Waxahachie, TX Owner Build - A race to beat the baby!

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Marlahoutex said:
Jaimie, where does the mastic go? Is that the coating over the concrete? Sorry- that probably seems like a dumb question!
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No, it's not a dumb question! It's the caulking-type stuff that goes in the gap between the coping and concrete deck to prevent water from getting down under and causing problems. They also will use it in the gap that was left between our existing patio and new concrete. They plan for this by running foam along the edge too make a consistent gap.
 
I went out and checked on the guy's progress and it looks like I'll be going with the sand on top. It kind of "softens" the look of the rubberish mastic, and does look better.

Unfortunately, when I saw what he had done so far I had a "What?! That's all you do?! -- I could have done that myself!" moment (interiorly, thankfully!) Oh well... It's only money, right? And do I really want to be trying to apply 179' of mastic with a big baby belly in my way?! ;-)
 
JamieP said:
Unfortunately, when I saw what he had done so far I had a "What?! That's all you do?! -- I could have done that myself!" moment (interiorly, thankfully!) Oh well... It's only money, right? And do I really want to be trying to apply 179' of mastic with a big baby belly in my way?! ;-)
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Hahahahahahahahahahaha....that image made me laugh, thank you !! We're just under 3 weeks out from our due date and our little girl is going to be a butterball. Growth scans are already putting her a 7lbs 10oz (last Monday) :shock: :shock: :shock:
The imagery of my wife trying to do a mastic fill made me laugh. Of course, being a guy, I know better than to poke fun at a full term pregnant woman! I believe there's an exemption in the felony murder laws for woman who strangle their husbands while pregnant ;)

Mastic is no fun to play with. It's goopy & sticky and it does take quite a bit of skill to keep it in the gap, not smear it everywhere and make it look nice. Consider it money well spent on aggravation avoidance :D


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Hahahahahahahahahahaha....that image made me laugh, thank you !! We're just under 3 weeks out from our due date and our little girl is going to be a butterball. Growth scans are already putting her a 7lbs 10oz (last Monday) :shock: :shock: :shock:
The imagery of my wife trying to do a mastic fill made me laugh. Of course, being a guy, I know better than to poke fun at a full term pregnant woman! I believe there's an exemption in the felony murder laws for woman who strangle their husbands while pregnant ;)

Mastic is no fun to play with. It's goopy & sticky and it does take quite a bit of skill to keep it in the gap, not smear it everywhere and make it look nice. Consider it money well spent on aggravation avoidance :D

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
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Glad I could make you laugh, Matt! :) Thanks for putting things in perspective. I'm sure in my unweildy state things would not go as easily or as cleanly as I imagine!

Your wife is getting close! It's an exciting (and uncomfortable!) time. Tell that little princess not to get too big and make things too difficult for mama. Maybe you'll find you're getting a mild, obedient child right off the bat! ;-)

I've got just under 2 months to go, so as big as I feel now, I'm only going to get bigger. I'm glad this pool is almost done!
 
Here are some pictures of the mastic, although it is still drying and stray sand is still on the coping:



Now I have a couple of other random questions before plaster...

I am considering a last minute change to my pebble selection. All along I've leaned towards Stonescapes Tropics Blue mini pebble with added abalone (the small square sample below), but now I'm considering Gemstone Designer Series Bahamas Jewel Mini pebble with added abalone (the big sample) for its seemingly more interesting, textured look. It might be too dark for me though. If I had to decide right now, I'd do the Tropics and be happy, I'm sure. But somehow I'm making this more complicated! :p Any opinions?


Also, we have two holes in the gunite of our sun shelf for the plasterers to install the umbrella sleeves. They were supposed to both have gunite at the bottom, but one goes all the way to the dirt. Is this a problem? I don't want there to be a leak there. Is there some specific way I should make sure they address this?

Finally, my overflow drain is connected to a pipe that has a ball valve we can access through an irrigation box. I think it is set closed at the moment, but I can't get it to budge to see how it would work and I don't want to break it if there is some trick that I'm missing in how to turn it. It's been tight since the day it was installed. This was installed by the drainage/grading guy that I wasn't really that impressed by in the end, so I'm not that interested in calling him about it if I can help it.
 
Either color is fine in my opinion. My pool is a much light Caribbean Blue PebbkeTek so I have no idea how the darker colors will look.

Sleeve will be fine. Plaster guys will fill and seal it as needed. It won't leak.

That valve is a simple quarter turn shut off. When the handle us aligned to the pipe, it's open. When it's perpendicular it's shut. They do tend to be sticky sometimes. Try giving it a good turn. Personally I'd leave it open all the time but I don't have one of those so that's just my opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Either color is fine in my opinion. My pool is a much light Caribbean Blue PebbkeTek so I have no idea how the darker colors will look.

Sleeve will be fine. Plaster guys will fill and seal it as needed. It won't leak.

That valve is a simple quarter turn shut off. When the handle us aligned to the pipe, it's open. When it's perpendicular it's shut. They do tend to be sticky sometimes. Try giving it a good turn. Personally I'd leave it open all the time but I don't have one of those so that's just my opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
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Thanks, Matt. For the ball valve, even my husband can't budge it at this point, but it doesn't help that its position in the irrigation box prevents getting any good leverage. If a little more muscle doesn't do the trick, can we put a piece of wood against the handle and knock it conservatively with a hammer? Is there anything we can apply to it to make it less tight?
 
Hmmmm...that's not normal. The valves can be stiff but should not be stuck like that. I wonder if the drain/irrigation guy got glue in the valve by accident. Can you call him back? If it is truly stuck, you'll have to dig it up and cut in a new ball valve. I'm honestly not sure why you would want a valve in the first place so others will have to enlighten me about their necessity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Hmmmm...that's not normal. The valves can be stiff but should not be stuck like that. I wonder if the drain/irrigation guy got glue in the valve by accident. Can you call him back? If it is truly stuck, you'll have to dig it up and cut in a new ball valve. I'm honestly not sure why you would want a valve in the first place so others will have to enlighten me about their necessity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
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Good idea... I'll just call the guy. But my husband is going out to give it one more try before I do. It does seem strange that it is so stuck, so I also wondered about the glue.

As for why you'd want a ball valve on an overflow drain... I had read here that some people recommended it. I figured it wouldn't hurt. That way I can control if and when I let extra water out. No need to have water from kids playing splash into the drain and be lost, but if we go away, I'll have the peace of mind of keeping it open o the pool won't overflow if it rains heavily.

***
Good news! My husband said a little silicone spray did the trick. I went and tried it myself, and sure enough, it's tight, but I can turn it. :)
 
Gemstone is what my PB uses and Bahamas Jewel is my PB's favorite color! It is very pretty! The aggregate is pretty large in comparison to the Radiant Fusion series (also Gemstone) and includes the beads as well as the shells. We upgraded for the beads and shells but also because I was concerned about hubby's tender tootsies. He never even goes barefoot.

Had we gone with the Designer series, it would have included the shells, but that may be just something my PB does. However, the Radiant Fusion series is made up of very small aggregate, the luminous beads and the abalone shells. Our upgrade was only an additional $5/lf.

Tulsakevin is from my area, used the same PB as me and I believe in at least one if his pictures you can see the Designer Series on his shelf (I'd have to go back & look for sure). I don't know if he still checks this site, but you could maybe PM him and ask what color he used...
 

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Glad the valve handle is working. Being buried in the sand like that is not the best (I have two valves in my property like that) as the irrigation box tends to fill up with sand and sediment and eventually the valve will get buried. A good way to lay those boxes is with plenty of small stone base underneath everything to help keep the sediment down. You might make it a habit to turn the valve handle once a month or so just to keep it moving otherwise they tend to freeze up. If it were me, is probably get lazy and just leave it open all the time anyway but I can see how it might be useful to valve off the overflow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
Nursenini said:
Gemstone is what my PB uses and Bahamas Jewel is my PB's favorite color! It is very pretty! The aggregate is pretty large in comparison to the Radiant Fusion series (also Gemstone) and includes the beads as well as the shells. We upgraded for the beads and shells but also because I was concerned about hubby's tender tootsies. He never even goes barefoot.

Had we gone with the Designer series, it would have included the shells, but that may be just something my PB does. However, the Radiant Fusion series is made up of very small aggregate, the luminous beads and the abalone shells. Our upgrade was only an additional $5/lf.

Tulsakevin is from my area, used the same PB as me and I believe in at least one if his pictures you can see the Designer Series on his shelf (I'd have to go back & look for sure). I don't know if he still checks this site, but you could maybe PM him and ask what color he used...
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Thank you, Denise! Bahamas Jewel is at the top of my plater guy's favorites list too, although his favorite be the Radiant Fusion like you're getting. We decided we couldn't afford to add the glass, and to me, the interest of the bigger pebbles of the Tropics Blue/Bahamas Jewel makes for a more interesting surface than simply going with the Micro Fusion that doesn't have the glass. It won't be as smooth, but hopefully that won't be a problem for us.

I think I'm just going to stick with the Tropics Blue and hope for the best. I'm sure it will be great, even if I can't predict exactly how it will look in our particular pool. I think I feel better about sticking with my original choice and being slightly surprised, than impulsively choosing something else at the last minute and dealing with a possible negative reaction.

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JoyfulNoise said:
Glad the valve handle is working. Being buried in the sand like that is not the best (I have two valves in my property like that) as the irrigation box tends to fill up with sand and sediment and eventually the valve will get buried. A good way to lay those boxes is with plenty of small stone base underneath everything to help keep the sediment down. You might make it a habit to turn the valve handle once a month or so just to keep it moving otherwise they tend to freeze up. If it were me, is probably get lazy and just leave it open all the time anyway but I can see how it might be useful to valve off the overflow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
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This is good to keep in mind. Maybe we can dig around the box and add gravel like you described to keep the sand away. Either way, your suggestion about a routine opening of the valve is a good one. I want to avoid problems if I can.
 
I like both of them, but I'll say that I really like all of the pictures of pools I've seen with the Tropics Blue. I agree with Kim, stick with your gut. I empathize with you...I can't tell you how many hours I spent picking out my finish. Started with Stonescapes Aqua Blue, looking at going with 3 additions of glass beads and double pigment....aaaand then ended up going with Prism Matrix Indigo Blue.
 
I am glad you are keeping with the lighter color. I think darker pool finishes in Texas tend to get too hot for my taste.

Oh and I really wish I could turn off my overflow so it is good you have a shutoff. We get wind storms and after every one my pool is down at least an inch. I watched during one and the water gets pushed out of the overflow. I wish I had a way to save some of the water loss. I would turn it off when the kids are in splashing and also before I know a front is coming through (unless rain is predicted of course)
 

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