Week 7

This week we decided on an architect - CW Design in Renton WA. We like the ideas that the architect, Bill Bertch, had for some of the things we face such as the bonus room (move bath room closer to stairs so that the room could be easily converted to 2 rooms). His price was reasonable at $1.25/sqft. We meet with Bill next Tuesday to discuss the project.

I talked with the AquaQuip pool guy - Jim Bergstrom - about the pool room. He said that a wood floor would not be best; most people use concrete due to durability and the easier contouring for water drainage. So, we're back to a concrete slab.

He also said that the pool and spa sizes, and their clearances, would be fine in the room. He explained how the pool is constructed: It's first thing installed on a new home site; ground is excavated, pool and spa positioned, leveled and backfilled with sand; water is added and allowed to sit for two weeks to settle the units; concrete pump slab of 4' x 9' is poured (pump can be upto 70 feet from pool); concrete slab in pool room is poured and contoured using a concrete contractor that has specific knowledge of pool installation; pool plumbing and electrical is installed.

The water that is originally put in pool for leveling is what remains even when we move in and start using it! It's about 12,000 gallons and is added over the course of two days using a garden hose. It gives the well pump a good work-out! The framing contractor has to work around the pool, so he usually will place plywood cover over it. After construction the pool company comes out and cleans out the debris and cleans the pool and water.

Our pool room layout, and its tight quarters, doesn't allow for an automatic rail cover system. I don't think we want a cover, anyway, because the pool is meant to be a focal point of the house - why cover it up. Supposed to be energy efficient. I guess if we have $1000/mo energy bills I have to rethink it. He said there are floating covers available, and some sort of liquid cover that helps retain the heat. This is a decision that's made after move-in!

I also talked to Jim about the ducting. He said most people use ceiling suspended tubular duct work. So I emailed the dehumidifier engineer (Mitch with Dehumidifier Corp) about HVAC ducting. He said that suspended ducting around the full perimeter makes sense as long as air blows over the glass surfaces. He said that a novel product to consider is DuctSox because it is lightweight and offers excellent air dispersal. So I started talking with the local DuctSox rep. He said sox, which is a fabric covered plastic bag like material, was better than sheet metal because it does great for full room dispersal, but also that it doesn't promote mold growth. One drawback I learned, though, is that when air isn't running through the sox it droops; not sure I want to be looking at a droopy bag hanging from the ceiling! Anyway, sox is expensive at around $25/linear foot for a 14" diameter tube. For my 30' x 35' room (130 feet) that's around $3200 plus installation. I think we'll be using standard tubular sheet metal ducting. I need to call an HVAC company and get an approximate cost for ducting.

Jim is working up a proposal for the pool & spa - I'll need to be sitting down when that one arrives!

I heard from Huard Septic, they will be starting the septic design next Tuesday. I told them about the pool because it needs to be taken into account when designing the drainfield - there's a setback requirement. I also sent them the Site Layout that I put together, this will help them in placement of the drainfield - I hope that the land supports a drainfield that is down below the property center, since I want to position the house above the center.