Newb OB with BYOP in Buckeye AZ - Completion and wrap up

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Todays update, it's all about gas, and I've got a lot of it! Overall about 200' of trench with about half 2" and the other 1".

That was more of a job than I expected, there were four guys here from about 7am to 3pm. They did great, dug to 24" cover from top of pipe (they said 18" was min) and trenched around 50% of the perimeter of property line (keeping it from being under anything substantial). I have six risers (future pool heater, fire pit, 2 fire bowls, pizza oven, and grill). I had the field superintendent here for about 3 hours this morning to make sure the plan was understood and followed. They took their time and did a nice job, even keeping all the spoils out of the plumbing trenches and cleaning up what did get in there. They also were very careful to not get soil onto the neighbors property or hit their fence. Risers are all very neat and plumb. I have a 2" line from the meter to pool heater to fire pit and 1" the rest of the way. Planning for 400K BTU pool heater (future), 155K BTU fire pit, two 45K BTU fire bowls, one 30K BTU pizza oven, and a 69K BTU grill for a total of 699K BTU, plus whatever the home appliances use (water heater, stove top, and dryer). Gas company is gonna love me.

I don't know if folks on this form like pictures or not :wink:, so let me know if I should tone it down a bit :mrgreen:, but here are a few of the mountains of trench spoils and gas installation. As always, please let me know if you spot something askew or have a question. I'll post again with the updated timelapse when I get a chance.
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Oh, and I checked water plumbing pressure both before and after their work. Holding steady between 35 and 40psi, feeling good about that!

Tomorrow I'm meeting mason/coping/tile/equipment pad guy to go through their scope and timing and get a quote for backfill and cleanup. I'm so looking forward to getting back to our ugly flat dirt backyard, and really, really looking forward to the finished product. While I do enjoy the project and process, I would like to move on and enjoy retirement! After the equipment pad comes the plumber and electrician. I'll be taking a week off of pool work while my daughter is visiting, but after that I expect to finish before the end of October, except plaster. That will wait for the landscape contractor to finish. I'll probably have three months minimum to select my plaster applicator. Only other contractors to select is fencing and barriers. I'll probably research what specifically has to be done to meet barrier codes to see if I can do that myself. I've got one patio french door, a 16' OXXO slider, and three bedroom windows that need to be addressed. Any tips on the barriers? Is it worth it for me to tackle it myself?

I might have to wait for the gas line backfill as the contractor said we have to get final inspection approval before we can backfill all of it. That doesn't make sense so I'll be asking some more detailed questions. Also, my landscape contractor originally had planned for a separate gas contractor for the non-pool gas line work. I pushed the issue and we ended up using the same contractor with the scope broken up between a pool portion that I will pay and a portion they will pay. It's a little messy, but better than two different contractors (and I know I saved ~$1,000). The landscape contractor doesn't want their portion of run backfilled until they are ready, which unfortunately will probably be a month or two after I am done with everything for the pool.

We’re at day 4 post shotcrete and still watering strong. Getting a nice start on filling the pool! 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 🤣 it's up to the area of the steps now.
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Schwimmbad said:
I'll probably research what specifically has to be done to meet barrier codes to see if I can do that myself. I've got one patio french door, a 16' XOOX slider, and three bedroom windows that need to be addressed. Any tips on the barriers? Is it worth it for me to tackle it myself?
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Typically any access to the yard needs an alarm when the pool isn't enclosed in fence. It's hit or miss whether they include ground floor windows or only doors.

You'll have to read your code for the specifics.
 
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The landscape contractor doesn't want their portion of run backfilled until they are ready, which unfortunately will probably be a month or two after I am done with everything for the pool.
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Why?

Keep the pics coming. Great education for others on how to manage an OB.
 
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@Schwimmbad Keep the photos coming. Love the progress.

I’m not sure the specific city of Buckeye pool fence/barrier code but in Goodyear if you don’t have a child under the age of 6 living in the home you do bot need the sliding door/window self latching/alarms

Gate into the back yard either needs to be self closing if a single gate or padlocked if rv gate.

Not sure if your view fence will have any specific requirements.

Edit here is the city of buckeye requirements

 
derekbishop said:
I’m not sure the specific city of Buckeye pool fence/barrier code but in Goodyear if you don’t have a child under the age of 6 living in the home you do bot need the sliding door/window self latching/alarms
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Boy would I love for that to be the case. I’m in a 55+ community, HOA forbids anyone under 18 living here. I’m definitely going to check that out, I’ll do my due diligence and if there is a potential gray area to avoid those PITA requirements my friendly city inspection manager “Dave” will be getting a call!

I saw your edited post with the link to Buckeye’s requirements. I actually had to fill that out and forgot about it (it was 4 months ago when I applied for the permit). It didn’t address anything about the age of anyone living here so I’ll find Goodyears language and see what “Dave” says. I fully expect I’ll have to put them in, but I’ve got time to chat with my city rep.
 
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So nice to hear someone has pride in their work and takes such care!

I have to ask about your wonderful view! Do you ever hike over to that big rock and climb it? Do worry about golf balls finding their way to your windows?

Never can have too many pics! YOU are going to love having them down the road just in case as well!
 
kimkats said:
I have to ask about your wonderful view! Do you ever hike over to that big rock and climb it? Do worry about golf balls finding their way to your windows?
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That rock is on golf course property so people aren’t supposed to be climbing it. That hasn’t stoped some from going on it. The White Tank Mountains to the right we have climbed, both close by and at Skyline regional park. Has around a 1,000 foot gain.

We haven’t had a broken window yet, windows were put in back about a year ago. However our next door neighbor did have one get busted and two houses down had one also. It’s only a matter of time. In the two months since we’ve been here we’ve had probably less than 10 in our yard.
 

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I posted this in another posters thread and thought i'd like to put it in mine also.

My pool (not including fence, decking, and gas fire pots) will be about $60K. If I'd eliminate the water scuppers, columns, and feature wall, I could save about another $6-7K. I didn't put too much of the savings back in the pool (beyond what I was originally planning). Although I guess that probably isn't entirely true. If I went with a pool builder I expect we would have had a smaller pool and ledge. I did spend about $5K more on plumbing and rebar, and many times I didn't go with the low bidder. It will be a well-built pool, better than any a pool builder has done in our neighborhood.

One of the areas I found more time consuming is to vet contractors. It starts with getting names from folks, looking them up online for reviews and BBB complaints, checking they are licensed and bonded (the AZ ROC site is great for that). If anyone is in the Phoenix area, I have built a list of over 120 contractors for all the various scopes that I'd be happy to share if you PM me. I have spent a lot of time on mine, but I'm retired, love construction projects, and I am cursed with being an engineer.

If anyone is curious about variability in pricing, see attached for my quotes. The attachment shows every scope and contractor in a pivot so you can see the range of quotes from low to high.

Edited to add, be a little careful reading too much into the pricing file. They aren't all apples to apples. For example, on the excavation I was able to work with my neighbor to allow about a foot of their yard for access. That allowed me to go with a mini 1 instead of a mini 3 and saved about $1,500. I only priced the wider access with the one bidder I wanted to go with, so their pricing is lower. A similar thing happened but I had more scope for the rebar and plumbing.
 

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KevMo said:
If your pad is up against a wall and you have room, I would make 4' the entire length. That will give you some room between the equipment and the wall to work when you need it. If it's freestanding 3' can work well.
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Pad will be 1 foot away from the wall for a few reasons, grade runs down about 8" from the home to about 5' away and will leave room for future termite treatment. Everyone around here says there are two kinds of homes around here, those that have termites and those that will have termites.
 
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