New DIY in The Woodlands, Texas

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I am in awe of how you are managing all the crews. Your build seems to be going as well, if not better than many of us with PB's. You at least do the schedules and have a certain amount of assurance when each crew is coming. Many of my crews have just appeared without any notice.

The electrician comes tomorrow (this time I was told). But.... I'm finding that I don't always get the boss guy. I'll ask tomorrow. Yesterday, I came across original notes with our pool company and the name of the electrician. I'll send it to you tomorrow.

Our tile and stone work will be a few weeks away.

Cypress Creek (Big) ran about 100 yards behind our first home. We had a wide variety of poisonous slithering creatures - often. The boys were under 4 then. That's when I became a fearless and fearsome mom. I didn't like it, but did what I had to do. The worst of them were the cotton mouths. They were huge, fast, and would chase you if given a chance. I never caught any of them. We never saw any rattle stakes, but we had one coral. The rest were copperhead. I didn't mind moving from there, but I do miss the winds blowing through the dense woods behind us. Ahhh! Good times! Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Suz.

- - - Updated - - -

I forgot to ask... Are you Mud Guy in the sand silt photo? Yuk! I don't like mud that deep - gives me the shivers! Take care. Suz.
 
Suz,

Yes I am. And that stuff caused some major heart burn. So far, so good! And I think we have 12" gunite walls and floors.

Plumbing knocked their end out today. I just crossed the half way point on my budget with electrical, tile and coping, decking and pebble left to go. Tile is the one area that is really left to hurt me. I hope to get that figured out soon.

It's getting pool weather here quickly.
 
Congratulations on the progress. I am in the early stages of my build and, like you, feel like diy may be the way to go. It's really good to see you moving along like you are. Best of luck!
 
Your story sounds very similar to ours. We had about 6 PB's come over and give us bids. None really came close to matching what I thought I deserved for the price, so after finding this forum and talking to some people who did it themselves we took the O/B plunge as well.

We finally got water in it last month and so far I think it's one of the best decisions we could have made. There's always a few things you learn along the way and if I did it again, I'd probably make a few minor tweeks, but overall, I think you'll be happy with your decision. Not to mention, it's kind of fun being in charge of your product and not having to get permission for idea's that spring up (as was the case with us, but perhaps you already know exactly what you want).

Good luck!
 
Corleone said:
Your story sounds very similar to ours. We had about 6 PB's come over and give us bids. None really came close to matching what I thought I deserved for the price, so after finding this forum and talking to some people who did it themselves we took the O/B plunge as well.

We finally got water in it last month and so far I think it's one of the best decisions we could have made. There's always a few things you learn along the way and if I did it again, I'd probably make a few minor tweeks, but overall, I think you'll be happy with your decision. Not to mention, it's kind of fun being in charge of your product and not having to get permission for idea's that spring up (as was the case with us, but perhaps you already know exactly what you want).

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks Corleone and DFW Guy! This is definitely a process, but I expect to have similar sentiments when all is done.

DFW... So far, my single biggest takeaway would be to try to get well ahead of your planned finish date (it creeps up SUPER fast) and do the project late in the year. This typically has 2 benefits... 1) it is easier to get the subs... it is no fun eeing rain in the forecast and them taking priority clients over you and 2) winter months are generally drier anyway. (I know I have said this before, I just can't remember if I wrote it in this thread. Plus, it will feel good knowing that I save good money and was fully in-tune with every aspect of the build. One thing I did and I highly recommend (I saw the suggestion on TFP), is found a label sheet for ~$6 and had everything labeled on my pipes/equipment. It will save some time if I only want suction from 1 skimmer and things like that. You might be able to see some of this in the picture.

20150509_144321.jpg

Suz, I think I am good on my electrician. My biggest need now is a tiler/coping installer. I'm going to work on some of that today. I don't think you have gotten that installed yet, have you?
 
[[ Corleone... That is fantastic news! I have the feeling that I will appreciate the pool much more since I put in more effort. Plus, it will feel good knowing that I save good money and was fully in-tune with every aspect of the build. One thing I did and I highly recommend (I saw the suggestion on TFP), is found a label sheet for ~$6 and had everything labeled on my pipes/equipment. It will save some time if I only want suction from 1 skimmer and things like that. You might be able to see some of this in the picture.

Suz, I think I am good on my electrician. My biggest need now is a tiler/coping installer. I'm going to work on some of that today. I don't think you have gotten that installed yet, have you? ]] END QUOTE



Well, I have forgotten someone who wanted the name of an electrician. Hopefully, they've already moved on. And no, I have not had the tile or coping installed yet. I wish.....

What kind of label sheet did you find that will last on the pipes regardless of weather??? I LOVE labels and such. Where did you buy the labels? Your picture is not showing on my monitor, so I can't see what you're talking about. All your other photos show up fine.

Take care! Suz.
 
Suz,

I corrected the photo. Although, I realize they will be difficult to see. I can maybe get you a better pic later, but in the interim here is the info on the sheet I got:

http://www.lassenterprises.com/images/23_GLD1963_IDL.pdf

Lass Enterprises makes it and I got the IDL-1. (I set up a builder account at a master distributor and asked for one when I was picking up some other stuff after my plumber suggested it after I asked him to label the pipes. This was what they had in stock/gave me.) Who knows how long it will last, but surely it will be helpful in the short term. They claim the ink is UV resistant. I wonder how the adhesive will hold up though. But call me crazy, I'm thinking about making a little sunshade for my equipment. UV isn't good for anything. And, considering I have about $6k in equipment on that slab (not including labor), I might as well keep it as protected as I can.
 

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For the label sheet - did you find like a sheet of waterproof labels that you print off on your computer - or do they make a sheet JUST for pool equipment? Where did you get them? I NEED those in my life!

BTW - snakes - eww. HATE Copperheads. Cottonmouths are my all time yuckiest - they are mean and will follow you. I had one stalk me around a fishing pond when I was a teenager and had nightmares for EVER.

I thought my build was stressful with the rain and all. I gotta give you props. WOW I am just so glad it is working out for you!!
 
Thank you for the label info. Don't worry about more pictures. I have built-in sonar for labels! I'll sniff 'em out if the sonar is down! Have you seen the thread from the guy who painted his pool pipes with some kind of UV protectant? I'll try to find it - can't remember if it was on this forum or another. Sighhhhhh.... I'm not sure I have enough energy to paint plumbing pipes! Label them, yes. But paint them first???? I still have color swatches of paint on my bedroom wall! And why you ask??? Because I CAN'T MAKE UP MY MIND!!!!! And I don't have the energy. (I'm now using the excuse that I must wait until the pool is filled because of the change of light reflecting into my bedroom - geesh, I can talk myself into or out of anything.)

Wendy, you love labels, too??? And you're right about the cottonmouths, they will chase you!! Have a good evening everybody! Suz.
 
Ok, Mud Guy! Where are you hiding out???? Did you finish your pool and are keeping it all to yourself???? Just because it's been raining non-stop up your way gives you no excuses! Not even work..... Pool, pool, pool, pool..... That's your only priority now!! Not really- just razzin' you. Hope everything is going ok! Take care. Suz.
 
Hi all. Sorry for my absence. I've been in FL the last 2 weeks, so I had to put things on hold. (I had a conference there, so I brought the girls early so they could enjoy Disney... We went to a Disney park 8 out of 9 days!!! The girls enjoyed the hotel pool after that while I worked.)

We got back late Friday and had a busy weekend. I'm hoping to get electric and tiling/coping done this week. If so, we get get our second inspection and plan decking and maaaaybe plaster the following week. I want to get flying before all these pools that have been delayed by the rain start clogging things up.

So ready to be done! Oh, and there was like 2+ feet of water in my pool when we got back.

I expect I'll be back on here more now that I am back. Cheers!
 
That backup for plaster has been there for a while now. With the wet Winter and incredibly wet Spring, they are way behind.
We finally got ours shot the week before mother's day, but we had waited a good while to get to the front of queue.
Good luck, can't wait for more pics.
 
TW, so glad you're back and all is well. Just playing hooky from the pool, huh?! I know ya'll had a great time! But that Disney stuff can be exhausting.

Good luck getting in line with the contractors! Take care. Suz.
 
I did a DIY build last year. Your May 7th post had me laughing and feeling your pain all at the same time. High stress for certain ... we had the same kind of cave-in / scheduling worries. The 'bad omen' snakes .. too funny. I was thinking the exact same kind of stuff.

It's mostly downhill from gunite forward as the rest is important but not nearly as nerve-racking. As crazy as it was, I loved it, and would do it again with no hesitation on a future home. Really cool experience.

I'm with you on recommending winter build. In my area, Nov/Dec would be best, if you can find non-deer/duck hunting subs.

Best of luck!
 
Alright, I'm still super busy, so I've been a bit behind. We've got tiling & coping completed (5/28-30) and electrical on 5/29. Underground inspection was passed on Saturday 5/30 and now we are down to concrete (scheduled 6/4-5) and wet edge (scheduled 6/9-11). Beyond that, the only stuff I have left to do is plants, spray decking, order my robot and TF-100, and install my Stenner pump. Regardless, we should begin filling the pool on 6/11 if everything goes as planned!

It's kind of crazy because my neighbor across the street is building a pool/outdoor kitchen through a PB. They began in February on the kitchen and I am thinking we will be beating them to water. (And I took 2 weeks off to go on a Florida work-ation.)

I'm sure there will be much more to come, but here are a few photos:

Consistent panoramic
20150530_125809.jpg

Regular shot of the back wall. There is a 6' sheer decent hidden up under that coping.
20150530_125828.jpg

And one to show what we've been up against!
Texas Rain.jpg
 
Yeah. I felt bad at the time and still do. But I've got 2 younger girls and the last thing I want is returning poisonous snakes to my backyard. In hindsight, I prefer to have caught them and taken them a few miles away to a nature area. Too late now.

BTW, I love your signature! Are you getting anywhere with that?
 

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