We were giving a friend a tour of the neighborhood the other day and I was reminded that I've never done a comprehensive, final "pool post". In-part, the delay is because the process was a bit tumultuous — and in-part because there are some things that are left unresolved because of that. That said, we're super-happy with the pool overall — especially in the 100+ degree weather we've been having.
I posted a pool-building-tips post a while back when a friend was planning their own pool — and the first pool we built was fairly well documented. In this post, I'll present an unfettered view of our building process with as little Photoshop as possible. Let's start with the quick before and after:
We started the planning with some pretty extensive plan-drawings that I developed in 2012 when building our first pool. As a graphic designer, I stuck with what I knew — Illustrator. Converting the document to metric, I could make each inch one millimeter and get the measurements razor close.
[This was one of the final renderings looking at options in pool depth. As in all things: best to go slightly bigger than slightly smaller]
[Most everything was spec-ed out, including trees, existing plantings and the house, of course — and the off-square back fence. Nothing is square in this house. Note the hopeful expansion of the poolhouse (MicroEichler) that didn't happen. The utility fees alone were $15K.]
Then, the after: This is me walking out of the back door this morning with camera in hand...
[From left to right: A panoramic view of the yard. Not bad.]
[Because of some unresolved concrete issues, the brown plate to the right is temporary — the concrete lifted 3/4in and took the original coping with it. It will need to be replaced (non-warranty).]
[The cover was a bonkers-expensive add on, but worth every penny -- it keeps the pool clean and safe. And clean.]
[Had I not been on-site during the gunite application, we'd have neither the top step nor the umbrella holes — both were part of the plan, but because the builder was not on-site as often as he should have been, lots of details were missed... or could have been missed had I not been on site to supervise.]
[Here, you see the side-step. I wish we had retained the back ledge. The drain cover is a great addition by the builder — far better than most dual-drains.]
[Mastic is separating after three years — this is a bit normal and to be expected.]
[Because of poor drainage in the cover-vault (no slope to landscape drain), the area under the vault got too wet and expanded — lifting the above concrete 3/4in. Had the vault been drained properly, this would not have occurred... and is something we need to now address with a sump pump or new natural drain.]
[Concrete cracks... all in all, we're pretty luck on that part.]
[The concrete-pour drain cover was a nice detail.]
[Most days the cover stays closed and this is the view — still not bad.]
[The turf was a quick-addition in 2019 for our son's 6th birthday party. We love it. Check out PurchaseGreen.com. Ours is Arizona Olive (cool yarn).]
[The jasmine has gone into overdrive this year. We're not minding.]
[The umbrella needs significant support. This frame attached to the ledger board of the fence and had about 200# of rock in it...]
[The outdoor kitchen has been super-useful — and was oddly easy to add since the plumbing is just inside the adjacent wall.]
[The side utility/planting deck is holding up well. I'd eventually like to hide/cover the ephemera, though.]
[A view of the "business end" of the pool featuring the hammer needed to knock the filter open. Also featured is our Photovoltaic (PV) solar control center. Had we known we'd be installing PV-solar panels two years later, we'd have opted for an electric heater. As it is, the gas heater is too expensive to run often. Bummer.]
[The auto-fill is a very nice addition as-is the salt chlorinator... the entire system is fairly easy to operate and maintenance-free.]
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