New Pool Buda (just south of Weird) Texas - November 2017

[kimkats]

You are good then!! Well done!

I hope you can be there when they shoot the gunite. Every once in a while they will have an idea or concern. It is better you decide what happens.

Kim

 

[skeptik]

Yes - will be right here for shotcrete. So glad to have your help on all this. Much appreciated!

 

[kimkats]

GOOD! I am glad you will be there. One of my other builds he made some awesome changes........they had the steps at 12" and very small. He had them add another one and make them at 8" and bigger. Looks much better. Then he added steps to a bench by the spa that look awesome and will make neat seating there as well.

Kim

 

[skeptik]

November 25th.
Rebar is now essentially completed with rebar in for love seats and steps. Skimmers have been set in place and the 6 returns are roughed in.

Skimmer rough in

Rebar for loveseat shallow end -


Rebar for steps -

Skimmer Rough-In Side Detail -

Notice that rebar around the skimmer penetrates the soil. I caught this and pointed it out to the PB who quickly fixed it. Rebar should not penetrate the soil.




Skimmer Rough-In Front View -

 

[kimkats]

BIG progress again! Nice job!

Kim

 

[skeptik]

Shotcrete:

November 29th. Shotcrete crew arrived just before 7:00 a.m. and began shooting the pool shell. Spoke to a crew member who indicated that they would finish up by around 2:00 p.m.


The temperature outside has been about 60 degrees so it seems fairly ideal weather for curing. We will begin to water the shotcrete with an impulse sprinkler once the crew has finished. We will do that several times daily for the next 7 days.

 

[needsajet]

That's an exciting stage for the homeowner Looks like they're doing good work and protecting the surrounding area well. Can't wait to see the next stages! Yours is going to be a nice pool.

 

[kimkats]

SWEET!!!

Now it is time for your own set of link! It is a lot of info so take it slow. It will all start to sink in when you start to use it.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

PoolMath

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

Please ask your PB what test kit he will provide. Let us know which one it is so we can fill in any holes it might have.

Kim

 

[skeptik]

Shotcrete Completed - Plumbing Started:

Shotcrete Done!
Shotcrete was completed yesterday at 2:00 p.m. - just as they said it would be. One small area of the middle step crumbled and the PB made them shovel it out all the way down and reshoot and smooth it. That was the only small hiccup.







Form Removal:
Form stakes were removed yesterday and the rest of the forms were removed today. Rebar was bent upward so that plumbing could be placed in around the pool edge.


Hydration - Curing the Shell
We began hydration using an impulse sprinkler as soon as the crew left for the day and continued to water it until after 10 p.m. We began watering again this morning at 7:00 a.m. and that continued until the crew arrived to do form removal and plumbing. The crew wet it down a couple of times during the day and we are now watering again until 10:00 tonight. We will continue this process for the next 5 days. High temperatures are in the low 70s and lows are in the mid-40s - so we hope the concrete will cure properly without any cracking. So far - so good!

Plumbing Started:
The plumbing stack was started yesterday and a number of connections were made today.










Stenner Pump and Tank:

The Stenner Pump came today via Fed-Ex along with the tank.
We ordered this from ChemWorld and it took about 5 days to arrive. The PB will install it when the equipment goes in.

The STENNER PUMP model is the 45MHP10* 45M2 and it is the 220 volt version. I hope I ordered the right thing!!!!
The tank is the 15 gallon (UV Resistant Gray) version.

 

[skeptik]

Thanks Kim! Yep, gonna be spending a lot of time in world of mad science pool chemistry (wha ha ha ha ha - eeeeevil science!!!)

 

[kimkats]

You own me a key board!! SPEWWWWWWWWW Laughed out loud for real on that one!

I see the inspector kitty doing a good job checking things out. Did you get their purr of approval?

On the pump I am not sure which one is "right" or wrong. Do a search in the white search box at the top of this page to double check it.

Kim

 

[skeptik]

Late today we were setting the water on the pool shell and heard a repeated “meow” coming from the very top of our 2-story roof. There was Magic (aka “magicat”, aka “magickitty” aka “magic hat” ) on the ridge vent looking down on the pool. We took that as an aerial survey with approval.

 

[kimkats]

Two story house?? How did Magic get up there?? she REALLY is magic!!!

Our Trance helped the roofer. She climbed the ladder and even had lunch with them. They loved it!

Kim

 

[skeptik]

There is a tree and she goes up it frontwards and comes down it backwards. But yes, she truly is magic.
I want her to make the cost of the pool disappear but I have trouble speaking CAToeise.

 

[kimkats]

Yeah..........they are cats and if it does not suit them............Let me know if you figure out CAToeise. We will both be RICH!

Kim

 

[skeptik]

Plumbing Continues & Early Prep for Coping and Decking:

The plumbing was put under a pressure test today and preparation for the decking was started.
Is 35 enough - just wondering.



The crew brought in sand and used a plate compactor to pack it down. A lot more to do but this is a start.


The started hand digging a trench for the electrical and water line. The water line will attach to a the outdoor water faucet. I assume this is a standard practice but if anyone has a comment, please let me know.

 

[kimkats]

35 is enough and it should NOT move.

Tell me a bit more about this: "The water line will attach to a the outdoor water faucet" so I can make sure to answer right.

Kim:kim;

 

[skeptik]

The fill line will run from the pool to a float device (which looks identical to what goes in a toilet) that sits inside of a container to measure the fill level of the pool .The other end will run to a connector on the outdoor water faucet which will provide the source for water to keep the pool full. I guess this is commonly done but are there problems I need to watch for? Those floats in toilets go out frequently and they are inside and not subject to wide differences in temperature.

 

[mknauss]

It should be a proper pool auto fill valve. They are more robust than the typical toilet valve. Have not had an issue with ours in three years.

We had a dedicated water line run to our pool so that we can leave it on but still shut the water off to the house when we leave for extended periods.

Depending on your water pressure you may want to have a pressure regulator for the pool fill line. High line pressure (above 50 psi) is very hard on the auto fill valve. I have a pressure regulator and have it cranked pretty low so that water only comes out in a trickle from the auto fill.

Good luck.

 

[skeptik]

UNDER PRESSURE - Pressure Drop Issue:

After initial pressurization (to about 35 PSI) I noticed that water was dripping from the manifold (the PVC was dripping water slowly from the manifold) and the pressure was obviously dropping. It went down to around 32 PSI after about one day with about 1 drop per second coming from the manifold.
(I suppose that they did not get the solvent properly on the PVC on the manifold)
But when I pointed it out they fixed that and re-pressurized back to about 36 PSI. The manifold quit leaking and I figured that all was good .....

Then we got rain and then snow for 2 days so no work could be done. Pressure dropped back down to just below 32 PSI again (after 2 days) but there was no visible leak from the manifold and I could not see anything leaking from the pipes that were not already buried. This made we wonder if we had a slow leak.

When the crew returned to work they cut a pipe and all pressure was lost. So we asked for the system to be re-pressurized again. Once again we had a pressure drop of around 1+ PSI over the weekend.
This caused me great concern and I contacted our Pool Builder. He seemed to think that it was not a leak (and he may be correct) but I remained concerned and contacted a really supportive Moderator on this forum who did some checking and gave me some good information that I will be sharing in the form of an algorithm in a future post. (More on that a bit later).

This morning our PB came out and had his plumber re-pressurise the system to about 40 PSI and he is going to watch it. He has a plan for finding a leak if the pressure drops significantly. Once again, we are taking a very careful approach because the last thing we need is a leak under the decking. I will update on this issue as soon as we get a final resolution.



DECK THE HALLS - um POOL AREA - (well Christmas is just 14 days away :santa:) - Decking

The area where the deck is to be placed has been compacted with a plate compactor and the rebar is now laid out for the decking pour. (Holding to ensure pressure issue is resolved before covering over pipes under decking with concrete) but hopefully deck will go in this week.