The Home Ownership Thread - Page 10

We use bromine -- it's expensive, but I find the smell less irritating.

Is salt water not as hassle free as pool salesman want you to think?

An entirely poured concrete home is my dream house- instant sound proofing, little maintenance, and no seams critters can get through. Mix in some styrofoam to add insulation and maybe you can get a one-material structure without having to worry about siding crap or drywall. I believe building the forms, the concrete itself, and the rebar vastly exceed the cost of wood frame houses though.

It might not be a selling point to most, but as someone who grew up prone to poison ivy and living in the south, the chlorination of my pool was a savior. Swimming in a super chlorinated pool worked better than steroids. It also kept teenage acne at bay.

HAHAHAHAHAHQWERHQ!@#%$#@1... why no, now that you mention it. LOL.

The pool had already been converted to salt water when we bought the house, so we just went along. As it turns out, the salt is converted to chlorine after it passes through the filter, so it's not chlorine-free. But once we lose power (like, oh...after a hurricane), chlorine production stops dead. You still have to watch the pH, and algae is a persistent issue. Given the pool's shading, I get twitchy once leaves start falling. And the guys at the pool store recommend I still shock it every few weeks. So I still have a herd of buckets and barrels and jugs. Plus 40-lb bags of salt that stain the plaster if I don't brush it right after dumping in. I go through about 160 lbs of salt a month, give or take. Plus, the ionizer lasts only a few years, so that's another scheduled cost. Plus, you can't use a heater. The spa that sits on the side of the pool is...just a little pool-let. Pretty sad.

Oh, and I've already replaced three pumps (and two more capacitors) and get the feeling that I should stock up on these ceramic rings that separate the impeller from the motor, because those give out pretty reliably every summer juuuust before company comes over. If I had half a brain I'd just tear it down and rebuild it every quarter so nothing seizes up.

I get that.

Wait. Wut? If you're salt water based system you can't heat your spa?

As I'm told, the salt water corrodes the heating element. They won't warrant it.

Now - I've seen a variety of heating methods from some long-ago spa shopping, and I'm sure there's a way to make it work...but right now I'm just not willing to drop the lucre or time to investigate. And I don't really put much value on heated water, it just doesn't get THAT cold down here.

Thanks, guys. I'm still a few years away from the huge backyard project but something to consider.

I was outside last night walking the yard and thinking about placement...the raised spa tub is going to have super killer views. It's going to be a long three year wait to assemble the funds

This is entirely possible.

One more thing I hadn't considered and it makes me chuckle every time I have my water tested. The salt requirement for our ionizer is over the range our pool store is used to seeing. The pool store expects it to be 3000-4500 ppm, the scale they use pegs out at 5000 ppm. The maker of our system tells me we have to stay above 5500 ppm. I can use the test strips to get an approximation, but the upside is that there isn't an upper limit to the salt content - it's good up to sea-water (approx 30,000 ppm). ...blech.

Has anyone ever added a bathroom?

Our house has an odd configuration: 3 floors, 2baths. There is a full bath on the first floor, and the master (but not en suite) bath on the 2nd. The 3rd floor has our office and a guest BR. The problem lies in the fact that we ALWAYS have a guest, and usually long term. I don't want to share our bathroom, but I don't want to make my 70+ year-old in-laws walk from the 3rd floor to the 1st, and back up to use the bathroom.

We have the space to put a bathroom, but don't know how much time, money and overall inconvenience adding an upstairs bathroom would entail.

Make sure to get a good contractor with impeccable references and past customers you can talk to. Watch a few episodes of Holmes on Homes.

If you put it directly over your second-floor bathroom I can see it being not too bad. Anywhere else, though, sounds like a lot of work.

 

an alternative to poured in place is precast panels, hollow core with foan insulation in the core

say 2.5" concrete, 6" foam, 2,5"concrete, looks just like poured concrete

it's a lot cheaper, and the quality and surfacing can be done better in a shop (rather than field) environment saving more cash

and a lot lighter, so the bearing pressure is less and footers can be skinnier,

cast the windows and door frames in place, duct, conduit sleeves, j-boxes etc.

takes a good set of drawings

if done right seams can be minimized, made to look like form seams, or grouted/ground over, and if designed strategically seams can be minimized by door/window/corner locations

stack them up, post tension and it can be put up in a few days, plenty strong for a home

large panels can be made, 9' high by 20' wide, so a 2500 sq ft home, 200 LF perimeter can be done with 10 panels (seams)

 

I planned on doing mine like that but found an architects home in an estate sale and bought it

There is actually a multitude of options, FWIW.