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!

What a Mess!

Well, I spoke too soon last week about the weather holding out & cooperating. We got several days of rain - heavy rain - and that mixed with copious amounts of clay in our back yard translated into one big, slippery, slimmy mess! It has really slowed down the progress and provided numerous challenges for all parties involved. Below are just a few shots of the mess...








Once the rain stopped today, work was able to resume, albeit slow. The crew was finally able to get the cement truck here to pour the slabs for the sun deck and lower patio area. Originally Signature expected to just used basically crushed stone as the foundation, but due to almost pure clay beneath, they opted for a more stable base of cement. Once it sits for a day or so, they will be able to start laying the patio pavers.

This should complete the cement work as all the stairs, retaining walls, and foundations are complete. The vault for the power cover was installed along with some modifications to the electrical service required by the cover. We're about a week off schedule now, and although it is suppose to be warm and sunny for a couple days, the forecast for early next week is more rain and sharply colder temps (highs on in the mid 50's). Keep your fingers crossed that we hold on to summer a little longer!



(View looking East at the deep-end)


(View looking South towards the house. The black channel is the cover vault)


(View looking Southwest at the shallow-end stairs)


(View West from the sun deck at the shallow end. The have started installing the cultured stone on the back wall.)


(View looking Northwest from the lower patio)


(View looking Northeast from the top of the stairs)

Footings & Wall Forms

The Signature team pressed on today. All the footers were poured yesterday, all the rebar and wall forms were erected today in preparation for pouring the walls tomorrow. The only cement work left after this should be to make the stairs on the outside of the pool, and the stairs leading from the upper deck area to the pool patio area.

Some of the drainage line has also been installed where the patio pavers will be near the pool.

In case you're curious, the big block of cement in the deep-end corner is the swim-up platform. That will allow us to swim up and exit the pool on the sun deck, or just hang our and chat with people lounging on the sun deck or on the pool patio (maybe a swim-up bar?? - hum)

We're still pretty much on track, and the weather has been cooperating very well (knock on wood!).

Work Continues

Work continues this week in full force with teams from both Blue Water Pools and Signature Outdoor Concepts.

The Signature team is busy excavating for the footings of the remaining retaining walls while the Blue Water team is adding the steps and swim up bench inside the pool.

If all goes well, the forms for the cement will be in place tomorrow and the walls & stairs should be poured shortly after that.