Austin, TX - Above Ground Salt Water Pool in Canyon - Construction Started 09/30/19

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sparks22 said:
How does the robot do around the swim up bar stools?
Click to expand...

Seems like the robot can get up to the step below the stools, but it can't get up to the level the bar stools are on because they're in the way. Where the stools aren't, it can get on that step but not the splash pad.

I'm able to brush that area, the spa and the splash pad manually without pole extension in a few minutes. The robot does the rest.
 
bdavis466 said:
The cool guys don't brush their pools.... or teeth


Click to expand...

I should have said the robot reduces the need for me to brush the pool twice daily. I’ll still deep brush a couple times a week. I’m getting wall coverage with the robot that I just can’t access even with a long pole. However, I’ll have to put more emphasis on brushing the areas the robot will never touch.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
This is absolutely breathtaking! I have never been to Austin, but might have to schedule a trip just to admire the pool!
Fabulous job! Your family will make many memories there!
Am I the only one concerned about the fall from the back side of the pool? :eek:
 
JeaniB said:
This is absolutely breathtaking! I have never been to Austin, but might have to schedule a trip just to admire the pool!
Fabulous job! Your family will make many memories there!
Am I the only one concerned about the fall from the back side of the pool? :eek:
Click to expand...

Man, I had so many concerns about this as designs poured in. I consulted with a handful of people in my hood with similar pools, and the inverted knife edge works out real well. Also, I'm missing one piece of gate and my two fountain bowls that will effectively seal off the areas. I also placed the pool in such a configuration that there is really no humanly possible way to even think you can make the jump from my top deck into my pool. So many designs I got just had no consideration for that. Effectively, the only risk is the exposed edge, something every negative edge/infinity has to some degree. That said, I've been on numerous floats and they can't clear the knife edge, they beach very quickly, even with big swells. Now that's not to say if someone properly beaches themselves and then someone does a perfectly aimed canonball with appropriate mass, that there couldn't be a situation, but it's not comfortable to be floating on a beached edge and canonball access to that edge is pretty far. If someone was passed out and someone was intent on making it happen, perhaps they could, but that again becomes a somewhat criminal or delinquency issue. There are numerous ways to kill yourself on my property much more easily. For overall safety, part of it comes down to a few things:

1) If someone wants to jump off the side of a pool and kill themselves, nothing is going to stop that. I have that concern with my upper deck and honestly any balcony in the world has this. I had to come to that reality, but I took great care and lengths to limit any chance of accidental issues, including the placement of the fountains and gating.

2) From a kids standpoint, the pool is deep on the entire backside, so you'd need someone old enough to swim.

3) To pull yourself out of the pool back there manually is actually quite hard because there's no where to get footing/knees down. It is extremely hard and takes great strength and intent to actually remove yourself from the pool via the back. It simply can't happen accidentally, and even to push someone over would require super strength and would again be a criminal issue not different from pushing someone off a balcony.

There is a back bench in the far corner, that's the highest risk area. One can stand there and if they lost their balance and fell backwards, that would be a dire circumstance. Granted, it's the far side and deep side so it's a bit of a swim over there. We've also instructed our kid that he can NEVER stand on that step. This will be something we will enforce like the gestapo in our pool. Given kids are shorter and have lower center of gravity, I'm not actually concerned as I am about drunk teens/adults. I've stood on it very carefully just to test it, and you'd have to really horribly lose your balance and fall backwards. It's somewhat awkward to try and stand up there, and it's too shallow for it to make any sense. In the case someone stands on it, it would be with the intent to jump into the pool and your weight would be forward so a fall would be into the pool. Simply put, falling backwards would have be intentional or someone completely nuts, that said, best to just not stand there even though the risk is low.

Finally, as stated, any sort of floating device hasn't been an issue.

These are all issues that exist with any type of negative edge pool that has a reasonable drop. The knife edge was actually the best finish out I could provide, it's just impossible to walk on in any capacity. We had examined other designs with just a thin coping and the temptation would be too high for someone to tight rope it. I had initially considered putting a wooden planter behind the pool at an elevated position so if someone were to fall, they'd fall into a bush, but I see no need/purpose for that now outside of aesthetics. My current plan is to plant some bushes on the backside so that if one were to fall, it'd be painful but it wouldn't be hitting earth/stones. As stated, my corner bench is the only risk area, and only if someone stands and then immediately loses their balance forward. There's no ingress/egress from that bench so there is absolutely no reason to stand there unless you're an idiot. Two grown adults who get into a fight on my top deck and go over the railing is honestly a more likely concern than anything in the water.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JeaniB
Granite counters are in. Plumbing inspection for the sink tomorrow and then the appliances are going in. Also my bathroom/cabana is going to be stained and painted soon:

2020-05-03_17-13-57.jpg2020-05-04_11-59-32.jpg2020-05-04_11-59-37.jpg2020-05-04_11-59-55.jpg
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: JeaniB and jtburf
Hi --- From Round Rock! Your pool looks fabulous. We are currently remodeling and trying to make final stonescapes color selection. Are you happy with the tahoe blue? We have a large diving pool in full sun and want a turquoise tint to the water. Builder doesn't use tahoe often and has said it leans toward green. What are your thoughts? I don't see green in your pictures at all....
 
rpputney said:
Hi --- From Round Rock! Your pool looks fabulous. We are currently remodeling and trying to make final stonescapes color selection. Are you happy with the tahoe blue? We have a large diving pool in full sun and want a turquoise tint to the water. Builder doesn't use tahoe often and has said it leans toward green. What are your thoughts? I don't see green in your pictures at all....
Click to expand...

It changes daily as it's still curing. Turquoise it definitely is. It's a bit green if it's totally overcast, but goes turquoises when the sun is out. I've uploaded a lot of pictures. It's not as dark as I thought, but it gives off carribean vibes to me. My wife loves it. The gradient through the depth looks fabuous as well, particularly on the back wall. I've read repeatedly that Tahoe Blue is StoneScape's most popular color. I struggled to pick a color because no pictures were consistent. I initially wanted a very dark pool, but then got concerned about the water temperature as I have no shade. I debated Tropics Blue, but didn't like how it looked on the shelf as much as Tahoe Blue. Ultimately I picked Tahoe Blue because the name called to me, I used to spend Winters and Summers in Lake Tahoe, so it has significant sentimental value. Reminds me of Emerald Bay, probably how it got its name.

As stated, in direct sunlight, it's very much blue and turquoise.
 
Still making progress, slower than I wished, but I see light at the end of the tunnel. I added salt this week and am running at 3400ppm, so that was a milestone moment. Here are some other pics:

City inspector required the cabana roof to have more supports, so the three extra supports were added which actually gives a better look:
2020-05-11_18-18-04.jpg

Electrical was approved so they were able to close up the roof and wrap all the wood for staining:
2020-05-11_18-18-08.jpg

Close off of my other deck (to be stained):
2020-05-14_16-33-14.jpg

I'm planning to build a deck under there to move equipment storage to under the top deck (where the door is):
2020-05-14_18-23-32.jpg

We had a big down poour earlier in the week, so water level got pretty high, provided some cool shots:
2020-05-14_18-24-07.jpg2020-05-14_20-09-32.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: jtburf

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply