Last time I checked his was a Pro, his pool and back yard are insane! I wish I had that skill set, then I could do my own work, lol!
Signed the contract this morning, New build Orange County, CA
- Thread starter Titan7
- Start date
Hey Titan,
I just replied to your PM. Hopefully things work out and you can stop by to see my pool and decking this weekend. I went with pavers and I'm glad I did. Our builders applied 4" of compacted roadbase followed by a 2" sand bed graded for deck drains followed by application of polymeric sand to fill the joints then a light water application to activate the sand. You will see where I have a little maintenance to do as far as filling a little bit of the poly sand into some joints on one area of the decking that has gotten a little bigger because of soil settling and of course no doubt a few small earthquakes. These are maybe a millimeter increase in gap would no doubt be cracks if it were concrete. Also, since my build in 2013 I have done NO maintenance on the pavers. That's not to say I didn't need any. In addition to a few spots of sand I need to fill per the above, much of the pavers near the pool have had much of the poly sand washed out so have been needing to fill that in. (Salt water is probably the culprit here) I also have not sealed the pavers. While this is optional, I have been wanting to do this to get a deeper color out of the pavers. The sealing also helps to seal the joint sand but we used polymeric sand with our install so any additional hardening of the sand would be a plus.
I just replied to your PM. Hopefully things work out and you can stop by to see my pool and decking this weekend. I went with pavers and I'm glad I did. Our builders applied 4" of compacted roadbase followed by a 2" sand bed graded for deck drains followed by application of polymeric sand to fill the joints then a light water application to activate the sand. You will see where I have a little maintenance to do as far as filling a little bit of the poly sand into some joints on one area of the decking that has gotten a little bigger because of soil settling and of course no doubt a few small earthquakes. These are maybe a millimeter increase in gap would no doubt be cracks if it were concrete. Also, since my build in 2013 I have done NO maintenance on the pavers. That's not to say I didn't need any. In addition to a few spots of sand I need to fill per the above, much of the pavers near the pool have had much of the poly sand washed out so have been needing to fill that in. (Salt water is probably the culprit here) I also have not sealed the pavers. While this is optional, I have been wanting to do this to get a deeper color out of the pavers. The sealing also helps to seal the joint sand but we used polymeric sand with our install so any additional hardening of the sand would be a plus.
Thank you!!! You ROCK!!! Can't seem to get a referral from either the PB or plaster sub to see Aqua or Tropics blue. Very odd!
I used Aqua Blue. I posted some good pictures on my build page. In Person is best but check out the pics I posted. I love the Aqua Blue!!!!!
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Coping, tile and firepit, electrical, done. Decking and walls next, still not sure weather I should seal the quartzite with a color enhancing sealer. I will have time to decide. Here are a few pictures. Fire pit looks tall, but decking will come up about 1.5-2" it should finish about 18" off the deck like the spa.
Question about the spill over on the spa, how far should the lip hang over the edge? The lip overhangs about 1 1/4" I assume this will be enough to have a sheer decent? I only ask as in photos they always look like the stick out more.
Here are some photos.
Question about the spill over on the spa, how far should the lip hang over the edge? The lip overhangs about 1 1/4" I assume this will be enough to have a sheer decent? I only ask as in photos they always look like the stick out more.
Here are some photos.
I like what I see! NICE!
Good question about the sheer from the spa. I have not idea but I am sure someone will go out and measure theirs for you since there are so many nice people on here.
Kim
Good question about the sheer from the spa. I have not idea but I am sure someone will go out and measure theirs for you since there are so many nice people on here.
Kim
The actual volume of flow from the spa is more important than the lip you are referring to. The only purpose that lip serves is to move the stream a little further into the pool. Many spas do not have anything like that and their spillways look and work just fine.
Another small advantage that stone may provide is when running the spillway on very low speeds and not directing most of the return water to the spa, the small trickle of water would drop into the pool instead of running down the face of the spa. In reality the water would just lap underneath it and run down the spa wall anyway. That really isn't a concern of yours since you have an automation system and can program a spillway run schedule instead of using the spa make up line the entire time the filter pump is running.
I guess what I'm trying to say is if you like how it looks, then you are good. It you don't, blow it out!
The pool is looking good
Another small advantage that stone may provide is when running the spillway on very low speeds and not directing most of the return water to the spa, the small trickle of water would drop into the pool instead of running down the face of the spa. In reality the water would just lap underneath it and run down the spa wall anyway. That really isn't a concern of yours since you have an automation system and can program a spillway run schedule instead of using the spa make up line the entire time the filter pump is running.
I guess what I'm trying to say is if you like how it looks, then you are good. It you don't, blow it out!
The pool is looking good
Well, as usual I overthink everything, the guys build 10 pools per month so I guess I will default to people who know better. My only concern was I what the water flow off the lip and create a sheer decent to the pool, if this will work, I am good to go. I think the masons did great work!!!
On the fire pit, the inside diameter is 33" do I get a 30" fire ring or 24"? Also how far should the top of the ring be from the top of the lava rock or glass be? I will need to extend the pipe. The plan is to fill it with pea gravel to the bottom of the fire ring then put 2" of fire glass on top. The glass will be just below the the cap.
Sound good?
On the fire pit, the inside diameter is 33" do I get a 30" fire ring or 24"? Also how far should the top of the ring be from the top of the lava rock or glass be? I will need to extend the pipe. The plan is to fill it with pea gravel to the bottom of the fire ring then put 2" of fire glass on top. The glass will be just below the the cap.
Sound good?
I'd go for the 24" ring to keep as much heat away from the walls of the fire pit. The height you set is is a personal preference in how you want the flame to look. This will no doubt take some experimentation and lend you many sleepless nights!
Everything else sounds good.
Everything else sounds good.
You know me well at this point, I sweat the details, more than most!! Will order a 24" SS ring.
Update: I have not posted in a while since we were stuck in the decking and walls phase. Now waiting on a custom aluminum gate to be made and installed, I also have to have the spa spill over replaced next week and then pre-plaster inspection, then plaster and water. As you can see we went with concrete, it was poured 4 wks ago today, I figured we might get a crack at some point but we have been blessed with about 6-7 hairline cracks in several places on the 2100 SF deck. We are guessing either the mix was too wet or the control joints were not placed properly. Folks, I thought I did all the research possible to avoid it, but in the end it's in the hands of the contractor, I lost. Will live with it this summer and then look at spray deck options I guess. I know I sound a bit negative, but all of these issues have really made this a big mess, I almost wish we just sold the house an purchased one with a pool. Hopefully this feeling will go away. I was almost ashamed to post photos of my messed up project after seeing all the great pools here, but I feel obligated, if I can help out another TFP member avoid the issues I ran into then perhaps some good Karma will come my way next time.
Will post after plaster in a couple weeks, would like to be optimistic about it but, at this point positive thinking has done nothing. Fingers still crossed.
Will post after plaster in a couple weeks, would like to be optimistic about it but, at this point positive thinking has done nothing. Fingers still crossed.
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,284
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Plenty of hairline cracks on our decking...and compliments still abound. The sun came out unexpectedly during our pour and the mixture was too dry to account for that.
It gets said a million times but the owner is almost always the only one who notices or cares about that level of detail. I truly think the feeling will pass. It did for me.
It gets said a million times but the owner is almost always the only one who notices or cares about that level of detail. I truly think the feeling will pass. It did for me.
Don't be negative about your build, your project isn't finished and once everything is done you'll sit back and enjoy. I really like your stacked stone and pool design. I ran into this thread for the first time and saw your pictures of stone and tile choice. I have the same stacked stone and similar tile with Stonescapes Tropics blue mini pebble.
I bet the - feelings will pass as soon as you are floating in YOUR pool with a cold one in your hand! I like what I see. I do not see any things I would change or notice being wrong........it will all work on in the end.
HUGS!
Kim
HUGS!
Kim
Following your build. Looking great!! Thank you for sharing!
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Please continue giving us updates, this has been a very informative thread!
It looks great by the way!
It looks great by the way!
ellsian
0
It is a very pretty pool, do not worry about the cracks at the moment. Like you said, you can try acid washing or a paint to cover them in the future. Regardless, no one is going to be staring at the concrete when there's a big beautiful blue pool shimmering right in front of them. And this may be an odd observation, but your pool equipment pad is wonderful
It is a very pretty pool, do not worry about the cracks at the moment. Like you said, you can try acid washing or a paint to cover them in the future. Regardless, no one is going to be staring at the concrete when there's a big beautiful blue pool shimmering right in front of them. And this may be an odd observation, but your pool equipment pad is wonderful
Thanks, I like the pad also, it came out pretty clean, I still need to clean up the wiring harness on the pad and cover it with some 2" corrugated split conduit to make it look cleaner. There is a drain on the pad under the river rock. I graded the surrounding dirt removing much of the clay soil and replacing it with compacted, road fill that is graded to flow to the 3" drain in the front center. I then covered that with the river rock. Still debating on painting the LED floods matching grey but my wife said it only a equipment pad. Still need to install the low voltage transformer and sprinkler timer to the 1/2" conduit stub outs on the wall, that will be a project for a couple months from now.
Update and hopefully helpful info for others. The deck was poured with a 5.5" slump, I am waiting for the tickets from the ready mix facility to confirm. They, the contractor added water, I think the mix was too wet, so do the two engineers I spoke with. The contractor is considering tearing out the sections that are cracking and re-pouring. I believe this cracking tends to be par for the course as nobody will do this much concrete at an appropriate slump, 4-5". Most pumps won't pump 3/4" aggregate mix, at least that's what my guy said. I still have 1100 SF of concrete to pour in the front. I am using a contractor that will use a 4.5" slump with 1" aggregate. I also found a construction engineering firm here in OC that will have an inspector on site for the pour to ensure there are no short cuts, I figure it's $350 well spent on a $10-12k pour. Wish I did a bit more research on this end of it and trusted less than I did. Hope that helps somebody. Lastly, go look at work your deck guy has done, don't go off yelp, or you pool builders word. I think the finish work was average, I was expecting excellent, my idea of excellent is higher than most. Lesson learned, trust less, validate with your own eyes.
So the custom aluminum gate will be done on Friday, I think they will install it next week. Then I need the spa spill over replaced, then plaster. I guess they can replace the deck sections between now and then. Since I am now off suicide watch over this project for now perhaps others can learn from my mistakes.
Otherthings: gas lines & fire pits. Make sure you know the BTU requirements of your firepit burner. I just made it under the requirements, for a couple days I thought we were going to have some issues with a 400k btu heater and a 200k fire pit burner. We have 95 ft from the meter to the heater and 1 1/2" line. Good thing is our water column is 8", some areas are 3" which has a big impact on line sizing. I got lucky here, when I called my PB and their plumber, they did not figure the exact load, they oversized it but did know what I was putting in, so this could have been bad. Never in my life would I think or want to know about gas line water columns, line PSI, and BTU loads.