Done for the Year

Well it's hard to believe that it's December 31st, 41 degrees with rain, and no snow on the ground! Guess I should have left the heater on - could have been swimming! Anyway, the pool project is complete. The power cover was installed in early November and the pool has been winterized and is taking a bit of a rest until Spring (which I hope comes early in 2007!).

Below is a final picture showing the cover in place, lack of snow on the ground and a relatively tranquil look to the back yard.

On that note, hope everyone had a great 2006 and best wishes for a happy & prosperous New Year!

Almost Done!

We're closing in on completion of the project. There are a few more small items to complete, but we expect most everything to be wrapped up by the end of this week.

Here are a few more pictures of the almost completed project!

Fill'er Up!

After 1.5" of snow last Thursday and more rain through this past Tuesday, the weather finally cooperated and we got a dry and relatively warm day (60 degrees) yesterday. That was enough of a window to let the pool crew plaster the pool and fill it, late in the day. So as of now, we have a pool that is operational but darn cold (58 degrees)! Here's how the day progressed...


The plaster was sprayed on starting with the walls


The crew worked in small sections at a time


It took from 10:00am until mid-afternoon to finish the plastering


The finished product was a snow white smooth marcite finish!


The water tanker arrived a bit after 5:00pm to deliver the first load


This is how the pool looked after the first 14,000 gallons


View from the deep-end half full


The remaining 13,000 gallons begins to be pumped in


It takes about 18 minutes to empty the full tanker load (14,000 gallons)


The "tanker" on it's final delivery of our water


The pool the way it looked today. The mechanicals worked perfectly and the power falls were way cool!

Push Continues

The push continues, but again progress is slow due to the residual moisture and the forecast for yet more rain. More of the plantings were completed on day two of the push and some of the bark was spread. Hopefully in the next week we'll be able to get the pool plastered, filled and wrap up most of the miscellaneous tasks remaining!

Last Minute Push!

Well progress was slowed significantly last week due to 4" of rain over a two day period early in the week. With 4 days of sun & wind, the soil dried enough to let the team begin the irrigation and continued landscaping today. Now the rush is on to get as much done in the next two days since there are predictions of sharply colder temperatures and possible accumulating snow by the end of this week.

Tomorrow the fencing should begin, irrigation should wrap and the remaining plantings should go in, followed by the bark & field stone, and the tile work on the front of the pool should get going. All in all it promises to be a busy couple of days!

The pool can't be plastered this week due to the potentially bad weather. That is now scheduled for early next week which means water may go in as early as next Wednesday the 18th.

The good news is that most of the stone work is done (which I'm sure the masons are thankful for!) They did an awesome job on the stone - take a look...

Transformation!

Wow! What a transformation this past week. I was in Japan on business and when I arrived home late Saturday afternoon I couldn't believe the difference from when I left.

All the dirt piles were gone, the grading was competed and top soil laid down. Some of the larger landscaping was started including several trees, shrubs and boulders. The trampoline was installed in-ground and the remaining cap stone around the pool was installed. The tile in the pool was grouted and even some of the low-voltage landscaping lighting was installed. The bottom of the fire pit was placed where the hole will be, and most of the drainage lines have been run & buried. It's really starting to come together.

Next week the irrigation goes in, more landscaping, the stone work should be wrapping up and the pool interior will be plastered, targeting to fill with water around 10/9.

Stone Work

The stone work is progressing nicely. The cultured stone is about 75% complete and the pavers are all in. The tile around the inside of the pool at the water line is in as well. Everything is looking great! The landscaping should start next week, weather permitting.

Working Hard!

The teams really worked hard Thursday & Friday, taking advantage of the dry and warm weather. And a big thank you to the Bluewater, Signature and Cultured Stone crews for giving up their Saturday and working really hard! The pavers on the sun deck are pretty much done, ready for the flexible mortar, and the cultured stone on the pool wall is just about complete as well (nice job hiding the power falls!). The stone on the steps leading into the pool looks awesome, and most of the stone on the steps leading up from the lower patio is also done.

The teams will have their work cut out for them next week as the forecast is more rain and colder temperatures. The schedule includes the tile on the front pool wall,the remainder of the stone around the pool lip, and the cultured stone on the retaining walls along with the pavers on the lower patio. It promises to be a busy week!