6 Years Later | [Build Thread]

[TampaKathy]

Awesome! I really like how the waterline tile complements your house color!

You beat me to it! Was going to say the same thing, haha. Pool is looking nice!

 

[Nikilyn]

I like the pattern on the raised wall. It's not something I've seen.

 

[Dschnell]

Also, I think that's going to look awesome. From what I can tell, the only difference between Cadet Blue and Tahoe is blue pebbles instead of black - our neighbors have the Tahoe and it looks really nice. I think this tile will go really well with those greys/browns/blues in both Tahoe and Cadet Blue. If you're done in a week I'll admit to being a little jealous. Good luck!

Your tile looks great! Yes we looked at both colors (Tahoe and Cadet) but wanted the black pebbles so we choose the Tahoe. Cadet blue is beautiful too. We also liked the Picasso water color. We are replacing a black bottom quartz finish so I still wanted a medium blue/aqua water color and *some* black pebbles... Just not a completely black finish anymore. Looking forward to seeing the brightness of our led lights with a bit of a lighter finish! Even with two lights, the colors were just not vivid with the dark finish.

 

[matthewsunshineflorida]

Last update for the week because they ran out of coping to finish the back wall and sunshelf, more should arrive Friday with the pavers - then they will finish the spa. Also still waiting on the 3 accent tiles that are evenly spaced on that second row of 6x6s.

Taken from the existing patio which will be pavered as well - this will be from the "bar" area. Areca palms with landscape lighting and speakers going behind the screen.


The accent tiles will go in the second 6x6 row - one in the center and the other two centered in the space left/right


Those 5 windows on the far side are the master - we are having the screen/pavers end there and will do landscaping to keep it feeling private.
Also, from this angle you'll be seeing a sectional with a fire table and a TV on that wall under the patio


We had them tile the back of the wall too - doing stucco didn't make sense when the spa is going to also be tiled all the way around.


Really happy with how the spa coping is turning out and really like how the slight oval shape is accented


From this angle you'd be looking into the patio seeing the bar, TV, and counter on that side

 

[GoDawgs813]

@matthewsunshineflorida - Looking great! Tampa area as well for us and it has been S L O W! We signed in July, dig started last week of October, and we are told deck will start this Friday but we're still waiting on the pavers to be delivered. Once pavers are done, safety fence can go in and they can schedule the plaster after safety inspection.
The most frustrating part is the 1 or 2 days per week or every other week that someone shows up to work if you're lucky!
We are on week 2 of equipment install due to missing parts, other jobs, etc. We have finally been told that they hope to have it filled 2nd or 3rd week of March. We started shopping in March of 2020!

 

[TBLightning]

Looks great and close to the finish line. On our street since last June when our pool was completed currently 6 neighbors are in the construction process with two recently completed. I know as of November there were close 20k active or pending permits in Hillsborough county. An incredible time to be in the pool construction business.

 

[matthewsunshineflorida]

@matthewsunshineflorida - Looking great! Tampa area as well for us and it has been S L O W! We signed in July, dig started last week of October, and we are told deck will start this Friday but we're still waiting on the pavers to be delivered. Once pavers are done, safety fence can go in and they can schedule the plaster after safety inspection.
The most frustrating part is the 1 or 2 days per week or every other week that someone shows up to work if you're lucky!
We are on week 2 of equipment install due to missing parts, other jobs, etc. We have finally been told that they hope to have it filled 2nd or 3rd week of March. We started shopping in March of 2020!

Interesting, we're almost on the same timeline one month apart - started shopping April, signed end of July, started November. I think we have at least another month but could easily be two - like you said it depends so heavily on whether or not we actually have people here working. It really made me mad constantly for the first few months having weeks between work - but at this point I'm just coasting with "it is what it is" and appreciating that they're doing such quality construction. Honestly, I think this whole process could have been done in 6-8 weeks of actual work if they had equipment/supplies on time and had delays only a day or two between subs. It's pretty amazing to have building a pool become a 12 month process - I know people who have built entire homes faster! I've heard that it's even worse for new builds though - I know someone who's finishing a pool in 2022 and they signed end of last year (oof).

Looks great and close to the finish line. On our street since last May when our pool was completed 6 neighbors are in the construction process with a two just completed. I know as of November there were close 20k active or pending permits in Hillsborough county. An incredible time to be in the pool construction business.

Appreciate that! Similarly here, wife and I have been riding bikes around neighborhoods near us and it's been wild to see the number of homes even in these well established neighborhoods with permit signs in their front yards and big dirt trails down their side yards. Based on the permits and how long it was taking for them to close, it looks like we unfortunately signed right as the really big backlogs piled up - if we had signed 2 months earlier we might be done 5 months sooner lol

 

[TampaKathy]

I'm still waiting for my permit to be approved...it's been 3 months so far. Not that it matters since my build isn't scheduled until April but I thought I would have had it by now.

 

[TBLightning]

I know some established pool builders in the Tampa area who have been around a while have connections with permitting offices. Our’s took inside a month but that was last March when we signed and our dig started the first week of April. Our pool was completed by the end of June. I doubt that timeline would happen if we signed this Spring.

 

[colleenbevans]

Looking good to my very untrained eye! You have way more knowledge than we do-- and we are almost ready for unite as well.

 

[Dschnell]

@matthewsunshineflorida I just have to say the time work

I was going to wait to post photos until the tile was more complete but I'll go ahead and share a quick update!

We have finally made some progress and I think it will move steadily at least until they finish coping/tile. Pavers are supposedly going to be delivered next week and then they will schedule that install - which will also be when they tear the footer forms out so I can finally run irrigation around our screen (need to fix 4 of our 6 zones because of the way the pipes ran and have to completely redo two and half of a third zone).

The delays between work is what drives me crazy because that's ultimately what is taking 90% of the time of this build, working 1 day maybe 2 and then a week or two between subs - then one of the subs has to stop because they're waiting on material so they go work on another job and the material shows up but we're bumped behind another pool now etc...

But it IS turning out really nicely - I don't know what I was expecting but I'm surprised how they were able to cut the coping so exact, really happy with how the tiles are turning out too. I love the glaze and colors - when light hits it you get the shine and tons of color variation is brought out as the sun sets - but we still have the durability of porcelain which puts me at ease.

Tile Close Up


Front View


Side View


Sunshelf View


Spa View


Spa Coping Close - looks really tightly cut to me.

I just want to say I *LOVE* the tile! Thank you for posting these photos! We are definitely going with the same tile but my pb suggested a different tile on the planter to make it a focal point. I was going to do the same 1x2 like you did then he told me to look at glass as well. I found one I think will go nicely with the Masisosar 6x6 and it was only $4 upcharge/ft. The Masisosar 1x2 was a $7.00 upcharge/ft. So the glass tile will go on my raised planter and then in bands on my sun shelf, steps and swim out bench. I love how the Masisosar blends with the Tahoe base and natural pebbles. You are doing Cadet Blue correct? I really liked that finish too! Tough choice for sure.

 

[colleenbevans]

That tile is beautiful!!

 

[matthewsunshineflorida]

Update - just got the rest of the coping delivered and all of the pavers. We're chugging along - all the coping grout lines were cut and grouted, all of the tile was grouted (though they STILL haven't brought in the 3 accent tiles which they'll have to chip out and redo!), the spa has been tiled. I assume they'll grout the spa and do the back wall coping, then it should be ready for the paver guys to get going. I'm hoping for this to be ready for pavers by the end of the week. Tile is really dusty/hazy but looks good to me.

Side note: The way they did the coping was to put each piece right next to the next one (nearly no grout line), then when the mortar set they came back with an angle grinder and made each line identical in width. That gave us a really small 1/8" grout line and it also made the gap between each piece of coping extremely consistent. An interesting way to do it, I guess with our pool being freeform this was the way to get the most consistent final product.

 

[Dschnell]

Update - just got the rest of the coping delivered and all of the pavers. We're chugging along - all the coping grout lines were cut and grouted, all of the tile was grouted (though they STILL haven't brought in the 3 accent tiles which they'll have to chip out and redo!), the spa has been tiled. I assume they'll grout the spa and do the back wall coping, then it should be ready for the paver guys to get going. I'm hoping for this to be ready for pavers by the end of the week. Tile is really dusty/hazy but looks good to me.

Side note: The way they did the coping was to put each piece right next to the next one (nearly no grout line), then when the mortar set they came back with an angle grinder and made each line identical in width. That gave us a really small 1/8" grout line and it also made the gap between each piece of coping extremely consistent. An interesting way to do it, I guess with our pool being freeform this was the way to get the most consistent final product.

That's looking really good! Interesting how they did the coping. An extra step for sure, but sounds like it will be perfect doing it that way. What color grout did you go with? Our tiles get dropped off tomorrow. I'm still undecided on grout color.

 

[matthewsunshineflorida]

That's looking really good! Interesting how they did the coping. An extra step for sure, but sounds like it will be perfect doing it that way. What color grout did you go with? Our tiles get dropped off tomorrow. I'm still undecided on grout color.

We did cream grout to match the coping - you can actually see it in the back wall which is already grouted. Really happy with that choice, makes the 1x2s really stand out and makes it visually look like the coping color goes down into a little matrix below it. Happy with all our choices so far...

 

[matthewsunshineflorida]

Some new photos, pavers and tile are done. Cleanup crew is supposed to come, then screen. Putting in new fans today, then I gotta trench for FIVE sprinkler zones and a water main to get hose bibs and outdoor shower in various spots...

 

[Dschnell]

Some new photos, pavers and tile are done. Cleanup crew is supposed to come, then screen. Putting in new fans today, then I gotta trench for FIVE sprinkler zones and a water main to get hose bibs and outdoor shower in various spots...

Tile looks great! I see they finally got your deco tiles in. Everything looks really nice! Our pool was just completed today and chemicals added. Our Masisosar tile looks really nice with the Wet Edge Tahoe finish as does the glass tile we found to match it. I'm really loving how it came and I can't wait to see yours completed!

 

[GoDawgs813]

Looks great! The OCD side of me always looked forward to the clean up!

 

[matthewsunshineflorida]

Tile looks great! I see they finally got your deco tiles in. Everything looks really nice! Our pool was just completed today and chemicals added. Our Masisosar tile looks really nice with the Wet Edge Tahoe finish as does the glass tile we found to match it. I'm really loving how it came and I can't wait to see yours completed!

Now that the tiles are clean, I'm pleasantly surprised at how awesome the glaze looks! As the sun sets, it hits them so nicely with a pretty sheen. I get they aren't quite like glass, but I think it's a reasonable compromise for the durability - I'm very happy with our choice! Now I gotta go check your thread for new photos and imagine what ours will look like!!

Looks great! The OCD side of me always looked forward to the clean up!

Oh I'm such a clean person this drives me crazy. Also I have to trench around the pool for 5 zones of irrigation and a water main - so I need it to be cleared of all the wood and concrete to do my job! Using all R-VAN with 1806 (6") spray bodies and gonna redo the front yard too so it will be a beast of a project... Tired of our sprinklers over watering some parts not hitting others enough. Gonna be done right this time! Just need the cleanup crew to do their job asap...

 

[matthewsunshineflorida]

Many thanks to @rstrouse @tagyoureit @MyAZPool. The intellicenter app is SO slow, buggy, and unreliable but this is SO smooth. I modified the "default" nodejs-poolController-dashPanel theme to fit the 1280x800 resolution of an old android tablet, with a little extra room on the bottom for an audio controller. Obviously all the hard work was done by others here - I just modified some CSS.

I am pretty proud of the audio setup though. Tasker communicates with an old Yamaha receiver/amplifier inside via xml commands through http requests, and it also targets the "Cast" element when you press YT Music so it's one touch to get music going. Previously, you had to grab one of the remotes (I have IR repeaters under each TV going back to the amp closet), turn the mode from Zone 2 to Main, turn the power on, flip back to zone 2, turn the power on, press the party mode button, select HDMI1, and cast from your phone. Then you had to increase the volume of each zone independently. Zone 2 is for the two ceiling speakers, and main is for the seven rock speakers. This setup is 2 way communication, so now if you do want to use the remote (say you're sitting at the furniture), tasker will automatically change the tablet's slider volume AND will set that volume for both zones - making the remote as simple as "volume up/down".

We still need to build the ledgestone/granite outdoor kitchen where the grill currently is, and I'm going to also do a matching 6 bar stool table in front of the bigger TV (3 on each side). Last thing after that is landscape lighting - I'm going to uplight each palm.