Continuation of an odyssey

Jump to latest Follow Reply
There is an 8 foot double gate in the plans to replace the formerly solid wall. There is some concern about it fitting but if that is a problem then it will become a 7 foot double.

I actually need to measure that as well tonight or on the weekend to verify the 8 foot will fit. The other side of the yard only has a 4' gate and I have a 7' wide landscape trailer stashed away in the back. Yes I had to add casters to the side and flip it sideways to get it in and out. I feel the pain already.

I should add that it was a wash in cost to add the gate versus rebuilding the wall so it doesn't make sense not to rebuild with the gate.

It's scary easy, BTW, to knock down those block walls. Two dudes with 5 lb hammers took the wall down in about 90 seconds. It took me as long to get my shoes on and walk outside, honestly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arizonarob
Alright.. maybe against my best judgement, here are the redacted plans for the build... Except for the floor system and maybe LED light, it's about as basic as it gets. I do have the fancy do everything portable spa already on the patio, so the toy factor is there.

This should keep this thread alive for a couple of days since I doubt if we will see build activity next week... Only actual change so far is that the owner provided a wall and a second gate on the left side instead of putting an alarm on the inside garage door. And as you can tell, that PB uses Hayward equipment....and Paramount for the in floor cleaner.

I don't actually think there is a lot added from what is in my signature, this is where I got that info in the first place. Yes, no heater (I'm going to experiment with solar later), no built in spa. I suspect I'll convert it to salt next spring. The tile color and Pebble Sheen color might change before it's all said and done, but went with what's there to match the pavers and to have something different. Everyone seems to have exactly the same color blue, with the same tile to match in every pool built in the neighborhood. We will see... We probably will be the only paver pool in the neighborhood. I personally don't like travertine and we needed something other than concrete for the decking to break up how otherwise plain the house is. I know they get hot. I'll leave the hose hooked up to spray them down. :)

redacted pool construction plan.gif
 

Attachments

  • redacted pool site plan.gif
    redacted pool site plan.gif
    65.3 KB · Views: 30
As much as I'd like to go deeper, I actually fear an increase in liability insurance rates if I do. It's deep enough for me (I'm 6'3") and I'm the tallest. It's hard to even talk the PB's here into 6'. They think 5.5' is deep.

As for the floor system. They actually seem to work well here. (I have experience with many neighbors, none seem to have the issues that are reported on this board). Part of the reason that I am doing it is that I'd be the only pool in the entire subdivision without one and I honestly think for the uninitiated it would detract from selling the house because of that later on. I'm planning on playing with the pool for 10 ish years and then going out and moving to the country (without a pool, smaller house more land, I miss my 35.63 acres) again after that, so I have to consider resale too. Maybe I'll hate it. I definitely am going to inspect the plans before they start installing it. I suspect how it's engineered and built in the difference between success and failure.

Trust me I am well aware that most of you here don't like the floor systems. I get it. A couple of the people here swear by them. If I were back in the Midwest there would be no way I'd put one in (I don't think they'd work with that type of debris), but, if designed properly, they seem to work in Arizona.

Actually: Rule #1 "Buy a K2006 or TF100". Rule #2: "We don't like gimmicky chemicals". Rule #3: "We don't like in floor cleaning systems". Got it. I agree on #1 and 2 and I totally understand the concerns of #3.

I know my wife would complain about a robot. I actually tried to talk her into going that way but when I showed her one at a Leslie's I decided that was a losing battle. Ultimately the pool is going to be her thing, I am just tasked with maintaining it like everything else. The Portable Spa is my toy... :) Hopefully I can get her interested in learning how to maintain it in case I get hit by a bus, but even so, as simple and convenient as possible is a necessity.
 
I actually agree with you. But I would have to dig it myself at this point to do it. I just got an email that my pb scheduled the next step at 7/31. 7/31. Did I say 7./31? Yup 7/31. I told them that wasn't acceptable. They sent Crud back. Honestly stuff that a normal human would not send a customer. I sent them a picture of their advertisement sign on the ground. Yes Ittore it down. I didn't send them a picture of what I did to their sign next. But one more reply like that and you will all know their name. Maybe I will send the picture. The other picture.

Sigh. If they actually worked in Tucson they would be unstoppable. I am sorry if I offended the Tucson peeps here but.. Honestly.. What do you do to get people to actually work here? Maybe I can make *leadership ' if I knew..
 
  • Wow
Reactions: NorCalX

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Yeah, basically because of the problem with Pima County I am fifth on the list. Their advertising sign remains down until their side of the contract is fulfilled. They can put it back up but until work happens it will go back down...

Yeah I am ticked off. Honestly it takes forever to get stuff done here.
 
I do really appreciate it. What made me upset is that I was basically told I was lucky to get them to do it that fast, that the rebar crew is two months out for most people now. I sent an email back "I don't care, not my problem, if it were I wouldn't have a general" and then another one asking why they tore up my yard a month early. The dogs situation is bad plus I am getting so much dirt/dust I'm having a hard time using the hot tub. I decided on Sunday to get about $60 worth of materials to build a temporary fence where the one was knocked down. I'll bungee cord it down. It's monsooned twice since Wednesday though so the mud pit is coming.
I only received 0.02" of rain in between those two events according to my weather station, but delaying it a month is going to ensure the maximum possible amount of water and mud will end up in it, and according to others who have worked with them in the past probably another month of delays. I think my fear of not being able to use it until spring is now very likely. I was assured that wouldn't be the case as I suggested delaying the build to winter to the designer.

I also asked "could I please have the rest of the engineering drawings as I want to review the floor system?" before they send plumbers out. No response yet, so I will need to call the project manager this afternoon. I'm sure they are upset with me at this point, the entitlement philosophy in Tucson appears to be strong.

I don't quite get why they are so hard to get documentation out of. I almost didn't choose them because they didn't give enough detail in the bid. I got the detail, after asking several times, so I went ahead.

Whatever. I suppose I've been here long enough to expect work to take forever compared to... well.. everywhere else I've ever lived.. but I didn't expect them to dig and leave it exposed to monsoons for a full month.
 
Yeah.. I am also worried about the walls of the hole collapsing in a heavy rain. Hopefully the soil will hold up here. I might be unnecessarily worried as a Midwesterner transplant.. but the stuff seems like concrete until it gets wet.. We will see.
 
Ugh for sure. This won't help but having watched hundreds of pool builds virtually, unsubstantiated delays are more the norm than the exception. Tucson doesn't get bragging rights alone on this one unfortunately.

You only have squeaky wheel leverage at this point. Or stick Kim on them!
 
bmoreswim said:
You only have squeaky wheel leverage at this point. Or stick Kim on them!
Click to expand...

Heh.. I probably use too direct of tactics to do the "squeaky wheel" with any effectiveness. I'm a test engineer by trade and I tend to take a "take no prisoners" approach to resolving problems. Your planes don't crash because of that approach (or at least at a previous job that was the case.)

Sticking Kim on them... yeah....:) hee....
 
  • Like
Reactions: NorCalX
I get "used" by many around here. Most don't know what hit them until it is over and done. Throw in some "Well bless your little heart" and "EXCUSE ME?? I know you did NOT mean to say THAT!" and they are putty in my hands! It has worked more times then not so.....give me the word and I will have a little Southern Girl talk with them!!

Kim:kim:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shirker
I'm a descendant of Northerners, but even I know what "Bless your little heart" means. It's worse than anything the word moron can contribute to. :)

I honestly didn't think that anything would happen this week, but... sigh.. if it rains as much as it usually does at this time of yeah... ugh... it's a good thing I brought that utility pump from the farm in Iowa... Yeah it's the desert. It doesn't rain much.. but when it does? Where I live it's possible that I can't get home that night from work due to the flash flooding.

As for insulting the work ethic in Tucson. Yeah, it's a beautiful place and the people here have a GREAT sense of humor. The mañana culture though is strong here. Lets say something like road work: Something that would take 6 weeks in Florida, for example, takes two years here... And that is part of the reason I have no "all weather" roads to my house :)....Did I say that Tucson is a beautiful place and culturally extremely interesting? And doesn't have Midwestern winters, nor humidity?
 
Yeah.. a bulk mail from the pb to probably all of the current customers just came out this afternoon saying now that "Tucson is in the 2nd part of the summer that delays from weather are likely." Really? Didn't I just complain about that. I think I'm turning the project over to my wife. My head is going to explode. I don't think I'll buy a new house again (all four times I've bought a house, including here) or have a major project like a pool done again, I've done it one too many times and are burned out from all the past experiences...Thanks for the moral support at my venting, though everyone...
 

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