream is a Sherwin-Williams color called Macadamia. It's a much better paint than the Sears stuff.

 

[billyvray]

I love the pool addition! I love the shade too. I want something similar but i want something that will not pass water through - so a covered patio without building a full roof structure. Do you regret not having it be water proof?

 

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks. The pool is temporary, but the deck and pergola are permanent. There are a few reasons I'm happy with it being just shade and not weatherproof. One is that I'm walled in on 3-1/2 sides, so the cover is the only meaningful source of air circulation. On top of that, the vulnerability to high winds would be a much bigger issue if it was not permeable. And finally, code in my area requires that it not be weatherproof -- not an outdoor room, as such.

 

[FarmerWill]

Hi Jack,

Amazing garage--an inspiration to the rest of us. Wondering what is the specific color name of the green you have? I really love the color and am interested to see how it would look in my shop.

Thanks!

Cheers,

Chall

Gee, after all the time lurking and such, I was gonna ask the same thing.
Jack, finally watched the full video on the garage. Man that's impressive.

 

[alpinewhite]

Re: How to test a deck

Actually, one way to check, is to measure the deflection in the middle of one of the joists under the pool. If it is less than 1/240th of the span, you're OK.

Bill

This is a good rule-of-thumb of which I was not aware. Thanks. Does this also to apply to headers over doorways? Are you a structural engineer?

 

[loganb]

Re: How to test a deck

This is a good rule-of-thumb of which I was not aware. Thanks. Does this also to apply to headers over doorways? Are you a structural engineer?

Common deflection limits used for typical building construction in the US include:
L/175
L/240
L/360

For reference some common limits for the live loads on US bridges are:
L/800
L/1000

Where L is the longest span between two support points. It's important to note that just because a beam may exceed a certain deflection limit it doesn't mean its unsafe or going to fail. Many of the limits are based on perception and what level of deflection is "perceived" as acceptable. A deck or floor that is a bit "bouncy" may be safe based on loads and material properties but could be perceived as "less desirable" as we don't equate the bouncy-ness with safety.

L/175 limits are generally used in the design of windows and doors in the US. Most windows and doors designed for single family applications actually have no limit on deflection as long as they meet the other requirements for their 3rd party certifications. Products designed to higher performance targets and more frequently used in taller structures are limited to L/175 deflection when loaded at 150% of the structural rating.

Source: engineer(not structural) in the window and door industry

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[JC23]

Thanks. I used exterior semigloss, and I'll warn you that the WeatherBeater paint is not very good.

.

I know what you mean. I painted a dark color brown over a beige and it would never cover. I called it Wallet Beater.

 

[Jack Olsen]

The pool and deck combination got a small test last night when we got a 4.5 earthquake. For those who haven't gone through it, it makes a surprising amount of noise. It's the sound of a house -- and swimming pool -- being casually shaken by the earth. Afterward (and again, this morning) I did a quick visual check of the pool, my camper and boat lifts, and our masonry chimney. All were fine.

I don't have the technical skills to describe how much force was applied to the deck and the pool when that shaking took place, but I'd guess it was a decent amount of force on the 20 tons. When the pool eventually comes down, I'm going to do my best to check it and inspect it to see if I can detect any change from bearing the weight of the pool.

Camper and boat lift, you say? Here's a short video to explain.

 

[BlueBomber]

Amazing, as always, Jack. I followed your trailer lift install, but had missed the boat purchase and 2nd lift install. Bravo!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[loganb]

Camper and boat lift, you say? Here's a short video to explain.

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[wout]

How could I missed the boat lift making...

Nice build as usual!

Wout

 

[stonesg]

Years from now, some foundation is going to have to purchase several of the homes around Jack's to make parking area and a visitor's center.

Jacks house/garage is going to be Fallingwater West.

The Curator is going to do a Master's thesis using this thread as a primary source.

 

[Brian R]

Garage, great.
Jeep, yeah.
Camper, check.
Race car, awesome.

But, “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.“

 

[rlitman]

I love that quote!

 

[stillp]

Great video Jack!
Pete

 

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks. We've liked the boat a lot. In fact, we were out there this afternoon.

 

[Clemson13]

Thanks. We've liked the boat a lot. In fact, we were out there this afternoon.

What kind of boat?

 

[ddawg16]

That is not the car I stopped you in, is it?