Vegasmom's Pool Build

[Vegasmom]

Also invest in a GOOD testkit like the TF100 or Taylor K-2006. It will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

I ordered the TF100 last night! I hope it's as user friendly as everyone claims. I did not pay attention in chemistry class.

Most digital cameras can take very nice shots at night. Just turn the flash off and use a tripod or set the camera on something solid. I've taken lots off beautiful pictures around Vegas like this.

I'm not doubting you have a problem but any surface when illuminated at a low angle will look rough because surface irregularities cast long shawdows at low angles. Is that a run on? I'm an engineer not an English major.

My daughter's $100 easy share takes better night shots than my $500 V610. I'll try to get some tonight. Thanks!

 

[Vegasmom]

We've gone out the last couple nights so I haven't snapped any pics, but good news..the plaster guy came out a few minutes ago and luckily the sun was in the right place (they don't come at night as a rule) They will be back next week with the buffer to fix the areas that are bad. The spa is the worst and the day they plastered, we were the only job because of the winds. It started blowing when they were finishing up in there and that may have had something to do with it.

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of my test kit. The dry acid brought the PH down some but I had to use the whole container (not all at once) then it went right back up.

 

[TresW]

Quote: "I hear you on the MM...I kept it on my kitchen counter for a week and used it every night! Put it away but broke it back out yesterday for FD My stepmom turned me onto Agavero. Makes a really nice floater. One tip if you haven't already figured it out..you do need to let the ice sit in for a few because the one time I didn't, when I turned it on it vibrated so much it knocked the ice drain reservoir off and cracked it a little. But it's the coolest machine..your wife and my hubby rock! Happy B-day!"

Thanks for that info, I have been letting the ice sit out for the recommended 10 minutes but it's good to know WHY it has to set out! I'll watch that. And thanks for the b-day wishes We'll have to try Agavero, we've tried Cuervo Gold which was good and some cheap tequila that had been in the back of the cabinet and that was not-so-good. It's amazing how big of a difference it makes in the taste!

Sorry to hear about your plaster problems, hopefully they'll get it all fixed up!

I've been collecting stuff to do a tiki cabana behind our house It's kind of a remodel of the existing patio. There's a whole tiki counter-culture that I never knew existed until I started doing research for this project. It's been really fascinating learning about all things tiki! I've got most of the stuff, I'm going to have an artist carve some columns for me and then I can get to work on putting it all together.

Post some pics of your water features running and the lights too, I've been wanting to see it all fired up for months!

 

[Vegasmom]

I put the MM away again. Was enjoying it too much! Hubby comes home, I've got it fired up, along with the grill (no food on it) he says what's for dinner and I say tequila! LOL... I had to crack the Excedrin out several days in a row.

I have really been meaning to get some more pics. The landscaping is mostly done except for the lights. I have to grill by 7:30 because they still haven't hooked up my BBQ light. The waterfall looks goofy but I don't imagine they're going to fix it anytime soon. Still no word but if they replace it they'll have to wait for winter. Not gonna ruin my summer 8)

They replaced the spa light because there was water in it. Seemed to be the reason why I couldn't get the lights to sync. If my camera will cooperate, I will take pics tonight!

Your tiki endeavor sounds really fun. I'm picturing a pig roasting in a pit and the females of your house wearing coconut bras I'm sure there is a whole other world to it. Can't wait to see pics of it all!

 

[cobra46]

I guess I'm getting a bit off topic but what the heck.

My brother and sister in law gave me some Margaritaville coconut tequila a few years ago. At first I was thinking 'yeah right' and then we tried it. That stuff is really good. We finshed that bottle and tried to find some more but couldn't find it anywhere until we went to Vegas to visit my dad. It turns out that the Margaritaville restaurant on the strip carries it at $20/bottle. My wife said we'll take four. The girl thought we were crazy.

 

[Vegasmom]

Hey, when you find something you like you've gotta stock up I used to order coconut margaritas at a restaurant here in town called Baja. They closed down and I've never found another place that makes them. I'll have to pick up some of that tequila. I haven't been there (local homebodies like myself usually avoid the strip!)

Ok, back on topic with the plaster. Last pic I'm going to post here, I took a few of the pool with the lights on last night, but my camera (maybe it's me?) didn't do so great. I'll put them in the backyard thread.

Here's a closeup of the spa. Plaster co. was supposed to come out this week but they haven't yet. As soon as he saw it he agreed it needed work. He thinks maybe they put the hose in too soon, plus the wind. I wouldn't be surprised if some of it's my fault because of water chemistry..I don't know what scaling looks like. But those big gouges were there from the start.

 

[cobra46]

Nice picture. You can't even tell there's water there.

I centainly wouldn't have been happy with that job. Good thing the plaster company agrees there's a problem. When are they going to fix it and what are they going to do?

 

[Vegasmom]

Last week he told me Tues. or Wed. of this week but I haven't heard from him. They already tried sandpaper with no effect, he said they will buff it using a machine. There are some spots in the pool like that but not near as bad.

 

[TresW]

I put the MM away again. Was enjoying it too much! Hubby comes home, I've got it fired up, along with the grill (no food on it) he says what's for dinner and I say tequila! LOL... I had to crack the Excedrin out several days in a row.

LOL! Well we were firing ours up a lot in the interest of judging various recipes, at least that was our excuse I found one recipe called "License to Chill" that uses blue curacao in addition to the tequila, that one was a big hit at our pool party last weekend! Let me know if you want the recipe and I'll look it up when I get home. You may need the Excedrin again

I have really been meaning to get some more pics. The landscaping is mostly done except for the lights. I have to grill by 7:30 because they still haven't hooked up my BBQ light. The waterfall looks goofy but I don't imagine they're going to fix it anytime soon. Still no word but if they replace it they'll have to wait for winter. Not gonna ruin my summer

I saw the pictures you posted in the other thread, it looks very nice! I see what you mean about the waterfall though, it looks like a shower head that has too much lime buildup, kind of spraying in different directions. I wouldn't think it would be too big of a job to replace the whole spraybar.

Your tiki endeavor sounds really fun. I'm picturing a pig roasting in a pit and the females of your house wearing coconut bras I'm sure there is a whole other world to it. Can't wait to see pics of it all!

Haha! One of my daughters would definitely be game, but the other and my wife would die of embarrassment

It looks like your plaster is pitted, I don't see how they think they can fix that with any amount of polishing or sanding. You'd have to sand the whole surface to get it down to the bottom of the pits, and considering the plaster is only about 1/4" thick that would not be advisable. I hate to say it, but I think they'd have to replaster to properly fix that. They'll probably try and talk you into living with it and it might be OK but algae just loves to live inside crevices!

 

[Vegasmom]

LOL! Well we were firing ours up a lot in the interest of judging various recipes, at least that was our excuse I found one recipe called "License to Chill" that uses blue curacao in addition to the tequila, that one was a big hit at our pool party last weekend! Let me know if you want the recipe and I'll look it up when I get home. You may need the Excedrin again

My hubby loves blue curacao! Feel free to email me or post it here so others can indulge if they so desire

I see what you mean about the waterfall though, it looks like a shower head that has too much lime buildup, kind of spraying in different directions. I wouldn't think it would be too big of a job to replace the whole spraybar.

No and I think that's what they'll wind up doing. I wouldn't know because they haven't contacted me about it in almost a month. Last I heard they were 'having a meeting about it'.

It looks like your plaster is pitted, I don't see how they think they can fix that with any amount of polishing or sanding. You'd have to sand the whole surface to get it down to the bottom of the pits, and considering the plaster is only about 1/4" thick that would not be advisable. I hate to say it, but I think they'd have to replaster to properly fix that. They'll probably try and talk you into living with it and it might be OK but algae just loves to live inside crevices!

I have not heard from the plaster co., either. I don't really know if it's something we should just accept. We've never had plaster, but it doesn't look like something we should be stuck with. I've seen other's pools and never saw anything like that before. It absolutely makes my husband insane. He's really ticked off about it. Draining and re-doing the spa wouldn't be that big of a deal. They could probably polish the areas in the pool because they're not too bad. It would just be nice if someone would do what they say they're going to do. No one calls or comes over and takes care of things. And I have not been a nudge at all, been very patient and have my nice hat on! Maybe that's the problem once again. It kind of seems the only way to get anything done is to not be nice.

My landscapers have had my lights sitting on property for several months but they're not installed. The BBQ lights they installed last week but they're not hooked up. Found out yesterday the permit had expired, so they need to get another one issued. I brought this up a couple weeks ago and said I really wanted to be able to BBQ on the 4th and have all my lights. Doesn't look like that's going to happen

Bright side: I have pretty, sparkling water and our skin isn't on fire anymore :-D

 

[TresW]

Here's the "License to Chill" recipe, the quantities are for a single drink, multiply each x 4 if you're mixing up a whole pitcher:

1 oz. tequila
1/2 oz. lime juice
1/4 oz. blue curacao
2 oz. margarita mix (we use the Margaritaville mix)

For any non-"Margaritaville machine owners" out there, I'm not sure how much ice you add to this as the machine shaves it in automatically.

Despite the small amount of blue curacao, the margaritas come out quite blue! And yummy :-D

If the worst pitting is in the spa then I think you're on the right track having them re-do that and just touch up the pool. It's probably a lot more visible in the spa anyway due to the shallow water (if it's not running). Since those spots were there from the beginning I doubt that you need to worry about the plaster structural integrity. It's mainly whether you can live with how it looks. Also if the pool gets out of balance and algae starts growing in those pits it'll be hard to scrub out. When they filled our pool they installed a water bottle on the end of the hoses so that the hoses would float and not wash across the plaster. They also wrapped socks over the hose ends so there wasn't a direct spray. Simple, but effective!

Glad to hear you're able to enjoy the pool now.... at long last! How are your water temps doing? I was wondering if it might be tending to the chilly side with all that shade and your cool night-time temps. Our water is hanging in the 83-85 range which I love. I'm concerned it'll be too hot in August though because our night-time temps will stay above 80, yuck!

 

[Vegasmom]

Here's the "License to Chill" recipe, the quantities are for a single drink, multiply each x 4 if you're mixing up a whole pitcher:

1 oz. tequila
1/2 oz. lime juice
1/4 oz. blue curacao
2 oz. margarita mix (we use the Margaritaville mix)

For any non-"Margaritaville machine owners" out there, I'm not sure how much ice you add to this as the machine shaves it in automatically.

Despite the small amount of blue curacao, the margaritas come out quite blue! And yummy :-D

Awesome! My DH will thank you

If the worst pitting is in the spa then I think you're on the right track having them re-do that and just touch up the pool. It's probably a lot more visible in the spa anyway due to the shallow water (if it's not running). Since those spots were there from the beginning I doubt that you need to worry about the plaster structural integrity. It's mainly whether you can live with how it looks. Also if the pool gets out of balance and algae starts growing in those pits it'll be hard to scrub out. When they filled our pool they installed a water bottle on the end of the hoses so that the hoses would float and not wash across the plaster. They also wrapped socks over the hose ends so there wasn't a direct spray. Simple, but effective!

They did use the bottle and sock method so I'm not sure why it turned out like that. Only other thing that explains it is the wind blowing sand in there.

Glad to hear you're able to enjoy the pool now.... at long last! How are your water temps doing? I was wondering if it might be tending to the chilly side with all that shade and your cool night-time temps. Our water is hanging in the 83-85 range which I love. I'm concerned it'll be too hot in August though because our night-time temps will stay above 80, yuck!

All that shade? LOL, I wish! We have a SW exposure so not much until after 3 on the pool, then the patio gets baked until 6 or 7.
We were heating it after the initial fill and for a few weeks. I told the girls the other night no more heating because I like to swim at night and I've been jumping into 92F water. Our night temps will stay in the 100's soon. We have about a month of nice spring weather and that's about it. Summer comes on hard and fast here.

 

[TresW]

All that shade? LOL, I wish! We have a SW exposure so not much until after 3 on the pool, then the patio gets baked until 6 or 7.
We were heating it after the initial fill and for a few weeks. I told the girls the other night no more heating because I like to swim at night and I've been jumping into 92F water. Our night temps will stay in the 100's soon. We have about a month of nice spring weather and that's about it. Summer comes on hard and fast here.

WHAT?? Your night time temps are in the 100's? Wow! I had no idea there was any place in the US that had night temps that hot, LOL! Some people like water temps in the 90's, but so far 88 seems to be my top end of pool comfort. I really like it best around 85. Of course when it's 110 outside (as does happen here) maybe 90 will seem positively chilly