New build in Raleigh NC

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Backfilling today! Liner will be ordered tomorrow so we should have water in about 2 1/2 weeks. Looking at a hole in the ground for 2 weeks will be agonizing to me. Neither my hubby nor I know how those with gunite pools can handle the wait for water! Now we get to work on the concrete plan. Any recommendations for minimum square footage? We're thinking about 1,000 sq ft. We're replacing the current paver patio with concrete and adding a bunch more to the right side of the pool. Also concreting under the covered porch so we can store toys, floats, nets, brushes, etc. and hopefully avoid putting in a shed.

And the pool test kit came in today so I'm going to test our tap water tomorrow.

Hours of entertainment for this cat


Almost done with the backfill which was 4 trucks of #57 gravel against the shell and the dig soil graded to flatten the area around the pool
 
Think about this for the surround:

-can two people pass each other? If not add more.

-Where you will have seating-will someone be able to walk in front of or behind the seating? Lounges and chairs, etc.

I have not heard anyone say this wish they did not go as big. I HAVE heard quite a few say they wish more........

:hug:

:kim:
 
Today they came back to start prepping for the liner which happens to be a week ahead of schedule! :kim: Tomorrow they will finish the bottom, install the liner and start to fill. The electrician will be here this week to get all that stuff running so we'll be swimming this weekend! We are so excited! And, because the stars are all aligning lately, the landscaper will be here Friday to grade the crazy steep drop off the dig created, the concrete company can get our coping done next week, and the fence goes in next week. The waterfall should be in the next couple weeks too, then when he is done with the heavy equipment and moving 35,000 pounds of rock, we'll do the concrete decking and perhaps have time to lay sod before the weather gets too chilly. This is all going too smoothly. Maybe we should play the lottery! :)







And tomorrow I'll drag out the huge test kit box and get to testing my fill water. (I did buy 9 gallons of 10% bleach today at the store.)

- - - Updated - - -

And it is crazy that the whole liner fits in that little cardboard box.
 
I am going to drop these on you now. You are at THAT point! You will a REAL swimming pool within the week! :shock:

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

Find the recommended levels link. Compare it to your levels.

Now to the recommended chemicals. Tell me what you THINK you need to buy. I will check behind you to make sure you do not spend money on any thing you do not need.

LOL on the HUGE liner fitting in that tiny box!

:kim:
 
I haven't had time to complete pool school yet and figure out what I need. I'll have time to do it during our expected storm tomorrow!

Yesterday, they finished laying the bottom, put the liner in and started filling






By this morning, we were just above the second step and by the afternoon we were at the top step thanks to 3 hoses. I was going to take advantage of the "water only" billing option when filling a pool that we got from the town.


When the kids got home from school they took a swim with Dad.


We're bummed about the bottom showing footprints and other divots, but read they are common. Hopefully when we can figure out how to work the lights properly, the color will hide the imperfections better than the glaring white light.


Then again, we probably shouldn't have had friends over on the very first day!


We're waiting to see how much rain this hurricane brings. We intentionally didn't fill all the way since we're expecting 4-6 inches of rain this weekend. PB hopes to be by tomorrow to start it up if the weather isn't too horrible.
 
Looks very nice!

As for decking we ended up with right at 1000sqft. When I did my deck design I layed out where I would have my grill, firepit, 2 lounge chairs with table, our 4 person table top, etc.. All the things we wanted around the pool and then sized the decking to comfortably fit each one. Around the "back" side of the pool didn't put as much decking since didn't plan on placing any items there and only needed room to walk, jump-in, and for safety cover anchors.

Good luck...looks nice. We'll see how we handle all this rain!
 
Thanks! Our first concrete measurement was 1600+ sq ft. The owner came out to measure because I thought "no way" and his measurement came in at 1360 AND I made the patio area bigger than we'd had for the first measurement. When this storm passes and the ground dries out, I plan to put our furniture out around the pool to make sure we have the right amount of decking. I'm very glad we didn't commit to a concrete plan prior to the pool build. We've already changed it quite a bit from the original plan we had in mind.
 

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With 3 hoses running full strength, it took about 40 hours. We expected the storm to drop a lot more rain than we got so we topped it off for a couple hours this morning. Now I'm waiting to hear from the PB about how to start the filter up so it doesn't just sit for the long weekend without filtration.
 
I didn't update when the landscaping was mostly done last fall. We had our landscaper put in most of it, but we like to get our hands dirty so we have more plans for what we want to do now that we've lived with it for a few months. We will be doing raised garden boxes in the side yard this spring and will be finishing off our sitting area that will be surrounded with butterfly and bee attracting plants that is partially done on the hillside. The waterfall will need to wait a couple years to make sure the ground has settled well. There was a lot more backfill than we had anticipated at the start. It is ok because we have a 40 foot long waterfall/creek bed on the other side of the backyard. Being able to get all the way around the pool to clean it (especially during and after Hurricane Matthew) has proven invaluable. We're happy we're taking things in stages instead of making a plan and sticking to it without living with it. Being flexible and patient is very helpful!











Here you can see the slope we have in the yard.
 
This looks awesome! I like the way you did your coping and concrete. I wanted to do something similar and have the cantilever stamped concrete coping and then brushed concrete only in the areas I intended for sitting but I was outvoted by my husband. He wants a walkway around the pool besides the coping. I think it's a waste of concrete, lol!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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