crabboy's build

crabboy

0
LifeTime Supporter
Jul 24, 2007
650
Suwanee, GA
Hey all. What a great site. I've been digging around for a good pool site for quite some time. Garden web has a lot of good posters, but the site leaves a lot to be desired. TFP is perfect.

We are 6 weeks into the build of our pool and I'm just dying for this thing to be done. Call me crazy, but I'm more eager to get rid of the mud pit in the backyard than I am to go swimming. The mental images of swimming have gone in favor of images of decking and sod.

The dig started on June 14th and a week later we had the concrete shell. Since then progress has slowed to a crawl. The tile and coping eventually made it, but the weeks without any progress have started to wear on me. This past Friday, the PB showed up with about 10 truckloads of dirt to grade out the 6' slope behind the pool and for the decking. They were short on bobcat drivers, so they stuck the village idiot on the loader to move the dirt down while the trucks were coming. This dude ripped up my neighbors yard, took out a fence post and nearly smashed into the coping. Luckily my sales guy stopped by, yanked him out and took the seat himself. He was quite a good operator. A bit later a young kid, whom was very good, came and did the rest. This is where I now stand. Waiting on the slide to be installed and then pavers.

I'm at the point where I need to attend a "building a pool" support group.

Here is the progress in pictures:

Ready to dig.

normal_Image-2007-06-13-3-1181960880.jpg


Completed dig:
normal_Image-2007-06-14-8-1181960880.jpg


Pool equipment less the heater:
normal_Image-2007-06-19-0-1185420341.jpg


Steel and plumbing:
normal_Image-2007-06-20-1-1185420341.jpg


Completed Shell:
normal_Image-2007-06-21-5-1185420341.jpg


First swimmer. It's been impossible to keep the dogs out!
normal_Image-2007-07-05-6-1185420341.jpg


Slide will go right about here. Going to need a lot more dirt!
normal_Image-2007-07-08-7-1185420341.jpg


Guys installing the stamped concrete coping.
normal_Image-2007-07-10-8-1185420341.jpg


Yup, that was my driveway and side yard. Neighbors yard on the right.
normal_Image-2007-07-20-11-1185420341.jpg


Where we stand now after 10 trucks of dirt.
normal_Image-2007-07-23-12-1185420341.jpg


Wish me luck. I've got to keep my sanity...
 
Thanks guys.

Patience. Yes, I'm trying hard.

The build is still withing the schedule that the PB advised, but its the little things that are just wearing. Mud/dirt tracked into the house, dogs escaping out of the temporary fence, digging and eating who knows what in that dirt, mud slide into the neighbors yard, standing water (outside the pool). It's a lot of work!

I paid my PB a surprise office visit today and the good news is they will be out tomorrow to finish grading, get the slide started and prepare for pavers next week. Praying for no rain.

Once the decking is in and grading is done, I'll get to trench the sprinklers back in, finish my lighting conduit and finally put some sod down. I figure I'll need 10+ pallets of sod. $$$

I spent a good day last week digging trenches for my conduit that will go under the decking, irrigation and lighting. It will save me a lot of money and time to not have to go around the backside of the pool.

I stopped by the lighting store this morning, and oh my what a selection. I have no clue what to put in!

Is that a light I see a the end of the tunnel?

Gary
 
Have patience - it will all come together soon.

Your build looks great, I really like the tanning shelf/baja step area and the slide. The one pic makes it look like the slide is assesible from the wood deck....is that where you enter or will their be a ladder?
 
The plan is to use a huge rock I bought (seen in the last picture i posted at the very top of the pic) as the slide base and to have flagstone steps from the pool deck up to the slide on the hillside. Depending on how it all fits, I may put a gate on the wood deck to step out on the slide rock as well. That's why I've yet to complete the railing on that part of the deck.
 
A quicky about the design:

My PB sales guy used Pool Studio to draw some quick sketches of my pool and I really didn't like them and it was difficult to describe the changes to him so he could draw another. So I took it upon myself to download the trial version of Pool Studio and make the pool drawings myself. It's a fantastic tool. I'd draw a pool and map it out with ropes in the yard, make changes and do it all over again. I must have roped off 4-5 pools in the yard before I was happy. The software gave me the perimeter feet and area so I could calculate the prices on my own. Really nice stuff.

The excavator mapped out the inside radius correctly, but did not bother with the outside ones (the inward curves) so the pool was slightly less curvy, but larger then originally drawn, and the shelf is a bit bigger. I'm still happy with it.
 
Good question. I will find out for sure tonight. I asked for about 7.5, but I suspect its about 8. We had to stay away from the 8' mark because of diving board regulations and the pool slope.

Interesting question will be, how much water does it hold. I have no idea.
 

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Thanks guys.

They came and graded for pavers on Friday. They were supposed to start on the slide but did not, not sure why, they had the tucks, tools and guys here. I'm scheduled to have the pavers put in on Monday provided it does not rain and the ground is not too muddy. The rain has been relentless.

Here is one that will be sad when the pavers go in:
normal_IMG_1333.jpg


After the pavers they'll come out and grade the rest:
normal_IMG_1320.jpg
 
tagprod, the pool is about 8' to the top of the coping. I was measuring in the dark and leaning dangerously over the deep end, so that is +/- 1 inch. :)

That reminds me. I've got probably hundreds of tadpoles swimming around in the pool now. Hopefully, they will drain the water out before these things start hopping, but have tadpoles caused problems for anyone?
 
Hello crabboy,
Yeah, patience is hard to come by when you are at the stage you are in the build and the weather doesn't cooperate. Looks like you will have a fantastic pool!

GOOD LUCK!

Dave
 
Your pool is getting closer to done, the pavers look great! I am unsure if anyone has anything to say about tadpoles to frogs giving problems, I would imagine they will be gone when the pool is cleaned out before pebble sheen is installed.
 
Yea, my new friends have been in there for weeks now and are getting quite large. Hopefully next week they will all be getting a free ride in the submersible pump. That water is getting nastier by the day. Yuck.

The mud dog found her way in there last night and again this morning, despite my best attempts to keep her out. She's after the trash the guys throw in there. I have to hose here down each time after she gets out.
 

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