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bjohns06_gw

New Pool Build Underway

bjohns06
13 years ago

First of all, thanks to everyone for sharing your stories as we have learned much from this site and others over last several months. Our pool build is now underway and I thought I would share the progress so others can learn as well. There were lots of design choices and while some had clear benefits to us over others functionally, a lot of them came down to budget and/or personal preference. My best advice thus far is to not beat yourself up over the little decisions, take your time, and plan it all out considering any future backyard plans in your design.

And off we go.... if there is interest I will be eeping this up to date and give you all the good and bad with our experience as we go along to the end. Link here - http://www.flickr.co...57625166514266/

Choices we made:

18x40 inground vinyl liner pool (midwest region)

Caicos liner

Heat pump

AutoCover

Saltwater generator

Autofill (Levolor)

Step bench

sport pool design which goes 3'4" shallow to 6' middle to 3'4" shallow.

Pool house/shed for storage

Concrete decking 5' on the long sides, 7' on pool house end and 13" feet on other end (for lounging)

Pre-install for future water feature

Umbrella drop ins for the concrete deck

Happy to answers questions on why we made these choices vs other options.

Comments (5)

  • bjohns06
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Here is the URL to pictures in link form.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pool Build Photos

  • bjohns06
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Day 2 was walls up and footings in place. Starting to look like a pool and loving the size we chose for our yard. Everything went well today and the weather for mid -October here continued to be great! Couple things I experienced today: First I was glad that I went out when I did because they were going to put the in wall ladder in a different location than I had specified, wouldn't have been terrible, just not what I had communicated earlier...so got lucky there and they corrected in before footings were down. The step bench looks awesomw and so glad we made that choice, however the last step is a little narrower than I expected but the bench is bigger than I expected too....so it evens out and my wife is fine with it so that is what is important ;). The level of the top of the wall seems low to me but will see once they get the coping et all on...will continue to trust they have that most important piece right for proper drainage.

    Anyway that's all for Day 2 . Here are some pics.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Day 2 Pics

  • joanneswimsct
    13 years ago

    Hi bjohns06!
    Even though my pool was dug 2 seasons ago, I'm still re-living the nightmare!! Our hole was dug Aug 8 but then NOTHING until the end of Aug! We had signed our contract in May of '08 and were promised we'd be swimming by June 10 but, alas, we didn't even get water until the first day of school... I can't believe that after just 2 days you actually have what appears to be a pool in your yard instead of a giant hole w/ huge piles of dirt like we had for nearly a month! Our yard was a mess for a good year afterward but yours seems to be in good shape! You are lucky!! Your pool looks good so far from my layperson's perspective! Hope you continue to move along w/ no challenges!
    Joanne

  • bjohns06
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Day 3 done, not too exciting today as they are waiting for the ocncrete footing to cure. Just some plumbing prep work for the day instlaling returns, skimmers, drain. etc. Looking forward to next week weather permitting for pool house foundation walls, backfill and retaining wall installation.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Day 3 Photos

  • bjohns06
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Well it has been a couple busy days. Monday was supposed to be Day 4 but due to miscommunication between my GC conrete guys for the pool house/landscape and the pool installer little was accomplished. Reasoning was valid and stemmed from waiting for permit approval from the city before the footings could be poured. Lesson learned - get permits in early (my bad) and don't sweat small delays especially if it is because the contractors did not want to get in each others way and at least there were communicating with each other.

    So Tuesday was [b]Day 4[/b] which was pouring the footings for the pool house/shed and backfilling the pool overdig with dirt. Pretty uneventful in all honesty. Footing pour went well but was a little nervous on making sure it was centered with the pool. GC told me it would be even though it didn't look like it at first glance. Backfill went well, definitely will need to put out the soakeer hoses shortly to help the dirt settle with no rain in the forecast anytime soon. [b]Day 4 pictures are here:[/b] http://www.flickr.com/photos/54882847@N06/sets/72157625082581427/

    Today was [b]Day 5 [/b]and was solely for pouring the foundation walls for the pool house. Even though it was extra for full foundation walls, with the elevation and concern for long term durability I firmly believe we made the right choice. Another GC bid we did not go with was going to just build up the grade and then do a slab with edge footings for the pool house. So with the foundation walls poured you really get the sense of just how big a only 10x14 structure will be. BTW, GC was right.. it is perfectly centered with the pool and we love how it is shaping up. Only other thing today was wathcing the backfill settle some (which we want to happen) and bringing a coping sample to start getting measurements for reatining wall height. [b]Day 5 pics are here:[/b] http://www.flickr.com/photos/54882847@N06/sets/72157625082588231/

    Tomorrow the retaining wall and wall backfill will start and really excited about that. Hope it continues to go smooth. Enjoy!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Day 4 and 5 Photos