A look back at my pool rebuild

Great posts. Quite a project.

Thanks P :)

I love the way your tile turned out around the top of the spa, it’s so unique! What a lovely pool.

Thanks also Bella. Yeah the tile ended up working out well, even though they didn't have bullnose. The tile guy smoothed and rounded the edges so that the spa doesn't have any sharp tile corners to it.

That is a cool triple umbrella. Never seen one like that.

$90 on Amazon, but I don't think its going to last very long, and a strong wind seems like it would uproot the entire concrete deck, but it throws some shade :)


Fantastic remodel job! I love the solution you came up with for the top of the spa. It's so pretty, and your view. Stunning. (I'm thinking that's overlooking the old Fallbrook Golf Course? We're just down the road from you in Bonsall.) I wish I had known about this site when we built our pool 16 years ago - a lot of trial and error before finding it. Happy swimming!

Hah, the old Fallbrook Golf Course, now the Monserrate Winery, is a bingo! Great story for the non locals... that golf course was a staple of this small town in North San Diego county for years, but it went bankrupt a few years back, closed and turned brown. The condo developers were all over that property looking to do what condo developers do, and the town folk were in a tizzy. First it was "Save the Fallbrook Golf Course", and when that failed it became "Save the Gird Valley". Right as the bankruptcy sale was about to happen, a former local who had grown up playing that course, then went off to the big city to make his millions (designing golf courses, ironically), swooped in and bought the property from the bank for $4M. He poured another $16M to turn it into a vineyard, which made the locals ecstatic as can be. There will be a tasting room, meeting room, restaurant and wine making stuff. All organic, all green, eco friendly, etc etc. He's a real, true super hero to this local community around that old golf course. I believe also as part of the sale he converted the land to a conservation thingy where even if thew winery goes bankrupt, it can't be developed, just left as open space. I bought my house last summer, with a view of what was the course, but when I moved in it was just rows of stakes in the ground. Now its thriving grapevines and the winery will open in 2020. I do expect to work there part time, sampling wine, to make sure its safe to drink for the customers. :D

Wow, nice............ but I would have killed for your original pool!!!

:cheers:

Heh, not if you smelled it first :D With no real functioning pump, it was almost green when we drained it for this project.
 
See this smile? :sun: It is me looking at the pics!!! THANKS!

That water looks awesome! You are doing a great job with it!

For cooling the water.................Skippy's New Fountain You can make something like this. Your son will LOVE It and it will cool your pool water. If you run it a night it will cool it even more. Just remember this will also push your pH up so keep a real close eye on that. Your new plaster will also push the pH up as it cures so......knowledge is power. You know you can use muriatic acid to lower the pH.

Do you have a good place to store the m. acid? It cannot be stored with chlorine/bleach as they do not play well together. You also need to keep your little man away from it as it is yucky stuff. Several people get a small resin box that can be locked to put it in outside. You also do not want it by metal as the fumes can cause rust. The cap is vented so the fumes can escape.

So where does that gate on the other side of the pool go? Is that a grassy play area? I would love to see more pics of the whole area. it is SO pretty. That view............WOW!

Of course any G-rated (LOL) pics of your little man and dog are welcome as well!

Kim:kim:

Heh, thanks again so much Kim. Couple responses: Having been a Straight A student of Pool School on here, I've got all those tips already incorporated into my "I am my own Pool Boy" routine. I use liquid MA, I store it in a shed with no other chemicals where the boy can't reach it, and dump a whole gallon at a time then rinse and throw out the empties. My PH rise has subsided a lot, used to be .1 per day, now it seems like .1 per week. I'm a Pool Math subscriber so I track it on my phone and my numbers are perfect, if I can be so bold :)

I also made my own fountain/PH riser sorta like Skippy's, here's a pic. (if the darn pics work)
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As for the secret gate, its actually a bunch of raised, irrigated garden beds. Currently, that is where I grow an assortment of dead weeds (weeds, not "weed":)). But when the inside of the house is done I'll focus on the outside and get the veggie and herb gardens going. Maybe in the fall when it drops below 4 trillion degrees.

Pics here:
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Oh and down and to the left, way out of view, is the Citrus Grove. Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Persimmon, Kumquat, Avocado, Apple, Peach. Its also in disrepair but I'll get it running as smooth as the pool by fall. We only have 1.2 acres here but every square inch is usable, either pool, patio, garden, grove or RV parking. No grass anywhere, but lots of weeds :)

And here's my son Jones, demonstrating the proper technique for squirting a water cannon. Its mandatory to say "ready, steady, fire" or so he tells me.

 
Awesome job and many years of happiness for your family! Thanks for chronicling and sharing it. Looks like a brand new pool and I love the layout of it.
 
Yes, a great win for the Fallbrook locals. Here in Bonsall, not so much. I almost weep each time I drive by the old San Luis Rey Downs course.
Goodness, someone logged some serious time planning out that piece of land. What a show stopper you'll have when you whip everything into shape. And what a special place for Jones to grow up.
 
Ok, these attachements aren't working right and I can't delete them. Mods can delete those attachments if possible (not that important) so I could try to post inline again.

Anyway....

Day 14, deck pour. Same TopCast finish. This is where I put all those umbrella holders, perfectly placed for the sun that arcs across the sky, in FEBRUARY! First mistake. Should have placed them for July sun. Oh well, they still work, but they aren't in the perfect spots around the spa.

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TopCast going on.
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TopCast washed off the next day.
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Remember that bench we poured? Here it is.
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More to come, but I need to go pick up dinner. Sit tight :)
Curious about your deck umbrella holders. What size umbrella do you put in it? Any issues with stability?
 
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