By Owner in Phoenix: started up!!

[ddoggphx]

Great thread! I'm just starting our build using Craig over at Independence Pools for BYOP. Can't wait to get thing moving! So nervous but excited....

Good luck. If you need leads let me know.

 

[ddoggphx]

Hopefully the last week we see it like this.

This journey is super interesting. Stressful but fun. Yes, I said fun.

 

[koffey]

nice op

 

[ddoggphx]

Confirmed our shotcrete will be done on Saturday. They come tomorrow for a presite visit. Our electrician also will be here to wire a niche for a small 1.5" led at the end of the baja step. We are in business.

Wife and daughter did a ton of work clearing overflow from backfill, and I've chipped back the area where the mudslide covered all the rebar. (In the photo, all the rusted rebar was encased in dirt!)

Also went through and added more bricks and adjusted high/low areas in rebar for 3" all around.

Everyone in the family had put some sort of sweat equity into this project. My youngest daughter was a beast with the shovel to backfill lol. Feel like we needed to feel that pride of ownership.

Not much more to do but wait!!

 

[ddoggphx]

We set up a ring camera to capture this process. Never have done this before, shotcrete is cool and the crew is super precise.

 

[bbretz]

I am in Queen Creek AZ and that could literally be our back yard. Our shotcrete, grotto and sunken patio are in as well as our travertine. So close, but still need pebble spec, pergola and landscaping.

 

[kimkats]

Everyone in the family had put some sort of sweat equity into this project. My youngest daughter was a beast with the shovel to backfill lol. Feel like we needed to feel that pride of ownership.

Well done by all!!! Nothing like getting your hands dirty on a great project to make it your own!

Looking forward to a pic of it DONE!

Kim

 

[ddoggphx]

All done with shotcrete.

Who takes the boards off? Me?

 

[Foxer]

All done with shotcrete.

Who takes the boards off? Me?

Looks good! Yes, I took the forms off myself on my pool. My forms were a little different, but it took me a lot longer than I expected.

It’s been a very fascinating process learning what each trade is responsible (and not responsible) for.

 

[kimkats]

SWEET!!! That looks great! Have you started bonding with it yet? aka watering it to help slow down the curing.

It is time for your set of links! The first set is all about what to do and ask about to get a great plaster job. The second set is all about how to care for your pool after you get the plaster.

Plaster links:
Ten Guidelines for Quality Pool Plaster Best one of all
All Plaster Finishes Should Last 20 Years
Not All Color Pigments are Good for Pools How to pick a good color for plaster.
A Plastering 'Watch List' | Professional Watershaping | Watershapes
Trouble Free Pool
Trouble Free Pool

Pool care links:
Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule
Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
Trouble Free Pool
Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Now is also a good time to get your test kit. Test Kits Compared I will tell you the TF-100 is the best bang for the buck as it has more of the regents we use the most. Make sure to get the speed stir as it really does make the test even easier!

Kim

 

[ddoggphx]

SWEET!!! That looks great! Have you started bonding with it yet? aka watering it to help slow down the curing.

Oh yeah! We are on a schedule and are meticulous about it!

The awesome thing is that yesterday was the hottest day of the week, and the rest of the week will be gorgeous, even some rain on Wednesday, so we will get a nice slow cure. Timing could not have been better.

Thanks for all the links, especially the pool care links!!

 

[ddoggphx]

Water Chemistry

Now is also a good time to get your test kit. Test Kits Compared I will tell you the TF-100 is the best bang for the buck as it has more of the regents we use the most. Make sure to get the speed stir as it really does make the test even easier!

For test kits for salt pools it says a special option on the tf-100 but I didn't see that on the site. ??

 

[kimkats]

No worries! Here is a link to it:

https://tftestkits.net/TF-100-Salt-Test-p132.html'

It is located under "Individual" tests.

Kim

 

[ddoggphx]

Some watered down pics. It has been soaking it in. We are going with the "can't water it too much" mentality for the first 48-72 hours. Basically hitting it every hour and a half while the sun is out, once before bed, once in the middle of the night and back to it.

The standing water goes away pretty quickly other than the very bottom, but we shall see. Tomorrow it is about 78 degrees and cloudy (ridiculous nice AZ weather) and rain on Tuesday..do we back off the water saturation when the standing water stops soaking/evaporating?

 

[kimkats]

You can use a sprinkler to water it in your place. I would water until it stops soaking in.

 

[ddoggphx]

You can use a sprinkler to water it in your place. I would water until it stops soaking in.

We thought about sprinklers but we actually enjoy spraying it down. The whole family takes turns

 

[kimkats]

It is a kind of bonding experience with the pool so I think everyone should do it by hand for a while!

 

[ddoggphx]

Oh and there was one hiccup. On the back of the spa my plumber had set the pipes outside the rebar for some reason, so you can see them. However it's all good as they will be under the facing of the stone around the spa. Silver lining they are easier to access if ever they leak.

 

[kimkats]

But, but, but..............the stone will not sit flat with that pipe there or at least that is what it looks like.

 

[ddoggphx]

But, but, but..............the stone will not sit flat with that pipe there or at least that is what it looks like.

It's a bit flatter than it looks, so we will have about a quarter inch of mortar there to flatten it out. It's a pain in the Rear but fixable.