JAvera's Pool Build

Jump to latest Follow Reply
J

javera

0
Jul 28, 2007
39
Denton, Texas
We moved to this house last year, our previous house had a pool and we didnt think we would miss it when we moved... well we did. So we started working on the idea of building a pool. This is not our first pool rodeo, we built our last pool back in 1998 and we used a national chain pool builder. After that experience (a topic for another thread) we knew what we wanted and what we didnt want out of a pool and a service company. Needless to say we were trying to be very thorough in our decisions regarding what to do and how to do it this time.

I initially thought about going the owner/builder route. A friend of mine was very convincing, however in the end; we wanted to make sure we had the best pool we could have for the money. We ultimately felt, that a good reputable company would be worth any savings of money and aggravation, if the quality and relationship was there.

After months of research and several bids from several companies, we have decided on a pool builder. We signed a contract with a very reputable builder in this area and they build a top quality pool.

Ok... so this is what we are getting..

smallpic.jpg


You will notice the hard part about this yard is that it is tiered. We decided to put the spa on the upper part of the tiered yard and the pool on the bottom. I will post real pics of the yard soon. Here are the details.

32'x 27' Freeform
Moss Rock waterfall
Tanning Ledge w/3 bubblers
Aqua Blue Pebble Sheen
7’X7’ 18" raised spa. w/6 Waterway therapy jets, fountain, and moss stone spillway
Gas Fire pit w/ scupper
Pentair EasyTouch Controls
Pentair IntelliFlo 4 x 160 (Pool/Spa)
Pentair 2HP Whisperflo(water features)
Pentair Heater 400BTU
Pentair Clean & Clear 520 Cartridge Filter
Pentair Letro Platinum Cleaner w/booster
OK Flagstone coping
Seeded Aggregate with Flagstone runners in the deck.

I think thats it! Look forward to sharing this ordeal with ya'll.

Thanks,

Jim
 
Thanks... When you see the photos of the back of the house, it will probably make more sense. The square spa's lines seemed to follow a little more with whats going on the upper tier near the patio. Plus we wanted it to be different, wanted more room in the spa and we also wanted to be able to sit on the spa, thus raising it 18 inches. Our last spa was round and was at ground level.
 
SeanB said:
Do you have young kids? With the deck going down one side of the pool, are you worried about kids bringing in grass and dirt if they jump in from the opposite side?
Click to expand...

Not too young anymore... I have a 14yr old, just old enough to really start helping with pool maintenance! Boy he is going to come in handy during that week of watering down the gunite and the two weeks of brushing for the pebble sheen... :lol:

Anyway the back sides of pool are right up against some drainage easements about 5 feet from the fences and we wanted as much pool as we could fit down there, so that’s the reason for no walkway. We will plant native plants in beds behind those areas, so hopefully that will keep the teenagers out of it… :lol:
 
Yard Pics

We just signed the contract on Saturday... now we are waiting on Home Owners approval and City Permits. While we wait I have started a photo album, right now there are some pictures of the backyard in its currents state. I think everyone will agree this yard screams for a pool. We have only been here a year and this yard needs help, it is a blank canvas. You can see them at

http://avera.net/photo/index.php?folder=/Our Pool/

Thanks,

Jim
 
First long week

Man... we signed the papers a week ago and its been a tough week waiting for approval so we can move forward. It was such a nice hot weekend, made us wish we had started earlier.

In any case...we got our HOA approval on Friday... now we are waiting on our Electric Company approval of the plan before the builder can submit to the city for a permit. Hopefully they will turn it around quickly, but we are are probably looking at a couple more weeks before we break ground...

We are so excited around here waiting for this thing to begin! The wait is killing us! Thank goodness we have this forum to keep us occupied while we wait!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Second that Dave! Let me add, once it starts, it seems like things are moving right along, but don't be suprised when you have those nice sunny days and see no one in your backyard working. That for me has been the most frustrating thing...just like today, the PB has known there is a problem that needs to be fixed for 2 1/2 weeks now. It would have made sense to have corrected the problem before the flagstone and tile went on...and I have been on him, reminding him....but no fix. Now, they will have to fix the problem, re-do the tile and flag in that area. What this means for me is more delays. You have to remember that most builders are using subs....many of the builders use the same subs, so they may be on several different projects and if you have an unscheduled problem, you are going to end up last on the list.

As hard as it might be, staying calm and patient is key to a less stressful build. Be detailed and and hold your PB to the design and to the contract.

Good luck and can't wait to see your build start!
 
Update

Update....3 and a half weeks since signing. It’s been a painful wait, but we are getting better at being patient. We are excited, but we know this is a long process and we want it to be right!

In any case we have finally gotten all the preliminaries done.
Let’s see...

HOA Approval... Check
Drainage Survey... Check
Oncor Electric Approval... Check
City Permit... Check

Today we had our PB come out for a meeting and discuss the plan and look at the yard, set the elevation and go over the construction process. The PB so far I must say are being very thorough and very responsive to our questions and concerns. At this meeting the PB brought out the designer, the construction supervisor, and the owner of the company to look over the plans and the yard make sure we were all on the same page and we understood what was going to happen.

They drew out a rough outline of the waterline for the pool on the ground. It was not an exact drawing, but one just to get an idea and allow us to talk about it. Right away we noticed the pool needed to move back in the yard 18 inches and move over to the left about 18 inches. Our designer will take that info update the construction plans.

So now we wait on a pre-excavation inspection from the city, then we can dig. Our PB Supervisor says we are on the schedule to dig next week!

082207_10311.jpg



BTW... my camera died.. got to get a new one this weekend. Camera phone just doesnt cut it ! :roll:
 
crabboy said:
What kind of approval do you need from your electric company?
Click to expand...

The City of Corinth, Texas requires that the Servicing Electric Company approve the construction plan before they will issue a permit. So my builder had to send ONCOR (Formerly TXU) 2 copies of the construction plans for them to approve.

They city also required a drainage report from a surveyor( i think). So both those requirements added about two weeks to the process. At my last house, about 10 minutes up the road in Denton, we didnt have to get either of those things to get permitted.

Thanks,
 
Our number came up!

The Excavators showed up yesterday and will finish up today. They are using a Trac-hoe and a Bobcat.

They warned me it would get really bad before it gets good, and they are right. It was an interesting day yesterday, they dug even though we got just under a half inch of rain. They almost lost a dump truck into my neighbors yard because of the rain, as it slide down the hill. Fun stuff! Its so addictive to stand out there and watch them work.

Ya'll remember the Spa was going to be on the top level of my teired yard, my pool builder was concerened about the movement of the spa and the movement of the pool, so he dug the spa out all the way to the same level of the tanning shelf. He said he wanted to get down to the "good stuff" to make sure that thing doesnt move. He is going to have to blow a LOT of gunite in there to get this thing back to the right level.

If you wanna see some pictures I am keeping them at http://www.avera.net/photo

I will upload todays photos this evening...
 
Wow that IS a big hole they dug where the spa will be, sounds like the builder is doing what is right to lessen any problems down the road. Please keep sharing the pics....I love to see how everyone else progresses with their build. Happy building!
 
That looks like a great design. It still amazes me how small it looks when they outline it with the paint, then when they dig...whoa! Looks huge :)

I'll enjoy watching your progress as mine came to a screeching halt almost a month ago. Tile issues. We were supposed to be completed today. Now I'm looking at approx. 7 more weeks....

Good luck with yours, may it all go as smoothly as possible.

Karin
 
Hi all,

Thanks for the comments. everyone. More progress today as I got steel and rough plumbing done today.

The plumbers were in and out pretty quickly. It took them about 4 hours to get all of it stubbed in. The Steel guys were here all day, and looks like they still have just a few things to finish up.

One of the things that attracted me to this PB was their desire to really build a quality pool. As you can see from the photos on my website, they used 1/2 inch #4 rebar in the whole pool. They set the majority of it at 8 inch centers. The stress points are at 4 inch centers. Seems like a little bit of overkill, but my last pool wound up having a lot of cracks in it. I am hopeful that wont happen this time.

Everyone saw the SPA pictures after the dig, now go look at the steel they have in that thing. It is amazing! The PB, plans to just fill it up with gunite, which seems like a lot to me! But hey, i am excited they are taking they are trying to do this thing to our wishes, and not cut corners. His goal was to get the spa sitting on good, ground and not sitting on the fill dirt from the house foundation that was in that retaining wall. I like it!

Electrician will come tomorrow and put in the grounding wire in the bottom, And we should get the Steel inspection on Tuesday, and Gunite on Wednesday next week.

Have a Happy Labor day weekend all! See my pictures at http://www.avera.net/photo
 

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