Blank slate/Pool build in Maryland

I haven't measured mine (will tonight) but we have it on the same kind of curve. Ours might be a bit shorter in length. I had a few boulders/rocks left over so it seems like they used about 3 pallets in total and that you might be a little short with 1 3/4. Talk to your PB yet for an explanation?

In other news...oh wait, there isn't any! Nothing happening at my house! PB left long message today about getting coping AND wait for it....pavers started next week! I'm going to be patient. I'm going to be patient. I'm going to be patient. I'm going...
 
More grading was done on Thursday and we definitely need more dirt. The pool builder stopped by today and I had a nice chat with him. He dropped some bluestone off for the waterfall which will be done tomorrow (on a Sunday!!). In addition, he dropped an entire pallet of rocks off on Friday and told me today he had to borrow some a few days ago but knew he’d bring them back. All the work he has done so far has been great so I never even asked him because he’s never given me a reason to think he wouldn’t make it right. We are very confident we chose the right builder, I think the delays are just part of the game given everyone else’s experiences as well.

Pictures of the waterfall coming soon!

I forgot to mention I have a pallet of part of my fence order in the yard now too. It was a special order from Lowe’s and I was afraid to delay it and have to start the month plus wait over again so I’ll just let it sit. Unfortunately of the 36 six foot fence panels and four gates I ordered, they only brought 16 fence panels. Not sure what that is about but I hope I don’t have to wait a month for the rest. They never mentioned a second delivery.
 
You need to call Lowes TODAY! I bet they think they delivered the whole order. This is VERY common for them. Their attention to details like that if very lacking :roll: What did the bill of sale list when they dropped it off?

SO glad to hear he brought another set of rocks. It sure does seem as if you picked the right guy! I can't wait to see the rock work!!!

Kim:kim:
 
Unfortunately we had a bunch of rain last night so the waterfall construction was delayed. To their credit, they came and tried to do it anyway this morning but with puddles of water around the pool there is no way they'd have been able to move the skid steer. It may have to dry a few days so I'm not sure when it will happen now.

I haven't called Lowe's yet, too much going on this weekend. I'll have to do that tomorrow while I'm back at work relaxing!
 
Well this seems like day 27 of consecutive rain. In reality it is like day 5, but it seems like an eternity. Rain is in the forecast through Saturday, so it looks like we'll probably not have any progress for a few days.

Also, I spoke to Lowe's. Apparently they somehow forgot an entire pallet in my delivery and that will come on Friday. It looks like I'll have these pallets in my yard sitting for a few weeks with this rain delay. I can't even remember the last time it rained for a week straight.
 

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I've been meaning to post an update.

On Thursday we had the patio prep work done. We added about 215 sqft so the patio is now 1015 sqft total. At first we thought it was too big but walking around in it in person it is not too big (maybe we should've gone bigger? :D)


This pic I was way too high but it's the best I have at the moment. You can see all the tire tracks from all the machines to the left of the house.



On Friday we were supposed to get the waterfall done, but the masons showed up, worked for about 10 minutes and then left. Then the pool builder came shortly after and worked for about 10 minutes then texted to tell me that the skid steer was stuck and he'd be back on Tuesday to get it out. He didn't say this but it was pretty clear the masons got the machine stuck and he tried to get it out. My father in law and I figured we could probably get it out and save him some time, so one broken chain, advice from my 88 year old grandfather in law (heavy equipment operator who proved 70+ years of experience is more valuable than 4WD and brute force), and 15 minutes later we got it unstuck.

Much to my surprise, the masons and the pool builder were on site this morning when I was getting ready to leave for work. We had approximately 2-3" of rain inside of about 2 hours on Sunday night so it was still pretty wet, but they tried to go around the front of the pool instead of the back to build the waterfall. As I was driving to work, he called to tell me that the machine had gotten stuck again, and that he was tired of fighting mother nature and was just going to let it dry for a few days. I mentioned that I was surprised to see him given it rained again and he said he needed some production and wanted to try. I feel bad for him at this point because this has got to be pretty frustrating on his part too. He mentioned last week that he had to dig another pool three times because of the rain in the past two weeks so I'm sure this is wreaking havoc on all of his builds.

As I was typing this my wife called to tell me that the pool builder's crew came back to get the skid steer unstuck and were successful. He mentioned getting a track machine in and waiting a few days to let it dry, but we have rain in the forecast on Thursday, Saturday, and Monday. We had very little rain in April and early May and apparently it is just making up for lost time now. The frustration is really adding up.

- - - Updated - - -

Another thing I forgot to mention--the patio guys brought their own skid steer and flattened out the patio area nicely, but left a significant grade on the deep end side and the back (not as much there though). This means we're going to need more dirt. How much more, I'm not sure but the grade is hard to even walk down.
 
I'm glad that there is at least movement at your house! Every bit is progress. The latter part of next week is looking good (as of now) weather-wise. Hopefully that helps move things along for you.

Good call on the extra decking! We have an existing ~900 sq ft paver patio and are adding 670 sq ft (including the walkway around the pool).
 
I was surprised to see the waterfall completed on Saturday. Anxious to see it after we clean up the disaster area that is our backyard and get some landscaping in. The incessant rain we've had in the past two weeks and skid steer did a number on part of the patio form boards so those will have to be fixed, but I would have expected the patio to come first based on timelines I'm seeing here. But the pool builder's direct crew showed up today and started pumping out the pool and beginning what looks like plaster prep. They were only here for a few minutes but there is at least 4 feet of water in the pool. I attempted to pump it out last week but gave up after two hours using my small pump only lowered the water level about 2 inches. It doesn't make any sense for them to stand there and watch the water pump out. At least half of the pool bottom is covered in water.





 
We will see. The field is still extremely wet as all of my runoff from the house goes there so I don't think the cement trucks can get in for at least a few more days. I got my lawn tractor stuck there on Saturday, and then we got more rain on Sunday. On top of that, it is also where they are draining the 4' of water in the pool.

My kids love the mud and dirt. We've had to hose them off multiple times per week since this started. I can't wait to get grass back again.
 
Definitely true! We will take any progress we can get!

The builder told me the waterfall would be built in about three weeks on dig day—that was in March. They first came to do it about a month ago so good that it is done. I was expecting that done before the patio prep. What I was not expecting is plaster prep before the patio, but I’m glad they are doing whatever they can when they can. Hopefully we continue the progress this week with a patio pour or some more dirt. More dirt seems unlikely given how wet everything is. Wherever they’re bringing it from will be wet too. I really don’t see how any concrete trucks will be driving on the wet field either, and it’s probably too far to reach with hoses from my driveway without major expense of a special hose truck or something.
 

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