So were we ended up for this year.....

The pool in its winter dormant state... You can see the steps in on the far shallow end. The extended box on the bottom is for the auto cover... The wall on the near end will be stone veneered as will the far end wall with a couple of water features. There will also be two columns about 3 feet high on the left side also with water sheets.














This is a picture of the backyard with the winters first snow... It has since melted but it was sure nice looking....














This is the pool coping we will end up with.... Travertine called Sahara Gold...















This is the color of the 6 by 12 travertine tiles we will use for some of the decking... Not sure we will use it everywhere but it is nice stuff














I also have some cool looking stone slabs which I am hoping to use as jumping rocks closer to the deep end. But at this point because of the shape and size of the pool some of the plans for the landscaping and outdoor kitchen etc.... But having a couple of month of winter down time will give us a good opportunity to come up with a plan..

Details of building a pool....

The gunite process is pretty amazing... Steel wrapped in concrete to create a pool... pretty cool...














The gunite process..














The power of the hose is amazing... basically spray concrete...













Here the steps are being formed in the corner.



















And at the end of the day, a hole in the ground is a pool... complete with steps, ledge etc...

WE HAVE A POOL....well at least a shell..

The day finally arrived for the gunite crew to come over and get the pool into its final shape. This was an occassion we were looking for and pretty much signals that our pool project is really here. The hole was fun, plumbine was essential, the rebar was a tease and finally the pool is the real thing...

Check it out

The guys arrived at 6:30 am and pretty much figured out where they were going to set up. At about 7:05 they started the guniting from the shallow end...













The first truck was the toughest it seemed. The lines were clogging and they kept playing with the mix .... But it did not seem to slow then down much at all...














As the day progressed the speed of the walls being done was incredible. We have a bench alone one side which essentially is a thick concrete wall. It took quite a while to get that done.

Here he is buling the steps into the pool. There are four steps going to the shallow end.















This is a shot as they were starting... We barely had daylight...














The young man with the red hat was the foreman. These boys don't mess around at all.. The were all moving doing stuff as a well choreographed dance troop. The set up was efficient, the progress none stop and efficiently executed.














And at the end of the day here is what it looks like...














Finally the weather and the timing and the stars aligned so we have moved a major step forward.

Problems with rain and not sure what its going to mean

Well mother nature finally caught up with us and with all the delays because of the HOA as well as getting everyone started on scheduled we hit the wall....


The excavation, plumbing and steel went off with out a hitch but waiting for the inspections to get done from the county took two days and by the time we had the cover box done and ready for Gunite we stared having rain.....

Here is what it looked like on Thursday when I thought the worst had happened.























But by Saturday morning we were here,... a pool ready for swimming with a few critical pieces missing.....













So I have been pumping out all this water all day hopoing for a Sunny Sunday and Monday.
They will be by to clean it out on Monday let it dry on Tuesday and shoot for a Wednesday, God willing.

Pool progress updates...

An update for the pool is in progress.... Based on the house build this is like being on Mac 8... We are flying through the process.... The rough plumbing is complete and here is where the equipment is going















There will be a change from the original plan based on the feedback of our pool builders Mike and Doug. There will be one sheer descent on the shallow side for kids entertainment and two spaced equally on the long side. Maybe it would be better to have three???




















This is the view of the pool from the house... I think we need to incorporate a pergola or something on the other side of the pool??














The steel is in place... Here is one of the corners with the seat shelf which will be along the whole side.




















Overall the whole pool looks pretty good. I am wondering whether we really need #4 steel everywhere but everyone assures me this is per requirements and no need for it.




















Another look of one of the corners on the shallow end..




















I know this is a lot of pics for a pool build but based on what I have witnessed it seems to be a well orchestrated process with each piece knowing exactly what is required and doing no more than whats necessary...

Lets hope that efficiency will result in a pool that will last a life time...

The big dig....

The Big Dig is on.... We have quite a bit of dirt coming out which will be going out on the field to fill in some of the low spots...















And the Pirate is here... looking for her ship.













The inspector monitoring what all is going on in the back yard. Once the job started lots of options are surfacing...














The pool is a bit daunting... The width of 15 feet, shown here as 17 feet, seems fine but the length is loooong. I am sure we will be in shape in a few weeks ;)















A view of the back yard alteration... I think it will end up looking just fine....

Updated pool plans and some of the specs...

The pool design has changed finally to a rectangular 42 by 18. Here is what it will look like. The back and side walls are the bond beam

In the mean time the sheer descents remain as is, as does the walls and look. This allows the pool to be better viewed from the family room and also does seem to work better in terms of the yard but the main reason for the change is to be able to have an auto cover.


Here is what we are adding into the specs for the pool

Specification Sheet as Addendum to Contract.

Pool Specification to include the following…

1. Automatic Pool Cover
1. Includes Stainless Steel Braces to support coping stone
2. Includes the necessary electrical connections
3. Cover to use side wall recessed tracks and not use coping mounted tracks.
2. Install gas heater into plumbing.
1. Gas connection to be made by Master Plumber arranged and paid by Owner
2. All necessary connection components to be supplied as part of the heater.
3. Nature 2 Pro G Plus
1. Includes Clorinator.
2. Supplies for startup and one year operations to be provided
4. Three 24” sheer descents with separate pump
1. Each sheer descent to be valved individually
2. Separate pump control to be integrated with pool cover. If cover is in place, the pump should not be able to be turned on.
5. Two floor inlets
1. Floor inlets to be valved and plumbed independently to the other inlets
2. Each floor inlet to be individually closed if needed
3. Floor inlets not to obstruct auto pool cleaner
6. Side inlets as per design
1. Side inlets to be individually plumbed and valved
7. Plumbing to be covered in 4” gravel prior to steel installation
8. Pebble Sheen to be used
1. Color Blue Granite
2. Two coat application to be done as per manufacturer’s specifications
9. All equipment to be premium grade
1. Light niches to be stainless steel
2. Valves should be Jandy Neverlube 2.5” or similar
3. Safety drains to be Hayward Dual Anti Vortex drains
10. All plumbing to be pressure tested and remain under pressure during pool construction.
11. Filter to be a Pentair Purex Trinton 60 sqft or similar.

Fall is coming and so are some projects...

We are awaiting the approval of our HOA but in the mean time fall is coming ...













The fall colors are starting. Here is a view of fall 2007 behind the house...















Clearing the back porch area with the help of Valentino. We are edging it with granite blocks.














Could not help it but to put in a picture of the Chief Inspector....



















And my new co-workers on the orchard... from front to back (Dingo, Kyle and Brycee)

Plans for updating the landscape.... Can you say POOL??

So we are now developing some plans for the back yard.

We would like to incorporate a pool and we are interviewing several builders ..
Here is the plan that Lisa our landscape designer did for us... I think it would work pretty nice...




















The pool is a 14 by 40 with a 14 by 14 extension. The plan is to use the main pool for laps and the extension for the kids play area.... We still need to figure out whether we will put in a spa.

Its been a while.... Some updates... Front Landscaping

The front of the house... The waterfall on the side of the stairs is almost ready...
















and the family hanging out.... The Chief, along with the inspectors and Emama Askale...














This is the view of the front yard. You can barely make out the orchard tress. Lining the driveway are Yoshino Cherries... Makes for a wonderful spring.














This is the front area with the circle. The dry river bed came out ok, as did the belgian block circle.

















The more I look at this picture the more I like it...

Updated pics of the outside....

We have lots of landscaping to do so the outside will be significantly different by end of the year... But I could not resist a couple of snaps with some snow on the ground....














The front will have a circular driveway. The water feature under the stairs and to the left is almost there. We will have some plantings on both sides.
















Another look at the front. The motif of landscape will definitely be Japanese...














Still not sure what to do to the "high" side of the house. The balcony wont go in for a couple of years but we have talked about planting a row of weeping willows.













Another look at the hight side.














And here is the biggest challenge... The rear area which will be a combination of patio area, future pool and a creation of an outdoor room.