SeanB.'s Pool Build

Well, I've enjoyed reading every one's comments and pictures on their pool construction, so I thought I would share ours as well. They just did the pool layout this week and will dig the first part of next week. I will update this thread with new pictures and comments as the work progresses.

Here are the basic specs:
Pool dimensions are 17x32 with a 7' spa. There will be two drains, 3 returns and 1 skimmer. It will have one 500 watt pool light and one 100 watt spa light. The pool pump will be 1.5 hp and the spa will have a 1hp blower. The pool cleaner will be a Polaris 280 and the SWCG will be a Pentair Intellichlor IC40. We will be using a cartridge filter. The deck will be Sundek, Franciscan Tan color (I think).

Not much to look at yet but here is the before picture:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../Beforedig.jpg

Exciting! Where are you (geographically speaking)?

This coming Thursday, we should get the thumbs-up from the homeowners association. After that, I'll give my builder the green light.

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Originally Posted by eljefe281

Exciting! Where are you (geographically speaking)?

This coming Thursday, we should get the thumbs-up from the homeowners association. After that, I'll give my builder the green light.

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Looks like I'm just down the street from you! We live in Missouri City (Sienna Plantation). I guess I should update my profile. We also had to get HOA approval. It didn't take any time but was a waste of $200. $100 was the standard fee and I opted to pay an extra $100 to expedite the process. We missed the deadline to get our plans submitted by one day. We were going to have to wait another month otherwise, as that's how often the building subcommittee meets. It's amazing though that for $100, no committee meeting is necessary. :roll:

Well, excavation began today. They got a little bit of a late start after having trouble finding our home, which is not on the key maps yet, but I'm still amazed at how quickly they work. The guy driving the bobcat is really skilled - he made the digging and getting through the tight fit between the houses look like a piece of cake. Anyway, here are a few pics of the progress. Unfortunately I had to leave before they were done, but I think they were still going to be able to finish today. I hope that's the case, because the rebarb is sheduled for tomorrow.

Here's the first scoop:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1594.jpg

Another with just the top dirt off:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1596.jpg

and another:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1595.jpg

Almost done:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1598.jpg

Close up of hot tub and shallow area:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1600.jpg

Hopefully I'll have pictures with the rebarb tomorrow.

Looks good!

Construction on mine starts tomorrow (Saturday), with demolition of an existing concrete patio. Excavation tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday.

Woo hoo!

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Originally Posted by eljefe281

Looks good!

Construction on mine starts tomorrow (Saturday), with demolition of an existing concrete patio. Excavation tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday.

Woo hoo!

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Our concret pad (just 10x10) had to come out as well. It was a shame though, because it was nicely done - a very thick piece of concrete. When they lifted it with the bobcat and then let it drop so it would break into pieces, you could feel the floor shake beneath you inside the house - very heavy!

We are still waiting for the rebar guys, hopefully they make it today as the forcast going into this weekend is for rain.

What's the current status, Sean?

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Originally Posted by eljefe281

What's the current status, Sean?

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They have the rebar done and I think plumbing is next. I'll try to get a pic up tomorrow.

Well, after the heavy rain, we were delayed a couple of days on the gunite. As I mentioned in another thread, they did come on Friday afternoon, between the rain and spray a flash coating of gunite to keep the dirt from collapsing - worked great.

Here's a picture of what it looks like with a flash coat:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...eflashcoat.jpg

They came today and put in the equipment.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../Equipment.jpg

Another of the equipment from across the pool. We had to move it into the yard so I would have enough room to bring my lawnmower through on the same side. We'll probably screen it off with a fence or plants.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...acrossyard.jpg

Sorry, this next one didn't upload all the way. I'm not at home or I would re-load it. It just shows the deep end (see the rain water) and a little closer view of the flash coat.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ry/Deepend.jpg

We are scheduled for gunite tomorrow. Oh, and as a little bonus, the plumbers accidentally installed the wrong kind of fill line. I only ordered a simple fill line, but they put in the auto-fill (at their expense) - can't complain about that kind of of mistake. :D

Looks good!

My plumbers come tomorrow.

Looks great...sort of familiar actually? :D

As you know I used the same PB and so far I have been very happy with the quality of work done on the pool. I did have other problems though so I hired an outside expert to come over to the house tonight to check everything out before I sign that last check. He is only charging me $60 to come out and check everything out for me. I think I know enough to see the few things that need to be fixed before they say they are done but to me it was cheap insurance to have an outsider come in and give me a second opinion.

Once again, the pool looks awesome!

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Originally Posted by Ready2swim

I hired an outside expert to come over to the house tonight to check everything out before I sign that last check. He is only charging me $60 to come out and check everything out for me.

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Bit of a tangent for the thread, but I did the same thing when we bought a house with an in-ground pool before closing the house deal. Best money I spent. He was an independent pool service service and isn't associated with a store, etc. and has been in the business for a loong time. Gave me a great run down on what was good, answered my questions and concerns, ran pressure tests, checked the equipment, and gave me peace of mind that the pool was fine.

Well, the gunite was done today so I thought I'd add a few more pictures.

The first one here is another of the equipment. I wanted to show a shot down the side of the house. You can see how narrow it is. Now that the equipment is in place, you can clearly see I would not have had enough room to get through with a lawnmower.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1614.jpg


This next couple show them setting up and starting the gunite:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1615.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1617.jpg

In this one, you can see where the nozzleman sprayed himself a little mound to stand on while he sprayed the opposite wall.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1619.jpg

More next...

A little while later:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1620.jpg

Now you can see where some of the crew began smoothing out the top and sides as the other side was still being done.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1621.jpg

and around the spa:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_1622.jpg

I had to come to work before they were done but will try to post a picture of the finished gunite tomorrow.

Sean
Any hassle from the tree to the right of the pool, such as the PB encountering roots when digging? It's a pretty good size tree that close to the pool. Any expectation that the root system will gravitate towards a water source over the years. ie. your pool ?

No, no roots whatsoever. I'm not certian what type of tree it is but based on more of the same kind in the area, I think this one is about as tall as it's going to get so I think we should be fine. If we had run into a bunch of roots, I'd have probably taken it down. As it's the only one we have in the backyard though, I'm glad it was able to stay.

Here comes the rope swing!

Nothing to take pictures of, but they are still making progress. The clean up crew came yesterday morning to pick up after the gunite shoot and this morning, the electricians are out back working. I'll add more pictures once the tile and coping start.

Over at my place, we're in the middle of plumbing.

My backyard looks like a bomb went off back there.

Ha ha, sounds familiar. My advice, if you don't already have some, get you a $15 pair of rubber boots at WalMart. I can just slip them on to go in the backyard to water the gunite or just look around. When you're done, you can just hose them off. Plus, I think I look really cool in my shorts and knee high rubber boots. lol.

Those in the know call them "swampers". :D

I use the same fashion designer as you, apparently.

I only wish my black socks came up above the top of the boots.

So, I finally got around to taking a picture of the completed gunite. As you can see, I just finished wetting it down and the water is starting to accumulate in the deep end.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...tecomplete.jpg

A little closer:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...closerlook.jpg



And here's one of the equipment with electrical completed. The box lying there is the blower for the spa and the cable hanging on the back is the cable which was cut and has since been repaired. I'm going to wait until the rest is completed before burying it again. ;):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ngcomplete.jpg

Looks great, Sean!

Man, they really shoehorn all that equipment in there, don't they?

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Originally Posted by eljefe281

Looks great, Sean!

Man, they really shoehorn all that equipment in there, don't they?

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Yeah, the pads were pre-formed concrete squares, so it's probably the same size regardless of how much equipment you have. Mine took two squares. I have two pumps a blower, a swcg, a heater and a filter. If I had anymore, they'd have needed another square. lol Actually I'm glad though - that's that much less space used up in my yard.

I noticed that there wasn't any backwash valving or plumbing in your pictures. OR do they add/complete that after the pool is done?

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Originally Posted by Socal_biker

I noticed that there wasn't any backwash valving or plumbing in your pictures. OR do they add/complete that after the pool is done?

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I have a cartrige filter so there won't be any backwashing - just pull them out rinse them off and put them back in. I was going to go with DE but decided against it primarily because we are in a mud district. We have this one - http://www.pool-filters.com/pdf/Pure...-datasheet.pdf

Ahh, didn't think about cartridge. I thought it looked like a D.E. filter.

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Originally Posted by Socal_biker

Ahh, didn't think about cartridge. I thought it looked like a D.E. filter.

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Pentair makes DE filters as well...probably the same or similar housing.

Yea. My Pentair D.E. filter body looks exactly like your cartdrige filter body.

Nautilus FNS + 48 DE Filter

That's was why I made the assumption of the backwash system, not being present.

Well, we had a very heavy rain last night and the pool, gunite that is, is about 10% full of green water. On the bright side, they should be doing our tile and coping on Tuesday.

Hopefully we can get a few dry days so the decking can go in soon. The pb says they have to have three perfectly dry days before they can put on the top layer of the Sundek. I'll be meeting with him tomorrow or Tuesday to do the final layout on our deck. The more people we talk to, the more the wife and I are convinced we need more decking. I've made a sketch of what I'd like, but I'm afraid to find out the actual square footage. :eek:

One of the things I'm considering is adding a two foot path around the backside of the pool that will encompass the landscaping that will be going in - three palm trees, two sego palms and other shrubs. I'm trying to decide between doing that or maybe making a flagstone path myself for a more natural look (doesn't hurt that it would be cheaper too :D)

eljefe, any pictures of your build to share? I haven't seen a thread yet.

I would definately recommend adding more decking if you think you may need it. I know that it is expensive but it is also something that is very difficult to add later and have it match. We started with 845 square feet on our original quote and if you can believe it we actually added more for a total of 1450 square feet. I thought my wife was nuts...especially when I wrote the check, but I must say it looks GREAT!

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Originally Posted by SeanB.

eljefe, any pictures of your build to share? I haven't seen a thread yet.

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I've got some, but I think I'll wait until the plumbing is finished early this week to create a thread.

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Originally Posted by Ready2swim

I would definately recommend adding more decking if you think you may need it. I know that it is expensive but it is also something that is very difficult to add later and have it match. We started with 845 square feet on our original quote and if you can believe it we actually added more for a total of 1450 square feet. I thought my wife was nuts...especially when I wrote the check, but I must say it looks GREAT!

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Wow, I'd love to do that much decking, but it won't be in the budget. We've already paid for 460 and will probably add up to another three hundred. What material did you use? Concrete? We are using Sundek, and at $9.00/sq ft, it adds up really fast.

I was looking at your pictures and didn't realize there was that much decking - looks like there is more than is shown in the pictures though. How wide is the path around your pool, and how long is the walkway from your house to the pool?

We also used SunDeck...I will take an updated photo today and try to post it in the morning. The path leading to the pool is 8' at its narrowest point and the path around the pool is 4' at the smallest point and 8' along the right hand side (step side). Then on the deep end of the pool is a large 19' radius for a table and chairs. We also have another porch that was covered and already had the concrete we just had to pay the extra money for the SunDeck to be sprayed over it. Like I said i will post another updated picture tomorrow.

Regards,

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Originally Posted by Ready2swim

We also used SunDeck...I will take an updated photo today and try to post it in the morning. The path leading to the pool is 8' at its narrowest point and the path around the pool is 4' at the smallest point and 8' along the right hand side (step side). Then on the deep end of the pool is a large 19' radius for a table and chairs. We also have another porch that was covered and already had the concrete we just had to pay the extra money for the SunDeck to be sprayed over it. Like I said i will post another updated picture tomorrow.

Regards,

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Thanks. I guess it's just hard to see the texture of the surface in the picture.

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Originally Posted by SeanB.

Thanks. I guess it's just hard to see the texture of the surface in the picture.

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Sean,

Here is a couple of pictures...sorry to confuse you, the pictures you viewed earlier were not updated and the SunDeck wasnt installed yet. You can see in these pictures that the decking goes all the way around the back of the pool (except for behind the waterfall) and then back into the existing porch and around the side of the house. The decking was a MAJOR part of our cost but in the end we are happy with it. I am glad to hear that you are having a much better experience than we did...maybe we were just too far out of town. Anyway, good luck and keep sending us those updates!

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Originally Posted by Ready2swim

Sean,

Here is a couple of pictures...sorry to confuse you, the pictures you viewed earlier were not updated and the SunDeck wasnt installed yet. You can see in these pictures that the decking goes all the way around the back of the pool (except for behind the waterfall) and then back into the existing porch and around the side of the house. The decking was a MAJOR part of our cost but in the end we are happy with it. I am glad to hear that you are having a much better experience than we did...maybe we were just too far out of town. Anyway, good luck and keep sending us those updates!

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Thanks for the update. I didn't want to be rude, but I was thinking to myself, 'That just looks like concrete with no texture.' I was thinking maybe the pictures were just really deceptive. It looks entirely different in the new pictures - very nice. Just curious, what would you estimate the square footage to be in the portion actually seen in the pictures?

BTW, they are installing our coping as I type. I should have some updated pictures in just a while. And yes, we are very happy with Richard's at this point, however, being far out of town is no excuse for delivering poor service in your case. They knew how far away you lived when they took the job, and your money.

Sean,

I don't know if you can or want to go this route or not. My PB has given me the flexibility of adding more deck (at cost) if we decide to do so. His only stipulation is that I will need to be there during framing (to make adjustments) and the pour (to pay). I will have to write a check to the concrete company for the additional concrete if I add additional decking. Perhaps you can negotiate that with your PB to help knock a few pennies off the top and get what you really want. His true responsibility is his obligation to the contract you and he signed (Words from my PB's mouth).

A side note to "Ready2Swim", you have a great looking pool layout and decking. I hope ours turns out to be as nice as yours looks.

Looking forward to updated pics of tile and coping. FYI, that was flagstone you were looking at on my post. My wife and I did some hand picking of the sheets of flagstone to get exactly what we wanted.:) :)

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Originally Posted by SeanB.

Thanks for the update. I didn't want to be rude, but I was thinking to myself, 'That just looks like concrete with no texture.' I was thinking maybe the pictures were just really deceptive. It looks entirely different in the new pictures - very nice. Just curious, what would you estimate the square footage to be in the portion actually seen in the pictures?

BTW, they are installing our coping as I type. I should have some updated pictures in just a while.

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Man they are really moving fast on your build...we were already two months into construction at the tile and coping phase!

I would estimate the square footage that you can see in the pictures to be around 1300 square feet if you use your imagination looking at the porch (I know it is a little hard to see because the katch a kid fence is in the way). I attached a picture of the covered porch area...

If I were to estimate the square footage around the pool I would say probably around 950 square feet. The total square footage of decking is 1450 which is a lot of decking. Our contract called for 3' of decking around the perimeter of the pool and we added at least 1' of decking around the entire perimeter and then got a little carried away in some spots. We thought 3' just wasnt enough when we actually saw it on the ground. If you are looking at the second picture (IMG 1931) the area in front of the pool closest to the house is 4' away from the pool.

We are adding salt tonight and starting the SWCG, I will also program the Easy Touch System and I will finally have my remote tonight so I dont have to walk back in the mud to turn the pumps on.

Landscaping starts tomorrow and then we are DONE!

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Originally Posted by Ready2swim

Landscaping starts tomorrow and then we are DONE!

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Famous last words - we have been "done" for over a month and still have lists we want to do. You have time to sit out there and enjoy your new pool and then you start thinking - wouldn't it be nice if you had this... or did that? Maybe it's a female thing:p