From a Basic Lawn to Private Resort - We Have A Pool! Controlling Pollen...

[elleb]

Lets count all of the ways this is a great job!!!
-Look at the spa overflow! Now THAT is a work of art. I will be using this to show to others as THE way to do it! I can't wait to see it in action!!!
-Now look at the coping on either side of the coping. Notice how they did not cut a stone short. Instead they did precise cuts to make a great finish point on either side. You have some skilled workers on your job!
-Next is the WONDERFUL BLUE tile (drool!). Look how even the grout is. You cannot tell if they came off sheets or in single rows. They are as even as can be! Well done tile guys!!!

Kim

Yes, they did an amazing job! The same guys will do our spa steps and add the trim tile. We plan to use the plaster for the grout on those though. I have to come up with a cool design on the flat walls in the deep end to use as marker tiles when we are doing laps.

 

[kimkats]

Do them in an open diamond design. Can you see in your head what I am saying?

 

[elleb]

Do them in an open diamond design. Can you see in your head what I am saying?

I think so, but if you have a picture or sketch that would work

 

[kimkats]

Now this is not what I am saying to do but as close as I could come to show you what I am thinking. The white would be your tiles and the blue your plaster.

Just found this one:

The black ones would be your tiles but turned up instead of turned on their sides. The white will be your plaster.

So four tiles touching only on the corners with the area inside and around them plaster.

 

[elleb]

Now this is not what I am saying to do but as close as I could come to show you what I am thinking. The white would be your tiles and the blue your plaster.

Just found this one:

The black ones would be your tiles but turned up instead of turned on their sides. The white will be your plaster.

So four tiles touching only on the corners with the area inside and around them plaster.

Gotcha! Thanks Kim!!!

 

[elleb]

Nothing much going on over in this part of the world. It's been raining...again, but today, before the clouds opened up with a heavy downpour, the Electricians came out and dug trenches and ran tubing and low voltage wiring. It's progress so we'll take it .

 

[kimkats]

LOL more like scraped out so clay instead of digging trenches. Good progress!

 

[tommelton]

I hope that red clay that I see on the coping doesn't stain it. You might want to hose that off regularly.

 

[elleb]

It's a cool and crisp 56 degrees on this bright clear morning in early May in Georgia, which is odd to even type; however, we have arrived at the phase my husband and I have longed for these past few weeks. We are pleased that our build is running smoothly thus far and in a timely fashion. We are all too happy to say goodbye to the mountains of red clay that have plagued our backyard since dig day. This also means that decking is near and we are that much closer to having our private resort dreams become a reality. So here's to more progress!

 

[elleb]

End of day yesterday and here's how it's looking:

 

[kimkats]

Let the mountains LEAVE! Getting better and better!

 

[elleb]

Decking materials should arrive tomorrow! They will begin laying the deck next week. We ordered our son's in-ground basketball goal for his half court and it should be here in a week or two. It will be about 40 or 50 ft behind the pool on-center and I need to find some netting options to present to the HOA at some point. I'm on the hunt for some outdoor pool furniture, and hopefully order it soon as well. We want some in-pool loungers, but not the ledge lounger style, I sat in one and it was not comfortable. I did find an option that they have that sits up more on the ledge lounger site that I'm considering, but I'm trying to find a comparable option for a little less expense. I'm big on buy once-cry once, so hopefully we can figure it out soon. I'll post if anything else happens around here between today and Saturday with our build. I'm so excited!

 

[bmoreswim]

Here is what I did for netting around our court. Galvanized pipe painted brown on a split rail fence with a custom sized net ordered online, and a coated cable running across the top for support. The fence portion has green coated metal fencing attached to the back side. If you air ball a 3-pointer, the ball will go over the the net every time. But it stops the vast majority of errant shots. It's been up for 13 years in full sun with no maintenance.

2012-04-09 07.56.17.jpg

• bmoreswim
• May 3, 2023

 

[elleb]

Here is what I did for netting around our court. Galvanized pipe painted brown on a split rail fence with a custom sized net ordered online, and a coated cable running across the top for support. The fence portion has green coated metal fencing attached to the back side. If you air ball a 3-pointer, the ball will go over the the net every time. But it stops the vast majority of errant shots. It's been up for 13 years in full sun with no maintenance.

2012-04-09 07.56.17.jpg

• bmoreswim
• May 3, 2023

Very nice! Thanks for this idea, we definitely want to have it about 10ft high because it's a wooded area near the court and we don't want to risk him getting bitten by a snake trying to get the ball. We will need it around 3 sides of the goal like yours. I love your layout and the pavers that you have for the court, really nice looking.

 

[elleb]

As of yesterday, we are nearly complete with the rough grade. We have learned that we will need an 80ft retaining wall to the tune of $12kand will need to haul off about 2 loads of dirt at around $450 per load; however, we placed a cushion in the budget for just in case and here we are at just in case with enough cash to cover down on these items and still have some left. We will have to put our deck screening project on-hold for now which is fine by me. My hubby wants to add additional pavers and while we have the funds, I'm hesitant because we have a few more things to take care of with our basement. We will see who wins this one . The pavers are here and they are beautiful! Can't wait 'til next week.

 

[kimkats]

need an 80ft retaining wall

why??

and will need to haul off about 2 loads of dirt

can't they use that dirt to make it where you don't need the wall?

We will see who wins this one

Happy wife=happy life! Just saying!

 

[elleb]

why??

can't they use that dirt to make it where you don't need the wall?

Happy wife=happy life! Just saying!

They tried but our original grade is all jacked up. The retaining wall will keep the mud and water off our deck. We were hoping they could do something with just the dirt but that left side of our yard has always been problematic even before the pool. We're good with the wall, it's the extra decking that hubby wants that gets me because I don't want to shell out more money...

 

[kimkats]

The retaining wall will keep the mud and water off our deck.

Well there is that. There was one pool and yard a while back where the previous owners did not take care of the run off and the pool and deck were a HUGE MESS after each and every hard rain He had to work HARD and spend some major money to fix the problem. If it had been fixed when the pool and yard were done then he (and they when they were there) would not have had to deal with it. Good job fixing it now!

 

[elleb]

Happy Wednesday! The in-ground drainage system is going in this afternoon. The retaining wall is a go and we're going with the gray blocks on the retaining wall and some landscape lighting on the steps and every 8 to 10 ft on the wall. Our landscaper is doing a project and has asked if he can have about 5 loads of dirt, and we're happy to oblige as it means that we won't have to pay additional money to have it hauled off. The rest will be used with our retaining wall. He's also cutting us a break on a few items, so the barter system is working well even in 2023 . We decided to forego the additional paver decking right now and I've discussed a few preliminary plans with the landscaper on the planter beds near the pool deck. I think that it's going to turn out beautifully. Hubby lost out on this one but he's already having someone do his outdoor lawn chores, so I guess that's a compromise .

When I sketched out the drawing of our pool, I always had a clear vision of what the backyard would look like and I think we're getting really close to seeing it come to life. This is the inspiration pic of what I'd like to do in those planter niches around our pool but using decorative rock instead of the mulch, I'm okay with the mulch also, but we'll see as we get a little closer to that. I'm hoping that the PB Hardscape team can get that retaining wall up soon so as to not delay our project further. The rain has already caused at least 3 weeks of delay in the time line. We're in the home stretch though and again we're patient because we want quality work so when it's ready it'll be ready and still enjoyed fully!

 

[elleb]

So, today we got forms in place for the 40x30 concrete pad for our son's basketball court. They will pour later this week weather permitting. We ran into a snag with the ingound bball goal delivery, the 18 wheeler cannot get into and out of our neighborhood safely, so we are working with UPS Freight to get an alternative delivery method. We should have a retaining wall later this week or early next week - again, weather permitting. We are inching closer to the finish line. The picture does not give a good idea of scale but the court much like the pool is exceeding expectations in size. Go big or go home . More dirt is gone or moved which brings me much joy!