Las Vegas Build - It's like butter

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While I am waiting till Weds to get the Gunite, I decided to go tile shopping... this is what I think is going to happen for tile, plaster and decking...
Any comments are welcome, as I am a guy and have no design sense...lol









And this is the planned decking... this stuff is the neatest material!! exposed to 110 degree heat all day... its still cool to the touch!! amazing! not cheap though :eek: But I'm only doing this once...



 
Has anyone used the shell stone? It looks like it will be amazing, naturally non-slip and cool to the touch, even in sunny hot places (actual experience, i touched it for myself here in Vegas). Haven't decided on specialized coping cut or just running the tile to the edge. Any opinions on that?
 
Nothing like the smell of gunite in the morning! They were here before 6am and said they will be done no later than 11am... The foreman is awesome, made some suggested changes which were right on.

gonna start looking like a pool!







 
kimkats said:
SWEET!

I would like to know what suggestions he made and how they were different than the plans. I will use this info to help others know how important it is to be there for this big day!

:kim:
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He suggested that I make the bench bigger, which he was right, he wanted to put the waterfalls a bit diff place than the pipes were, again he was right, he adjusted the bubblers so the wet deck was correct depth, and suggested umbrella sleeves as well. which I am doing... All not on plans, no extra charge. Also they pointed out the code which states a step into pool may not exceed 11 total inches, so I had to adjust the depth of my wet deck (this is a huge catch, which could have cost me thousands). The owner of the gunite company showed up, he was awesome too... I can see why this is one of the most expensive part of building the pool, lots of guys and lots of trucks... they went with gunite, BTW over shotcrete. They feel they can control the mix better at the nozzle, rather than depending on the pre-mix. They are warrantying it for life, so it was their call, but this is a good FYI for others out there wondering what to do.



BTW tested my tap water:

FC 1.0 (basic test kit 1.2)
CC 0
TC 1.0
TA 290
PH 7.2 (basic test kit)
CH 325

Not sure what all that means...
 
The attention to detail is awesome. They set this "eye" up and everything gets leveled and measured to that. They level all the items including skimmer and pool fill.







And you can see how they shoot it and then sculpt it.





 
Final Pictures on the Gunite - this was by far the coolest portion of the build so far (other than that first scoop). It looks like a pool, or at least a cement pond... Now for watering... I set up an automatic fan spray on my hose to go off every few hours. And I will follow up by hand once or so a day... I tried to get different angles for those that are trying to see all different parts, like I do...

















 
Love it! So nice when a "pro" can and will share their thoughts and ideas. That catch on the step???? WOW! Worth his weight in gold for that one alone!

Your fill water is "interesting" to say the least. Your TA is VERY high BUT it is VERY easy to correct.

You know what? I am going to go ahead and share the links I set up for new pool owners. This will give you time to read over it all and start learning it.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

I am also going to share the link on how to lower TA.

Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

:hug:

:kim:
 

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WOW that looks amazing! I think maybe I should have left the back wall the same height all the way instead of dropping it a foot at the deck..lol

The wall is supposed to be stacked stone ledger.. but now hmmmm... thank you so much!
 
Daddymack...pool is coming out very nice! Would you mind sharing the approximate square foot price of the shellstone decking? I like the look a lot better than the sprayed concrete, and I'm just wondering how it compares price wise. Are you doing a salt pool? If so, any worries with the salt water attacking it like limestone? (I hope not since from what I can read, it's from old ocean floor, but sometimes it's better to ask)
 
BeachHead said:
Daddymack...pool is coming out very nice! Would you mind sharing the approximate square foot price of the shellstone decking? I like the look a lot better than the sprayed concrete, and I'm just wondering how it compares price wise. Are you doing a salt pool? If so, any worries with the salt water attacking it like limestone? (I hope not since from what I can read, it's from old ocean floor, but sometimes it's better to ask)
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Thank you! I found a place in Florida that has it for around 5.25 a SF, some pieces less, some more depending on which one you pick and whether you get pavers or tile (coping is expensive - about 24 or 25 bucks for 12x24). This is over 1.50 less a SF than I can find it in Vegas (of course I am going to have to pay shipping) but they have more variety, including tile and coping if I want it. The lady told me it was better idea just to use the pavers for the coping and then have the installer sand them smooth (she could have told me coping was only way to go because of the price they get for it, but I appreciate her honesty that will save me some bucks)

Also, I am doing salt and I am told that salt will absolutely not affect this because, as you stated, it comes from salt water, and what was the ocean floor at one time. It's truly, in my mind, a pool wonder stone.
 
daddymack said:
Thank you! I found a place in Florida that has it for around 5.25 a SF, some pieces less, some more depending on which one you pick and whether you get pavers or tile (coping is expensive - about 24 or 25 bucks for 12x24). This is over 1.50 less a SF than I can find it in Vegas (of course I am going to have to pay shipping) but they have more variety, including tile and coping if I want it. The lady told me it was better idea just to use the pavers for the coping and then have the installer sand them smooth (she could have told me coping was only way to go because of the price they get for it, but I appreciate her honesty that will save me some bucks)

Also, I am doing salt and I am told that salt will absolutely not affect this because, as you stated, it comes from salt water, and what was the ocean floor at one time. It's truly, in my mind, a pool wonder stone.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info. Seems like it's not "that" much more expensive than the spray deck. (I was quoted $7.25/sq ft for concrete and spray deck), as I can't imagine it costing much more than $3/sq ft for install labor. And it does seem like the perfect material for a deck here on Las Vegas or Phoenix. I wonder why it's not more common? Is it not as durable as travertine maybe?
 
BeachHead said:
Thank you for the info. Seems like it's not "that" much more expensive than the spray deck. (I was quoted $7.25/sq ft for concrete and spray deck), as I can't imagine it costing much more than $3/sq ft for install labor. And it does seem like the perfect material for a deck here on Las Vegas or Phoenix. I wonder why it's not more common? Is it not as durable as travertine maybe?
Click to expand...

I think its just a relatively new product. Arizona Stone said its new for them, and other than display, they don't have any examples on the ground and no coping yet...
 

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