Building the Pool...

That looks great.

 

Dang, getting closer. County does their final on the equipment today. Landscaping and artificial grass next week and water in the pool the week after.

 

What are those 6 things (pedestals?) standing up on the edge of the back of the pool?

 

The two columns on the end will have ornamental pots and plants and the middle ones are water features. The taller one is 5 foot across, the two end ones are 3 footers.

 

Is travertine cooler on the feet in the summer heat than other materials?

 

Ten degrees less than cool deck and it lasts forever. Makes you wonder eh? Is this the third or fourth time they are redoing Bell?

 

You are so right Bill, looking at alternate materials and installation should be on the top of the list. The mindset seems to be it needs to be the same again, only next time we use a different contractor. Isn't that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting a different outcome?

 

Marbella looks to be even cooler but I'd suspect it's expensive? No matter what the deck is, it FFlops for me above 105-deg.

 

Getting closer. Passed the grading inspection by the County Friday. Monday is yet another but there may be an issue with one of the gates. We have three locks on it, but they may not like the way it opens. If we pass, they will pebble tech on Weds and acid wash on Thursday. If not, it will drag on another week. Very frustrating as the county is like an independent dictator who does as they please and then sends you massive bills to pay their freight.

 

Fascinating; the pebble tech is going on as i type. An amazing process to watch. Tomorrow is the acid wash and we begin filling once that's done. The rock and artificial grass will be shortly thereafter. On Saturday we'll get the startup done where we get a crash course on how the equipment works. Most of it is way beyond my pay grade, but i guess i'll learn. Never too old to teach this old dog new tricks eh?

 

Within days of being done; praise the lord. Filled the pool the other day, did the start-up today and the in floor pop-ups go in on Monday. Artificial grass went down Friday, but still have some landscaping to do. Volleyball poles yet to be put in but we are within spitting distance of being done. Got the spa in, filled and operable, probably use it tonight after the walk with Sybil. Tonight i will shoot some video with the lights and water feature running.

Till then, enjoy:

 

That turned out really nice.

 

Pretty darn good i would say; two months to the day since they dug the hole. Still need the pop-up water cleaners, Weds.

Here's a look at night with the lights and water feature on:

 

I expect mermaids, synchronized swimmers or Aquaman to surface any moment! How exciting!

 

No mermaids and especially no synchronized swimmers. Just some great fun, volleyball, chilling and getting young Sybil to try and get her to dip her toe.

We'll see.

 

Used the pool for the first times over the weekend. Awesome. Some final pictures and final thoughts in a few days.

 

Clearly it was an interesting process. First pool and in all likelihood, our last. Nope, not unhappy with our decision, just too old to go through all this again. This better be our last remodel. The only thing left is to hang the shower doors and a couple of things outside on the house. I'll probably start a new thread on the contractors and my thoughts there one of these days.

Here's some shots from early this fine Sunday morning;

 

That looks awesome!

 

Simply gorgeous!

 

Thanks gang. It turned out pretty good. Never had a pool before and so its been fun to jump in and cool off in the heat of the afternoon. Those 115 degree days will become way more tolerable. Over the years we've talked about a TOSC get-together; maybe one here would be fun later this summer? Any thoughts; would you come?