New DIY in The Woodlands, Texas

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TW Pool

TW Pool

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LifeTime Supporter
Mar 21, 2015
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The Woodlands, Texas
Hi all,

My wife has been pestering me for a while to build a pool and we decided to move forward late 2014. We interviewed a large number of builders and were left unimpressed - especially when you started looking at the value we were going to get for what they charged. We finally found a builder that we tended to like in January/February 2015, but they were SLOW to respond. Naturally, when I am looking to spend the kind of money this pool was going to cost, I wanted to research the heck out of what I was paying for. After a bit too much delay, I was convinced that if I was going to pay someone a premium for their time/knowledge - it might as well be myself. It took a little convincing, but I got my wife to agree to let me GC this project instead of hiring a builder. Fast forward to today, and we are on the schedule to begin our dig next week.

Obviously, we have a LONG way to go... I hope to update the site with some pictures and further dialog of the DIY process.

Cheers!

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Wow oh Wow! I'm impressed!! (but don't be impressed that I'm impressed.... I really don't know much about all of this, but still, I'm impressed!). Amazing renderings, especially the night one. Down to the nuts and bolts, though.... you've got a lot of lovely things going on with your pool. It looks like a diving rock, and I love the water falling everywhere - gorgeous! The fountain is my favorite. Did you do the design AND the computer work? You are a brave, brave man to do this on your own, but it sounds like you're ready. And if you need them, the people on this site are ready to jump in and help. And several of us will be more than happy to help you find numerous ways to spend your money! All the best to you and your wife; can't wait to watch this as it goes along. Have fun and take care! Suz
 
Suz, so I designed the pool on my own after several rounds with PB's. (Although, originally we told all of them that we wanted the spa where the current sun shelf is located because that area is shielded from neighboring windows. We have a funny shape yard since we are in a cul-de-sac. Ultimately, we thought we were sacrificing too much shallow end so we moved the spa to eat up more deep end and landed on this design.) I ended up paying someone to create the construction drawing for me since I thought it would make it easier to get through the HOA/city approvals process. I do think that helped a bit, and we got plenty of 3D renderings and a video to go along with it.

I've been busy with work, so it has been tough trying to find quality subs and get quotes. Fortunately, I think we are in a good spot. I have to presume that portion would have been MUCH easier if we had building during the slower period.

For now, I'm ready to get digging and get this gunite shot! I feel like it will be such a relief to hit that milestone.
 
A video! That's cool! I had no idea you could get someone else to do those drawings, etc (besides a pb).

Our spa isn't in the prettiest spot for our yard and pool layout, but others in our household were concerned about privacy. For me, I figure the neighbors look at their own risk! Yeah, it's a trade off on losing either deep end or shallow end. No little ones here, so we're giving up in the shallows. Thirty years ago, and I would have needed a bigger shallow area.

The dig and Gunite are great milestones! I think you will find it to be a big relief. The next milestone for me will be the tile work. Selecting materials has been so stressful for me. I think I'll be able to enjoy the build more once I've made my selections.

One step at a time! Take care! Suz.
I was just thinking the same about building in late fall or winter. It's been almost impossible to reach my pb, because he's so busy. I'm not in a hurry, but it can be frustrating when I need some answers.
 
On another thread, you mentioned looking for a ledger stone to go along with white flagstone coping. I saw one yesterday at NPT in the tile and stone district off 290. I love it, but it won't work for me. In my picture, it looks more yellow than in person. But it isn't a stark white either. What I love about it are the bits of shine and glisten throughout. It's a quartz material.

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I'm having trouble attaching the second picture, so I'll try in a separate post. Suz.
 
I like the look of that one Suz! The biggest problem is that I don't think the single piece ledger (6"x24" like shown) will work on curved walls. We are looking at ledger stone, but are now looking at the individual pieces instead of the sheets.

I missed the call this morning to start our dig. No big deal, as the weekend/Monday rain has me a little concerned about cave-ins. I did order my pool equipment today, but I've let my wife talk me out of the deck jets and bubbler. Between the equipment, plumbing and electrical - those added about $2k and the only time we see ourselves using them is to show them to the occasional visitor. A bit of a bummer, but I think she is right (Of course she is!).It might be different if I thought we might be in this house a while, but we both get the sense that we will be moving (likely work related) within the next 1-3 years. In that case, we want a pool but need the economics to make decent financial sense. This likely plays into why I decided to build on our own.

In other news, we did have our fence pulled down today to have some precautionary foundation repairs done. We have had some movement in the last 2 years and we got the supports done for so cheap that it mitigates a decent amount of risk if there is a problem considering the amount of decking we are putting in and it covering 60% of where we had support put in today. The funny thing is my little girls keep asking where the concrete is... They can't comprehend the difference - as they are waiting for their pool!

I'll get more active with photos as we get more and more dirty.
 
It is beautiful, right?! But I have the same problem. I do have 2 columns that ledger stone could be used on, but we can't use it on the spa face. I don't want too many different materials going on; my pool design is busy enough as it is. I asked the guy at NPT if I could get the ledger panels and just break the pieces short enough to handle curves. The man had NO sense of humor!

The right time will come for the dig. I had the same concerns about cave-ins. We were lucky with the schedule of work crews. Dig and rebar one day (the crews covered then entire pool with huge tarps), stubbed out the plumbing and electrical the next morning. Then gunite on the third day. Now we welcome the rain - gives us a break from watering the gunite. Never imagined in my life I would be watering concrete!!!!

You're making great progress! And you hold down a job, too?? We'll call you the Martha Stewart of pool building! We thought about deck jets, but our PB said they only work nicely when it's a dead calm outside. We certainly don't get the winds of west Texas, but we do get plenty of gulf breezes. He said the slightest breeze blows the arches all to pieces. So good call on that. (Such a wise man to know your wife is right!)

I'm not a fan of most foundation repairs for various reasons. But since you could get it done for cheap, why not?! And with a likely move in the near future, I think it would be a good selling point, since all buildings down here shift around at some point in time.

So cute about your girls! Won't they be excited when the pool concrete really comes!! And what great experience you're getting by building this pool. When you guys move, you can "easily" build a bigger, better pool!! Maybe even have a second career choice!!! :salut:

Not sure dirty pictures are allowed on this site, but go for it!!!! (did I say that?) Take care! Suz.
 

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Just a thought on your ledger stone. We had it installed all along our back wall of pool ( horizontal). We also had 2 columns ( in the middle of wall ) which support fire bowls. What we did was turned the ledger stone vertical on the columns and it worked out perfect and draws your eyes to see that there are columns along the wall.
 
I'll likely be able to provide much better detail later in the week. My gunite company is performing excavation, rebar and gunite. The quote was itemized based on my construction drawing, but it was not quoted per cubic yard. I did get multiple quotes for all 3 of these services and all were inline with each other. One that I opted not to go with told me shotcrete went for $140-145/yard. I ultimately picked the company I am going with based on generally positive statements from other subs about them as well as others that have used the firm first hand.

I hope this helps.
 
So we got started digging today!!! The dig is going well, but there are always stresses... Instead of tearing out our old 10x10 builder grade concrete deck, they only chiseled some away, The claim is it will help to prevent against cave-ins and the decking guys will rip it out. They may be right, but I preferred they dug it out. Too late now, as there isn't enough room to fully get their heavy equipment over there.

I'll post some pictures later. For now, I'm hoping to get rebar and stubbed tomorrow so we can shoot on Monday (hopefully Saturday!)
 
Congratulations TWPool on getting the dig on today!! That's exciting, and... stressful as you said. I was so excited mine was being dug that I forgot to ask our PB to add a bench and a walking ledge in the deep end. I was bummed about it at the time, but I'm over it.

I wish I had some knowledge about your old concrete deck. Maybe someone on here will be able to shed some light.

You're doing great as a DIY-er! You've really got things rolling now. I can't wait to see the gunite! Take care! Suz.

P. S. If it bugs you, start a new thread with the specific title question to get responses from those who might know.
 
Ok. Time to post some updates! (I've written a few, but always delayed posting them and they timed out or something - which may have been a good thing. We were stressing away and pretty frustrated with some contractors, but all is good now - so I'm glad some of those things didn't get posted.)

I'll start running through some photos in posts after this if I don't have problems posting them. (I tried yesterday, but they weren't taking.)

A quick update on the construction process/timeline:

4/30: Thursday morning - Dig crew showed up and knocked out the dig. All looked good.
5/1: Friday around noon - Woke up to water in the deep end of the pool and some washing out on the walls due to a high water table and sandy under soil. Rebar crew showed up and said it was too sloppy and left. Panic set in.
5/2: Saturday morning - Gunite president showed up and said he would send a crew out and flash it later in the day and that it was too wet for a bobcat to go in and lay gravel. A little after noon, the excavation team showed back up and went in with a bobcat and cleaned out a bunch of slush and made our pool a little deeper. They said the gunite team should come later or on Sunday to flash. I called the president and he said he didn't have a crew to come and panic set in. (Rain forecasts were 80-90% Tuesday -Saturday and we still needed rebar, stubbing, and inspector approval on Monday.)
5/3: Sunday - A little more washout and a lot of fear for my wife and I. Since this is a DIY job, we are on the hook for all extras and fears of having good ground and all kinds of things set in. We literally had the conversation of possibly bringing in some fill dirt and waiting until the next house.
5/4: Monday morning - Rebar showed up first thing (6:30am) and got to work. They nailed in some backer boards to the washing out areas which seemed to help. Around 10, my plumbing crew showed up. All was done by 3pm and my inspector showed up at 7pm and gave us the green light to proceed. (Note: late afternoon, I called the gunite company in a panic due to 80% rain forecast at noon and they assured me gunite we arrive first thing in the morning.)
5/5: Tuesday morning - No gunite! I called the president and he told me we were second! I was livid!!! He then told me they had other jobs to do if I didn't want them to come!?!?!? I walked the pool and was stunned as I approached the back of my house (near the back door) to find a ~3' snake! It was about 6' from my lined up against my house. I moved closer to my back door a step and see a second one about 2.5' long in front of the other also against the house. ***!!! I've lived in The Woodlands for 8+ years and never seen a snake. I've heard stories and know my wife has had fears, but I've always dismissed the fears. Anyway, I grabbed a shovel and did what I needed to do. (I have young kids and I don't need repeat visits.) Now a concern was in my head... Was this an omen? Am I dealing with snakes? I did look up that omen and someone suggested snakes aren't bad and the omen is snakes can only move forward and not backwards. Any way... My gunite crew showed up at 12:45 and shot 3 12 yard trucks before calling it a day at about 7pm. They flashed the whole pool, so cave ins weren't as much a concern at this point, but we somehow averted all rain on Tuesday. **** weather guessers!
5/6: Wednesday morning - The gunite crew returned at 6:30am, but didn't start shooting until after 8 because they were waiting on the compressor. We had a few small showers, but that didn't cause many delays. The crew stuck around until about 4pm, shooting another 3 full 12 yd trucks! They blew off their second job of the day. What a relief to be shot!!! And, I found a baby turtle in my closed garage (seriously, what is going on???). It was cute. Kids wanted to keep it, but we talked them into releasing it into a huge pond with tons of turtles. It was so great to get into the pool Wednesday night and get a feel for the pool we designed.

More to come! I'd love feedback (but not on the snake bit... that's done. And, I confirmed that they were both poisonous copperheads. And... I still haven't told the wife because she'll want to move.) Ok. Let me see if I can get pics posted.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks Amy! And Suz, I appreciate your support. Can't wait to scope your stuff. I've been up to my ears in work and pool stuff. Sun, glad to see yours coming along too!

- - - Updated - - -

And one last thing... I have TONS of pictures. On here, I'm going to typically post a panoramic view from my back door. Obviously, it get slightly skewed, but will be consistent. I'll occasionally add a few other straight shots to even out the perspective. :)

- - - Updated - - -

Here is a a picture of just before we got digging.
 
Ok. Let me try the pictures again! They aren't uploading. Grrr... I suppose this will have to do. If someone else can help me get the actual images, I'll be glad to take another stab at it.

Here is the yard before we started
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Here is the dig before we had the excavation crew come back out. Love the washing out!
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Yep... That is some silty sand!
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Rebar and stubbing!
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Unwelcome visitors (This was 1 of 2 hanging out mere steps from my back door. They are now expired.)
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A note to South/East Texas folks... This is a Copperhead. They have a distinctive "hour glass" shape across their backs. Or, an easier description I read... "They look like the have Hershey's Kisses on their sides." Poisonous - Yes. Fatal - Rarely... As they stay away from people and certainly don't want to waste their meal ticket juice on you since you can't fit in their mouths. Juveniles are therefore more dangerous since they don't have great control over their fangs.
 
So good to hear from you again, TW! Well, on your thread - I've seen some of your posts on other threads, so I knew you were still around! Great pictures - thanks - they're well worth the effort. It was suggested to me to use photo bucket, and that's easy. I can't say how it compares to flickr. Also, if you become a TFP supporter (very reasonable) you get more space for photos (however you say that). Supporting was a no brainer for me, and extra photo space to post was secondary. Still, even with extra space, some of my photos just won't load without using photo bucket. If I'm in a hurry, I'll first try to post a picture through the forum. If it doesn't work, I come back later and do the photo bucket thing.

Gosh! Aren't ya'll excited! Your gunite looks fabulous - brings the pool to life, doesn't it?! And to think.... this really is your "baby". That's got to feel great. What a week you guys had! I soooo feel for you. Shutting it all down would have crossed my mind, too. But aren't you glad you didn't?!!! With each experience, you're learning valuable lessons for that unknown and exciting future ahead of you and your family. So hang in there.

Now.... I WILL comment on the snake picture - so skip this if you must. But Whoaaaaa - next time give a warning ahead of any such creepy crawly photos. They give me the willies, and that was a doozy (and I only flashed a glance and clicked off as soon as I knew what it was). We're in a dense (as in houses) neighborhood in Cypress, and we still get our unwanted visitors. It seems to be less frequent; then again, I don't work out in the gardens like I used to. For several spring seasons, I kept a hoe standing by "on call" leaning against our back doors. I was always the only one who would take care of those things. My thinking is that I'd much rather know what happened to it than wonder where it slithered off to. We've always had kids and/or cats around here, so I'm with you. No poisonous critters allowed.

Don't worry about omens. You have waaayyyy too much good karma going on with you and what you're doing. All things will work out! Good to see you back! Suz.
 
Thanks Suz. I went ahead and upgraded earlier, but only after I had linked the pictures. I prefer to have them just showing - so I'll give that a go and see if I can make that work. Like I mentioned, I had created my own posts before but typically had left them while I stewed and when I hit post - I guess I had timed out. Maybe for the best! I was on some other posts because I needed something to clear my mind and that seemed to help. I have to say, my wife and I both feel 1000% better! That weekend was plain torturous having to wait while looking at the forecast and feeling like we were getting blown off by the gunite crew for PBs.

So far, there are a few things I would likely do differently if I have to build another pool in the future. First, I'd look to begin in the winter for 2 reasons. 1) It's slow for pool builds, so I'd likely be much more significant to the subcontractors and 2) that is generally dry season - which likely would have helped us some.

Either way, I'd say we are past the half way mark. I have plumbing scheduled for tomorrow or Saturday. Then, I might hit a temporary pause button because I have a few work trips that I don't want to schedule subs around and I also don't want to leave my wife or inlaws to dealing with them. Once back, I have electric, tile & coping (one of the last subs I need to settle on so PM me if yours are any good and you can get their #) and then I think I am going to bring in the sprinkler guys and a mosquito system team to get stuff in under certain areas of my decking. Then, its concrete and pebble! (I'm getting spray deck, so I'll have grass installed while the concrete is resting and the pool is getting filled - and maybe a palm tree or 2 for affect).

At this point, it still doesn't seem real. Which seems counter-intuitive considering I've been working my *** off and have had moments where I can't even think straight. (My work load has been extra heavy lately too.) That day when we jump in the pool and it is there to appreciate will be surreal!

Last thing... Be glad I didn't post the picture of the 2 of them after I was done with them! Blah! I want/need to tell the wife about it, but she already freaks with teeny, harmless spiders. 3+ ft copperheads are no joke - even though they clearly wanted no part of me.
 

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