- Apr 6, 2012
- 123
- Pool Size
- 21000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
Hello from the Cement Capital of Texas, also known as DFW Southern Star... Midlothian, TX
I've been lurking since April when me and the wife started have thoughts of building a pool this summer so that our 3 high schoolers and our nearby grandson can get some good use out of it before we are completely empty nesters.
I must say I'm almost a TFP addict reading as much as I can about the pool build process and maintenance that i need to look forward to after our current build is complete in August.
Little by little our backyard oasis has been taking shape since we built our house 4 years ago, here are some progress pics
This is the back patio progress the week we moved in. We loved our builder to death but all the plans had ridiculously small patios.
I purposely had the builder run sprinkler and sod outside the perimeter of what I had pre-planned once we moved in. I saved a ton of $$ subcontracting the patio build myself.
Within 2 weeks from move in I had my brother in law and his crew pour us a concrete extension and the tear down begun. It almost hurt to waste perfectly new brick and wood but I had bigger dreams the builder said couldn’t be done withput a center support smack dab in the center of my patio. My response to him was “watch me”…..
This is hands down the most expensive pile of trash I have ever owned
frame work done, and ready for city inspection
Walla, complete and ready for paint and stain so that it looked original to the house
It's complete and we love it, even Max our bulldog approved.
Of course there is always a but.....
2 issues, the day the concrete was poured we had some heavy rains and created divots in the cement. Also the cement color and texture didn't match the builder cement
There is always something I know, so we lived with this for a few years until....
Over some large amounts of beer me and one of my cousins (by marriage) were talking about a cement overlay he does with cement when he builds pools down in Houston. He quoted me a crazy price per sq. foot and knowing I had a 16’x42’ patio and this would solve my patio defects that always bugged me we struck a deal.
Actually he had been trying convince me to let him build a pool for me since I moved in but no thanks. 1st he lives in Houston so I can only imagine the logistics and 2nd I would never do business that expensive with family because if it goes south and I sued him the relationship would be ruined (more on that later).
The work begun with an acid wash so the plaster overlay would adhere to the cement
he does one section at a time and creates somewhat flagstone pattern with a stick as he goes
he then hand wiped some stain on the plaster and even had enough material left over to do my front porch.
Then it begins..... Since he is only in town on the weekends because his wife and kids live in Dallas and Houston is where all his pool work is, it has taken ~3 weeks to get to this stage so far. He tells me a story about a pool build he needs to focus on and says he will finish my patio in 2 weeks when he's back in town. 2 weeks come and go, he tells me 1 more week and i wait... and wait... and wait.... and wait... 7 weeks later and I’m upset, I've paid him all but maybe 10% which isn't much because this was a "hookup" so I continue to bug him over the phone and get empty promises he will be in town the following weekend.
During all of this I find out my cousin who lives here in Dallas is already ****** at him and they are on the outs and might divorce. Geez, I know hookups are never convenient but I think I've been more than patient up to this point. I finally call him and tell him that I'll have the job finished by someone else in town or do it myself could he send me the name of the slip resistant sealant he claimed would "bring the color out and amaze me"..... because right now I think my patio looks like faded junk.
He apologized profusely and tells me he will finish it that weekend no exceptions no excuses, so i give him the benefit of the doubt and wait…..
He delivered on his promise and we LOVE IT
But... he then tells me he under quoted me for materials and request more than the final 10% payment. I remind him that i had already given him "extra" a few other times for materials, but we agree and meet half way and be done with it. It really didn't amount to much considering what I would have paid another contractor so I'm still trilled with the whole transaction.
The overlay is not as sturdy as I would have hoped in regards to heavy objects being dropped or coals from my fire pit staining. 2 years later it’s still holding strong and looks great with the exception of a few burn stains from my fire pit, and a few chips that only I notice.
That’s brings us to the present, we started our pool build at the end of June and have been trilled so far for how the build is coming.
You can follow our build in our build thread here http://www.troublefreepool.com/finally-under-construction-in-midlothian-tx-t49546.html
Sorry if I seem long winded but I'm excited to be building a pool since I never imagined I would actually take the plunge and do it.
Our next plan for the back yard is a combo 20'x26' pool house/garage with a 10' ceiling that matches the house. Me and my wife are big old school VW nuts so in addition to her 74 VW Thing and my 66 Convertible Bug we can only garage 3 of our vehicles but really need garage space for 4.
Anyways, thanks for having me TFP
I've been lurking since April when me and the wife started have thoughts of building a pool this summer so that our 3 high schoolers and our nearby grandson can get some good use out of it before we are completely empty nesters.
I must say I'm almost a TFP addict reading as much as I can about the pool build process and maintenance that i need to look forward to after our current build is complete in August.
Little by little our backyard oasis has been taking shape since we built our house 4 years ago, here are some progress pics
This is the back patio progress the week we moved in. We loved our builder to death but all the plans had ridiculously small patios.
I purposely had the builder run sprinkler and sod outside the perimeter of what I had pre-planned once we moved in. I saved a ton of $$ subcontracting the patio build myself.
Within 2 weeks from move in I had my brother in law and his crew pour us a concrete extension and the tear down begun. It almost hurt to waste perfectly new brick and wood but I had bigger dreams the builder said couldn’t be done withput a center support smack dab in the center of my patio. My response to him was “watch me”…..
This is hands down the most expensive pile of trash I have ever owned
frame work done, and ready for city inspection
Walla, complete and ready for paint and stain so that it looked original to the house
It's complete and we love it, even Max our bulldog approved.
Of course there is always a but.....
2 issues, the day the concrete was poured we had some heavy rains and created divots in the cement. Also the cement color and texture didn't match the builder cement
There is always something I know, so we lived with this for a few years until....Over some large amounts of beer me and one of my cousins (by marriage) were talking about a cement overlay he does with cement when he builds pools down in Houston. He quoted me a crazy price per sq. foot and knowing I had a 16’x42’ patio and this would solve my patio defects that always bugged me we struck a deal.
Actually he had been trying convince me to let him build a pool for me since I moved in but no thanks. 1st he lives in Houston so I can only imagine the logistics and 2nd I would never do business that expensive with family because if it goes south and I sued him the relationship would be ruined (more on that later).
The work begun with an acid wash so the plaster overlay would adhere to the cement
he does one section at a time and creates somewhat flagstone pattern with a stick as he goes
he then hand wiped some stain on the plaster and even had enough material left over to do my front porch.
Then it begins..... Since he is only in town on the weekends because his wife and kids live in Dallas and Houston is where all his pool work is, it has taken ~3 weeks to get to this stage so far. He tells me a story about a pool build he needs to focus on and says he will finish my patio in 2 weeks when he's back in town. 2 weeks come and go, he tells me 1 more week and i wait... and wait... and wait.... and wait... 7 weeks later and I’m upset, I've paid him all but maybe 10% which isn't much because this was a "hookup" so I continue to bug him over the phone and get empty promises he will be in town the following weekend.
During all of this I find out my cousin who lives here in Dallas is already ****** at him and they are on the outs and might divorce. Geez, I know hookups are never convenient but I think I've been more than patient up to this point. I finally call him and tell him that I'll have the job finished by someone else in town or do it myself could he send me the name of the slip resistant sealant he claimed would "bring the color out and amaze me"..... because right now I think my patio looks like faded junk.
He apologized profusely and tells me he will finish it that weekend no exceptions no excuses, so i give him the benefit of the doubt and wait…..
He delivered on his promise and we LOVE IT
But... he then tells me he under quoted me for materials and request more than the final 10% payment. I remind him that i had already given him "extra" a few other times for materials, but we agree and meet half way and be done with it. It really didn't amount to much considering what I would have paid another contractor so I'm still trilled with the whole transaction.
The overlay is not as sturdy as I would have hoped in regards to heavy objects being dropped or coals from my fire pit staining. 2 years later it’s still holding strong and looks great with the exception of a few burn stains from my fire pit, and a few chips that only I notice.
That’s brings us to the present, we started our pool build at the end of June and have been trilled so far for how the build is coming.
You can follow our build in our build thread here http://www.troublefreepool.com/finally-under-construction-in-midlothian-tx-t49546.html
Sorry if I seem long winded but I'm excited to be building a pool since I never imagined I would actually take the plunge and do it.
Our next plan for the back yard is a combo 20'x26' pool house/garage with a 10' ceiling that matches the house. Me and my wife are big old school VW nuts so in addition to her 74 VW Thing and my 66 Convertible Bug we can only garage 3 of our vehicles but really need garage space for 4.
Anyways, thanks for having me TFP
Welcome to TFP!