Pool Renovation Project - MA (pics and video)
- Thread starter chinatti
- Start date
You're definitely a "glass half full" kinda person..... The "ramp" is actually the old / pre-existing wood deck - it never looked too bad before (the old pool deck didn't extend along side it like it does now), but it looks pretty bad now with the properly pitched deck right below it. I'm not sure why they pitched it as much as they did - as far as I can tell it was done like that intentionally (as opposed to sinking/settling), but it looks pretty poor now. The old composite decking is pretty worn - we're hoping to redo the deck in the spring, pitch it differently so it doesn't look so sloped against the pool deck, and add a built in L-shaped kitchen on the new deck. At the same time we'll remove the weber grill which extends off the deck a little bit, and then add in a small privacy fence around the pool equipment.
I was at the steel fabricators today for granite templating for the firepit top. Here's a shot of the firepit base - mostly done:
- - - Updated - - -
Thanks! Our landscaper did a great job. Neither my wife or I have much vision in that area, so we pretty much left it to him to do what he thought made sense ... and we're happy with how it came out.
Just how big is that fire pit???? It looks huge! That will make some awesome s'mores!
Well in the pics the "ramp" looks good. Funny how things look in real life compared to pics.
You know your yard. Do you think they did the angle that way because of rain water worries? Or maybe a wheelchair? Kind of neat to figure out how and why people do what they do.
Kim
Well in the pics the "ramp" looks good. Funny how things look in real life compared to pics.
You know your yard. Do you think they did the angle that way because of rain water worries? Or maybe a wheelchair? Kind of neat to figure out how and why people do what they do.
Kim
It definitely was not a ramp - it was just a deck that had a large amount of pitch to it. I have no idea why they did it - some pitch away from the house obviously makes sense, but it was pretty extreme. With the old deck / planting beds underneath it did not look nearly as severe, but with the new deck it sticks out like a sore thumb....
Yeah, the picture makes it look like a monster. Honestly it also looks pretty big in-person, even though I gave them the dimensions it seemed bigger in person than I imagined. The firepit is 48"x48" edge to edge, with a 24"x24" HPC FPPK square insert (natural gas) in the middle - probably about 20" tall. So there will be a 1 foot wide granite top running around the outside edge, which will double as a counter-like surface for food, drinks, etc. - the pool mostly gets used during the day, so the fire won't normally be on. We'll have some seating around it, and it's always nice to have more casual meal seating for bigger parties...
Here's the picture we found on Houzz that we liked, and decided to shamelessly try to copy:
Reimert Residence - Contemporary - Patio - phoenix - by David J. Wade Inc, Architect
Yeah, the picture makes it look like a monster. Honestly it also looks pretty big in-person, even though I gave them the dimensions it seemed bigger in person than I imagined. The firepit is 48"x48" edge to edge, with a 24"x24" HPC FPPK square insert (natural gas) in the middle - probably about 20" tall. So there will be a 1 foot wide granite top running around the outside edge, which will double as a counter-like surface for food, drinks, etc. - the pool mostly gets used during the day, so the fire won't normally be on. We'll have some seating around it, and it's always nice to have more casual meal seating for bigger parties...
Here's the picture we found on Houzz that we liked, and decided to shamelessly try to copy:
Reimert Residence - Contemporary - Patio - phoenix - by David J. Wade Inc, Architect
Hi Chinatti
I read all 6 pages of posts just for the granite pavers
) Drooling over how that turned out!! Such elegance and class - highlighted even better by the dark paver border.
Did you have a designer create an overall plan? The overall plan was so well thought off and executed.
Philip
I read all 6 pages of posts just for the granite pavers
) Drooling over how that turned out!! Such elegance and class - highlighted even better by the dark paver border.Did you have a designer create an overall plan? The overall plan was so well thought off and executed.
Philip
I LOVE the firepit you based yours on! NICE!
Will you use glass or lava rocks for the inside? Being a girl I vote for glass------bling! LOL
How weird about the ramp/deck. I REALLY thought is was a large ramp from the back door to the pool. I am sure they had a reason for it but......I can't figure it out!
I am sure you will make an even better one that fits with your wonderful pool! I hope you share what you end up doing!
Kim
Will you use glass or lava rocks for the inside? Being a girl I vote for glass------bling! LOL
How weird about the ramp/deck. I REALLY thought is was a large ramp from the back door to the pool. I am sure they had a reason for it but......I can't figure it out!
I am sure you will make an even better one that fits with your wonderful pool! I hope you share what you end up doing!
Kim
Thanks! No designer. One of the "benefits" of an existing pool is there are many fewer degrees of freedom. The pool shape was existing, but we did grow the deck a bunch from the old footprint. We originally were thinking about concrete pavers, but one of the pool builders suggested we look at granite pavers after we were discussing what we liked - plus we had the existing granite slabs on top of the raised wall. The cost wasn't that outrageous - just a couple $$/sqft more than the higher end pavers, and we debated lots of deck material options throughout the whole quoting process, but in the end we just decided we really liked the granite, so we ended up going with it. As far as the landscaping we really just told our landscaper generally what we wanted (more usable space, less plantings, etc), and let him run with it.
For the accent strip we were concerned that all light salt/pepper granite would be too bland / bleak, and were trying to find some darker granite coping. After looking at a lot of suppliers, we couldn't find any granite that was dark enough to create enough contrast (short of special order - very expensive, and couldn't even see samples of those), so we decided to add in the accent strip with regular concrete pavers. And it came together nicely, even matches the waterline tile (totally unplanned).
But in general we're very happy with the overall look now that it's done!
Pacific Blue Reflective Fireglass - should hopefully match the pool interior to some extent:
1/4 Pacific Blue Reflective 1 Lb. - American Fireglass
Firepit top installed today. Here are some pics, and a video of the flames in action! Very happy with how it came out. Will be adding an LED light strip in that channel under the granite top, maybe in the spring....
And a slo-mo video of the flames:
And a regular one:
And a slo-mo video of the flames:
And a regular one:
That is NOT going anywhere! WOW! LOVE the glass rocks! Good color pic!
That light strips will be the finishing touch!
Kim
That light strips will be the finishing touch!
Kim
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,206
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I think that's basically what happens after you have a couple of cocktails....
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,206
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Wow that fire pit is amazing! Pardon but did you have to run gas or is there a propane tank under it?
Natural gas line (as well as a conduit for the LED light) was run underground while we were doing the decking. The company that makes the inserts (HPC) also can configure them as propane, so that could be an option too, but obviously you'd need a much larger access panel for the tank. We have just a small (maybe 5" X 12" panel) for access to the burner control and the gas shutoff - you can see it in one of the pics above.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for the info. Yeah I saw the one door I wasn't sure if there was another one somewhere else that supported the propane tank I wasn't seeing in the photos. I wanted to pipe natural gas to my yard but the cost was too much. Our city codes are insane and I would have needed to bring my entire house up to code to run an exterior gas line from the meter to the back yard.
Sure. Luckily we had *just* enough capacity left on the existing gas line feeding the pool heater so we were able to tap off of that. So it was a relatively short line, like 15 foot or so (down, underground, and up). But with that said, we still paid over $1000 for the plumber to come out twice (once to do the buried line, and once for the final hookup). And I helped dig the trench too! And that was a guy who we've used a couple times before - and he was much cheaper than the other 2 quotes we got..... Those plumbers get some serious $$$. Next phase of the project (once the wallet recovers a bit) is to redo the wood deck and add an outdoor kitchen with a gas grill, and for that one we'll need to add a new run from the meter ... not looking forward to that quote......
Yeah I know what you are talking about. I have enough capacity to my home but the problem is the city requires that an independent plumber comes out and does the gas. This means the pool company cannot use their own plumbers. In addition said plumber must be a "master" plumber and also be approved by the city to do gas work (they have a separate procedure I guess). I know one of these guys and he is very fair so I would have probably used him. He told me the problem is the city comes in and inspects the entire house and say my water heater isn't up to current code then I would have to replace it etc... It is a pain! If I was getting a spa or a heater then I would have been forced to do it but eventually I'll just put in solar heating or something.
Interesting. I'm (pretty?) sure all our inside gas work is fine, but we did pull a permit for the firepit install, and the inspector never set foot inside the house. I was actually around yesterday when he stopped by for the final inspection, and he only looked at the firepit / the new piping run. Nice guy- I actually asked him a few questions about how the plumber would need to run the line for the outdoor kitchen later too.
The PB also included a quote for their plumber to do the work, but it was more expensive. Funny story too - I was selling something on craigslist while the project was going on (probably some of our old outdoor furniture), and the guy who ended up buying it saw the decking samples in the garage when he stopped by and asked if we were redoing our pool. Turns out he lives down the road from the salesguy / project manager for our PB, and he's the plumber who they use for gas work. Small world!
We did have to upgrade our meter (which was WAY under-capacity for even the existing appliances) - that was another whole HUGE headache with the gas company - I think I posted some pictures earlier in the thread of our new monster of a 1.5M BTU gas meter that we now have bolted onto the side of our house. The plumber was joking that he's only seen those types of meters before on commercial kitchens. He said "I bet the gas company *loves* you!" ......