16 July 2024 Finishing Up my OB Pool

[BigPapaSmurf]

You will be enjoying that beautiful view later this year.

 

[setsailsoon]

oh yeah! Now you are cooking!

Thanks Kim!

Yep, it's been a long time and we can't wait. This weekend I'll get the pool building permit application underway and start detailed design for it so I can start doing the pool excavation as soon after the house shell is complete!

Design for the pool is almost the same as the previously posted preliminary design. Only change will be to put the entry steps in the corner instead of parallel to the edge closest to the house.

Chris

 

[setsailsoon]

27 Mar 2020 Update
Folks,

Well supply chain is impacting us yet again. We've already had to buy almost everything way early. We were a week ahead of the new schedule but now looks like we'll be a week behind waiting for concrete. We got all the pre-pour inspections passed last Monday and hoped to pour Wed. But we missed that because of permit delays (partly caused by me learning how to do a revision} because we made a field change to increase the slab elevation by 1.9'. In S Florida it's good to get every inch you can. Our new concrete delivery date is April 6. Used to be 3 day order time max, now it's 3 weeks. You can get it earlier if you can take a partial delivery but I need 120 yards and can't take a half load.

So we're now at supply chain limbo... 40 years ago I build an airport, harbor/dock, and gas processing facility on a remote island in the Pacific. Now getting materials in S Florida made that project look easy! The only good thing here is that I'll finally have time to complete the pool design. So I'll post more details on that next week. Below are photo's of the site as it now sits with all forms up, slab electric, and slab plumbing in place.

Chris

 

[kimkats]

SO clue but still so far to go............it will happen in time!!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Is the plastic sheeting a moisture barrier? I assume in south Florida that ground water penetration must be a huge issue.

 

[setsailsoon]

Is the plastic sheeting a moisture barrier? I assume in south Florida that ground water penetration must be a huge issue.

Yep, standard around here is 6 mil over top of termite treatment. Ufer ground is also now required for all new construction.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Yep, standard around here is 6 mil over top of termite treatment. Ufer ground is also now required for all new construction.

I feel like all homes south of certain latitude should be required to have a network of pipes under the foundation that you can just fill up every year with termite poison. They are just truly destructive little pests. Around here it’s not cold enough to kill anything and so annual inspection for mud tracks along the foundation plus spraying is needed to keep them at bay.

 

[setsailsoon]

Couldn't agree more. The stuff they put down is supposed to last 14 years. They don't have long-lasting chemicals like heptachlor or chlordane anymore. To combat termites we are also almost certainly using only galvanized steel interior framing with the concrete exterior walls. Waiting for framing quotes right now. The lumber is limited to roof trusses and sheathing.

Chris

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Have you seen Matt Rising’s YouTube channel ? He built his own home in Texas and he totally geeked-out every aspect of it. I particularly liked the segments on his completely conditioned attic space and his use of Rock-wool insulation all throughout the house. He did minimal amounts of spray foam insulation. And then all the little detailed choices he made were the stuff of dreams from a building sciences nerd.

 

[ajw22]

Have you seen Matt Rising’s YouTube channel ?

You mean Matt Risinger?

https://www.youtube.com/user/mattrisinger

 

[JoyfulNoise]

You mean Matt Risinger?

https://www.youtube.com/user/mattrisinger

Thanks for catching that. I was voice typing that on the move and Apple autocorrect dogs my existence at every turn.

 

[setsailsoon]

Have you seen Matt Rising’s YouTube channel ? He built his own home in Texas and he totally geeked-out every aspect of it. I particularly liked the segments on his completely conditioned attic space and his use of Rock-wool insulation all throughout the house. He did minimal amounts of spray foam insulation. And then all the little detailed choices he made were the stuff of dreams from a building sciences nerd.

Yes I have! I've spent about 1/3 of my life overseas and never did understand how ducted ac caught on so well in the US. We had split ac units that were run off several smaller compressors located around the exterior of the house. My wife will not go for a split ac system so I'm looking at a hybrid with 2 or 3 separately ducted ac zones. Also using a roof insulated foam approach and insulated foam board inside the cinder block walls that is impregnated with boric acid for bug resistance. Lastly we have seer spec of 16 min. Most of the quotes so far are 16.5 to 17.25

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I have a split ductless AC system in our casita that is over 20 years old and still working. It’s only 600 sq ft space but the unit in the bathroom and the main room are perfectly adequate at keeping the casita cool and comfortable. I’ve seen pictures of many homes of friends in India and they appear to be quite popular there. If you can run 2 or 3 splits off one compressor it’s an easy way to get conditioned air without having to rip up everything to install ducts.

 

[setsailsoon]

I have a split ductless AC system in our casita that is over 20 years old and still working. It’s only 600 sq ft space but the unit in the bathroom and the main room are perfectly adequate at keeping the casita cool and comfortable. I’ve seen pictures of many homes of friends in India and they appear to be quite popular there. If you can run 2 or 3 splits off one compressor it’s an easy way to get conditioned air without having to rip up everything to install ducts.

It makes so much sense!. Only split I'll be able to do is for my garage/workshop... for now. Based on my quotes it looks like ducted systems cost about 40% more than splits, it's absolutely crazy. Then you add the operating cost savings from only cooling the areas you're in and it just makes no sense.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It makes so much sense!. Only split I'll be able to do is for my garage/workshop... for now. Based on my quotes it looks like ducted systems cost about 40% more than splits, it's absolutely crazy. Then you add the operating cost savings from only cooling the areas you're in and it just makes no sense.

And the way ducted systems are installed nowadays is completely atrocious. Everything is all flex duct that is basically run willy-nilly all over the attic space. Duct runs that cross over and sit on one another, half crushing the run beneath it. And the vents used are always cheap with very little adjustments possible to the dampers. These guys around here barely even try to calculate the correct flow rates and just rely on a wasteful and over powered air handler to force air to the end of the line. My oldest son’s room is the first branch off the air handler and the velocity of air coming out of the vent is nuts while his sister’s room down the hall is starved of flow. If you try to adjust down the damper, all you do is increase the air a speed out of the tiny opening and the vent starts to whistle loudly. It’s just so poorly done but that’s what residential construction is like nowadays.

I’m sure you’ll get the very best install possible as you are actually the one watching the guys do the work. Those of us that rely on residential builders just have to suffer with their incompetence …

 

[setsailsoon]

05 April 22

Folks,

Tomorrow is a big day for us, we'll be pouring ~120 cu yds of concrete. My experience with concrete is similar to deep water pipeline installations. "Go over and above to make sure it's all done right the first time since a failure repair will cost much more than the original installation." As you will see later I'll take the same approach with concrete and plaster on the pool. Here's what I've done to ensure quality:

• Met with every craft before they perform any underground work. Objective is to understand what they will do and how they do it before work starts. Last thing the owner or the contractor wants is changes during execution. This never turns out well. In my case this meant working with the excavation contractor, the foundation contractor, plumbing contractor, inspector, and electrical contractor. I was looking for interface issues like how much of the survey markings does the foundation contractor need to do form boards after the pad compaction is complete. What do we need to do so both can do their job right. There were lots of things to talk about. Remember these contractors may not have ever worked together so there's no such thing as a dumb question. We had everything resolved way in advance so no problem getting ready to pour.
• Quality is huge for concrete. So the supplier knows I will have an independent testing company take core samples and perform slump tests throughout the pour. Some people question core sample since results aren't confirmed for 28 days. I can only say what I've seen is I've never seen a failure when core sampling is performed. Trust but verify works! Slump testing ensures the finishing crew does not add too much water. The dryer the better for strength but this also makes the job harder.
• Inform neighbors and HOA we'll be doing the pour and will have a LOT of construction activity ALL day long. We'll do our best to reduce impact to them and they can call me if there are problems but they should not talk directly to the workers.
• I'll be on site from 6:30 am 'till dark.

... more later.

 

[ajw22]

In my case this meant working with the excavation contractor, the foundation contractor, plumbing contractor, inspector, and electrical contractor.

Chris, were you able to get all these folks together in one meeting or meet with them individually and be the communications conduit?

Any pushback by anyone not willing to cooperate or did you make the coordination meetings a requirement when letting the contracts?

 

[Toxophilite]

Yes I have! I've spent about 1/3 of my life overseas and never did understand how ducted ac caught on so well in the US. We had split ac units that were run off several smaller compressors located around the exterior of the house. My wife will not go for a split ac system so I'm looking at a hybrid with 2 or 3 separately ducted ac zones. Also using a roof insulated foam approach and insulated foam board inside the cinder block walls that is impregnated with boric acid for bug resistance. Lastly we have seer spec of 16 min. Most of the quotes so far are 16.5 to 17.25

If you do separate ducted zones, do not let them set it up with bypass re-circulation to balance. Use dump zones. I'm having to reroute mine due to this, as re-circulation poses issues, one most notable. The cold bypass air causes much condensation at the intake plenum due to mix of cold and warm intake air, and the colder air across your evaporator reduces efficiency. It's wasted balance air anyway, in the end, so a strategically picked dump zone is better. Next best is a well designed variable speed system with zoning. Of course independent zoned systems are the best option, just another unit cost.

 

[setsailsoon]

Chris, were you able to get all these folks together in one meeting or meet with them individually and be the communications conduit?

Any pushback by anyone not willing to cooperate or did you make the coordination meetings a requirement when letting the contracts?

Allen,

Great questions, for the most part no. A big part of the PM role is to manage the interfaces. Takes way more effort than most people realize and it's not that hard to do. Sometimes it only takes asking the obvious questions like "what does the plumber need to get done and when do you prefer for them to do it?" That was an early question to the foundation contractor. A lot of time I know the answer but I'm not asking for me... more checking for alignment when I ask the same question from the plumber. Even though I've been doing this a long time I still learn new things on every construction project or something peculiar to one contractor that still needs to be worked out with interface points on this job.

Push back is interesting... sometimes it illuminates a problem I didn't see. Sometimes it's a very good thing. For example when I was doing the final meetings to decide the shell contractor one of them came to the meeting with an experienced construction manager with questions marked up all over my drawings. His manner was very direct and even somewhat implying my design was deficient. The sales guy was trying to do damage control. What he didn't realize is this guy sold me on their company! This was the only company that had done even a cursory check of the documents at this stage. I answered most of his questions pretty quickly and told him there were a few questions I didn't know answers to but we'd cover all this with the architect at the kickoff meeting. He started to develop respect for me in the process and I requested he manage my job. This relationship has been invaluable even at this early stage. A kickoff meeting is an absolute essential part of the PM role. As PM I need to understand the execution plan for all the major contractors. Sometimes it makes sense to have more than one but the PM also needs to make sure he doesn't require "waste of time meetings". I won't let a contractor on my site that I haven't had at least a minimal kickoff with.

Trouble-makers that won't work with anybody else should be identified and terminated asap (make sure that fair termination obligations are covered in the agreement for all major contracts). I try to identify them very early before selecting them but invariably there will be one that has to be dealt with during the job. They cost time and money to the owner.

Chris

 

[ajw22]

Last year I managed a down to the studs renovation of a house for one of my sons. Did all new electrical wiring, HVAC ducting, and plumbing. I met with each trade when they started their work and identified which spaces in the walls were their to use. And then came by occasionally and inspected that they stayed within their assigned areas, which some did not.

You will get to that with the interior. If I had not done that the first trade in would have used whatever space they wanted and left problems for the others fitting their wiring, popes, and ducting into existing spaces.