New Pool Cypress, TX Pics

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Thanks all for your nice comments on our pool. I know its a little different from most pools but we really put a lot of thought into it and how we were going to use the pool.

Reza: Our PB said the same thing :) He said the soil in our area is easiest to work with and even with the rain that we had he wasn't too worried about the walls caving in.

Erik: I will PM the builder to you.

The gunite guys were South Bay Gunite. A very reputable gunite company in our area and does good work from what I hear. I am pretty sure they removed all the debris before shooting the gunite :). PB said the holes will be filled in later before tiling and shouldn't cause a problem. They need to come back and bend the rebar back in a bit so this is the reason there is a large void in the back. This gives them room to bend the rebar back and cover it.

Plumbing and Equipment was done last week, been busy and haven't had a chance to post the pics

Equipment pics:










plumbing to sheer descents





to skimmer





I am not an expert plumber and this looks good to me, but if any one sees any thing wrong please give a shout.
 
Nice plumbing work and glad to see it's sized correctly! I noticed we both have the Easy Touch control system. Have you considered the interface kit for iphone control? It seems nice to be able to pre-heat the hot-tub. It's on my wish-list.
 
Dave: Hubby had more involvement with equipment stuff but we haven't really looked into it. I think it would be a really cool option to have if one was to turn their whole house system into a smart house. I am okay with the wireless controller for now and with the heater size that we have it shouldn't take too long for the spa to heat up.

But I do admit the ScreenLogic is pretty sweet.

No pic updates, rain has caused some delays but it's okay we still have 1 more week of watering left.

I finally manged to get all the equipment and plaster specs updated in my first post (had to go trenching in our backyard mud hole and look at model and part numbers). I left most of the equipment decisions up to hubby but I think everything is specified appropriately for our pool and spa.

I know its a bit late to change anything now but if anyone sees anything glaring please give a shout.
 
CCisotope the pipes look good from NJ lol but the look like solid schedule IV PVC ?? or are the pipes flexable type only used for Pools ?? in any case u are in Texas and dont have to worry about Ground freezing on ya like us poor cold folks up here . The , most important part is after the Town plumbing inspector inspects the pipes make sure they Backfill with either Clean sand or Pea gravel or 3/8 " clean stone DO NOT LET THEM backfill with the Clay Soil u have over there . and when all that is done if u can wait couple of months for rain to settle all the bakfill before you pour concrete for the slab around the pool U dont want the dirt to settle on you in 2 years time it will couse the Concrete slab to crack. Are u required to have a Fence with gate and Child safty lock around the Pool in Texas?? if u do ,,,, u want the area around the pool graded first and then put in the post for the fence and have the concete guys doing the slab pour the concrete for the post at the same time as they are doing the slab , so later u dont have to Core hole the post it saves u money and cleaner uniform job.
 
Reza, thanks for the info! Jersey has had a brutal winter this year, what's up with that? Fellow South Jersey girl here-yes I am a Texas transplant but appreciate all the great things Texas has to offer like warmer weather :).

They did put in the solid PVC and I had asked the PB about flex tube. He said they use Flex tube for spas but maybe it's only done for circular spas here and not geometric spas? No worries about freezing ground here but Houston has had an interesting winter this year with some snow (2 inches) and ice which caused the city to shut down. So I think the plumbing will be okay. I will double check with the PB when he comes. Crazy weather last 2 days has caused things to come to a halt.

Regarding back fill- I think out east they use pea gravel but they used the topsoil to back fill. They hauled away all the clay soil they dug up for the pool but hand dug the plumbing and back filled with the same dirt. We are in a fairly new development and from my understanding the developers put in a layer of fill soil on top of the clay before building the homes in the area. Our area use to be a rice farm -perfect soil for rice farming in the day. Let me know if you think the back filling with topsoil will cause problems in the future? It seems standard practice in this part of the country.

Also there's no township plumbing inspector to come and inspect the pipes, nor electric, or anything else for that matter. Since we are a suburb outside of the city, all they do here is submit your pool design on your survey and submit it to the Home Owners Association (HOA). The HOA reviews and sign off...not sure if there are any engineers on the HOA approval committee and not sure what they really look for. It seems they just make sure the build isn't on any easements and aesthetically pleasing and fits in with all the other homes. Crazy huh? We would have to jump through hoops to build in Jersey and deal with the township inspector a number of times. For this build in TX, I have to act like the township inspector with my limited construction, electrical and plumbing knowledge-so I ask lots of questions to my PB. And this forum really helps too.


It doesn't seem like pools require child safety fences here, but most yards are already fenced off in TX. It's not like Jersey with open backyards, where you can walk over and join your neighbors party.

Heard S. Jersey just got some more snow this past Monday...really don't miss those snowmeggedon days. Try and stay warm Reza!
 
I am shocked you do not have any county inspections! Like in NJ, in FL pool building is highly regulated with permits and inspections at every phase of the build. I know it doesn't prevent all problems and poor construction, but it does give me some comfort. I love your pool design! It will be beautiful when it is finished. I hope all continues to go well.
 
Jro: keeping my fingers crossed that things go well. Yes it's shocking that pool building is not regulated as much here in this part of the country. This is why I think it important that folks also research the contractors being used during their build for this area.

I think if one is in the Houston city limits more permits are required and more inspections are done, but we are outside the city limits and those rules don't apply here.

The plumbing and electrical work is what I am worrying about the most right now. There are a lot of plumbing and electrical companies here and because no inspection is done after the work, workmanship isnt the same like out east and quality can suffer. My neighbor had an electrical fire in her garage after her pool was built. They were home at the time so the damage wasn't extensive....scary to have your house burn down after spending $$$ on a pool.

Reza: the one thing I forgot to mention about the backfill is that it did have some clay in it and probably bits of gunite too. It definitely wasnt a clean fill. What problems could this cause in the future? I can take a guess but sounds like you have experience with this kind of stuff.
 
You are smart to check the plumbing and electric subs carefully then. When they are there, ask questions so they will know you are familiar with the general aspects of the work. My biggest fear is the hidden incompetent contractor. The one who is well meaning and well intentioned, but not skilled or smart enough to do the work properly...
 

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ya they did get some snow snow aint the only thing it is just brutall cold and windy its been in the teens and single didgits fsince december. any way it is expensive to back fill with topsoil but Texas might be cheaper than here at 30 bucks a yard . in any case if you have not pored the concrete yet water the areas backfilled good U want the dirt the put back in to settlel as much as poassiable prior to concreteing the deck around the pool. It must be nice not to have no regulation Oh Heaven I should move to Texas Love San antonio was there couple of years ago that river walk wondeful ok good luck send more pic when u concrete the deck
 
Re: New Pool and Patio Cypress, TX Pics

Rain has finally cleared up and patio guys were out yesterday and today working on the patio extension. They had to tear down part of our breezeway to make the addition and are also getting rid of one the existing posts in the breeze way. This way we have a clear opening to the pool and no post in the middle. Work looks good so far, looks like they put all the engineered beams where they need to go for the additional support. Really excited to see this addition and now have a nice place to lounge, eat and do yoga :).

Some pics for those interested.






Guys are working hard and trying to get the top covered with plywood and paper before they leave in case it rains this weekend.

Also got word that coping and tiling will be done tomorrow. We ended up going with a Tuscany beige travertine which will be used for the coping and shorter retaining walls. The long wall with the 3 ft sheer descent will be covered in a turquoise irridescent colored glass tile. The design idea behind this was to make it look like water was falling on the wall and spillway. The turquoise color reminds me of the blue waters of Miami and Adriatic sea-trying to bring a little Miami and Europe to TX :).

We are aiming for a very clean, modern look and I hope these tile choices work out. We know the downside of glass tile but if applied properly they shouldn't cause problems like issues with falling off. Also we tried to get the thickest glass tile possible to reduce the chances of chipping. Just keeping the faith that they have expert pool glass tile folks in TX too.

Here are some pics of the travertine and glass tile. We will also be using a smooth ceramic tile for the waterline-the color is similar to the travertine color we are using to give it a seamless look.




For those that have glass tile on your spillway is there anything special that you do to keep it clean?
 
we are considering the arctic lagoon glass and travertine combo also. We may go with small travertine on the raised bond beam and spa if we can't find a good match for trav coping. Looking forward to seeing glass installed on yours. It's been difficult to find pics online other than npt's. What color plaster are you going with to tie in with the glass color. We actually think plain old white might work best for us.
 
imperator said:
we are considering the arctic lagoon glass and travertine combo also. We may go with small travertine on the raised bond beam and spa if we can't find a good match for trav coping. Looking forward to seeing glass installed on yours. It's been difficult to find pics online other than npt's. What color plaster are you going with to tie in with the glass color. We actually think plain old white might work best for us.
Click to expand...

True hard to find pics beside NPT. IF you go to oceanside glass tile and go to their gallery you will see some pics of the artic lagoon on a back wall used for a bathroom behind the bathtub. Here's the link: http://www.glasstile.com/photo-gallery.aspx#40 You will have to go to tab number 7 to see the artic lagoon color wall. This was my inspiration for our wall...it doesn't quite look like water flowing but also reminds me of microarrays that we use in the lab.

For our pool finish we are getting a custom WetEdge pebble blend. It will be a mix of pearl Matrix and Satin matrix pebbles with abalone shell mixed in and glass beads seeded on top to give it sparkle. Our spa finish is going to be a custom WetEdge all glass bead blend-the whole spa will have a glass finish. This is a nice option to get the glass tiled look in ones pool or spa without paying alot of $$$. The base color will be pearl matrix's Meditteranean color which I think is similar to Satin Matrix's Antiqua color.

We originally planned for WetEdge Prism Matrix for the pool finish and a jewelscape finish for the spa but ran into a bit of a hiccup. I had meeting with our Certified Wet Edge applicator (who is a very nice man and has been in the business for many years) and he presented these custom options for me. He along with my PB came through for us during this minor hiccup.

I know they have done the glass bead finish in many spas but the custom blend with glass seeding hasn't been done to many pools yet. I have faith that these guys will do a good job and they have a good reputation so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

It will be exciting to see it when it is completed and I am hoping it all blends well together. I can envision it in my head but seeing it in real life is different. I am hoping the design choices meet my expectations.
 
Also for those that are looking at WetEdge here's a nice link put together by the WE salesrep that shows what the colors look like once water is added. Pictures aren't as good as real life but it gives you a better idea what it might look like. I had a hard time envisioning what the water color would be by just wetting the plaster/pebble samples. http://www.pinterest.com/wetedgetech/.

Moderators if this link is not allowed please let me know and I will delete it. I am not in the industry but wanted to share this link with others. Maybe it will help others with their color choices.
 
I love the steps! I can't wait to see it completed!
 
CCisotope said:
True hard to find pics beside NPT. IF you go to oceanside glass tile and go to their gallery you will see some pics of the artic lagoon on a back wall used for a bathroom behind the bathtub. Here's the link: http://www.glasstile.com/photo-gallery.aspx#40 You will have to go to tab number 7 to see the artic lagoon color wall. This was my inspiration for our wall...it doesn't quite look like water flowing but also reminds me of microarrays that we use in the lab.

....

It will be exciting to see it when it is completed and I am hoping it all blends well together. I can envision it in my head but seeing it in real life is different. I am hoping the design choices meet my expectations.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. It's encouraging to see another photo that looks very similar to the vendors brochure. I think we're sold on this one.

Best of luck on the final color combo. Great selection. Will be following along.
 

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