New Build in Tulsa, OK (Photo-heavy)

[mhosborn]

We began making plans to have a pool built since early July this year, and our planning is (finally!) starting to become a reality. We interviewed 5 pool builders, and eventually narrowed the list down to two, as they had the design we liked best. Because our yard slopes downward from the house (it's about a 5-1/2' drop from the house to the rear of the property 40' back) we are having a boulder retaining wall put in on the far side. Unfortunately, the rendering provided by our pool builder (and others we interviewed, too) doesn't do a good job depicting slope.

Below are photos showing the rendering, the dimensional drawing, and the construction process to date. I will update this as more work gets accomplished.

Here's the computer rendering of our pool:

The dimensions of the pool:

The steel's in....waiting for gunite:

The gunite crew at work:

Gunite's complete:

Our pool builder's indicated he's going to try and start the coping work towards the end of this week, so I may have more photos to share at that point.

 

[257WbyMag]

Looks nice! Keep us updated.

 

[jasonlmarsh]

Starting to see more and more Okies on here lately, welcome The pool looks like it's going to be awesome, Great view from the back deck too, I can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[mhosborn]

Since the cost of rerouting our sewer line was more than we'd budgeted for, I'm looking at seeing where we can save.

Our PB said we need a 100 amp subpanel run from our incoming power meter to run the equipment and heat pump, and estimates $1800 for the work. I've no idea if this is reasonable or not, so I'm having another electrician quote it. The electrician I'm getting a second opinion from was surprised I needed 100 amps. He thinks $1800 might be a bit high, and will provide a quote in the next day or so.

Do I need 100 amps, or is that overkill?

 

[Nightmare]

We upgraded the main panel on the house to a 200 Amp (it says 225 amp max).
I think the Pool Sub Panel is 100 Amp, but it might only be 50
I only have 1 pump and not much else in there right now:
Pump / Heater are on a 20A Double Breaker
System is on a 20A
GFI is on a 20A
BBQ is on a 20A

I still need to add the Landscape lighting to that box.

If you have multiple pumps and other features, I don't think 100A is overkill. I bet the cost difference between a 50A subpanel and a 100A subpanel is minimal.

 

[mhosborn]

Thanks Nightmare....

I've found an electrician who will do the work for $1400, so I'm going to go with him and save $400 over what my PB would charge. I'm thinking the heat pump, should we add one later, will require at least 40 amps by itself, so I guess the 100 amp subpanel will provide us with the maximum amount of flexibility should we need to add things later on.

 

[mhosborn]

More Progress This Week:

This week saw the installation of the waterline tile, flagstone coping, and the autofill rough-in.

Here are some photos of the waterline tile:

The flagstone coping was installed as well. This was a 2-1/2 day job for our pool builder's crew. Our pool builder uses a combination of two different types of flagstone, and we really like the result. We've been told the flagstone will be "trimmed" to provide a nice 14" border around the pool:

The schedule for this week includes the installation of the boulder retaining wall. This probably won't happen until mid-week, as we're supposed to get rain Monday and Tuesday.

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

Pretty pool bit I would have liked to see the grout lines between the coping stones a bit thinner.

Don't just go by the breaker sizes in the panels. Make certain the wire size used is suitable for the maximum load.

For example, the wire from the street to the meter or the meter to the panel may only be sufficient for 100 amp, even though you have a 200+ panel. Or the main panel to the sub panel may have wire suitable for 50 amps.

Heat pumps usually need 50 or 60 amps.

Scott

 

[mhosborn]

Pool guy,

Thanks.....I know my electrician has contacted city engineers to find out what's allowed. After talking to others, I now know 100 amps isn't overkill, so I'm good with it.

And regarding the flagstone, I agree tighter joints would be better, but I'm fine with what they've done.

A load of gravel was delivered today (weird...Sunday delivery!) that I assume is destined for the retaining wall, as it's too soon for any decking work.

We're waiting to find out how much extra the additional retaining walls are going to cost us, as what we spec'ed with our PB isn't going to be enough. Hopefully, the adder won't be astronomical.

 

[Nightmare]

Dealing with the power company was a medium size PITA.
They had to send some 'Tech' out to check the ability to upgrade the main panel. He ran some kind of test and checked the wire size and type. We were ok, or else they would have to trench new wires to the house (cost out of my pocket)
Then he missed the appointment to turn off the main power to the house. The electrician did all he could and left for the day.
Then he was late for the inspection to turn the power back on to the house. Didn't show up at all.
It all worked out in the end, but we were without power for 1 night.

 

[mhosborn]

Hard to believe it's January 4, 2012, and our pool build isn't complete yet!

I'll post pictures tonite (hopefully!)....

Last week the decking was poured, and the equipment put into place. The plumbing to the pump/filter was completed as well.

The plaster was originally scheduled for Monday this week, but I was told Monday morning that the plaster crew had decided to take the day off, and that it was postponed to Tuesday. (Coincidentally, our PB also gave his guys Monday off).

Tuesday came, and I was notified the gunite shell was too cold to plaster. (They measured 22 degrees towards the bottom of the pool). Plaster has now been rescheduled for "later on in the week". No idea if this means Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Also on Tuesday, the PB's electrician came in to complete the wiring for the pump, AutoPilot digital SWG controller, and Intellibrite controller. I got a call from our PB in the afternoon to tell me their electrician couldn't finish the job because my electrician hadn't put any breakers into the 100 amp panel he installed last month (or was it November...?). I was asked to call my electrician, which I did. My electrician said there was no way he could install breakers without knowing what size breakers were needed, and neither he or I were ever told what was needed. In the end, I had my PB contact my electrician...no idea what they came up with as yet.

I've got a contractor coming over to day to begin work on adding some new stairs to our wooden deck, and am meeting with our fencing contractor tomorrow evening to get that scheduled.

I'll post more on this as it happens.

 

[mhosborn]

I thought I'd post some more photos of our build thus far.

Here are some photos of the retaining wall we had installed. (There's about a 6' drop between the back of our house and the rear property line...hence the need for the retaining wall). The retaining wall was finished in mid December.

The next phase was our decking. This took longer than we thought it would, with some of the delay caused by some wet weather. Our pool builder tried to wait as long as he could after the rains for our yard to firm up...he was trying to minimize damage to our yard caused by the cement trucks. The cement was finally poured just last week.

The white specks seen in the concrete here are actually salt crystals. The crystals are broadcast onto the concrete, then tamped in with a trowel, resulting in a "pockmarked" salt finish. (The salt was washed out the following day).

Below are photos of the plaster, just finished today. We asked for a Quartzscapes Super Blue finish, but so far it looks like the Quartzscapes Blue finish instead. I'm hoping the Super Blue will "reveal itself" tomorrow after they acid wash it.

I realized I don't have any photos of the equipment, so I'll have to take those tomorrow and get them posted here.

 

[fyton2v]

Looks great! I like how the colors of your coping and decking pair up.

 

[mhosborn]

Thanks....we're very happy with our design/color choices. And our PB did a fantastic job with the coping, and the way the different types of stone tie the different colors together.

 

[257WbyMag]

Looks fantastic!

 

[cramar]

I love the color schemes, nice earthy and natural tones, different from the 'standard' pool look but nothing bold, very nice!

 

[mhosborn]

It's Almost A Wrap!

Our pool is just about finished!!!! Our PB has said he'll be taking care of it for the first 30 days, so we don't have to worry about it for a few weeks yet. Our sprinkler company will be here tomorrow to connect the autofill and rework the sprinkler system now that the heavy equipment won't be destroying the yard any further. Our fencing company will be here in about 10 days to install fencing around the pool and use the same fencing for our deck rails. PB says he'll be adding salt to the pool in about 3-4 weeks.

A couple of our grandkids were in awe last night as we ran the Intellibrites thru a few display shows!

Here are pictures of what we now have:

Here are photos of our equipment pad:

Our AutoPilot Controller:

Hard to believe it, but that little white box on the right is the Pentair Intellibrite Controller that costs $200!

 

[cramar]

Awesome job

 

[TK13LG]

Nice...I love your stone coping it goes nicely with your salt rock finish decking.

 

[daniboy]

Hi there. I am in Tulsa and looking to put in a pool. Do you mind my asking what pool builder you used and whether you have been pleased with them?
Thank you!