Hey, Landmark...Brent is their Gen. Sales Manager...he's the one that moved from California...28 years or so in pool building experience...so, not Jim's son. My husband talked to him..they traded stories back and forth..you know. Nice, nice guy. I'd read about him specifically on another forum.

Yeah...those palms. I'd love to do 2 Medjools as a focal point..but crikey . They are lovely and we're looking and doing a lot of research....evidently there's a lot of bait and switch with these really expensive palms. Got that info from a company that has locations here (Alvin) and Florida. We'll see as it all unfolds. May do 2 Silvestris palms instead.

Hope everyone's Fourth is a great one!!

Pisces, I didn't know CR had anyone else in sales. We are talking about the same company, right? http://www.castlerockpools.com/

Ditto. I am always in awe when I see the production involved in an in-ground pool. It makes me not want to have one installed but it would be fun to own one. The PVC! IT's looks like a bowl of spagetti.

The pool looks great, can't wait to see pics of the finished product!

We also just signed with Castlerock and I'm not aware of anybody named Brent. We talked to Jim B. the owner (or partner as BBB states). Anyhow, our build will not start until we've closed on the house which should be end of next month. I think I'm more excited about getting the pool built than the house finished.

Yes...that's who we called...same website. Jim may not have been available at the time, since this is a holiday week. We called yesterday. We'll talk to Brent and also request to get Jim involved. This is just first meeting to look over things. Thanks for making sure I was at the right place! We sent our survey to him at CastleRock to look over prior to the meeting. He replied right back today, so it's definitely that company.

Progress has been slow for the last 3 weeks so I haven't posted any updates. They have been working on the tile and coping so here are some new pictures. The mess is driving us crazy but the PB says the project is on schedule and will be finished by Aug. 4th, maybe sooner.

Great pool.
thanks for posting your story/pictures.
I like your pool coping.
What are you using for the coping?

Thanks Staycation. The PB called the flagstone coping Buckskin. I've seen it mentioned in other post so it must be common.

Looks really nice Mark. We signed with Castlerock and our pool build will hopefully start right after we close on our house (Aug. 20th). My wife and I have been talking about color choices and we're leaning towards that same flagston.

Thanks for the pictures also by the way.

-Tom

Thanks Tom. I'm a little iffy about the flagstone because it is so light colored when dry. It's hard to envision what it is all going to look like with all the mess.

Good luck with your closing and pool build. Are there houses on both sides of you? It would be a lot less mess if the PB can access your backyard through a vacant lot.

Right now, the lots on either side are empty. I'm trying to get James the super at Castlerock to come out and look at the property before we close on the house. The home builder is on the hook to install sod in the back but why install it if its going to get removed shortly thereafter?

Since we haven't looked at colors/materials yet, how many choices did you have for flagstone? There didn't seem to be too many in their office on 1093. That one you chose, it's not a manufactured stone is it? I too am concerned about how it looks when dry. Anyway, thanks for the pics. My wife was not 100% on-board with Castlerock, looking at the pics of your build have helped immensely.

-Tom

It is real stone, not manufactured. I think there were only 4 flagstone choices. That was good for us though because we have a hard time making selections. It was the same for our house when we had to go to the design center.

James has been responsive so it souldn't be a problem to come out. They do have a lot of pool under construction now though.

Yesterday they started forming for our decking so we are getting closer. The weather is clearing up so hopefully it won't be a factor.

Hey, it's looking great so far! That is some spa! I love the way the coping is chiseled..it's a great look. Regarding the color, if you like how it looks when it's wet, since it's a natural stone you can always enhance it. It will deepen the color and seal it at the same time. There are many products out there if you'd like suggestions let me know.

Hope all goes well on the rest of the build and you'll be swimming soon

Thanks VM. That is a great idea, didn't even think about it. We like the look of the flagstone when it is wet. What products would you suggest?

I've enjoyed watching your build. Everytime I get discourged I look back at your project and feel much better . Your whole backyard turned out beautiful so I'm sure it was worth all you had to go through.

Your build is looking great! It's coming along nicely. I really like the look of your spa, and I'm jealous of your sundeck.

Once you get the deck in, your project starts feeling a lot less of a mess ... a much different feel to it. We just got our deck poured last Monday - and as you know - just in time to miss some of the mud we would have gotten from the remnants of Dolly.

I like Miracle 511's line a lot. Sealed the limestone on the BBQ with 'Seal and Enhance'. I used their grout sealer for my bathroom. Aside from the smell, it's an excellent product. It's about $48 a quart, or $150 a gal. You could probably stretch a gallon, 2 at the most for your coping.

Aquamix also makes great products and they are not as strong smelling. Look for 'Stone Enhancer' or 'Enrich and Seal'. Costs about the same as the 511. Your PB/tile installer may be able to get it for you. Usually it's sold to contractors only, but I know you can purchase it online.


Thanks, LOL! Someday it might even be all the way done! PB is still fiddling with the waterfall. I came home the other day to find the wall taken apart. They're sending it back to the manufacturer to tweak it. We knew the only way to fix it was to move it out and re-drill the holes, so it wasn't a big surprise except that no one said they were coming to do it. What if I had a big pool party scheduled or something?!

Anyway, yes...it was worth it and yours will be, too. You're almost there

Mark...that's going to be one big beautiful pool. I really like the stone they used on the spa...very nice! Haven't seen that before...it's a unique look that I like...very textured and flowable. I know you'll like the flagstone when you seal it and bring out the colors.

Oh, I *heart* your Ultimate Spa. Waiting on Castle Rock's bid here...I'd really like one, too. Post a pic of your decking...did last Thursday's weather postpone you? Hang in there...you're going to really love this pool!

VM: Thanks for the tips. I've used the Miracle products to seal the grout in our kitchen and bathrooms. I think I will give it a try on some of the scraps.

Pisces: Thanks for the comments. I have been doing a lot of work around the pool area re-running the sprinkler system, getting water behind the garage for a future pool house, and running conduit for landscape lighting. I can't wait to soak in the spa. Let me know how your bid comes out with CR.

Great pool! The tile looks like the Tico-Taco I used -- love it!

Ooooh, a pool house...handy and necessary if you have room! We're doing things like that in stages, too. I'll let you know what CR comes up with...we need to decide on a contractor in the next few weeks. The first time you soak in that big spa...you'll know it was all worth it!