About to start soon

[Cephrael]

Builder stopped by to grab a sample to test. And to talk patio, fence, and other stuff.

He suggested borates. No experience with those so I’m gonna do some reading tonight.

Any who... the pool house is coming along great.

 

[kimkats]

We like borates but suggest you get the water balanced and let yourself learn the pool for a few months before adding them. They make it harder to adjust some of the levels so better to wait on them.

 

[Cephrael]

We like borates but suggest you get the water balanced and let yourself learn the pool for a few months before adding them. They make it harder to adjust some of the levels so better to wait on them.

So wait until next year then? ? pool will probably be getting winterized in October.

 

[kimkats]

Yeppers LOL

 

[Cephrael]

Pool shed progress

 

[kimkats]

NICE!!! You are going to love having a pool house to keep wet bodies out of the main house!!!

Kim

 

[Cephrael]

Pool house has doors and siding now. Plumber and electrician should be finishing up in next week or two.

Ran into a snag with the natural gas and may have to go with propane, which I’m not sure if I’ll need a whole new heater or just a conversion kit. See this thread for more on that.

Still no patio, wall, or dive rock. Apparently the Cambrian granite we ordered is taking forever, and the PB is telling the patio guy to hold up until he finishes with the wall and dive rock.

So yeah, that’s been fun.

Next spring, my pool is gonna look amazing. At least the kids are still enjoying it, even if the water is only 72*.

 

[kimkats]

Love the doors! So classy looking! BOOOOOOO on the gas line but it looks like yo have been given some good advice on that thread to follow up on! GO TFP!

Kim

 

[jimim]

Ur doing good. Yard is coming along nice. Next yeAr you will be done. Takes time. I’m done with my third summer and still have no landscaping. I’m just glad my pool house is done. That took a full year almost.

 

[Cephrael]

Secondary gas service line being added to the property for the pool stuff. It’s over our budget which means digging into savings, but worth it in the long run. Hopefully it gets installed soon, but probably take a while.

Pool house is moving along nicely. Rough plumbing is done and inspected. Electrician coming Friday.

Granite should finally be here next week. So the wall and dive rock can finally get done. Once they are done then the patio can get done. After the patio, we can get the fence done. So I think we are entering the home stretch.

Next year will be sound system, and landscaping.

 

[Cephrael]

Granite finally on site. Wall blocks on site. Dive rock foundation with planters poured. Electric and plumbing are roughed in for the pool house. Insulation (possibly tomorrow) and Sheetrock next week.

Looks like we are getting closer to completion. Just in time to close the pool.

 

[kimkats]

BIG steps towards the completion! SWEET! Nothing wrong with a Polar Plunge!

Kim

 

[Cephrael]

BIG steps towards the completion! SWEET! Nothing wrong with a Polar Plunge!

Kim

Kids are still swimming. Pool is 72* and air is 65-75*. I don’t know how they do it.

 

[Rich D]

Granite finally on site. Wall blocks on site. Dive rock foundation with planters poured. Electric and plumbing are roughed in for the pool house. Insulation (possibly tomorrow) and Sheetrock next week.

Looks like we are getting closer to completion. Just in time to close the pool.

"Wait a minute... Wait one minute..... " Who said anything about granite pavers or walls or "A Dive ROCK"?????? That's going to be awesome ... Do you have the dive Rock? The pad looks like it will hold more than just one boulder.. Where is the wall going? Things look pretty flat out there. How are you handling the grading behind said wall?

Is the entire deck going to be granite pavers? How big is the deck?

 

[Cephrael]

"Wait a minute... Wait one minute..... " Who said anything about granite pavers or walls or "A Dive ROCK"?????? That's going to be awesome ... Do you have the dive Rock? The pad looks like it will hold more than just one boulder.. Where is the wall going? Things look pretty flat out there. How are you handling the grading behind said wall?

Is the entire deck going to be granite pavers? How big is the deck?

12’ long wall with 3 two foot waterfalls is going down long side. Dive rock (granite step)with two planters is going on deep end. Patio/deck is going to be brushed concrete. Definitely not doing pavers. Too much movement with frost heaves. I like simple.

More pics to come at end of day.

 

[Cephrael]

 

[JamesW]

Kids are still swimming. Pool is 72* and air is 65-75*. I don’t know how they do it.

Time to crank up the heater.

 

[Cephrael]

Time to crank up the heater.

If only it was hooked up...

 

[jimim]

You should get no heave in winter with pavers on a 4 inch concrete pour. My buddy has done countless jobs this way in my area over the years. No issues. I’m going on my 3rd winter. My first 2 had no issues.

It’s all looking really nice!

 

[Rich D]

12’ long wall with 3 two foot waterfalls is going down long side. Dive rock (granite step)with two planters is going on deep end. Patio/deck is going to be brushed concrete. Definitely not doing pavers. Too much movement with frost heaves. I like simple.

More pics to come at end of day.

Very cool...

I was on the fence about pavers or concrete in this climate. I really liked the smooth uniform surface of the concrete and thought that pavers just looked too busy and all those joints would just be holding debris. I do not agree with your frost heave theory though. One thing I do know is you can not stop the frost, so no matter what surface you choose you will have frost under it. So it is the proper subgrade prep that will reduce the amount the ground moves. Frost heaves are created from dissimilar materials containing different moisture content. Less moisture = less movement. Since you had all sand you should have very little movement. I went with pavers in the end (which did not move at all last winter) because i was afraid of these issues with concrete.

- Any type of pool repairs or deck repairs the patches simply look awful unless you top coat the entire deck
- There are 2 types of concrete. Concrete that has cracked and concrete that will crack. If you get a knowledgeable flat work guy that knows where cut in the joints and you are very Lucky you might not see any cracks. I did not Want to gamble on that one and would hate seeing a big crack in my deck.
- There are so many variables to have a correct pour of concrete for a nice finish look. You need the correct weather and Temps (remember your in New england...) the correct crew with the correct attitude. The correct mix and timing for the concrete. No debris blowing around. Just to name a few.
Pavers are produced under controlled circumstances and are easily replaced if some are found to be defective.

I went with The pavers and used some huge pieces (called grande) in the mix to help with the busy look. After using the polymeric sand I found the joints were no issue at all. My deck is aways very clean.

We are so late in the season the absolute best thing that could happen for your deck would be to go through a freeze, thaw season and be installed early next spring. I realize there are a lot of downfalls to this but just something to consider.....