New build, Houston (Cypress), Tx

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Thanks Pragmatic - it was being wasted as it's just too hot to be outside and not in water most of the time here!

Plumbing now all complete. Tile and coping due to start today - probably a weeks worth of work there.
The pump layout has been modified to only be 2 pumps not 3 Originally there was one for spa/pool, one for slide and one for waterfall. Now there slide and waterfall are off the same pump with a 2.5" line.

Pad layout:
 
Tile/stone/coping got delayed yesterday as we had a downpour! Very welcome since we haven't had any real rain to speak of in ages and my sprinkler system is off (it's a mess!) so I was struggling to stay on top of keeping my grass and plants alive!

Anyway, the tiling and start of the stacked stone is in progress right now! :party: I don't know what I was expecting for the stacked stone but I've only just realized how much work they have to do on this! They've turned up with piles of flagstone to get cut and chiseled by hand for all my stacked stone (back raised wall, 3 round planters around pool, firepit and outside of spa). Will post pics of progress so far at the end of the day. Getting excited to see visual progress again. The plumbing stage appeared really slow after the initial dig/rebar/gunite stage where huge amounts of progress (from a visual perspective) were very apparent. Really hoping to be in it for Labor day - it's probably a little tight but it's a nice target!
 
spanky99l said:
Is the stone a good idea with the salt water?

I was under the assumption of no.
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Um, we'll see is my response! :shock: :p

The stone will all be sealed and will get resealed every year. There's a very mixed response about salt ruining stone, some have issues, others do not.

It is a risk and one that I've taken on with eyes wide open. I really want salt as I have eczema and I have always found saltwater pools to be better on my skin (public swimming pools kill me, especially indoor ones). That being said its very hard to know if salt is better than a very well managed chlorine pool but since both me and my son suffer we went with salt over chlorine. The problem with eczema is its quite individual and different things cause/heal for different people.

The PB and I have discussed it and he has warned me it may be harder on the stone and told me to go ahead and reseal it every year. We've gone with Oklahoma wister which is one of the harder varieties we get in the South and should last okay.

I will update in the future with my experiences on this.
 
I only know of one pool personally that's had stone issues with SWCG. I don't know anything about their chemistry but do know it has been drained 4 or 5 times in about 6 years due to the salt levels being too high (again don't know the levels were) and that the stone was never sealed. I'm hoping its those two things and by staying on top of chemistry, salt levels and sealing the stone, the effects will be minimized.
 
The stone looks really good... I feel for all you TX folks that seem to have such soft stone and issues with the SWG. After enjoying a few salt water pools I couldn't imagine going back to a chlorine - if for no other reason than I don't want to lug the chemicals around. Also - the stone work just really makes a pool look amazing... I wouldn't want to choose between one or the other. I would think with a harder stone and proper maintenance you will be able to enjoy both.
 

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sd_dave said:
The stone looks really good... I feel for all you TX folks that seem to have such soft stone and issues with the SWG. After enjoying a few salt water pools I couldn't imagine going back to a chlorine - if for no other reason than I don't want to lug the chemicals around. Also - the stone work just really makes a pool look amazing... I wouldn't want to choose between one or the other. I would think with a harder stone and proper maintenance you will be able to enjoy both.
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This is what I'm hoping! Thanks for the compliments on the stone - we're really happy with how it's looking so far.
 
More stonework today. They've only just left (8pm) and arrived at 9 or so this morning. It's basically taken them all day to do two planters. I'm starting to understand why the PB said it would take a week for the stonework!



 
spanky99l said:
Is the stone veneer or real?

Will
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It's real. On some of the wider shots you can see the piles of the trimmings on the floor. These guys are seriously skilled at fitting the stones together and chipping them to the right size!

EDIT: Just to add to this they dry stack things first, either on the wall itself or above it. When I got home yesterday they had 4 or 5 layers on top of the planters in a curve to give themselves a plan of how to lay it up on the planter. It's a time consuming process. We're really happy with how it's looking though.

We're just hoping the weather holds off. We've been lucky so far with little rain (although my grass could use it) but the next week is not looking so good. Looks like there may be rain but they will probably just be showers that pass through rather than prolonged rain. Fingers crossed!
 
Looking great -- can't wait to see the waterfall. Are they planning on using any grout on the stacked stone or just the mortar foundation? I ask only because we got grout last night ... and were a little surprised at the finished look. (Required a conversation this morning with the PB) I'm taking a wait and see approach for the next day or so as I can see pros/cons to it either way.
 
sd_dave said:
Looking great -- can't wait to see the waterfall. Are they planning on using any grout on the stacked stone or just the mortar foundation? I ask only because we got grout last night ... and were a little surprised at the finished look. (Required a conversation this morning with the PB) I'm taking a wait and see approach for the next day or so as I can see pros/cons to it either way.
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Thanks. It's a good question and the honest answer is I don't know. They've been very good so far for asking my preferences on tile pattern, grout color for tile and checking I was happy with the stacked stone so I hope they'll discuss it with me. In any case I'll ask the PB. I'll be honest I'd not thought about it... :oops:
 
So they're working away at the stacked stone again today (I'll post pictures in a few hours when they're done). Hopefully all of the stacked stone (barring the firepit) will be finished today. Tomorrow they're due to start on the waterfall and the electrician is coming round to hook all the electric up.
Got a bit more of an update on timing. The waterfall should be started tomorrow. My coping is due to arrive on Saturday. These two things are scheduled to take until approx. Wednesday. Then the deck will be laid out, graded, drainage added and poured (concrete only, stamped overlay to be the very last thing to be done) which should be by the end of next week (or next weekend). After that should be the wetedge, then the stamped overlay will be done last. So sounds like we're probably 2 weeks away from swimming. :party:
 

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