Another one in Las Vegas-Finaled, but not finished

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

LOL to be paid 4 hours to watch concrete harden?????? NICE!

You are right in that you will not need much chlorine with the SWG BUT you will need it to get your FC up to the correct level AND when the water is too cold (some 60, some 50) for the SWG to work. I just want you to know where to get it from for when you need it.

You muratic acid CANNOT be stored in the same place as the chlorine or really anything else. The fumes are bad. With you having Grands I would also look for a locking something as well. Here is one that several people got just for the M. Acid.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-2-Shelf-Storage-Cabinet/8206250

Kim

cool...that would be perfect!! I'll watch for it to get back in stock.

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

Well, well, well....so today started out to be such a glorious day. Got up before the sun, moved the motorhome out of the way, opened up the gates, did one last walk of the yard, because today is deck day!!

As the sun came up, I got out the camera to take some last pictures of the naked shell. Got one shot, and the battery died, and can't find the stupid charger. Oh-oh, is this a foreshadow of doom?

As we get closer to 6:30 am, the excitement building, as we are expecting the crew to show up and start setting up, to be ready for the cement trucks to roll in about 7:30 and get to work on pouring some mud.

But, it's strangely quiet. Knowing these guys are some of the best crews in town, I'm telling myself maybe they don't need as long to get ready as I imagined. But by 7:15, still no one here. So, I'm thinking there may be a problem. By 7:30, no people, no trucks. So I texted the PB wondering if something had happened, since yesterday afternoon, he was by, and assured me today was the day.

A few minutes later, I got the answer...apparently, the cement crew decided to not go to work today. No cement for me until Monday, since it's going to rain tomorrow.

Ahh...they joys of a construction project... BTW, that smiley there is important. A half hour ago, I couldn't have used it, but I have accepted my fate, and will just have to consider today as "practice" for the real thing... (oops, I did it again!!)

Anyone else get a nice surprise today?

 

[kimkats]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! man I did not want to come to work today but I pulled my sleepy head off the pillow and did so!!!!!! Must be nice

Beachy! I am so proud of you! LOL I bet there were some adult words being said around your house this morning! BUT you have moved to the other side and will come out with a pool one day!



Kim

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! man I did not want to come to work today but I pulled my sleepy head off the pillow and did so!!!!!! Must be nice

Beachy! I am so proud of you! LOL I bet there were some adult words being said around your house this morning! BUT you have moved to the other side and will come out with a pool one day!



Kim

Yes...I'll admit to a couple of 4 letter words....But, it's not like I've scheduled a February pool party or anything..LOL But the one in March...hmmm...that one is ON!!

 

[Big Will]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

You are 100% correct in making sure the wife feels comfortable and the peace that brings to the house is priceless lol.
I been having to do some little things around the house to prove to my wife that I can do and manage a construction project even though I'm not very handy at all.... but hey at least all my barstools now have tight screws and they feel like the day we got them again 2 months ago . But I'll tell you what beach when I start and if your feeling up to it you can come by daily for my build and be my support system and manage my build and I'll even supply the drinks. But yours is coming along nicely and I appreciate the info you have shared with me.

Thank you for the compliment. I had really wanted to do this via OB. I love managing projects, and have a reasonably basic idea of the construction process. But, I'm still not 100% mobile from an operation last summer, so I would not have been able to manage this to the level that I would have been comfortable with. We also have some narrow parameters from our HOA, regarding timing, and other issues. Conveniently for me, the PB lives one street over, and is very familiar with the HOA (since he's part of it), and it's peculiarities. We've had several issues come up during the project that had I not had him, I may have made the wrong decision. Cost wise, while I did not waste any subs times with bids, but from those OB's in the area who I communicated with, I think I'm paying about $15K over what I'd have paid as an OB. That's a lot of money to be sure, but by spending it, we and the grandkids will be swimming this summer instead of looking at a hot, dirt back yard, and not arguing with the HOA about why I haven't finished my construction yet.. Plus, the wife is much more comfortable, and that's worth eating a few more beans and hot dog dinners..LOL

I'll send you the PB info via PM. I'm very happy with him and his crew so far. I had a pool built in a different state back in 1994, and it was such a nightmare experience that I'd vowed to never do this again. This has been the "fun" experience that it should be, so for me, I'm very happy with this guy.

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

You are 100% correct in making sure the wife feels comfortable and the peace that brings to the house is priceless lol.
I been having to do some little things around the house to prove to my wife that I can do and manage a construction project even though I'm not very handy at all.... but hey at least all my barstools now have tight screws and they feel like the day we got them again 2 months ago . But I'll tell you what beach when I start and if your feeling up to it you can come by daily for my build and be my support system and manage my build and I'll even supply the drinks. But yours is coming along nicely and I appreciate the info you have shared with me.

What a nice offer!! I just may have to take you up on that..LOL. Did you try and contact my PB? I'd be interested to know how they compare to your research. And you're more than welcome to take a look at my little project in person if you'd like. Managing a project is just being detail oriented, and thinking ahead a few steps. I love it when I ask the PB a question, and he says, "well, I was going to talk to you about that when we got to point "x", but since you bring it up..." That means I'm on the right track..

And it IS important to keep the barstools tight...otherwise how will you know if what you're feeling is too much to drink, or just loose bar stools? LOLz

 

[Marlahoutex]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

Well yesterday was A Day Without Immigrants Day so maybe that's why they didn't work. A lot of businesses were closed in support of that.

 

[Big Will]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

I'm having my design being done now and as soon as it's done (Tuesday) I'm going to call your PB and have him give me a quote. At the same time I'm going to send my design out for bids so I can see the difference, hopefully I will feel rich by doing it myself lol.
and your right about the barstools, but with them tight it might make me want to get a few more drinks cause I will still feel stable lol ����

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

After a long, busy, rain filled weekend, Monday morning finally dawned. I woke up about 3 am, wondering if the deck crew would really show up, as the PB wasn't sure if they'd do this on a holiday or not. but right at 7 am, a truck drove up, and a bunch of guys jumped out, and started to get really busy. I don't think they stopped to take a breath until about 5 pm! They not only did the deck, but a big slab on the side of the house for RV parking and another shade structure, over 2,000 square feet in all! There were either 5 or 6 trucks (I lost count in there!), and they wheel barrowed every drop to the back/side yards. And the cement on top of the raised beam wall had to be carried back in 5 gallon buckets because it's too tight for wheel barrows. They finally left well after dark...They worked their butts off!

So, here is the starting point/forms:



More, the wood in the middle is the form for the deck-o-drain locations:



More:


The formed edge forms were very interesting to me. These are Styrofoam with the rounded edges cut out, and have sticky tape that holds on to the tiles on the water line (really well). Then they put down a right angled "trim" piece that hangs over the top edge of the tile. This piece has slots in the top. Then they poke a long black plastic piece through the slots in the trim, and through the Styrofoam, nailing one end to the beam through a hole in the plastic piece. Then a disk is pushed onto the plastic piece, and it holds the Styrofoam in place while the cement fills and hardens. Before it's completely unworkable, the piece is turned, twists off, and pulled out, the form is pulled, and then the holes are worked out of the cement, leaving a nice surface. Here's a picture of the black plastic. You can see how the system works in the following pictures. I just thought this was interesting, as i'd never seen this done before. (funny the little things one zero's in on!):



Deck-o-drain and cantilever edge forming:



Spa forms:



OK...next comes the cement. I'm going to put that in the next post.

 

[Big Will]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

I was just wondering that with the clear skies we have for the next 5 days if they were getting back to work lol. Looking good, keep those pics coming

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

OK, on to the fun part! I've been looking forward to getting rid of the mud and yuck all over the back yard for the past 2 months...and I can't tell you how nice that's going to be..LOL.

Here's the first of probably hundreds of wheel barrows of cement:



Stairs to spa getting filled:



Forms had been filled and floated a couple times, and the cement had set up enough to pull the forms to fill the holes (quality is down a bit, had to take pictures through the windows for obvious reasons.):



A little closer up;



All done, let's watch the cement dry:



Patio/sun deck/back of the house:



Closer up;



Fire feature/beam wall:



It's been hard to catch any of the kitties watching the process, as they aren't too happy with the noise and "strangers" in their back yard, but Mr. Mazi decided since the sun was out, he'd supervise:

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

I was just wondering that with the clear skies we have for the next 5 days if they were getting back to work lol. Looking good, keep those pics coming

I was only half expecting them to work yesterday, but am very thankful they did. The project has been extremely smooth, except the part where I've had to coordinate between three different contractors with two different schedules to do small parts of each job in different stages. And that's MY fault, not theirs, as I'd be stupid if I expected any of them to run their business based on what the other is doing. So, with this out of the way, the patio guy will put up the covers on Wednesday (tomorrow), and be out of the way. The landscaper is done until after the pool is completed, and the concrete needs about a week to cure before we spray deck. Long whine short, barring some delay in the cover install tomorrow, we've moved past the "bumpy" part of the process, and it'll be up to the PB to get some water in that hole...

 

[kimkats]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

That IS cool! I am thankful you shared the process! I LOVE learning new things! THANKS!

Is Mr. Mazi a bengal?

Are you watering the patio? That helps slow down the curing to help prevent cracking. With those cut lines though you should not have any problems!

Let the mud END!!!!

Kim

 

[ShantellyLace]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

Its looking great! And love Mr Mazi!

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

Yes, Mazi is a Bengal (good eye, you know your kitties!). We also have his littermate sister, Kali. They'll be 12 this September. They are awesome cats, but like all of us, as they get up in years, they definitely have special needs. I'll see if I can coax the others to show themselves to the camera too..

Yes, I've done a little bonding with the new concrete too... Contractor said not to worry too much about it, as the ground was really soaked before they poured by the rain, and it's not getting a lot of direct sunlight due to clouds and location. Won't be able to water too much today due to the workers putting up the covers.

Oh yes, had another awesome thing happen yesterday afternoon...the big brown truck delivered my test kit. I hope to have time to play with the fill water today, so my TFP "way" education can begin. It will be interesting to compare the start up the PB uses to what is recommended here. I'm sure my PB will enjoy me asking why he's doing "this", when "that" would be better...

 

[kimkats]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

Brown trucks are good trucks! LOL

Don't bother testing for CYA as it has to be added to the water. Your fill water will not have any in it.

Write down your fill water levels on the front of your test note book to have for future water additions. This will remind you what you might need to do to help balance it.

Here is our link to plaster start up:

Pool School - Start-up New Plaster

Note the 30 day no swimming depends on what start up the PB uses.

Make sure to run this by the PB as he holds the warranty card!

Just know he will not be used to someone that asks questions and KNOWS what they are talking about. Show him your test kit. We have found that eases their minds quite a bit. We even had ONE that knew about TFP and loved it!

Kim

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

Busy couple of days. When I get a chance later on today, I'll post up a couple pictures of the patio build. I finally had some time to play with my "chemistry set"...lol. And here's what I came up with from the tap that'll be used to fill the pool:

Cl= 0.5 ppm
pH= 7.8

Both from the basic test kit.

FC=0.5 ppm
CC=0.5 ppm
TC=1.0 ppm
CH=650
TA=200

I expected there to be plenty of calcium and alkalinity in the water.

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

Here's the last of the excitement for this week. I had two patio covers installed, one on the other side of the house, and a free standing one for the planned outdoor kitchen and shade area in the "back" yard. Our HOA requires either "alumawood-type" or stucco covered. We chose the alumawood type because one of our primary goals is to keep maintenance to a minimum, especially in this harsh summer environment. With the exception of the strength members (uprights, and load carrying beams, the material is coated aluminum, no painting, no rusting, and best of all, no maintenance. I'm guessing the woodgrain is pressed into the aluminum when it's initially being rolled out at the factory, but it looks pretty decent, and I think once I build the kitchen, it will look more substantial, less like a shade cover in the public park..

It was amazing just how fast this went up. From start to finish took two guys lifting and bolting, and one guy (the boss) cutting and prepping the pieces to fit the next step, about 3 hours. I've built a few wood patios, and I couldn't have painted the vertical support beams in three hours..LOL. So this was interesting to watch go up for me.

In some of the earlier pictures, you could see the 4 white uprights set into the concrete. These are coated steel. The first step is to "wrap" them, and a piece is slid over them, then both cut to the proper height. If you look in the lower right, you can see the wrap going down over the white steel pole:



Once that's done, another big piece of steel is inserted in the "beams", those are cut to the proper length (25' in this case), and those are lifted up and bolted on:



Then the other side:



For looks, we had a double beam installation, in this case, the second beam is decorative, and no steel is inserted. Depending on the span between uprights, sometimes a second steel beam is required.:



Then, they put up the rafters/roof on each end. They are measured to keep it square, and provide a guide line for the rest of them:



The rest of the roof is installed:



Then they add fascia, some decorative wrap of the uprights, rain gutters, and we have an almost instant patio cover:



So, hopefully next week, we'll at least get spray decking, and maybe (keep your fingers crossed!) the stone will be applied to the beam walls and around the spa. We are getting very very close to plaster point, and we can't wait!!

 

[kimkats]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

3 hours???? WOW! Great team work! That looks awesome! I can see many meals being served out there!

Kim

 

[BeachHead]

Re: Another underway in Las Vegas

3 hours???? WOW! Great team work! That looks awesome! I can see many meals being served out there!

Kim

I hope so!! Here's a very rough, very preliminary sketch of our concept. There's about 15' from the bold line on the left (pool edge) to the edge of the bar. The bar's about 44" wide, and the cabinet for the grill area is 30" wide.



So what did you think about my fill water?