Austin, TX - Above Ground Salt Water Pool in Canyon - Construction Started 09/30/19

[Sparks22]

I had Atmos before when I lived in Pflugerville and North Austin/WilCo, but since I moved to interior Austin, my gas has become much cheaper. I just did re-check and combined with delivery it is $0.35 / CCF delivered + taxes (out the door). Maybe it was less than during Summer, but my memory was stuck at $1/hour. As a CCF is ~4% more than a therm, my calculation was a bit off, but call it $0.33 / therm (or $1.20 / hour). My meter is maybe a touch undersized if other things are running, but I will say Texas Gas Service has been notably less expensive than Atmos.. Maybe it's $1.20 an hour, hard to tell. That said, CoA Water and CoA Power has been more money than options I had when I was outside the limits. However, I have Solar (9.3 kWh system (LG+SolarEdge)), and CoA's solar program is pretty advantageous to citizen solar providers, so it nets out to better than when I was on Atmos+Deregulated Power.

Interesting the dynamics of choosing which side of an imaginary line to live on! Thanks for talking through the prices with me and making sense of it!

 

[Davwil]

Amazing pool you have. I have a circular bar that will be surrounded by water (at least 75% and I wanted bar stools around it. The bar is quite large and would handle about 12 stools. At first I was going to put them on a step, but others have told me to just start a slight taper after the bar stools into the pool to avoid bumping feet, sudden drop-offs and cleaning issues. I'm still trying to work those issues out and haven't decided. The bar top is solid natural-shaped stone with a thickness of 3-4". Through "trial and error" of stacking items and sitting, it appears that the most comfortable height would put the top of the bar stool about 10 to 10.5 inches from the bottom of the bar. That puts the waterline halfway between the belly button and breasts and a comfortable height for reaching items on the bar top.
I have several questions and there seems to be varying suggestions of the dimensions of bar stools. If you remember what you've done in this area, I would appreciate your suggestions, input and details.
By any chance do you know how far the top of your stools are from the bottom of the bar top?
What did you use as the diameter of the bar stool base?
What is the diameter of the bar top seat?
How far is the bar stool away from the wall of the bar?
How far are the bar stools apart?
I plan on using an in-floor cleaning system and some are telling me that it won't work around bar stools. Could you give me your thoughts on the cleaning issue? I've read your entire build thread (and it's amazing by the way) and noticed you use a robot and it doesn't seem to get up to the level of the bar stools and get hung up because the bar stool bases keep it off that ledge (?). Is that correct? Do you know how high that step is and how close the bar stools are to the edge of the step?
I know this is a lot of questions but any input you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I'm over in the Fredericksburg area, by the way.

 

[DB-Cooper]

Amazing pool you have. I have a circular bar that will be surrounded by water (at least 75% and I wanted bar stools around it. The bar is quite large and would handle about 12 stools. At first I was going to put them on a step, but others have told me to just start a slight taper after the bar stools into the pool to avoid bumping feet, sudden drop-offs and cleaning issues. I'm still trying to work those issues out and haven't decided. The bar top is solid natural-shaped stone with a thickness of 3-4". Through "trial and error" of stacking items and sitting, it appears that the most comfortable height would put the top of the bar stool about 10 to 10.5 inches from the bottom of the bar. That puts the waterline halfway between the belly button and breasts and a comfortable height for reaching items on the bar top.
I have several questions and there seems to be varying suggestions of the dimensions of bar stools. If you remember what you've done in this area, I would appreciate your suggestions, input and details.
By any chance do you know how far the top of your stools are from the bottom of the bar top?
What did you use as the diameter of the bar stool base?
What is the diameter of the bar top seat?
How far is the bar stool away from the wall of the bar?
How far are the bar stools apart?
I plan on using an in-floor cleaning system and some are telling me that it won't work around bar stools. Could you give me your thoughts on the cleaning issue? I've read your entire build thread (and it's amazing by the way) and noticed you use a robot and it doesn't seem to get up to the level of the bar stools and get hung up because the bar stool bases keep it off that ledge (?). Is that correct? Do you know how high that step is and how close the bar stools are to the edge of the step?
I know this is a lot of questions but any input you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I'm over in the Fredericksburg area, by the way.

I had some of the measurements, but I forgot them. I also labored over it a lot, also making my own makeshift stools to try and guess the height. Once the weather warms, I can report back.

One major thing to think of is where you want the water level to be. Mine is at belly button level sitting, some people have them higher so just part of your legs are under water, but I like getting all of the legs and hips under water. That was more the basis of my height than any other factor.

I will say, the robot does get stuck in between the stools maybe 10-15% of the time, it's a minor inconvenience.

 

[Davwil]

I had some of the measurements, but I forgot them. I also labored over it a lot, also making my own makeshift stools to try and guess the height. Once the weather warms, I can report back.

One major thing to think of is where you want the water level to be. Mine is at belly button level sitting, some people have them higher so just part of your legs are under water, but I like getting all of the legs and hips under water. That was more the basis of my height than any other factor.

I will say, the robot does get stuck in between the stools maybe 10-15% of the time, it's a minor inconvenience.

Thank you for the reply. I've done the same thing as far as making makeshift stools to check the water level and bar height. It's been a concern of my as well, but I think I have it down the way I want it. I originally had the water level at belly button level, but my wife felt everyone would be more comfortable with it a little higher , so that's obviously the correct level. I just could never find specific measurements for these items, but I guess it's a matter of personal preference. Thanks again for answering.

 

[DB-Cooper]

Good weather this weekend prompted me to paint the PVC pipes. The city inspector strongly suggested it and he said it was mandatory for my bathroom vent pipe, so figured if I was doing one pipe, I'd do all of them. I opted against spray paint as managing overspray seemed more of an issue than the painstakingly long manual brushing which turned out to be a somewhat therapeutic experience.

I just used a matte/flat gray exterior paint with built-in primer (cheapo PPG stuff from Home Depot). I used liberal amounts of painters tape to tape off valves and equipment, that was probably the most annoying part of this project. I tried a roller, I tried a foam brush, but ultimately normal hair brushes worked fine, I used a very small one for some of the harder to reach areas and then a 2" for most of it. The brushes left a nice brush stroke look which I like, but it required making sure I finished all pipes with a nice even stroke.

This is far from perfection, I wasn't after that. There's pipe glue and other things in the way. One side note, I temporarily removed the clamp that held down the water temperature sensor, not realizing that clamp is vital to creating a water and especially air tight seal on your pool. As a result, my pump wouldn't prime this morning and since I had just backwashed and recharged earlier in the day, when the filter drained, it sent some slurry into the hot tub. So I addressed the clamp and got it water/air tight and re-backwashed and then drained the spa into the pool and back into the spa so now that's crystal clear again, but lessons learned...

Here are pictures:

Before (rear pipes painted)


After first coat with prep/masking still on:
After 2nd coat and masking removal:


Here's the bathroom plumbing vent that he said had to be painted:

 

[Dirk]

This is far from perfection, I wasn't after that.

Uh, there's some evidence to the contrary. The first step in dealing with OCD is admitting it, but maybe you're not ready. That's OK.

It looks fantastic. Job well done! You're going to feel good everytime you walk past your pad!!

 

[nicolispicoli]

That turned out really nice!

I just showed my husband and told him I had a job for him when he is bored... once we get the pool built that is!

 

[DB-Cooper]

Quick update, I've almost recovered from the storm damage. I did have to replace a 2-way valve and an above ground T that cracked in the freeze, but I was able to survive without any equipment or other damage. A couple pieces of coping chipped due to the ice, but I had extras and swapped them out.

Regrettably, my supply line from the back of my house to my auto-fill and bathroom broke. A PVC pipe was plumbed through a stair and then pex was connected on both sides. Despite ridiculous and unprecedented weather and freeze (my pool/bathroom was in the wind blast getting the most significant wind chill, none of my Pex stuff broke, but the PVC surely did. I had that line restored after removing the travertine from the step. I've since insulated the pex and will put the travertine back on later this week. Finally, I just got a replacement Navien valve for my broken hot water heater under warranty, so I should get hot water restored within the next week just in time for high season.

Despite the ridiculous storm, I was doing fine until I decided to cut water at my main and abandon. The first three days of the storm which were the worst, I ran a hot/cold water drip and everything survived fine. So if we find ourselves facing that type of weather, I'll just drip.

Also, finally got my Ledge Loungers (cloud color), so pic of those as well:

 

[DB-Cooper]

I do have a few more projects, so stay tuned:

- New fence that's closer to my property line giving me more side access and much higher to give more privacy
- Building a deck/platform underneath the deck to move storage boxes and pool equipment, decluttering the deck

After that, I think I'm done, this project has now exceeded 2 years and has been exhausting and one of the largest sources of stress in my life (delays, permit issues, water tap issues, storm of the century, etc.). That said, I've enjoyed the chemistry and just taking care of it, it's sort of like a pet you have to take care of. It's been somewhat soothing to brush, clean, balance chemicals, get some sun and fresh air, etc.

I'm looking forward to enjoying it now, it's definitely become a pride and joy, but I'm not sure I'd have the fortitude to do it again...

 

[kimkats]

Knowing what was where sure paid off for you fixing that hose! Well done!

 

[DB-Cooper]

Knowing what was where sure paid off for you fixing that hose! Well done!

Ironically, I discovered a pin hole leak today in the repaired line. Glad I caught a drip coming through some duct tape. I was about to start my new deck project which would've hid it. Got it fixed, but need to get the conduit piping replaced now.

 

[DB-Cooper]

Under deck platform is complete. New fence goes up in late May. I ended up having to replace my Navien tankless water heater, but I did get all plumbing repaired and outside a couple touch up things on the plaster, some grout where the travertine and coping meet, I'm almost completely signed off with my pool builder!

Here's the deck storage area. Bad weather has slowed the move in, but I've got more storage stuff going in. I'm really happy with how this came out, and it's really cleaned up the surrounding areas. I now can run and store the robot from inside here removing the somewhat ugly storage contraption I had.

 

[DB-Cooper]

Also, here are the repaired steps after the plumbing repairs. I did have to order more travertine, but once it gets some weather and dirt it'll match. For the stairs to the equipment pad, they failed permitting multiple times which required ripping out, installing an ugly railing and destroying the cast concrete, so I ended up just refinishing the entire steps in travertine. Without the railing it's technically not up to code since it doesn't have a railing, but it's not used for high traffic or certainly by anyone that would need the railing. I kept the railing and will store it just in case a future owner wants to bolt it back in.

Repaired step for plumbing:


Refinished stairs (black metal thing with legs is the railing which can be mason screwed into the steps:

 

[joepaiii]

I do have a few more projects, so stay tuned:

- New fence that's closer to my property line giving me more side access and much higher to give more privacy
- Building a deck/platform underneath the deck to move storage boxes and pool equipment, decluttering the deck

After that, I think I'm done, this project has now exceeded 2 years and has been exhausting and one of the largest sources of stress in my life (delays, permit issues, water tap issues, storm of the century, etc.). That said, I've enjoyed the chemistry and just taking care of it, it's sort of like a pet you have to take care of. It's been somewhat soothing to brush, clean, balance chemicals, get some sun and fresh air, etc.

I'm looking forward to enjoying it now, it's definitely become a pride and joy, but I'm not sure I'd have the fortitude to do it again...

Dude you have a million dollar view there... enjoy it. That looks amazing!

 

[DB-Cooper]

I'm happy to report I'm FINALLY done. Cut the final check on June 29th. Also, got a new fence and some landscaping done. I guess I'm not done-done, I probably will do some low voltage lighting and I'm definitely building a roofed shelter over the pool equipment to give it some sun protection and allow me to close it off more easily in cold winter weather.

Here are some pictures of the landscaping, completed fence in next post:

2x4 limestone pavers as a walk way through the side yard. This area was completely butchered by the excavators, cement trucks, plaster trucks, etc. New fence is in the background pre-stain


New retaining wall and pavers from different angle.


Masons built a staircase from the sidewalk. This is how most of our friends enter the pool area.


Closeup


Widened the area with new fence, new retaining wall where travertine steps built and 2x4 pavers continued. Put travertine pads down for trash cans. I may enclose the trash cans with some form of a pergola type wall (semi see through wood).

 

[DB-Cooper]

Here's the fence. I went 1.25" (5/4) cedar, wood more akin to deck. It's 7' at the front and scales to 14+' at the rear. This gives up a bit more privacy from our neighbors (and gives them privacy). The previous fence was 6.5' and effectively by time it got to the pool area, it was almost pool level. It was also in disrepair. The metal poles are 4x4 and go very deep into earth. I kind of overdid it with the fence from an engineering standpoint, but figured I didn't want to redo the fence and the thicker wood and metal posts didn't cost that much more (wood prices are already sky high though...):

Front gate/entrance:


Side from neighbor's house. You can start to see the height as it goes down the hill. I inverted the posts for aesthetics when it goes around the first bend.


Looking down from where the posts invert:


Equipment pad area (smaller posts used here since height was kept 7'


Looking down the taller side:


Equipment/trash area:


Entry angle:


Entry angle again (previous post picture was pre-stain)


You can see the posts down there, those are the 4x4 metal posts:


From the pool deck. As stated, before the fence was only 7.5' from the ground, so the tallest point of the fence was well below my neighbor's deck stair case. When in the pool, the fence completely fences off the pool.

 

[DB-Cooper]

Here are three more to show the height. It's just over 14' at the rear end.

 

[HeyEng]

Looks really good!

Ah, good 'ole TX with the massive foundations. When we moved to San Antonio, I was amazed at how BIG they can get...but since there isn't much "dirt work" to be done, not much choice!

 

[dianedebuda]

I'm happy to report I'm FINALLY done.

Isn't that a glorious feeling? Happy for you. Can you believe the weather we've been having?

 

[DB-Cooper]

Isn't that a glorious feeling? Happy for you. Can you believe the weather we've been having?

It's helped keep the pool temps down. Regrettably, in my little pocket, we haven't seen much rain for the last couple weeks, but we got deluged in May/June.