Don't know about you Jhav, but this has been a long 6-8 weeks. Your progress is looking much better now. We also had a good portion of water trucked in. 10,000 gallons for $500. Ouch!

Hi Rob - sorry for my delayed response... I'll PM you.

Been a crazy few days - lots of new pics to show. All plumbing is complete except for the laminar jets, all of the equipment is hooked up and installed on the pad, the electric work was completed yesterday (we have lights!), and the track/box for the automatic cover were installed yesterday. The electrical inspector is supposed to come by on Monday at which time we will be able to fill in the open ditches/holes for the conduit that was laid. Also, our landscape/hardscape contractor is scheduled to pay us a visit towards the end of next week to initiate that work --- I need the weather to cooporate and stay above 40 degrees, otherwise, we will likely have to wait until spring to pour the patio/coping, etc.

Here are some pics from 2+ days back --- I'll upload the pics from yesterday shortly.

Stones filled in - the three flex hoses that you see: 2 are for laminar jets, one is for the 'future' slide that we may add.


Lots of pipes going to pad:




Last downspout connected to seepage pit --- PB did me a favor here:

Pics from Thursday - Electrical and auto-cover install:



Conduit to house --- I had them install 2 extra lines for speaker wire & network/Cat 6 cables.


Auto-cover box is built:


Running conduit to each laminar jet took a long time --- and substantially increased my electrical budget... sure hope these things are worth it.




Auto-cover tracks are installed --- cover order has been placed and should be here for installation in ~2 weeks.


We had the pool lights on last night briefly - I'll find some pics and post soon. The electrician told us not to keep them on for long since they are hooked up to the same circuit as the laminar jets - since the laminars are not yet plumbed, the electrician thought there was a chance that they could overheat and suggested we leave them off until they are connected.

The guys are expected back tomorrow and they are planning to start-up the pool and allow it to run for 3-4 days to ensure that there are no leaks and that everything is working properly before the cement is poured (hopefully late next week).

Been a little while since my last post, but there has been no shortage of activity on this end. We ran the pool for a good 4-5 days to ensure that we had no leaks and that all of the equipment was working properly - fortunately, the only 2 items that needed correcting were a faulty Pentair actuator and the addition of a second low voltage transformer for the EasyTouch system --- now we will have one for the pool lights and a second for the MagicStream laminar lights.

This past week the concrete guys showed up to do their thing. The job was completed in two pours on two separate days - first came the cantilever coping:

Styrofoam molds in place

Ready for first pour:

A couple of days later, it is time for the second pour - our new pool deck:

One tip that I read a lot from most on these boards was "get as much decking as you can" -- we took that advice to heart and built what appears to be a huge deck...

Staging -- notice the conduit lying on the stone. I laid a ton of conduit before the pour to many different locations. I am not yet sure where I might want speakers, lighting, etc., but wanted to have a lot of flexibility in the future. You can see both the standard grey 1" PVC conduit that the electrician left me along with black conduit on the right of the picture. I purchased several rolls of 100' long black 125 psi conduit from Lowes for my other runs. It was relatively inexpensive and VERY easy to install -- the salesperson said it was typically used for 'well' applications. Very glad that I did this.


We bumped out the side of the deck to accommodate the waterside... I selected the AO Smith Typhoon --- will purchase/install this in the springtime.


I made 4 umbrella sleeves for installation in the deck using 1.5" sch 40 PVC. I got my information on how to 'build' these from other posts on this site --- I tee'd the bottom and put a threaded female adapter on top. Here are some pictures of my creations being set before the pour:




Concrete being poured:





...and stamped


view from above of the work in progress -- notice the 2 tone step - the border will match the pool coping:

Are they saw cutting expansion joints?

Scott

Yep. They cut several today and are going to finish the rest tomorrow - some sections of the concrete were not hard enough to saw yet.

They are also going to powerwash the deck tomorrow and, if it the weather is as nice as it is forecasted to be, will apply the seal.

Looking good!

Subscribing as I am about to start a fiberglass build!!!! Thanks for the thread, it has some great info.....

I learned a ton just by reading the various posts on this board. If you have any questions, let me know - good luck with everything.

Its now getting really exciting! The crew was here once more today to powerwash the stamped concrete to remove the 'release'. They were planning to seal the deck today as well, but with rain possible in the forecast today/tonight, they held off.

In the meanwhile, with the release now washed off, I was able to walk on my new patio for the first time. Before the guys left, they helped me remove the temporary/disposable solar cover that we had been using so that I could begin working to clean up the mess that was left over in the pool (dirt, concrete powder, rocks, styrofoam, etc.). I could have waited for the pool guys to come next week, but I was anxious to get it looking good.

I skimmed the pool and cleaned the bottom with a pool net the best I could. I also fired up the pump at high speed and opened up all of the returns/skimmers/drains in attempt to filter out as much of the junk as possible. I also dusted off my old powerwasher and sprayed down the interior walls, skimmer boxes, stairs, etc. as best I could. The bottom would greatly benefit from a real vacuum or robot cleaner -- but since I don't yet own one, this is the best I can do.

All in all, I feel I did a decent job of getting it cleaned up. Here are some updated pictures of the 'not yet sealed concrete' along with the pool. I fired everything up (blowers, laminars, lights) for fun -- can't wait until the weather get's warm again!

Powerwashing off the release:


Our 'near' finished product:





Laminars & Jacuzzi Jets (shallow and deep end benches) on in the daytime - (NOTE: I don't have any fittings in the jacuzzi jets right now, so they just bubble straight up to the surface:



Some nighttime pictures - sorry for the 'odd' camera effects... I'm sure there is a better setting I could use to eliminate them, but I am not a camera wizard.

While things have slowed dramatically over the past few weeks - mainly as a result of our 'almost' being done our pool build project - there have been a few developments. Mainly, the installation of the auto-cover and the installation of a new aluminum fence. We had hoped to be able to do a final grade and plant some grass seed, but the backyard was always a bit too muddy and now it is just too cold. We'll wrap up the grading/planting in the springtime.

A quick note - while the auto-cover is pictured below, we also had a true 'winter cover' installed earlier today (no pics yet). My hope - after speaking with several - is that the winter cover will reduce a lot of the abuse on the auto-cover which will hopefully extend it's life. We'll see.

Pics below:



Not quite 'pool-related', but we had our old, rusted basketball hoop demolished during the initial stages of our build. Our new court was installed last week. Must say that despite the cold weather, this is already a ton of fun.


New fence:



Township is coming tomorrow AM for final inspection...

Wow!
What an incredible transformation, what an incredible amount of work. The pool looks awesome, great job, love that night pic.
Your yard is going to look great this summer, enjoy!!

Heya jhav! Looks great! I'm hoping you can post some information on the umbrella holders you made for your deck? I think that's a great idea....and would love to do the same thing.

cramar - Thanks! It has been a lot of work, but really a lot of fun pulling this project together.

Shingar - Here are some close-up pics of the umbrella stands/sleeves that I built:


It was really simple to build ---I purchased a 10 ft long, 1.5" electrical PVC conduit along with a female adapter and Tee for each stand/sleeve. You can get these at Home Depot/Lowes. The only thing you cannot find at HD/Lowes is are the flush mount caps - to screw into the female adapter on top - I purchased these online. Do a Google search on "SIOUX CHIEF RECESSED PLUG" and you'll find several places that sell them - I got mine from www.acehardwaresuperstore.com.

Full credit to PoolGuyNJ (see linked post below) as I used his directions as a guide - e.g. 8" tall, 6" off each end at the bottom. HELPFUL TIP - install the female adapter in the top piece BEFORE you measure and cut... the adapter adds some height to the pipe and you'll need to cut things shorter if you initially cut some 8" pieces. I used PVC cement to hold everything together.

Once you have decided where to place them in the deck, work with your concrete guys to have them leveled in the proper location - they will simply pour the concrete right up to the top of the female adapter for a flush mount with the deck. Let me know if you have any other questions.

We took advantage of our anxiousness as well as the unseasonably warm weather over the past 2 weeks to open our pool for the season. Using the heat pump, I was able to raise the water temperature from 49 up to 82 in a matter of a few days - the weather helped a lot as we were in the 70's for almost all of last week.

We actually got to use the pool for 3 days last week - was nice to finally get some fun after all of the expense. The weather has since cooled off and I don't imagine that we'll be swimming again for at least the next week -- it might actually drop below 30 tonight.

I hooked up and plumbed the slide over the weekend. One 'new' addition that I will be adding is an upgraded cover for the auto-cover mechanism - I do not like the current aluminum one (especially since you cannot walk on it). We are thinking of building one out of teak wood with additional supports underneath so that it is 'weight-bearing'. Also, we will be adding waterline tile once the weather warms up a bit. Lastly, I need to build a new cabana/shed as --- you'll see in the pictures below --- I have no place to store all of this stuff! I'm hoping to construct something over the next 1-2 months.

We still have a ton of landscaping work to do to make the backyard nice again - we are scheduled to 'finish-grade' and plant grass tomorrow. Additionally, there is patio furniture to buy --- so I'm by no means done spending.... hopefully soon.

I've been spending a lot of time in 'Pool School' and, thanks to all of the great information listed there, am pretty close to having my levels perfect. I'm still working to figure out how long I need to run my pump, what RPM to use, and what percentage to run the chlorinator --- I'm in the experimental phase.

Anyhow - here are some 'current' pics... I'll post more as we continue to 'finish' our project...

Your backyard looks GREAT! Thanks for the informative thread and ALL OF THE PICTURES! I love your stamped concrete and how you chose to do the coping. I have seen a product (maybe too late now) where you buy a different skimmer cover, and they fill it with concrete to match deck....here is an example there may be more types http://shop.thestampstore.com/browse.cfm/4,534.html

Do you have an close-ups of the umbrella holder plugs installed? I love that idea and plan to do it too, it just "makes sense".....any drawbacks to it? Stub your toe on it, eyesore?

What brand autocover? Do you like the way the lid for it looks? Would you suggest a different color lid (powedercoated?) Have you walked on it yet? Initial impressions?

Thanks for the feedback harleysilo. Here is an up close pic of the umbrella holder with the screw-in plug installed. It screws down flush with the deck and you barely notice them at all. I can't think of any reason NOT to do this.


Our autocover is a 'Cover-Pools Safe-T 3'. This was probably the best investment in the pool that we made - even being 'open' for only a short amount of time, I cannot imagine life without the cover.

The cover lid is a different story -- I am less than thrilled with it and will be replacing it shortly with a custom-built Teak wood cover that is flush with the concrete decking. Below is a picture of my 'inspiration' for how our lid will look:



The current lid isn't bad looking, but here is what I don't like:
1) It is not quite flush with the deck - I worry about kids cutting their feet on the corners esp. since a part of the cover is near the stairs for our pool slide
2) It is not weight bearing. The new Teak cover should support ~200 lbs.

Also -- I just took delivery of my new Polaris 9400 robot yesterday ---- all I can say is, "wow!" I have another thread going in the pool cleaner section where I'll post my feedback.