New Pool Build In Longview, TX

[smankins]

Well, I'm finally starting on the deck for the pool. Slowly, for sure. I've been sidelined for a good while wondering why I got pain in my chest and neck with any exertion. I know why now and hopefully all is good. So it was time to start on this with the son-in-law lined up for all the heavy lifting, digging, etc. At least for a while. Today we were able to get the batter boards made and the strings out so we could mark the locations for the footings. I will have 33 footings (at least that is planned for now) so I'm not sure if these can all be dug in a timely fashion but we'll see how it goes. A rental might be in the near future. Wish me luck.

I also purchased a manual vacuum to use on the pool. Too much dirt from wind and mowing settling to the bottom of the pool. The Polaris 65 does a good job of removing larger items and hair, etc. but seems to leave the dirt in suspension and then it settles to the bottom later.

 

[kimkats]

I hope all is well and stays well in the future.

Nice to hear the SIL will be helping. Another set of hands does come in handle with this kind of work for sure!

I would SO rent a post digger. That clay would make it worth while! AND if you can get your hands on a air nail shooter do so! Hubby LOVES his!

Kim

 

[smankins]

A rental hole digger is sounding better. Might take a long time to dig that many holes by hand. At least they don't have to be deep because of frost, or lack of, here. I agree on the nailer - I had smaller trim nail and pin nailers and they really help with those kinds of jobs. I bought a Numax frame nailer on Amazon for $80 (I see it is $107 now) which had great reviews on Amazon and on other sites I found. If it lasts for at least this job I will be pleased. (I really want it to last longer). I also upgraded my air compressor so that is good.

 

[smankins]

I went ahead and rented a hole digger - it was called the Ground Hog and was towable behind my pickup. The bottom tow bar then just dropped off and you rolled the machine into place, put on your auger bit and started digging. The motor runs a hydraulic pump and there is a forward and reverse. Very nice. We had already dug the holes nearest the pool (12 of them) by hand because I did not want an auger to break my bonding wire by accident. Easier to manage with a digging bar and post hole diggers. Now if I can manage to get the concrete pour done in between all the rain predicted here for the week.

This was the first attempt at digging the holes. She was a trooper but I could tell this would take way too long.

This worked much better.

 

[smankins]

I wanted to show a few pictures of the batter board layout we used to mark our footings for the deck. In order to get a level line on the longest sides of the deck the batter board on one side had to be very high. My original batter boards I made for the bottom side of the slope were too short.

 

[kimkats]

I am glad she got to see and do some of the hand work. It will make her appreciate power tools! "Just roll into place" sounds awesome to me!

That is crazy on the board needing to be so high!

Here is hoping you DO get those holes filled in before the rain comes and messes up your work!

Kim

 

[smankins]

Well, we finally had a few good days of weather and got some drier (but not real dry) footing holes so we could begin putting in the posts and packing them into place. Of course it rained again a couple of nights ago and then we had a real nice storm come through last night. The wind broke off one of my pine trees way up high and the big chunk landed on a fence. Another tree blew over since the ground was so wet and came up by the roots. Lots of damage and downed trees around here (East Texas folks know what I am talking about). At least our power was only out for 12 hours! Good thing there. I don't know if this deck will ever get finished.

 

[kimkats]

That is some scary stuff right there! Will you try to save the tree or just cut it up and hauled off?

Kim

 

[smankins]

I imagine I will just cut it up and haul it off. The pine tree has already been removed and the fence repaired. It is actually my neighbor's fence and he took care of it (nice guy) with his crew - he has a concrete business. I have heard of some people pulling an uprooted tree back into place and then securing it with chains to other trees for a year or so until it is secure again but I don't think I want to try that.

 

[smankins]

Thought I would do a little update on my pool deck project. Still an ongoing project - nothing like doing a large outdoor project in the summer time. I can see light at the end of the tunnel - it's not a big light and not very bright but I can see it. I still have the tree down in my back yard. I have a new chain saw still in the box waiting for me to try it out.

After we had all the post holes dug (35 of them I think) I managed to get the cement footings poured and the posts buried into the ground. I then used some tubing and colored water to get all the posts cut off at the same level. It doesn't look like it but they are the same level.

After that it was time to spray ground and weed killer, lay down some landscaping fabric and start shoveling gravel. We also started making the beams and mounting them on the posts.
Here is one of the big piles of wood we used.

I used two pickup loads of gravel - 2 yards. I had some helpers for this part.

Now to put on joists; lots of joists.

I guess this is plenty for this posting so I will continue the saga in the next one.

 

[kimkats]

Well at least you have to pool to drop into to cool off! That is a lot of good work you have done! LOVE the helpers! Bet they were tired and those smiles........sweet!

Kim

 

[smankins]

More of the deck build. Once we got the joists done we had to start putting in some rail posts so we could start adding the decking.

Another pile of wood for posts and decking.

Decking begins.

Sitting on the deck!

More decking.

Getting stairs in. Not the original planned spot and those aren't the treads we will use. Also please ignore the rough beam and joist cuts.

I was able to finally put our pool steps in. This makes it a lot easier to get in and out. Anchoring to the deck really helps the steps stay in place.

So that is where I am at for now. I hope to get this thing finished when I can get to it.

 

[JoeSelf]

You've got SKILLZ.

 

[CJadamec]

Looking at that it makes my deck feel like it was small and easy. Nice work.

 

[kimkats]

VERY well done! You are doing it right..............decking to sit on, put an umbrella on, anchor the pool steps on, etc! SMART and the rest will come when it comes!

Kim

 

[smankins]

Thank you all for the nice comments and words of encouragement. I look forward to finishing this someday.

 

[kk_isme]

Really nice! Hope you and your family are enjoying your new pool and deck.

 

[smankins]

Thought I would post an update on the deck that is taking forever to build. Construction was finally complete a while ago so now we just have some of the final (really probably never ending) touches to complete. We still need to do some more landscaping under and around the deck. We will also need to stain the deck once the wood has dried out some more. I have not run power out to the deck yet so that is also on the list as well as some decorating, adding racks for pool stuff, etc.

 

[kimkats]

DUDE! You do good AWESOME work! I like the border around the pool. That is a nice finishing touch!

That one side of railing around the deck with the thin and thick pieces...........that really looks neat! I bet that was hard to do! So why did you it just on that side? Why not all the way around?

Kim

 

[Lykly]

Impressive thread, VERY nice.