new pool build Phoenix-PICS

[outdoorsgal]

we're past electric now (I think-the breaker box has not been labeled nor has any new breakers in there, but that's another story) so I figure I may as well join in and share what we r doing! im still not comfortable with the plan for grading and now the plumbers put the plumbing in the way of where we were going to move our grape arbor post. tight, tricky area, so this is disappointing. another pause to redo the design due to this.

here is one of my inspiration pics-going after somewhat this look:


another coping only pool. love the flagstone, but couldn't get it in in time so ours will be Marbella:

 

[outdoorsgal]

here's our reality. far from what we're going for, but I'm up for the challenge.

tile and elevation: worried about the elevation/grading issue that I still don't have figured out well enough. Worried the tile will look outdated and will get calcium on it but I can't help but love cobalt blue so Im going for it with the southwestern look. may be putting up a 2 post arbor in the back to direct eyes off of the ugly roof behind us or a trellis. will have lots of greenery like the pic with the yellow wall I posted above:



looking west towards our elevation. a good 16" higher than the pool, I believe. u can see where they took out some grass in front of the pool to level it out but they also left a bunch of dirt. the pool was already 4.5" higher than the house/porch and i'm still trying to figure out how to make sure water runs out the side of the house instead of in my house. someone today told me to use a level to figure out how to grade. will have about 7 small fruit trees in the corner that is higher and the chickens will go downhill a bit. they r in a temporary setting:


here's the Baja that wasn't rebarred enough on the east side of the bubbler. hoping they get it right at shotcrete and that they can add 6" of shotcrete without rebar in that spot.


elevation. see the bottom of my block wall (with the oliander roots i'm trying to kill out from underneath the block wall). it seems like a high elevation for a 5-6" block wall that they are putting in - 12' on the back side of the pool and 10' on the west (left) side of the pool. feels like a tricky spot although when I see it from a camera view it doesn't look so bad and I hope I will be able to use common sense to grade if I don't end up hiring someone. will have a pool fence there, too. retainer wall will be 8" from edge of 16" coping on the back side and 12" on the left side then a fence directly behind that.



grape arbor with 13 year old grapes. fence will be 3 ft from waters edge so it's a weird transition. I was thinking of making the arbor shorter and keeping it 3' outside of the fence for code/safety (pool doesn't have to be up to code as my house will, but I dont' want my kids climbing it). that shortens the arbor 7 feet and that makes me sad. it's just in an awkward place, not sure how the posts will look if I leave them where they r, inside the fence. we might just chop it a foot or so and have it on the poolside of the fence closer to the fence. it's an awkward spot for decision making because we didn't want to chop the arbor now for a few reasons, permits, old vines, having a hard time picturing for sure how we'll want it... We need to put in a deck in the corner and the shorter the arbor gets, the more awkard I feel the transition area is from arbor to Marbella deck. small deck in corner and was going to lay rustic old world brick under the arbor. in between, maybe some pavers with river rock or 1/4" gold (forget what they call it) stone. need to figure this out this weekend. thought of having them move the plumbing but that's ridiculous. I think I just need to change the arbor plans, but it makes me sad. sorry, awful pic

 

[outdoorsgal]

http://theoxidestudio.com/pages/data/images/agave_gate.jpg getting a fence like this to hide the pool equipment and trash... along with self closing for the city. trying to figure out if I want to spend the extra $200+ for the design or just get a plane oxidized door

here's a pic of the rebar framed fence we r getting (minus the rollers but a lot of gates to open the pool up, one section will open up 16' wide). will be oxidized.

 

[outdoorsgal]

pics and titles mixed up

old world brick I will be installing under the arbor. how to transition from Marbella to this and what to have in between. random pavers? and a double gate that will open through the arbor
]tricky spot for me to try to figure out how to move the 2 post on the arbor on the left, now, with the plumbing right where I was going to move it and decking transitioning

 

[Casey]

This is going to be very nice when finished.

 

[outdoorsgal]

Casey, thanku. i had a designer friend come over and i think we narrowed down a couple of things which feels good. now i just have to wait to find out if i can build a fence right outside of the plumbing on the pool or if that will get extended even more with gunite. we r probably going to extend the arbor the whole length of the wall (build a new one) but i worry about my neighbor's view. she doesn't really want to look at other people's structure. i'm a nice neighbor but i may decide to build it. otherwise my designer friend's idea was that we need to shorten the arbor outside of the gate. it's hard to picture things with a gate sometimes. now that she came i'm getting excited again and able to see it come together. there have been some changes due to construction/lack of communication from the pb... that have made me have to reconfigure the design more than once which has been hard for me. anyway, i know it's hard to see it now but i'm hoping it really is going to look nice. nothing like houzz pics, but nice. nice pool and old house. house will come little by little. people think we're doing it backwards (fix house first) but i think the kids r at the right ages (6, 7, 10) and we spend a lot of time outside. it's already hitting 107 degrees here in AZ! almost warm enough for me to start swimming.

 

[outdoorsgal]

does anyone know if we need a nice hose sprayer to spray the gunite? i've bought many hose sprayers and have given up as they all leak. maybe it's my hose? can i just stick my finger in the water's end and spray the pool down that way or does it need to be more of a smooth spray? i'll run out to the store to get a new hose if i need to, but if it's not a big deal i'd rather wait for that later. thx

 

[bulldogz400]

does anyone know if we need a nice hose sprayer to spray the gunite? i've bought many hose sprayers and have given up as they all leak. maybe it's my hose? can i just stick my finger in the water's end and spray the pool down that way or does it need to be more of a smooth spray? i'll run out to the store to get a new hose if i need to, but if it's not a big deal i'd rather wait for that later. thx

The thumb-method is just fine!

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Seems odd your filter unit isn't completely on the pad, this would/should be a concern for stability when the rains hit.
And it doesn't matter what you use for your hose, just get water on the shotcrete by using nozzle, finger, sprinkler, etc....

 

[kimkats]

I say get a "rainbow" sprinkler to water it with. Should give you even coverage and be easy to do!

Kim

 

[outdoorsgal]

thx all!
Chris, I am attaching another couple pics from different angles. it does appear that the filter is off of the pad and I did notice that it is right on the edge. it does look like it's off the pad in the pic I posted. The pump is hanging off an inch or 2. I guess they must've brought that size pad and figured it was fine? is it something I should raise a fuss about, do u think? thx!

this pic of the DE filter is from the back where earlier it was from the front. It's not off the pad like it appeared in the first pic, but it's right on the edge basically. do these pumps move around enough that it could fall off?

 

[bmoreswim]

Could they have been any cheaper about that? Not really a problem as they don't move but not pleasing to look at and you'll want decorative stone around it for the appearance of extra pad space and ease of maintenance.

 

[outdoorsgal]

bmoreswim, how frustrating. if i got on them about each detail i think they'd shoot me. i think they're pretty tired of me already and now to hear about another thing they didn't do that well is frustrating. i've never seen a slab like this before and thought it was slick on their part. i guess that's what it was, "slick." would u say something? i'm thinking of making a list of things we were not happy with for at the end before the last payment, when we ask for a couple of things that they didn't install that we will probably push for, like an electric bonder and a receptical more than 6 ft and less than 30 feet from pool. they don't seem to be aware that it's code. not sure if they follow the national electric code.

i'll tell u, if i wasn't hear and didn't speak spanish there would've been lots of mistakes by now. i've caught some after the fact but caught enough beforehand that it's helped. it's been frustrating having to tell everyone how to do their job. initially i pushed to get everything on the CAD and the salesman didn't do it and it was a headache and many emails that he'd miss things and assure me it'd get done right. yah right. too many people not on the same page. i can't wait until it's over with.

 

[outdoorsgal]

tomorrow they do shotcrete and then they lay coping the next day. is that ok since we won't have 5 days to wet down that area since it will be underneath coping? thx!

 

[bmoreswim]

Some PB's like to have the concrete cure before coping others don't bother. I wouldn't be concerned. Water as you normally would. If the coping pops off they will fix it. I'm going overboard on the coping popping off, but just worst case scenario. I also probably wouldn't ask them to redo the pad. I'd just excavate around it and put a nice area of river rock around it. It will actually look nice but be a bit of work to do. However, I don't think it's inappropriate for you to ask that it be redone. Or use it as part of your unhappy list to get something else accomplished.

 

[cbrach411]

Seems like we're having some of the same issues who's building your pool?

 

[outdoorsgal]

bmoreswim, thx. i'll prob use it as part of my unhappy list. the pump is on the side of the house where we store our trashcans, fire wood and random junk like extra pavers and brick... it will be hidden by a fence so that we can't see it. we have plenty of river rock, so i can do that! your main concern is looks, not dirt getting in or anything?

cbrach411, i PMed u. u had an issue with electric, too, which made me take a pic of mine. mine's not finished but i'll post it here.

 

[bmoreswim]

Both looks and cleanliness. The dirt will get on the equipment if it actually rains in Phoenix.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I would not be OK with ANY portion of the pump/filter equipment hanging off the pad, all should be set/footed on the pad to ensure good life/use the equipment and warranty coverages.

 

[bmoreswim]

My take is, with that slightest bit of the pump base hanging off (and it's the lighter, non-motor side), it's not going anywhere and will be quite solid. It's plumbed in multiple directions to ensure the steadiness as well. But I understand the concern about it being solid and not moving, which is important. Again, clearly not the way it should have been, but appears to be functionally sufficient. Caveat...I could be wrong too!