Steve's pool build status - Work started 2/19/2007!

[skamp]

This is a contunition of my previous thead. In this thread I will chronicle the build of my pool.

Day 1 - 2/19

Well they started the build on Monday 2/19. I had off for president’s day so that worked out nicely. They started work at 6:30AM. I am sure my neighbors were not amused! They started digging around 7:15 and finished around 2:30-3:00. My cable/Internet access only lasted about 15 minutes into the build!

The steel also went in that day and finished around 8:30. It is really amazing how quick they work. Here are some pictures of the yard before and after the work yesterday.

Left side of yard.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0519.JPG

Right side of yard

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Laying the pool out

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Making some nice progress

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Almost done with the steel

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0541.JPG

[skamp]

Day 2 - 2/20

Today they just did some rough plumbing. The gunite goes in tomorrow at 7:00AM.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0543.JPG

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0544.JPG

I will post some pictures of the gunite tomorrow. I hope they don't cut my cable line again!

Steve

[divnkd101]

Steve,

Looking good. I lost cable twice. Once during the dig and then a second time during the hard plumb. Nature of the beast. Looks like you got some good spacing on the bubblers. Keep us posted. Weather should hold out for you. Good Luck :) :)

[skamp]

Steve,

Looking good. I lost cable twice. Once during the dig and then a second time during the hard plumb. Nature of the beast. Looks like you got some good spacing on the bubblers. Keep us posted. Weather should hold out for you. Good Luck :) :)

The bubbles are different then normal bubblers. On Kelly's advise I got my PB to plumb for crystal fountains foam jets. They have a water feed as well as an air feed. They look like they will give a very nice effect and the bonus is they are flush to the floor instead of sticking up like an eyeball return. They are about 4' apart. I actually had them shift them a bit before the gunite was sprayed. One was too far forward. Thanks!

Steve

[skamp]

Day 3 - 2/21

Yesterday they did the gunite. It was a very cool process to watch. They guys really are artists. Overall I am thrilled with the way the pool looks. I forgot to bring in my memory card so I will have to post pictures later. I think they are not planning much for the rest of this week. I think they said they are going to do the gunite cleanup today or tomorrow and Tuesday next week the rock features go in. That is a 3 ton water wall, 16' of moss rock accents and a large jump rock. I will post pictures later today.


Here are the pictures of the work done on day 3

Getting the spa ready and spraying the tanning ledge

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0554.JPG

Working the spa

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Working the deep end

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We have a shell!

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0563.JPG


Steve

[ehorn]

Steve,

Wow they are moving fast on your pool. It is looking great. You obviously got a good builder, well from what we can tell so far... we'll see how it works when it's all done. ;)

Eric

[CarlD]

That seems to be what happens. Our back-fence neighbors had a (I guess) gunite pool done. Once the concrete was in, it sat for weeks, but when they did the surface layer, they had the water in it almost immediately--I gather some surfaces cure better if they are kept wet so they don't dry out too fast.

[skamp]

Steve,

Wow they are moving fast on your pool. It is looking great. You obviously got a good builder, well from what we can tell so far... we'll see how it works when it's all done. ;)

Eric

I have good confidence in the builder. They have been around since 1981, have no bad marks from the BBB and everything one I spoke with that got a pool from them has had good things to say. They did move fast to start but that is about the PB getting the subs lined up. It will be slower the next few weeks.

Steve

[skamp]

That seems to be what happens. Our back-fence neighbors had a (I guess) gunite pool done. Once the concrete was in, it sat for weeks, but when they did the surface layer, they had the water in it almost immediately--I gather some surfaces cure better if they are kept wet so they don't dry out too fast.

I think they told me they let the gunite cure for 7-10 days. They told me 5-8 weeks for completion so we still have a lot left to go. Thanks!

Steve

[divnkd101]

Steve,

Push your builder hard to get it done. Mine was complete within 29 days after the dig and I had a week between the dig and gunite. Water features will obviously take a little extra time but Spring is fast approaching down here and you know they tend to be wet. It looks great. Keep the pics coming.

[skamp]

Steve,

Push your builder hard to get it done. Mine was complete within 29 days after the dig and I had a week between the dig and gunite. Water features will obviously take a little extra time but Spring is fast approaching down here and you know they tend to be wet. It looks great. Keep the pics coming.

Yea I hear you on that. I had a lot of conversations with them and decided to build this time of year because they are less busy. I am sure they will push hard to get it done quick. Thanks!

Steve

[skamp]

Day 8 - 2/27

They started the plumbing today. It was insane to see how much trench they dug. They still have some more stuff to finish up tomorrow. I will post pictures soon. It is coming along!

Getting all the pipe ready

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0575.JPG


What a mess!

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0577.JPG


Steve

[divnkd101]

Day 8 - 2/27

They started the plumbing today. It was insane to see how much trench they dug. They still have some more stuff to finish up tomorrow. I will post pictures soon. It is coming along!

Steve

Don't know if you have any speaker wire, etc. you plan to run at the back of the pool. It's a good time to do it while the trenches are open. Plumbers should not have any issues with one more piece of conduit. Keep the pics coming. :D :)

[skamp]

Day 9 - 2/28

Today they completed the plumbing and set left it pressurized to test for leaks. There is a small hole in one of the pump housings under the inlet. I will have them replace the pump.

Lots of pipes and valves!

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0578.JPG

On the right are the valves for the water feature. They include.

1. Waterfall
2. Weeping wall
3. Bubblers in tanning ledge
4. Bypass back to return if I want to reduce the overall flow to the water features.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0580.JPG

Stubout for the gas and water going to the outdoor kitchen.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0582.JPG

Stubout for the firepit

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0583.JPG

Tomorrow they are doing the rock waterfall and accent rocks. Friday they are going to do the coping, waterline tile and spa. Monday the electric is going in. Also Friday my patio cover construction starts! I will post more pictures soon.

Steve

[skamp]

Don't know if you have any speaker wire, etc. you plan to run at the back of the pool. It's a good time to do it while the trenches are open. Plumbers should not have any issues with one more piece of conduit. Keep the pics coming. :D :)

I already have one set of speakers that go on the back wall of my house that will be relocated under the covered patio. I am going to run a conduit to the backside of the pool to have an additonal set back there all ran to an A/B A+B switch. I will have to trench it my self but that is not that big of a deal. Thanks!

Steve

[No Need]

Looking good!

[skamp]

Day 10 - 3/1

All I can say is WOW! Today was great. They did almost all the rock work today and I am thrilled. The waterline flagstone, moss rock waterfall and accent boulders, jump rock, stacked moss rock in front of the spillway and moss rock flagstone around spa were completed. They only have to cement in the flagstone coping tomorrow.

Getting things ready

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0589.JPG

Getting the waterfall underway.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0591.JPG

Starting on the stacked moss rock spillway

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0594.JPG

Waterfall is almost done

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Moss rock flagstone around the raised spa.

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Continued in next post

[skamp]

Day 10 continued

Installing the jump rock

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0601.JPG

Completed waterline flagstone

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0603.JPG

Waterfall and accent rocks are done!

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0606.JPG

Stacked moss rock spillway completed.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0608.JPG

Tomorrow they start the covered patio and finish the rock work. The weather is starting to get nice and I am getting real excited!

Steve

[huskyrider]

Your pool is looking GREAT!!!

I'm curious about one thing, why did you choose a flagstone waterline over a frost proof ceramic tile that looks like your flagstone?
Did your builder mention anything to you about the differences in their performance against the test of time -vs- flagstone?

See ya,
Kelly

[skamp]

Your pool is looking GREAT!!!

I'm curious about one thing, why did you choose a flagstone waterline over a frost proof ceramic tile that looks like your flagstone?
Did your builder mention anything to you about the differences in their performance against the test of time -vs- flagstone?

See ya,
Kelly

Thanks for the compliments. We did not talk much about it. They offered to do either and I liked the way the flagstone looked. I know there are some concerns but I guess I did not get the full run down of the downsides. I know it is soft and harder to clean for deposits. What are the other downsides? Thanks!

Steve

[divnkd101]

Steve,
Looks great. Nice selction of earth tones for waterline, etc. Great idea to add a natural stone step to help you get into the spa. Curious, did they round the flagstone edges on the coping? I had the choice of rounding or not rounding. I chose to round and really like the turnout. No sharp edges while you are in the pool. Keep the pics coming.

[skamp]

Steve,
Looks great. Nice selction of earth tones for waterline, etc. Great idea to add a natural stone step to help you get into the spa. Curious, did they round the flagstone edges on the coping? I had the choice of rounding or not rounding. I chose to round and really like the turnout. No sharp edges while you are in the pool. Keep the pics coming.

Yea I had the choice as well. They are doing a chipped edge which is not too rough. I think that look was better for our pool. I figured I could always grind down the edge to make it rounded if it turned out to be too rough but chipping the edge would be harder so that is why I went that way. Thanks!

Steve

[huskyrider]

I know it is soft and harder to clean for deposits. What are the other downsides? Thanks!

Steve

There are no downsides other than what you mentioned.

I, like yourself, like the look of flagstone better. It's all about the naturalness of the grout joints -vs- the squareness of them on the the 6x6 tile. On my pool it's like yours, natural flagstone of matching color. I always emphasize to buyers that it's much easier to clean the kiln fired ceramic pool tiles than the flagstone due to the porousness of the stone.
I'd encourage you to keep a sharp eye on mineral build up and as soon as you see some hit it with a small shot of pure acid and the splash some water on it quickly afterwords. Once these deposits have set their hold in the sandstone you'll never get them to completely come off.
IMO, the flagstone looks better but the pool tile is much easier to clean.

See Ya,
Kelly

[skamp]

There are no downsides other than what you mentioned.

I, like yourself, like the look of flagstone better. It's all about the naturalness of the grout joints -vs- the squareness of them on the the 6x6 tile. On my pool it's like yours, natural flagstone of matching color. I always emphasize to buyers that it's much easier to clean the kiln fired ceramic pool tiles than the flagstone due to the porousness of the stone.
I'd encourage you to keep a sharp eye on mineral build up and as soon as you see some hit it with a small shot of pure acid and the splash some water on it quickly afterwords. Once these deposits have set their hold in the sandstone you'll never get them to completely come off.
IMO, the flagstone looks better but the pool tile is much easier to clean.

See Ya,
Kelly

Ok, cool. That is what I was told. I will keep an eye on the deposits and take care of them before they get bad. Thanks!

Steve

[skamp]

Days 11 & 14 - 3/2 & 3/5

On Friday they finished the rock work and started the patio cover (different company). Overall the rock work far exceeded my expectations. It looks awesome. There are two small problems with the rock work. First they installed a few rocks on top of the spa even though we did not want them. They said they will fix it and replace it with flagstone. Second, the chip work on some of the flagstone edge does not look very nice. It looks like teeth instead of the normal random chipped look. They said they will fix that as well. They got a late start on the patio cover due to the support beams not showing up until 12:30. They started at 7:30 and put on the 6x6 posts and basically sat around until the beams showed up.

On Monday they did all the electrical. They ran 100 AMP's to my control panel and I have 2 1" breaker slots and 3 relays left for low voltage lighting. The almost completed the patio cover as well.

I was told they may start working on the decking today. If that is the case we really only have decking and the Pebble Tec left. That is insane! I will post pictures later today.

House before patio cover

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Framing the cover

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Getting close

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Rock work done (right side)

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Rock work done (left side)

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0616.JPG


Steve

[huskyrider]

What a sweet turn time your on!!!

I'm curious, what color PebbleTec are you going with?

See ya,
Kelly

[skamp]

What a sweet turn time your on!!!

I'm curious, what color PebbleTec are you going with?

See ya,
Kelly

Tahoe Blue. I wanted something in the middle of the light to dark range. I think it should look really nice with all the rock. Thanks!

Steve

[mkamp1515]

You will love the Tahoe Blue. That is what we have and we could not be happier. Enjoy.

[skamp]

You will love the Tahoe Blue. That is what we have and we could not be happier. Enjoy.

Yea, a few people I know have it and it is a nice color. I am hoping it will be installed within the next week or so!

Steve

[skamp]

Days 18, 19 & 22 - 3/9, 3/10 and 3/13

During this time they formed and poured my decking. They did the pouring last night and it starting raining. These poor guys were out there until 8:00 PM under plastic finishing up. The low parts of the decking around the perimieter and in other places is where the flagstone inlays will go.

Forming the decking - You can also see the patio cover is completed.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0619.JPG

Entry into the side of the pool

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Spreading the pea gravel

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Floating the concrete

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Finishing up and getting all the expansion joints in

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I did not take any pictures of them exposing the pea gravel after the concrete set up but it was cool to watch the decking come to life. Today they are doing the pool cleanup and tomorrow the pebble tec goes in! Looks like the pool will be getting filled this weekend.

Steve

[huskyrider]

Congrats, everything is looking great and your on a really good turn.

If I were to point out anything I'd object to, as a contractor, it would be your posts.
An ACQ 60 4"x6" post could have been incorporated into your covered porch and then wrapped with Hardee siding or Western red Cedar. It would finish a lot cleaner than the treated pine posts that currently hang out further than your beams.
If you were to wrap the post now they would finish out much wider than the beam. I'm not knocking the way they did it, but I'd encourage you to have them trim the top up to the soffit to make it a little more eye appealing than the way it is now. The 6x6 post butting up to and hanging out wider than the 4" beam just has a rough uncompleted look to it. This will be much more noticeable after painting than it is now.

just my .02

See ya,
Kelly

[skamp]

Congrats, everything is looking great and your on a really good turn.

If I were to point out anything I'd object to, as a contractor, it would be your posts.
An ACQ 60 4"x6" post could have been incorporated into your covered porch and then wrapped with Hardee siding or Western red Cedar. It would finish a lot cleaner than the treated pine posts that currently hang out further than your beams.
If you were to wrap the post now they would finish out much wider than the beam. I'm not knocking the way they did it, but I'd encourage you to have them trim the top up to the soffit to make it a little more eye appealing than the way it is now. The 6x6 post butting up to and hanging out wider than the 4" beam just has a rough uncompleted look to it. This will be much more noticeable after painting than it is now.

just my .02

See ya,
Kelly

Kelly,
The 6x6 beams are going wrapped in a 15" brick column. I left 5 1/2" between the post and the gutter downspout. If I was going to have exposed beams I would have done it very different. I had to wait until the deck was done for them to do the columns. Thanks!

Steve

[skamp]

Days 25 & 26 - 3/16 & 3/17

We had some rain on days 23 and 24 and that delayed the Pebble Tec install.

On Friday 3/16 the rock guys started work on the flagstone inlays, firepit and bench. On Saturday 3/17 the Pebble Tec got installed and the outdoor kitchen was delivered.

Firepit and bench in progress - You can see some of the inlays to the side of the fire pit but they are covered in stone dust.

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Another shot of the fire pit and bench

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Setting up for the Pebble Tec. This was very cool to watch. They had ropes running the length of the pool to hang their water sprayers and rollers.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0632.JPG

Spraying it in

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Washing off the mortar to expose the pebbles.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0640.JPG

Continued in next post

[skamp]

There she is waiting to get acid washed.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0641.JPG

Closeup of the tanning ledge

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Here is the outdoor kicthen. It still needs to be assembled and leveled. Once that is done the countertop and stone work needs to get done.

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0645.JPG

View from the back. It will have a grill, fridge, sink and side burner. It came on 3 pallets and weighed 1290 lbs!

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0649.JPG

Today they are acid washing the pool and starting the fill. It is getting close now.

Steve

[GraceByDesign]

I think your outdoor kitchen is bigger than my ONLY kitchen!! :p

Looking great... betcha can't wait for summer!! :D

[skamp]

I think your outdoor kitchen is bigger than my ONLY kitchen!! :p

Looking great... betcha can't wait for summer!! :D

The sad thing is it is bigger then mine as well. The outside of my house is now much nicer then the inside!

Steve

[divnkd101]

Steve,

Things are looking great. Looks like you have a great bulider. Sure does keep the headaches to a minimum. I betcha you and the family can't wait. It won't be long now. Keep the pics coming. Good luck!!!

[skamp]

Steve,

Things are looking great. Looks like you have a great bulider. Sure does keep the headaches to a minimum. I betcha you and the family can't wait. It won't be long now. Keep the pics coming. Good luck!!!

Yea, the weather has been nice and everything is moving along nicely. I am real excited. Thanks!

Steve

[skamp]

Day 28 - 3/19

They did the acid washing yesterday and started filling the pool. Pretty cool that is only took 28 days from the dig until water got put in. They are doing the final cleanup today. They will need to do another smaller cleanup when the rock work is completed but it is getting closer to the end. The only things that are left include:


Finish fire pit and bench
Countertop and stone install on outdoor kitchen
Landscaping
Brick columns and painting on the patio cover


Steve

[drogers]

Wow - that was fast, I didn't think it would be possible to build one that quickly due to the time needed for flooding/compacting grades, and curing times for the 'crete in the pool and the deck. congrats!

[skamp]

Yea, it was quick. The pool is almost filled. It has about 8-9 inches to go.

Steve

[skamp]

Day 28 - 3/19

They did the acid washing and started filling the pool. It took about 48 hours and around 17,500 gallons of water to fill it but it is now complete.

Starting the acid washing

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Completed spa

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0660.JPG

Starting the pool

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All filled up!

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0671.JPG

http://www.lanability.com/images/IMG_0675.JPG

Today they are going to start the pool up and get the water moving. The brick columns are getting done today as well. I met with another landscaper yesterday. I am looking forward to getting everything else wrapped up. It is going to be in the upper 70's this weekend. Not too long until it is pool weather!

Steve

[GraceByDesign]

Beautiful! love the final color of the water!

[26theone]

Pool looks great! Can you PM me the contractor you used to build your covered patio? It looks like they did a really great job.

[dawndenise]

I'm so-o-o-o envious of your waterfall rock work....

That first pic of your acid washer took me aback. That shirt looks so fresh and neat it looks like he's a company owner being pulled out from behind a desk to go do a job!!! :p LOL!!! Maybe he was??? :D

[skamp]

I'm so-o-o-o envious of your waterfall rock work....

That first pic of your acid washer took me aback. That shirt looks so fresh and neat it looks like he's a company owner being pulled out from behind a desk to go do a job!!! :p LOL!!! Maybe he was??? :D

I am very happy with the way the rock work came out. I can't wait until I get the firepit and kitchen done.

The guys who did the gunite and pebble tec were from the same company. The company is called Modern Method Gunite and all of their workers wear blue collered shirts with their names on them. They looked and worked in a very professional manner. Out of all the trades that were on site they were by far the most professional.

Steve

[skamp]

Pool looks great! Can you PM me the contractor you used to build your covered patio? It looks like they did a really great job.

Sent you a PM.

Steve

[shrike]

wow...that is gorgeous!

[skamp]

wow...that is gorgeous!

Thanks! Can't wait until it is all done.

Steve

[huskyrider]

I'm so-o-o-o envious of your waterfall rock work....

That first pic of your acid washer took me aback. That shirt looks so fresh and neat it looks like he's a company owner being pulled out from behind a desk to go do a job!!! :p LOL!!! Maybe he was??? :D

The guys who did the gunite and pebble tec were from the same company. The company is called Modern Method Gunite and all of their workers wear blue collered shirts with their names on them. They looked and worked in a very professional manner. Out of all the trades that were on site they were by far the most professional.
Steve

This is 100 percent true.

The man himself, Caesar Sr., and his sons Junior and Edgar are AWESOME.
I've conducted business with him since the late 80's and they've never been anything less than true Pro's.
They, truly, make a difficult job look very easy. When your on top of your game it really shows.

Things are really coming together for you. It's looking great!!!

Although nobody in my organization gave you the courtesy of a return call, I'm looking forward to an invitation to the pool party!!!
Your going to have every base covered. My favorite pools have everything your fixing to be enjoying. A pool, a shademaker, and a summer kitchen.
I encourage you to take the next step with your covered patio, a full on audio/video system. Nothing beats an outdoor entertainment center. A simple 3.1 AV receiver will blow you away when your outside enjoying movies or music poolside, you'd be shocked to see how affordable a good system is now.

See ya,
Kelly