New Pool Build Kingwood TX

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I love the shot you took from inside the house. It really gives us the feel for how ya'll get to enjoy your pool from inside! I'm envious of all the yard you still have left - and it's lovely!

Oh, you're not alone in having a less-than-neat dig. Mine is pretty bad! I'm not sure mine is worse, but it feels worse, because my yard is so much smaller. It takes 2 canes for me to get around my pool outside - way too many mole hills and ditches, etc. It looks like I'm trying to snow ski on dirt!! I've been pretty patient with the mud and dirt - too many other people have had worse situations. But it will be exciting to have decking and dare I say it..... landscaping!

You've been waiting a long time for this to get rolling, so I'm sending positive thoughts your way that now your pool build has truly begun, it goes quickly! You've earned it! Take care. Suz.
 
my backyard is a mess. the excavators misunderstood the plan and thought the whole backyard was to be a patio. they added 4 1/2 inches of dirt and compacted it. one of the parts i'm looking most forward to in this build is clean up! maybe wed this week and im counting down! i can't wait to figure out sprinklers and get some grass growing again. it's gonna take a while for us since we're over budge and bermuda grows like crazy so we plan on watering it to get it to regrow but the dirt is in the house constantly... yours really did get torn up, too. is the same company doing the landscaping? if so, build in extra money for them!
 
Rebar completed yesterday (June 8th) and plumbing started today. Given that it has taken almost 6 months to get this point, thanks City of Houston permitting, it is nice to see my PB making progress.
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espejo said:
They completed the digging and framing on Saturday and the rebar crew showed up at 6am this morning. A few pictures of the progress. Some of the other pool digs I have seen on this website looks so clean with very little yard damage. Mine is going to require a little more rehabilitation.

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My build was very messy, and my husband and I did most of the clean-up. Didn't like how messy they left my site each day.


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Waiting for the gunite crew to show up and I hope it is today. In order to keep prevent by gunite from drying too fast I purchased 2 tripod sprinklers from Sears at $27 so doing the day my wife and just turn on the water faucet and not have to stand out there and water a couple of times a day. I hope it is not overkill.

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That sounds very clever to me. Let us know how it works out. The only concern I would have is if you can get them positioned to get even coverage, or if some walls need more than others due to angle of the sun / shading etc. I have never hosed gunite, so just thoughts on my part. Good luck with it, if it works, I bet a few other people will invest $27 to save all that effort.
 

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Gunite going on right now. Only problem is we are having light rain on and off. (Sorry for the poor pics my camera phone is acting up.) When it starts to rain the crew stops. At this rate the spray may take longer than planned. At least there will be no issue with keeping the gunite wet for the next 2 days given the forecast but now is integrity of spray an issue?
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I had light rain off and on during my gunite. It didn't seem to make a difference. When the crew was finished, they covered it all with tarps.

Isn't it exciting?!!!! I can't wait to see your gunite finished. If they tarp it, you'll have to take pictures later, but I'll wait! Take care. Suz.
 
espejo said:
Waiting for the gunite crew to show up and I hope it is today. In order to keep prevent by gunite from drying too fast I purchased 2 tripod sprinklers from Sears at $27 so doing the day my wife and just turn on the water faucet and not have to stand out there and water a couple of times a day. I hope it is not overkill.

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I love that idea! I'm definitely going to get a couple of those! My PB says you cannot overwater the gunite. [emoji3]


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espejo said:
Waiting for the gunite crew to show up and I hope it is today. In order to keep prevent by gunite from drying too fast I purchased 2 tripod sprinklers from Sears at $27 so doing the day my wife and just turn on the water faucet and not have to stand out there and water a couple of times a day. I hope it is not overkill.

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Clever.

I actually really enjoyed watering the pool. Now I work from a home office so that makes things much easier. First week I'd go out at 6:00 a.m. with a cup of coffee and actually get down in the pool and water, then again at noon and at sunset. It was almost theriputic. I enjoyed being down in the pool and listening to the "crackling" of the shotcrete absorbing the moisture. I did learn that shotcrete can only absorb so much water, the rest ended-up in the bottom of my pool. Initially it would take me 20 minutes to water, now I spend 5 minutes.
 
Interesting. I was thinking it would take an hour plus to water down the gunite. With temperatures later in the week hitting 90 again, I was trying to make it easier on my wife since she will have to do the morning spray during the week. I can handle it in the evening and on weekends. But if I don't need them I will just return them. I haven't even unpacked them yet.
 
espejo said:
Interesting. I was thinking it would take an hour plus to water down the gunite. With temperatures later in the week hitting 90 again, I was trying to make it easier on my wife since she will have to do the morning spray during the week. I can handle it in the evening and on weekends. But if I don't need them I will just return them. I haven't even unpacked them yet.
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I'm no expert so I'd check w/your gunite/shotcrete company, but when I was speaking with the owner of my Shotcrete company he actually referred to it as "misting" it. When I told him I was down to about 5 minutes per session he said that sounded about right. He's the one who has to honor the "as long as I own" warranty so I figured if he thought 5 minutes "about right" then 5 minutes it is.

In five minutes I can do two passes around my pool.

He also came out to collect payment and look at my pool and thought it looked perfect and the amount of water I had in the bottom of the pool looked "just right."

Would be interesting to hear from others on this.
 
You can put your sprinklers on a little timer if you want total handfree. They are about $30 @ HD. Unless you have another use for them later, probably not worth it.
 
I'm pleased to report that the two tripod sprinklers worked perfectly. I placed them at opposite corners and was able to get about 90-95% coverage. I like the timer idea but I only have need for them during the next 7-10 days. With rain in the near forecast I may not need them too much at first but they are nice. I would highly recommend the setup. Since I have a long triangular pool I got two but a different design may only require one. The only area it did not get completely was the back side of the raised hot tub but that can be reached by hose from the back porch. And the mud, what a mess. I was able set up a nice walkway with the left over gunite form board laying around. I have a nice walkway at least through the worst part. That and garden boots and and I'm all set with a little wash station by the back door. I think by day 10 I will be real tired of all that has to be done but even now I can tell the view from the family room is going to be fantastic.
 
espejo said:
This is my third pool but first one I ever built. I researched this site extensively to get informaiton and ideas. Our last pool was a free form pool but my wife much prefers the classic lines so we went with a very simple "roman style" pool. Thanks to DoubleD on this site who enlightened me on the City of Houston requirement for detention ponds for property sizes greater than 15K Square Feet. With engineering fees, permits and the construction this requirement is adding about $3,000 to the project. As an added benefit I get a 120 foot by 6 foot wide and 6 inch deep swale along my back property line (note scarasm) due to the fine minds of the City of Houston.

Now I have to got my HOA and convince them that 5 trees need to be removed in order to build my pool. Those people not familar with Kingwood, Texas, it is heavily wooded area north of Houston and they (along with The Woodlands, TX) take their trees very seriously. I suspect I will have to add some new tress to my site but since pines are going to be removed and red oaks going in I think I'm coming out ahead.

Most of the delay has been deciding between spray deck and travertine pavers. We finally decided on travertine pavers. Now with all the rain we have had for the past couple of weeks I suspect my build will be delayed so that they can "catch up" on everyone's build. If I'm lucky it should be ready by the time it just starts to warm up around here which is perfect.

I've noted peoples' advice on this forum. Relax and enjoy the process as much as possible. There will be delays, dirt and mud everywhere but there will be an end to the project. The kids are away at college so at least we won't have them asking everyday, "is the pool done yet". There will be mistakes and unforseen problems. I know this to be the case but I do what to keep it in perspective it is "just a pool". A very expensive toy but a toy nonetheless. I'm not going to accept a shotty job but I've been around long to know that issues will arise. Additional costs are guaranteed and I made sure my wife was fully on board before we signed the contract. I will keep everyone posted on pics, etc. but nothing will probably begin for another 3-4 weeks. In the meantime I will continue to live vicariously through others on this site.

I attached a copy of computer generated pictures for reference.
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I love your pool design. Your home is awesome!


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