Indiana Hillbilly Part Duex: Atlantis

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8corneflakes

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Jul 13, 2009
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Fort Wayne, IN
He's BAAAAAACK! The Indiana Hillbilly is at it again. We have been enjoying the pool while we patiently waited for the city sewer to come through. We had always planned to build an outdoor kitchen at the steps end of our pool, but the Board of Health wouldn't give us the go ahead until the city sewer plans were finished. That was three years ago. Since we could not finish the shallow end with concrete decking, we make a temporary wooden platform that was finished with outdoor carpet. Actually, what you see in the picture is the second go round as the 1st platform only lasted the 1st two years. We are super stoked to finish this party palace. We (well, the kids) broke ground today and began digging the footer. The cabana will have a back wall complete with grill, smoker and bar. We are putting in a bathroom and a seating area. The cabana house has already been named 'Atlantis'.

This is a sample of our 'inspiration' for the outside:


this pic is the direction we are going for the inside:


Back to reality...

Our chain gang:


Classic Hillbilly...always incognito:
 
No offense here, but when I read hillbilly I wasn't expecting such upscale visions of what you're going for. That being said, I'm staying tuned to this build. I wish i could get all of my 5 kids to help on my projects. I usually just get 1 to help and 1 that wants to help, but isn't quite old enough to do much. Good luck in your build, I'll be watching and cheering from the side lines!
 
It's been a while and the hillbilly has been busy this summer. The kids and I have basically taken over the entire house and garage so he's really excited to mark his own territory. Here was how it all started.

1st, this slowly happened over a couple years. The corner sank. I was super sad about it and couldn't even see the beauty of the pool through this monstrosity:



We had a guy come out and raise the concrete. SUCCESS!!



Then the fun started. Steel beams were ordered. Funny story about the beams. My husband had ordered all these lengths of steel that needed cut to size. He had a college kid that works for him take them to get cut to length. He told him he needed 6 8foot lengths. The kid accidently had them cut 8 6 foot lengths. OOPS! So, the hillbilly cut the 2 spare lengths and welded 2 foot back on to each 6 foot length. The ol' measure twice cut once could have really came in handy here. Then, the laminate beams were ordered and delivered. Another funny story. A guy rings my door bell and says he has some long LVLs to drop off. I walk outside to see these HUGE LVLs balancing precariously across a tiny fork truck. He parked on the road...which was about 250 yards away and drove them width wise up our super long private drive. Then dumped in them in the yard. Initially a bunch of men family members came out to build this, but no one brought a ladder. Men went back home to get ladders and away they went. You can see our 4 older kids here. The other two were probably in the house setting something on fire. I'm pretty sure my daughter (stage left wearing red shorts) thinks this is a photo shoot!



All the brothers and brothers-in-law came out for several weekends to get Atlantis to this stage.



This is the view from the side:



The guys scrambled to get a roof, lighting and water so we could have a place to party for 4th of July.
My brother brought what we call 'rent-a-bar' so we could at least have a place for food and drinks. I'd love to say that the hillbilly's face is obscured to protect his identity, but it's just my bad picture taking.



I did stake claim to one small area. The bathroom. I didn't really want a bathroom because I already have 4 bathrooms in the house where boys can 'accidentally' pee on the walls. But, I lost the fight and I'm glad I did. My sister is an artist and is mosaic tiling the back wall. I'm letting her loose to make her vision. I open this door often just to see the progress. It makes me smile and instantly puts me in a happy mood. I have six kids, sometimes I need to visit the wall 20 times a day. I should have the hillbilly install a rum dispenser for me. Here is the reason why we call it Atlantis.



After much discussion and consideration, we decided to let her be topless. The neighbor kids suddenly need to get out of the pool and pee more than they used to.



Then the hillbilly had to leave town for a month to round up some more money for his project. He is due back Friday and totally stoked to get back at it. Stay tuned...
 

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Well a lot has happened since July of last year. We had a very mild winter so the brothers stopped out several weekends and worked for beer. My sister finished the mermaid. We had originally planned to tile the entire bathroom, but The Artist Formerly known as my sister advised against it saying it would 'take away' from the mermaid. She suggested painting it in an almost non color. So, we were left with tile backer board and no clue how to finish it to paint it. The Hillbilly decided to whip up a batch of mortar and one of our better obedient children slapped it on the wall creating a stucco look. But overall, it is exactly the look and feel we were going for. It is a constant source of conversation and can accommodate up to 5 males at one time.



I took a shot at trimming the door with the leftover subway tile. I think it took me as long as to do that as it did for my sister to make the entire mosaic.



She also spent the better part of 4 minutes making a light switch cover that made me feel like I have no talents of my own to offer.



Now onto the manly part. We took out the 'rent-a-bar' and replaced it with what will be our island. We are still deciding how we would like to finish the top. In the meantime, it is a great place to store the panels that will eventually go across the back wall.



I specifically asked that he make the island big enough to store all our patio furniture cushions inside. Previously when it rained, I would scream "ITS RAINING!!!". This was the international two word sentence for 'turn off what ever you are watching, playing, or doing and everyone run out and grab a cushion. They would drag them inside and throw them in a pile on the kitchen floor right in front of the patio door blocking our main fire emergency exit. They would lay like this in a heap for days until a couple bored kids decide to make a fort out of them.



All the electrical is in and the lights are great for the poor soul that has to run to the back yard at one in the morning because he forgot to put the chickens away.



The counters are far from complete, but usable in the meantime.



The back wall of the cabana turned out to be a perfect place for the garden my kids never wanted...to grow the vegetables they will never eat.



There is still plenty left to do but the summer has only just begun. Until our next update, please enjoy this video of our cat swimming. Because how many times have you seen a cat swim?

=> YouTube
 
Beautiful! Absolutely Beautiful! Mermaid mosaic and light switch cover ~ both! You do have talent!!

I couldn't see the video because I wasn't signed into youtube and not sure what my signin information is right now~ I have baked in the sun for about 14 hours today :)

How many times have I seen a cat swim ~ many :D Our cat is first in the pool every year; she loves water. We don't encourage it but every year she is the first swimmer we have & she usually has her tail or paw in casually dangling in once the sun goes down in the evenings. It's her pool, she loves it the most. In the tub in the evenings if I don't watch her she tries to get in with me. We think its because she is a rescue and a sink and dawn dish soap likely saved her 9th life. The first night my son brought her in she was so tiny and flea infested the only way I could safely get her relief was to put her in the sink and my boy and I picked fleas off of her for 4 solid hours. Her snow white head went completely black from them. Had no intention on keeping her, just wanted to get her healthy and to find a good home for her...but it took months at the vet to get her back to health and I suppose she knew she was home that first night, it just took us a bit to get with the program.

:cheers: Cheers to the Swimming Cats in our Lives :cat:

:party:
 
Do you use the grill inside the structure? I am curious about the amount of smoke and if it clears or lingers inside.

We are thinking of putting an outdoor kitchen under a deck. Some portion of the grill would be under the deck and I am concerned about clearing the smoke.
 

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