New Member, First Build...What have we gotten into?

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I was responsible for brushing my own pool, and the girl who was supposed to give me "pool school" screwed up the startup of my pool. She came once a week for 2 weeks, threw some MA and granular shock in the pool and left. On the 3rd week she came back to give me "pool school" (no chemicals) which consisted of me telling her what my test results were and her saying "Yeah you need to get that up" in response to my TA of 40 (which should have been her responsibility). Then she showed me how to empty the pump basket and skimmer baskets, and how to backwash and said have a nice day. I also discovered she hadn't put any DE in my DE filter resulting in PB having to replace the filter. I'm pretty sure she let my PH get too high because I had a lot of scaling on my tiles.

Details of what was included in "pool school" were not given in the contract. Only the fact that they would give me a test kit, pole, brush and leaf net. It was a disaster to say the least.

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So how easy is it for you to get to the pump controller and/or basket? Looks like it's kind of blockaded.
 
for me, pb told me several times during the build that he would do the start up which included hundreds of dollars in chemicals, etc.
3 days after plaster he came by to vacuum and brush (which he told me specifically not to do) poured in a gallon of chlorine, told me to get a test kit, some chemicals and a brush, pole and net and get the water balanced. he told me to start brushing once a day. oh yeah, the day he plastered he gave me a quart of what I believe was sequestrant to add to the water when full. then he said he would be back in 5 days to pick up his pass through salt cell since I didn't take him up on his offer to sell it to me for $52.
so you can see how I was sorta caught off guard here. I was under the impression that he would get my chemicals balanced the first time and then leave it up to me to keep them that way. also that he would at least supply me with the tools to do so. luckily I already had my tf100 test kit and a pole, net and brush that I ordered ahead of time assuming he would lame out on me and leave me hanging. I did fully expect him to bring it up to speed before handing it over though even if it wasn't to my liking.
back to the light thing, look at your paperwork that came with it or google it and see the owners manual shows you the two configurations of light "paths" available. yours looks like it is in wide mode. good if its going side to side (shortway) vs end to end (longway)
 
Enough to do the fences? SWEET! BUT be careful that you really want to do that instead of keeping it natural as if/when you have to replace a board you will want to stain it to match so.................Our pasture fence was painted white before we moved in. I HATE it because it needs to be "kept up" with cleaning and repainting. One day I will replace all of the boards and keep them natural. I will sand the posts to match. One day in the far, far future LOL

Kim
 
I'm glad you guys are getting some progress going! I can't wait to see you guys get plastered...:cheers:

Ahh, pool school. I offered to teach my PB something but he mumbled something about having xx years experience in the pool business, so I figured he had it covered...

Seriously though, my PB has figured out I can handle up on the chemistry and pretty much left me alone. I learned it all right here on this website when I was taking care of my above ground last year. I'm running the numbers as I see fit which is pretty much in line with what he wants. Our only disagreement really is the CYA level. I'm want my CYA a little higher (70) getting ready for the SWG, he wants it kept in line with regular chlorine (40) even after I turn the SWG on and I'm ignoring him. Everything else we agree with.
 
martinkennedy said:
Karen, when we had our grilled installed, the install directions indicated that we needed air flow under the grill. We had vents built into the block walls of the kitchen to accommodate the requirement. I can’t tell from the pictures if you did that or if your grill requires it.
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Hi Martin,
I missed this post earlier. Good call to check the installation guide. I just finished reviewing it. If we were to use a cylinder, it definitely requires ventilation holes with clear specifications. Since we are piping in the lines of propane, it doesn't require specific ventilation holes but just recommends having adequate ventilation in case of a gas leak. I think with the drawers beneath the grill, we should be okay. The gas company is actually going to hook up the grill and run tests on it, so we will also run this by them to see if they recommend anything in addition. (I am slightly paranoid about gas leaks)

Twolabs said:
Great progress Karen! The light looks very nice with the chrome looking finish. And ours don't have the sealant looking stuff around it, and we're plastering on Monday. Wonder if that's something I should ask about? Hopefully my guys know what they are doing!

All those outlets for all of your goodies makes me really envious that we aren't doing our outdoor kitchen now...but I have to keep things in perspective. It was no outdoor kitchen or no pool! A mini fridge AND a wine cooler? I love you.........:D
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Every possible opening (return valves, pipes, lights etc) has that white sealant around it. I can't remember whether I saw it or not on others builds before plaster went it. Mine is probably more noticeable because it's been sitting at the "pre-plaster" stage for so long. Speaking of, after today's all day soaking, they are going to have to drain the pool again.

I do like the chrome finish too on the light. I followed Jimbo (Cluck's) advice and read up on them as well in the owner's manual. Can't wait to have competing light shows - although mine will have to be limited to the pool and spa. Although, I will completely take advantage of the fact that one of the guys that works for me, has his pyrotechnics license and choreographed the fireworks show in NYC during a 9/11 memorial when Evil Kneivel's son did some jump (plus he's done NFl games, college games and his own wedding). I'll get him to work on my music/light show so I have a fighting chance.

That is good news they scheduled you before Thanksgiving. Plaster is not on the schedule for us based on the email that the office girl sent out yesterday. I think Martin is right once again on the under/over for us related to Thanksgiving. I will be pleasantly surprised if anything happens next week.

We went back and forth on the wine fridge. Finally decided on forth! I do love wine and we will be entertaining outside - who wants to keep walking back inside the house all night??? :)

dumbcluck said:
back to the light thing, look at your paperwork that came with it or google it and see the owners manual shows you the two configurations of light "paths" available. yours looks like it is in wide mode. good if its going side to side (shortway) vs end to end (longway)
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See my above comments to TwoLabs. I checked out the owner's manual. Thanks very much for the advice. Definitely going wide mode.

kimkats said:
Enough to do the fences? SWEET! BUT be careful that you really want to do that instead of keeping it natural as if/when you have to replace a board you will want to stain it to match so.................Our pasture fence was painted white before we moved in. I HATE it because it needs to be "kept up" with cleaning and repainting. One day I will replace all of the boards and keep them natural. I will sand the posts to match. One day in the far, far future LOL

Kim
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I completely agree Kim. Luckily, I was only joking about staining the fences - and trying to make fun of how much stain is left over. Our split rail is actually made from telephone poles that had creosote. It keeps the horses from chewing the wood and requires little upkeep and the boards actually stay relatively dark.

Beadedbiker said:
I'm glad you guys are getting some progress going! I can't wait to see you guys get plastered...:cheers:
.
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As soon as I can get in my hot tub, I will toast you with my alcoholic refreshment as I know you will be sitting in yours ready to clink glasses. You will hear a very loud CHEERS from all the way near the OK/TX border to SE LA.

duraleigh said:
That screw looks rusty. Should be a brass or bronze screw I think to prevent electrolysis between the two metals, I think.
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It is brass. A pretty ugly color brass but that is what it is.
 
RangerBob said:
Since we are piping in the lines of propane, it doesn't require specific ventilation holes but just recommends having adequate ventilation in case of a gas leak. I think with the drawers beneath the grill, we should be okay.
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It's one thing to have adequate ventilation in case of leak. It's quite another to make sure you have adequate air flow for normal operation of the grill. If you're putting in one of those powerful 1.21 gigawatt grills, you'll need plenty of airflow to provide all the air (oxygen) needed to generate maximum heat. No use having the "Corvette ZR-1 of the grills" if you only give it enough oxidant to be the "AMC Pacer" version. :stirpot:
 
zethacat said:
So how easy is it for you to get to the pump controller and/or basket? Looks like it's kind of blockaded.
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Bob said the accessibility is not a deal breaker but he's not getting any younger or thinner so he will mention to the project manager that they might be able to do something to make it more accessible.

JayBauman said:
It's one thing to have adequate ventilation in case of leak. It's quite another to make sure you have adequate air flow for normal operation of the grill. If you're putting in one of those powerful 1.21 gigawatt grills, you'll need plenty of airflow to provide all the air (oxygen) needed to generate maximum heat. No use having the "Corvette ZR-1 of the grills" if you only give it enough oxidant to be the "AMC Pacer" version. :stirpot:
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Okay - you pot stirrer. First, I would prefer to reference the grill as the Cadillac CTS-V of the grills (which of course is still USA made like the Corvette and the Twin Eagles grill) since the CTS-V has the ZR-1 engine in it BUT I can still get into the car without having to fall into it AND...oh I am digressing.

I suppose we can keep the drawers/doors open when grilling so the circulation flows underneath and there is the requisite space for clearance around the grill that should provide surface air flow. I hope that is enough so that the performance of the equipment is not impacted. Especially since our amazingly talented chef friends from Atlanta will be cooking on it (yes, they come to visit and cook for us - go figure). It is somewhat of the truth that this kitchen was planned around them... I'm also hoping Bob's ex-Army friend who is now the executive chef at the Encore hotel/casino in Las Vegas will grace us with a visit (which of course he agreed to cook) Now, you're making me think we need to plan a New Year's Eve party!
 
Of course you will be trying it before anyone else comes to visit. When you do try it make sure it gets hot enough (I have no real idea what hot enough it. I know I cook our steaks at 500 on the charcoal grill). IF it does not get hot enough you can play around with different way to vent it (door open, drawers open, etc.). If that works then you can think about cutting the stone work and fitting a vent or two there.

Try it like it is. See what happens. Go from there.

I am sure one of us can find a way YOU can fix it LOL. You KNOW how good we are at spending each others money!

Kim
 

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zethacat said:
I cook a mean hot dog. Am I invited? :pr:
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JayBauman said:
Still waiting for my gilded invitation to the soiree. :jocolor:
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Of course you can join the pool crawl - we can start south at Martin's then hit Jay's (and others) in Houston, hit Eva's in LA, then back to Austin, get to CC's (and Zethacat's if he invites people) and then probably best to go East to Two Labs then we can end up on New Years Eve at ours - where we will have our chefs friends waiting with their choice of dishes. We may need a bus.
 
RangerBob said:
Of course you can join the pool crawl - we can start south at Martin's then hit Jay's (and others) in Houston, hit Eva's in LA, then back to Austin, get to CC's (and Zethacat's if he invites people) and then probably best to go East to Two Labs then we can end up on New Years Eve at ours - where we will have our chefs friends waiting with their choice of dishes. We may need a bus.
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I don't think any of us will want to leave Martin's if we start there!
 

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