The Final Pool

It's five years later and realized I never finished with the pics. Since building the pool, we added a cabana with a TV and also a firepit. Here are some more photos to show the completed package.

Two biggest decisions that worked out well.

#1. Hot tub is worth the investment. Yes it costs extra monet but it extends your season from April to Nov. People won't go near the pool in April in May but the hot tub allows the kids to jump right in.

#2. Loved South Shore Gunite.  Like anything, things go wrong with pools. South Shore Gunite's unprecedented 5-year warranty came in handy several times when there were issues with several pieces of equipment. They also service the pool.

Firepit at night

Hot Tub Gets Great use

Pool 2010 Pre Cabana

Final Pool

Pool at night

Final Cabana

Building of Cabana 2011

Building of Cabana 2011

View from Inside Cabana

View from Inside Cabana

Panoramic of Family Reunion

Poles Everywhere

The fence installers are installing the fence polls all around the pool. So much for our beautiful unobstructed view of the pool from our house. Safety is #1 priority with 3 little ones.

Pool Deck Pavers Almost Done

Here's the progress of the pool deck pavers which are almost complete along with the final part of the wall. We had to order another 150 SF of umbriano which arrived this morning.

On deck is the fence.

Expansion Joints

The Crew puts in the foam for the expansion joint around the pool. The joint is a half inch space between the pavers and the coping to account for expansion during the winter which could lead to broken tiles.

Patio before all the paver cuts are made

Begining the last phase of the wall

Get the Pavers Ready

The Unilock pavers that have been sitting in my driveway for months got put to use today. The wall crew switched gears and compacted the final rough grade before jumping on the pavers. These are the Umbriano that require a little different install (No Poly sand). The PB also finished tile today around the spa. If all works our we will be swimming by Aug 1  :).

The only kink today was the wait for electrician for the deck bonding which is a grounding wire 4-6 inches below grade 18 inches from water line. It's throwing off the paving somewhat as the crew can't build the deck right up to the pool. That's getting installed Thurs morning with an inspection hopefully end of day.

Entry way to Pool
I think the crew is excited to get a break from building that wall

Final Tile Placed in Spa

My Daughter has Little Fun with the Paver Sand

A little Tile, Coping and Wall Gets Us Closer

We've had a ton of progress since our last post. The wall crew from Renovo's Landscaping has been absolutely amazing cranking out 10-12 hour days the past week to finishing up the main segment of the wall.

Additionall, the PB completed the coping and the tile over the past two days. We went with a Sapphire blue tile and Acadamy Grey Coping. During this time, the rough backfill was done along with the gas setup.

View from Side Yard with new wall

Notice the gas and electric lines which need to be 18 inches underground. The gas then has to go down and additional 12 inches. We had our landscapers dig out the gas hole which took almost a day.

Wall, Coping and Tile

Spa

View from the Entry Steps

Height of Subpanel

Just noticed that the height of my pool subpanel is going to only be about 12 inches above ground once final grade is established. Anyone know what the standard height of a sub panel is? How high is yours from the ground.

Before I ask (or demand) my PB to move it, wanted to get some feedback. What I think happened is the electrician made an honest mistake not realizing the grade was going to be higher. Not sure how he would think that considering the equipment is proped higher but trying to give the benefit of the doubt.

I have two concerns. With saftey in mind, snow will cover the panel in the winter. Wouldn't mositure get in and cause potential long term problems. My second concern is convenience. I would have to sit on the ground to make changes in the panel. Thanks

Electric done - Wall continues

Electrical was 90% completed yesterday and we are awaiting a visit from the inspector before everything is backfilled. Gas is scheduled for Monday.


One note about gas. Our pool builder definitely takes a "throw it over the wall" approach for the gas component in terms of giving guidance. We have definitely had to be very proactive in figuring out where to dig the ditch, when to set up the call, etc. If I wasn't on top of the project, the gas install could have fallen through the cracks another few days.


POOL EQUIPMENT IS ON LEFT SIDE OF POOL

CLOSEUP OF EQUIPMENT WITH EASYTOUCH ELECTRIC

Filter, heater and polaris pump. Also had the crew use a Jandy spilt on the return going to the pool and put a cap on one side for a future waterfall. That's the pipe that is sticking straight out.

WALL IN PROGRESS PHOTO

The stone wall will go up to about 2 feet and meet the closer steps. There will then be another 2 foot wall on the right of the steps that separates the patio from the pool deck/walkway. Access to the pool deck will be from the far stairs.

For fencing, a black ornamental will go down the middle (between far wall and pool) and to completely sepearte the house from the pool area. When our kids get older, we will proably switch up the fence configuration.