Friendswood pool build - almost there......

[friendswoodnewbie]

Re: Friendswood pool build - now with construction pics.....

I have been slow posting lately but here are a few pictures from gunite day and the following days of plumbing and some electrical.....

Let me say I was very impressed with the crew from Modern Method Gunite. They were very professional and obviously could do this in their sleep....

Gunite guys started early - around 6.30

A second plastic cover - they already covered the house

Leveling out

Finishing up

Plumbing trenches

Overview

View from other side

Autofill installed

Bonding wire

Equipment pad

We actually settled on tile and decking Not an easy decision......
We really like these lighter colors and there is a nice iridescence in the water line tile

Next week they should start the decking and tile work. Getting closer.....

 

[guamguy]

Re: Friendswood pool build - now with construction pics.....

Looking like a pool now! You'll be swimming in no time

 

[Flippy]

Re: Friendswood pool build - now with construction pics.....

Cool. Please keep us updated with more pics. I like the spa and will be interested in what it looks like finished.

 

[friendswoodnewbie]

Re: Friendswood pool build - now with construction pics.....

I forgot to tell that we decided to add a fire bowl with a little wall and an extra flower pot. It will have an automatic ignition/remote control.

That will hopefully be the last change we make...... (besides changing a flower bed and widening the decking slightly on the left side.... :-D)

View from the side

View from above

 

[friendswoodnewbie]

Re: Friendswood pool build - now with construction pics.....

I have been slow in posting progress pics lately so here comes a bunch.....
Hopefully water filling tomorrow...

Overflow pipe next to autofill

Coping laid

Clean-up before plaster

Waterline tile at spa

Back wall with waterline tile

Plaster starting early (around 6.40 AM )

"Spiderweb" above pool

Plaster going in around spa

Plastering walls

Plaster truck in the street

Watering down plaster

Smoothing the edges

Guy with leaf blower helps even the plaster

Plaster finished

Night of plaster

Waiting for acid wash and water filling on Monday

 

[Henry Porter]

I'm very found of the design on this pool. Nice with the stairs beside the raised spa and I like the huge ledge on the left aswell. Also your choice of waterline tile is world class

 

[friendswoodnewbie]

Thanks for the nice comments, Mats.
We are also from Scandinavia (Denmark) so we prefer the lighter colors.
The ledge will hopefully be good for the little kids - there will be a little bubbler in the middle and we have three umbrella sleeves up there so we can hopefully keep them in the shade.

 

[shakenbake]

That looks fantastic! I can't wait to see water in it.

(Your equipment pad looks as much a jungle as I have ever seen)

 

[friendswoodnewbie]

Thanks, shakenbake.
It will still be a week or so before the decking tile and landscaping is done but right now the water fill is the big goal (tomorrow).
The equipment pad is actually not so bad when you get closer. I did ask for 45 degree angles - it may make it look more chaotic. I later found out that the difference is probably negligible. Oh, well it won't hurt......

 

[friendswoodnewbie]

Re: Friendswood pool build - We made it....

Finally there :-D

We filled the pool two weeks ago. It took 16 hours through 3 hoses.

The kids jumped in the pool the first day and we have been swimming every night since then. The temperature quickly made it above 80F which is very comfortable (still a little cold for DW....)

A few pictures

Final pool

Tile guys did a great job:
Edge of decking

Nice detail around column where they cut the coping to follow the curve - not easy....

Little son loves 'diving'in the hot tub...

We are really happy with the result. There are a few items left (fire pit, outdoor grill etc) but it was great to finish the landscaping to minimize the amount of sand that made it into the pool.

Chemicals are almost in line - still a little high on TA but thanks to the great advice on TFP I am confident I will get it down with acid and aeration. Still a week or so before we add salt and I have found out I can buy boric acid for 70$ locally for a 55 lbs bag (should be enough to get me close to 50 ppm). I can't wait to get that done as well.

 

[stlpoolnoob]

Just beautiful, design, planning, everything. I have posted so many pictures of my ugly old pool, It makes me amazed to see how awesome it could be. Enjoy.

 

[friendswoodnewbie]

Thanks, stipoolnoob.
We are enjoying it every night after work. The kids love it but DW still thinks it is too cold - only 85F.....
Maybe August in Houston will be warm enough for her - otherwise I foresee getting a huge gas bill over the summer....

 

[gsxrken]

I would also like to compliment you on a fantastic looking project. I particularly like the columns, the plant pots on them, and the higher pool wall on the back of the pool. Those additions really make a huge difference in the overall professionally-architected look and feel of the design.
I have always heard that the water needs to go in the day of the plaster, but it looks like you lived to tell about it. Was it just one day and were they worried at all? My PB has insisted on trucked in pool water b/c the hose would fill it too slowly.

 

[Shane1]

It turned out great.....enjoy!

 

[friendswoodnewbie]

I have always heard that the water needs to go in the day of the plaster, but it looks like you lived to tell about it. Was it just one day and were they worried at all? My PB has insisted on trucked in pool water b/c the hose would fill it too slowly.

I was a little unsure about this part myself but it seems that it is perfectly normal to plaster the PebbleSheen one day (this was done Saturday) and then acid wash 1-2 days later (this was done Monday). They started filling immediately after the acid wash.
From what I have read and heard, the filling speed is not critical - as long as you do not stop the filling before you reach the waterline tile.
It seems that the PebbleSheen (especially the darker type, perhaps) is quite resilient towards many of the horror stories I have read about. So far so good......

Thank you for the nice words about our project to all of you.

 

[JasonLion]

Waiting to fill also depends on the weather. If it is hot and dry the plaster needs to be kept moist one way or another. If it is cool and/or humid it doesn't make much difference.