Semi-DIY Build in SE Louisiana
- Thread starter imperator
- Start date
Oh my goodness that is looking fine!!!!!!! You are doing a beautiful job. You are going to be so proud laying back on your floaty in your pool admiring your work. It's going to make it so much sweeter!
Thanks so much for the kind words. If all goes as planned, the brown water will be gone and plaster will be done in 2-3 weeks.
We won't have the decking and rest of the yard finished, but it sure will be nice to see a functioning pool.
We won't have the decking and rest of the yard finished, but it sure will be nice to see a functioning pool.
It is looking so nice! I wish that I am handy as you. You started later than our bud but almost finished...... And I am still waiting. Yesterday they poured the concrete cantilever coping, and I am not liking them a bit... Very sad right now....
Sorry to hear it's still moving slowly. Sooner or later we will all be swimming and sitting pool side with adult beverages ... And the issues will be a distant memory. Hang in there.
I have the same tile up in my pool. Now I'm at the point of picking the grout color. So when you had the two samples up, did you have two different grout colors on them? Is that what made the dramatic difference in color? Which one did you end up going with? I really like it but not sure if it was the left or blue sample.
There are 4 different grout colors on that test board. The 6x 6 section on the left is polyblend ocean blue. The 12x12 breaks out like this:
top left 6x6 is a permacolor gray (cant remember the name). Bottom left 6x6 is a permacolor Twilight blue. The entire right hand side 6x12 is polyblend bay leaf.
We were trying to pick a color that would be as unnoticeable as possible so you would see only tile when you look at it. We are happy with what we chose but it looks like it will lighten over time with sun exposure.
If I had to do it over again, I'd pick the same color. We would also be happy with the Twilight blue.
top left 6x6 is a permacolor gray (cant remember the name). Bottom left 6x6 is a permacolor Twilight blue. The entire right hand side 6x12 is polyblend bay leaf.
We were trying to pick a color that would be as unnoticeable as possible so you would see only tile when you look at it. We are happy with what we chose but it looks like it will lighten over time with sun exposure.
If I had to do it over again, I'd pick the same color. We would also be happy with the Twilight blue.
We're finally swimming!!!!!! I had jumped over the decking step to finish plaster so the family/friends could get in some warm weather swimming before fall hits. I had a few hectic days where I was running around doing last minute things like putting in silicone caulk between tile and coping, finishing the chair rail, and several minor fixes at the equipment pad.
Decided on the plaster sub and was shocked to hear that they were ready to go right away (figured they'd all still be busy wrapping up pools from their busy season). Very satisfied with who we chose. Good price and the quality of work appears to be excellent. We decided to go with plain white plaster and are very happy with it. Very, very, smooth on the feet and the light blue pool color ended up working out great for us.
It took around 29 hours to fill with water. It ended up being right at 20,000 gallons. At times the pool seemed too big for the backyard while it was under construction, but apparently they just look bigger when empty. It all fits nicely in the yard now that it's running.
It's taking me some time to bring on equipment. I'm working features/equipment in one at a time to make sure I don't screw anything up. The Quad DE filter made a huge difference in clarity after just 24 hours. Still plenty of dust to take out, but it put a big dent in it.
Plumbing appears to have worked out great also. No leaks. I still have some learning and fine tuning to do to get the right flow to the right things (waterfall, polaris, jets, etc). So relieved that it's working thus far. I had some real A-hole subs come in for the final work telling me that my plumbing was all wrong and my pool wasn't level, and so forth. We're guessing that they were just expecting us to be naive and ask them to break up all kinds of stuff and re-work it. Really ****** us off because it had us all worried about things that turned out perfectly fine. Needless to say, we showed them the door.
We have been up till nearly midnight for the past two nights swimming with the lights on. These color LEDs are amazing. We are really enjoying it all!
Decided on the plaster sub and was shocked to hear that they were ready to go right away (figured they'd all still be busy wrapping up pools from their busy season). Very satisfied with who we chose. Good price and the quality of work appears to be excellent. We decided to go with plain white plaster and are very happy with it. Very, very, smooth on the feet and the light blue pool color ended up working out great for us.
It took around 29 hours to fill with water. It ended up being right at 20,000 gallons. At times the pool seemed too big for the backyard while it was under construction, but apparently they just look bigger when empty. It all fits nicely in the yard now that it's running.
It's taking me some time to bring on equipment. I'm working features/equipment in one at a time to make sure I don't screw anything up. The Quad DE filter made a huge difference in clarity after just 24 hours. Still plenty of dust to take out, but it put a big dent in it.
Plumbing appears to have worked out great also. No leaks. I still have some learning and fine tuning to do to get the right flow to the right things (waterfall, polaris, jets, etc). So relieved that it's working thus far. I had some real A-hole subs come in for the final work telling me that my plumbing was all wrong and my pool wasn't level, and so forth. We're guessing that they were just expecting us to be naive and ask them to break up all kinds of stuff and re-work it. Really ****** us off because it had us all worried about things that turned out perfectly fine. Needless to say, we showed them the door.
We have been up till nearly midnight for the past two nights swimming with the lights on. These color LEDs are amazing. We are really enjoying it all!
teknic88
0
Congratulations! The pool looks so nice and glad that you have time to enjoy it before the weather gets to cold. Really like the white plaster with the tiles..... Making me to rethink my decision on darker plaster finish with the Arctic Lagoon glass tiles.
jst
0
WOW! That is one sweet pool! You do good work!
Too funny about the subs that were talking smack to you! "Here is the door! Don't let it hit you on the way out!" Talked their way out of ANY work/money! Good for you!
Has your dog been in the pool yet?
Kim
Too funny about the subs that were talking smack to you! "Here is the door! Don't let it hit you on the way out!" Talked their way out of ANY work/money! Good for you!
Has your dog been in the pool yet?
Kim
Thanks everyone! I'll jump back on here and post some deck pictures when that's done, but I think it will be a while. After several months of planning/research and 6.5 months of work, I'm looking forward to a break.
After a much needed break, I started work in December on the remaining parts of my build. Making some good progress on the deck. I plan to have three main deck areas which will total approximately 850 sq ft. It will be a little unusual in that I'm fitting a pool to a yard rather than fitting a yard/garden to a pool ... but I think it'll suit us . We are big on landscaping/gardens.
First step was the east deck. I dry laid a 5 to six inch concrete border, misted it with the hose, then cut and set travertine border similar to the pool coping. Tried to keep the edges symmetric to shape of pool.
Then I started working the garden by the bar. This is where the existing patio water will collect, so I put in some drain pipe in the garden.
I set some 4x4 pieces of travertine upright in concrete to make a ledge/edge for the garden.
Then set 4x4 pieces on top of the edge. Also plumbed in misters from sprinkler system at the pots. This area will eventually be covered with tan stones if I can find them. The rock selection in Louisiana is not all that spectacular ... imagine that!
Started packing in more limestone.
.. and framing up the deck on the west side (don't worry about the crooked look, these pics are all of travertine before thin set ... )
.. and the back deck
Unfortunately, I did not take pics of the nearly completed east and west decks. I'll get some of those when the rain stops. A few less then perfect grout lines, but overall, turning out great!
First step was the east deck. I dry laid a 5 to six inch concrete border, misted it with the hose, then cut and set travertine border similar to the pool coping. Tried to keep the edges symmetric to shape of pool.
Then I started working the garden by the bar. This is where the existing patio water will collect, so I put in some drain pipe in the garden.
I set some 4x4 pieces of travertine upright in concrete to make a ledge/edge for the garden.
Then set 4x4 pieces on top of the edge. Also plumbed in misters from sprinkler system at the pots. This area will eventually be covered with tan stones if I can find them. The rock selection in Louisiana is not all that spectacular ... imagine that!
Started packing in more limestone.
.. and framing up the deck on the west side (don't worry about the crooked look, these pics are all of travertine before thin set ... )
.. and the back deck
Unfortunately, I did not take pics of the nearly completed east and west decks. I'll get some of those when the rain stops. A few less then perfect grout lines, but overall, turning out great!
You are too talented and dedicated! I wish the I am you so that I can build all those garden bed, decking myself. Must feel real good seeing your hard work coming alive!