Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
That looks wonderful! Good job sticking up for what you want!
That looks wonderful! Good job sticking up for what you want!
New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Pool finished, end pix soon!
- Thread starter Geosage
- Start date
Shekkie
0
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Nice!
Nice!
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
They're chugging away and beginning to cement things in place. Here's a pic taken last night with the stone wet down-
I do like how he has been spacing out the silver stone, makes it pop and adds character.
To finish the stone edge for the coping they first saw down through the face edge. this allows the stone to be broken with a chisel where you want it to...
They then chip away at the face with a chisel and it gives it a natural broken face. Humans have been doing this for thousands of years so it was nice they figured it out.
Here is the boss cutting the back (cement) side of the stone. (using a sponge to wet the saw). He has been complaining he has gone through 3 saw blades already because the stone is so hard. Well, too bad, you knew before hand what the materials was. Complain to the PB, not me.
He's currently chipping away at the spa and badmouthing the gunite guys. One thing we've noticed is each contractor always badmouths the previous ones work and complains that they do a crappy job and that they then have to fix it. Is this common in your builds?
They're chugging away and beginning to cement things in place. Here's a pic taken last night with the stone wet down-
I do like how he has been spacing out the silver stone, makes it pop and adds character.
To finish the stone edge for the coping they first saw down through the face edge. this allows the stone to be broken with a chisel where you want it to...
They then chip away at the face with a chisel and it gives it a natural broken face. Humans have been doing this for thousands of years so it was nice they figured it out.
Here is the boss cutting the back (cement) side of the stone. (using a sponge to wet the saw). He has been complaining he has gone through 3 saw blades already because the stone is so hard. Well, too bad, you knew before hand what the materials was. Complain to the PB, not me.
He's currently chipping away at the spa and badmouthing the gunite guys. One thing we've noticed is each contractor always badmouths the previous ones work and complains that they do a crappy job and that they then have to fix it. Is this common in your builds?
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
"oh me, oh my. I have to do some hard work for my money" It will not be too hard to cash the check I bet!
Saying that I hope you throw a little something extra to the guy doing the chiseled rock.
"oh me, oh my. I have to do some hard work for my money" It will not be too hard to cash the check I bet!
Saying that I hope you throw a little something extra to the guy doing the chiseled rock.
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Just got back from the stoneyard... don't know what else to say but laugh and tell you that the PB was 40% off on their coping material estimate (this is including 20% excess they included)... they had us get 4000lbs, and I just hand picked 3000lbs more per their instructions. Last I heard this extra material is being entirely payed for by the PB and if that's the case, well, I appreciate it. Needless to say, they could have saved themselves money had they listened to me a month ago when I inquired about the stone estimate and stated "Now, is that calculation for our quartzite material, which weighs more?"... but what do I know right? Who cares now, they're eating their ignorance.
Stone guy has been chatty about how difficult the work is and how he's having to fix stuff the gunite guys did, work with the hard stone, and that he forgot his saw table today so things are more difficult... oh well.
Stone guy had to break away some of the raised bond beam because the gunite guys left too small a space for the vertical descents. Go figure.
Current state of the project. It looks amazing wet/sealed (see previous post) but I didn't want to hose it down as some of the cement is still drying. I'll spritz it tomorrow. Overall, I'm pleased with the curve they've been giving the stone... it has natural notes and variety to it, but they gave it a nice overall curve. See, I can be pleased with things.
Just got back from the stoneyard... don't know what else to say but laugh and tell you that the PB was 40% off on their coping material estimate (this is including 20% excess they included)... they had us get 4000lbs, and I just hand picked 3000lbs more per their instructions. Last I heard this extra material is being entirely payed for by the PB and if that's the case, well, I appreciate it. Needless to say, they could have saved themselves money had they listened to me a month ago when I inquired about the stone estimate and stated "Now, is that calculation for our quartzite material, which weighs more?"... but what do I know right? Who cares now, they're eating their ignorance.
Stone guy has been chatty about how difficult the work is and how he's having to fix stuff the gunite guys did, work with the hard stone, and that he forgot his saw table today so things are more difficult... oh well.
Stone guy had to break away some of the raised bond beam because the gunite guys left too small a space for the vertical descents. Go figure.
Current state of the project. It looks amazing wet/sealed (see previous post) but I didn't want to hose it down as some of the cement is still drying. I'll spritz it tomorrow. Overall, I'm pleased with the curve they've been giving the stone... it has natural notes and variety to it, but they gave it a nice overall curve. See, I can be pleased with things.
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Looking good!
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
Looking good!
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
LOL on the "tons" of stone............yeah you cannot go by just the weight
You tried so oh well!
I can't write what went through my mind when I read about the stone guy forgetting his saw table but I bet you can guess what it was LOL
They ARE doing a good job with the curve. Yeah it is harder BUT the plans SHOW the curve so they knew how it would be going in! Deal with it and use your skills to make it look good.
Good job staying on top of them!
LOL on the "tons" of stone............yeah you cannot go by just the weight
You tried so oh well! I can't write what went through my mind when I read about the stone guy forgetting his saw table but I bet you can guess what it was LOL
They ARE doing a good job with the curve. Yeah it is harder BUT the plans SHOW the curve so they knew how it would be going in! Deal with it and use your skills to make it look good.
Good job staying on top of them!
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Prepping for tomorrow and assuming/hoping that our PB will process the payment to the stone company so that stone will be delivered without delay and the stoneguys will not skip a day or work.
Tried some sealer samples today... I can't possibly show you the difference (tried photos in the sun, in shade, inside etc.) but believe me, the left side of the tape is 'semi-gloss' and the right side is 'high-gloss'. We're going with the semi gloss as the high gloss is a tad too shiny.
It will be interesting applying this to the stacked stone above the deep end of the pool... going to have to be creative with that process...
Outside we noticed an area where the stone guy jackhammered away at the spa into some of the PVC pipe inside the gunite... it looks ok... (also note a cobble of local rock that somehow made it into the gunite shell).
Benya was out inspecting where we think the baby turtles will go.
Then he got lazy.
Prepping for tomorrow and assuming/hoping that our PB will process the payment to the stone company so that stone will be delivered without delay and the stoneguys will not skip a day or work.
Tried some sealer samples today... I can't possibly show you the difference (tried photos in the sun, in shade, inside etc.) but believe me, the left side of the tape is 'semi-gloss' and the right side is 'high-gloss'. We're going with the semi gloss as the high gloss is a tad too shiny.
It will be interesting applying this to the stacked stone above the deep end of the pool... going to have to be creative with that process...
Outside we noticed an area where the stone guy jackhammered away at the spa into some of the PVC pipe inside the gunite... it looks ok... (also note a cobble of local rock that somehow made it into the gunite shell).
Benya was out inspecting where we think the baby turtles will go.
Then he got lazy.
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Is your plumbing system still under pressure?
Is your plumbing system still under pressure?
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Uh... yes? No one has done anything with the plumbing for several weeks
Uh... yes? No one has done anything with the plumbing for several weeks
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
I asked because of the exposed PVC pipe that may or may not have been damaged.
Check the pressure reading on the gauge and see if it drops.
I asked because of the exposed PVC pipe that may or may not have been damaged.
Check the pressure reading on the gauge and see if it drops.
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
I went out and took a look. The two gauges are-
One on top of the filter- 23psi
Gray pipe near the heater- 5psi
I went out and took a look. The two gauges are-
One on top of the filter- 23psi
Gray pipe near the heater- 5psi
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
The gray pipe is your gas line. The gauge on your filter should be your reference. Check it again tomorrow
The gray pipe is your gas line. The gauge on your filter should be your reference. Check it again tomorrow
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Well, I just checked the gauges again, it still reads 23psi (the gas still reads 5).
Stone guys were a no show today and no response back from the PB on where they are or about processing the order for the extra stone they're bringing in. The mother of the household is quite upset about the down time... tomorrow marks 6 weeks from start of work (they said they'd be done by then).
Well, I just checked the gauges again, it still reads 23psi (the gas still reads 5).
Stone guys were a no show today and no response back from the PB on where they are or about processing the order for the extra stone they're bringing in. The mother of the household is quite upset about the down time... tomorrow marks 6 weeks from start of work (they said they'd be done by then).
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
I learned some of the same lessons in my build - they always give you way too optimistic timeline for finishing the build, and for some reason they underestimate the materials needed.
I noticed my contractors typically praised the other contractors who worked on the job and actually seemed to work well together to solve the few issues that did arise. It made me wonder if only the good contractors survived after the housing crash (this summer was the first pool season that supposedly approached the pre-crash years in Tucson).
I learned some of the same lessons in my build - they always give you way too optimistic timeline for finishing the build, and for some reason they underestimate the materials needed.
I noticed my contractors typically praised the other contractors who worked on the job and actually seemed to work well together to solve the few issues that did arise. It made me wonder if only the good contractors survived after the housing crash (this summer was the first pool season that supposedly approached the pre-crash years in Tucson).
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Oh yeah, I didn't expect them to be done by tomorrow, but with them dragging their feat like this they'll be done probably 4 weeks from now (my personal guestimate). They've delayed a combined probably ~2 weeks entirely due to their own actions and not ours or 'acts of god'.
This is something I can't figure out... we told them they'd need more, but didn't listen. But, again, they apparently are eating the cost so, sucks to be them.
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
Posting because I know kimkats will like it, look who was prowling around the pool this evening-
This is the shy one, One Ear... she has apparently been rolling around inside the shell when we're not looking and has been tracking in gunite all over the house.
Posting because I know kimkats will like it, look who was prowling around the pool this evening-
This is the shy one, One Ear... she has apparently been rolling around inside the shell when we're not looking and has been tracking in gunite all over the house.
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stonework! (cautiously moving forward)-
How pretty she is! We have two like that one-Priss and Toes (they came with their names) Sweetness to the max! But keeping that fur brushed out is a full time job some days!
:cat:
How pretty she is! We have two like that one-Priss and Toes (they came with their names
) Sweetness to the max! But keeping that fur brushed out is a full time job some days! :cat:Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stacked Stone!
Welp, the stone guys showed up at the crack of 10 and continued work! They finished the coping around the pool and put the stacked stone on the raised bond beam. The boldness of the stone is now apparent!
I glanced outside for a second and saw that they had started work on the stacked stone, exciting!
Since it's straight and not a lot of technical work, they got through it pretty quickly. One guy did the entire raised bond beam in the same amount of time it took the other two to finish up the exposed edge of the coping (see 2nd to last pic).
Here it is wet, such lusciousness. Have to picture the blue water (and tile) below it, and the bright green above it. Bold tropical earthiness is the goal!
Here's the stacked stone with the coping (the coping on top of the raised bond beam is not set yet). Notice the finished edge on the coping around the pool. They added cement onto the shell below it (begrudgingly so with foul words about the gunite guys) and there will be 1 foot of stacked stone on this face and the patio will be lowered there (steps start where the drywall stops (note the smooth coping edge vs. rough)).
Here's the current overview.
Nice to see things moving forward! Boy will that raised spa be a statement when the stacked stone gets on it! It'll look instense while the gunite is still there, but all come together once the water goes in. The shipment of 3,000 more pounds of coping arrived today and is sitting in the driveway. Personally I think they'll run out of stacked stone tomorrow afternoon and we'll need to pick up more to keep work moving forward.
Welp, the stone guys showed up at the crack of 10 and continued work! They finished the coping around the pool and put the stacked stone on the raised bond beam. The boldness of the stone is now apparent!
I glanced outside for a second and saw that they had started work on the stacked stone, exciting!
Since it's straight and not a lot of technical work, they got through it pretty quickly. One guy did the entire raised bond beam in the same amount of time it took the other two to finish up the exposed edge of the coping (see 2nd to last pic).
Here it is wet, such lusciousness. Have to picture the blue water (and tile) below it, and the bright green above it. Bold tropical earthiness is the goal!
Here's the stacked stone with the coping (the coping on top of the raised bond beam is not set yet). Notice the finished edge on the coping around the pool. They added cement onto the shell below it (begrudgingly so with foul words about the gunite guys) and there will be 1 foot of stacked stone on this face and the patio will be lowered there (steps start where the drywall stops (note the smooth coping edge vs. rough)).
Here's the current overview.
Nice to see things moving forward! Boy will that raised spa be a statement when the stacked stone gets on it! It'll look instense while the gunite is still there, but all come together once the water goes in. The shipment of 3,000 more pounds of coping arrived today and is sitting in the driveway. Personally I think they'll run out of stacked stone tomorrow afternoon and we'll need to pick up more to keep work moving forward.
Re: New Pool IG - Inland Empire, CA - Stacked Stone!
WOWER! Awesome progress!
Many adults words huh? So sad for you guys but the job must be done!
WOWER! Awesome progress!
Many adults words huh? So sad for you guys but the job must be done!