That looks so beautiful. May I ask you how many sq. ft. the pool is? We are getting a 500 sq. ft. lagoon shape pool. Digging should begin in a few weeks and we are very excited. Looking at this site gives me so many ideas!

Susanna, thank you! My wife is already planning two more parties for June, she hasn't set foot in the pool yet and I'm starting to think she just wanted it as an excuse to host parties, LOL!

Kurt, thanks for the compliments! The Polywood seller is on eBay, below is a link to her eBay Polywood page. The yellow chairs are the ones listed as "Polywood Outdoor Patio Furniture". The blue lounger is listed as "Outdoor Lounge Chair". They come in some other fun colors too- orange, red, lime green as well as some earthtone colors.

Dogbone, on the sleeve first they core-drilled the hole, then they epoxied in a plain PVC sleeve. Then they cut that flush with the deck and glued a threaded insert into it. There is a small threaded cap that can be put into the sleeve if it's not being used. If it's left open then it would indeed just fill with water, it doesn't drain. They were actually supposed to cast it into the decking, but they forgot! The sleeve was really cheap, I think it was 30 bucks installed.

Momofthreeboys, ours is 410 s.f. You had me confused there for a second because I thought I saw pics of your pool in gunite, but I just checked and that thread is by "momof3littleboys", LOL! I guess the two of you have something in common :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: eBay Polywood seller

I have been enjoying your posts for a LONG time. It is one of the best documented builds and has been extremely helpful to me. We just had our excavation yesterday and plumbing and steel today. I plan on starting my own thread soon with pics. Anyway, your pictures helped us decide to purchase the Turbo Twister slide. I just wanted to make sure which color you chose: sandstone or grey. Also, where did you order yours from? I have quotes from several places and just wondered where you got yours. Thanks for all your help. Your pool is simply beautiful.

Stonesmama, thank you, your comments are very flattering! :-) I appreciate it! The slide is a blast, I'm sure your whole family will love it! Ours is the sandstone color. We were originally going to get the gray color, but one of the people that posts here got gray and said it gets pretty hot in the sun (I think she was in Arizona). As it turns out the sandstone goes better with the color pallete we have anyway. The warmest it's been here is 95 and the slide was barely warm to the touch even without the water on. I posted a link below to where we bought ours. Unfortunately the price has shot up since we purchased it. We paid 2088.00 with shipping in mid-February and the price is now 2457.00 from that vendor. You might shop around to see if you can find a better price than that. The slide was drop-shipped from the manufacturer, I doubt anyone stocks them because the box is HUGE!! It took 2 weeks to get it from when we ordered. Good luck on your build, I look forward to seeing your pics!

Here is a link that might be useful: Turbo Twister seller

Thanks so much. I ordered mine from a company out of California (no tax). It should come in next Monday or Tuesday. I have NO idea where I'll put it until they install it, but it will be exciting to get it in.

It is so interesting to read all these posts and look at the pictures. I am having such a hard time envisioning what 500 square feet will look like. If anyone has time, could they post their pics with the Square footage of the pool listed? That would be immensely helpful. When my pool build begins I promise I will post pics!
Thanks.

Thanks for the information, your pool looks plenty big so now I feel encouraged!

Tresw, I sure wish we could have put a slide in, that would be my only regret... Darn that homeowners insurance!

But I do have a sneaky feeling that kids will be caught jumping off of the rock on the grotto... Let's hope not! I am excited just scheduled with our "supervisor" grotto work starts tomorrow, and none too soon I might add. I had a dream the other night that the pool was complete water and all, then I look over and saw that the grotto was never finished.... obsessed much? ha!

tresw:
What do they call that stone around your pool for your coping? I may want to use that for my FirePit and I don't know what to search or ask for.

Sorry, I missed these last few posts. I was coming here to post a new pic and saw that I had missed a few:

Stonesmama- at least you know it's waterproof so it won't hurt it to store it outside :-) If you are installing it yourself let me know and I'll tell you what I learned about it.

Momofthreeboys- 500 s.f. sounds like a nice size to me. If yours is going to be a rectangle then you can easily lay a waterhose out on your lawn with whatever the dimensions are to see what it will be like. It's a little tougher with a freeform shape though.

Susanna, I share your fear of someone climbing the grotto! Whenever we have new kids over I give them the "pool rules" before they swim. No climbing the rocks, no headfirst diving from anywhere, only cannonballing and jumping in at the designated point (I show them where), if you can't swim and want to go down the slide notify the lifeguard (me) first so I can help, only slide feet-first. I keep an eye out and remind them of the rules if I need to, but usually after one or two reminders everyone is on board! That's too funny that you're dreaming about your grotto, LOL!

Barco, the coping is actually precast. It's a color our PB calls "Adobe". We're in the process of sealing it this weekend; we ran out of sealer before we could get the 3rd coat on. It looks a lot more rich and stone-like with the sealer on it.

We're getting some warmer weather, it's on the 80's today and the water crept up to 75. Kids swam 4 times I think! I swam twice around doing chores. It's still a little cool, I think 82 or 83 degree water will be just right.

We got a new chair, it's Polywood like the others. This one is an Adirondack with separate footstool. It's comfy!

That poor muhly grass, I'm sure it'll look a little more robust once summer gets here!

Looks so inviting tres!!! It is great to see how much you are enjoying the pool already. 80's huh? We are seeing 90's here, but the good news is, most likely we will fill next Monday if not sooner, the guys are getting ready to pour the concrete for the grotto ceiling as I type. 1 day to cure, then on to the moss rock, plumber comes today, electrician Thursday..... Started to think this day would not come... ha!

Thanks Susanna! We're already in the 90's just since my last post, I think it hit 98 yesterday! Water crept up to 80. The kids and I swam for hours after work/ school yesterday. My wife finally got in (for about 10 minutes) Sunday and complained about the cold water the whole time, LOL! 80 degree water feels downright balmy compared to the low 70's that we've been swimming in though. You're going to need to start a new thread since you're way past "pouring gunite" now :-) Can't wait to see some new pics of yours after they get the stonework done!

Tresw - agree with all of the others. Your pool has been so well documented. It is nice to see the entire process from start to finish. I love everything about it..the grotto (my personal favorite), the bubbling shark, decking, etc. Beautiful!

I know "barco" asked about your coping. I see you say the color is adobe, but do you know who the manufacturer is or even a style name I could "goggle"??

I think the stuff is just called "precast" or "precast concrete coping". I checked with my stone yard and they said it was all special order. I haven't decided. I may just go with brick on top of my "self-made" fire pit....just leary of the fact that I may have to make a lot of lengthwise cuts in the brick. However, this is what the builder did on the rest of the house -- kind of "european" style brick curves...so it would match better.

Comkow, thanks so much, all the work in documenting the whole thing is well worth it when I hear such kind comments! :-) Precast concrete is usually done locally, so the colors vary a lot from region to region. We've been dealing with this in the commercial work I do, it's tough to get good color quality control because "white" in Dallas means something different than it does in Houston! It's cast as close to the site as they can get so they don't have to pay to transport it great distances (in some cases precast is cast on site, this is usually how it's done for precast panels on buildings and parking garages). If you're in the DFW area and want to know the precast company that did ours let me know and I'll see if our PB will tell me who did it for them. We really love the color of ours when it is wet, when it dries out it is much lighter (almost an off-white color). We're sealing it with Protech Color Enhancer Pro which is an excellent but expensive sealer (about 60 bucks a quart). The precast really soaks up the sealer and it takes 3 coats to get a consistent seal with no splotchiness. We got 2 coats on it and 3 coats on one piece before running out. We've got more on the way though.

If anyone reading this isn't familiar with what "precast concrete" is, it's concrete that is poured into molds or forms, allowed to set up and then removed from the mold and installed like stone or masonry. The formed sides are usually very smooth (unless the form is intentionally textured). Precast may or may not have steel reinforcing in it depending on its use.

Hello all! Well I'm still active on the forums, but haven't had much to post in my own thread lately. I do have a few updates, after wrestling with rising CYA levels we finally changed to the BBB method (using bleach to manually chlorinate the pool) and quit using the inline chlorinator. After a couple of weeks of that we decided we didn't want to contribute that many more bleach bottles to landfills (and we don't have recycling out here) so we had the PB install a Pentair IC-40 SWG. It's been great, we just have to add muriatic acid once a week and that's it for chemical maintenance. I can just barely taste the salt in the water. We're not sure yet if it's better on our son's eczema, it's too early to tell but it does seem better. My wife swears the water feels more "silky" although I can't really tell a difference. The water seems to sparkle more too and is much easier on the eyes if we're not wearing goggles. Another interesting thing, before we added the SWG the water was hitting temps of 88, but after adding it we're back down in the 84 to 85 range. I've never heard anyone attribute salt to keeping water temps down, so perhaps it's a coincidence. I did not like it when the temps were getting over 85 though, the water didn't feel nearly as refreshing.

And now for a few pics, today I was climbing the slide when I suddenly thought "this would make a great picture!" The slide is 8' to the deck and it's suprising when you climb it to see how high it appears you are. Some of the smaller kids that have visited have climbed right back down again after getting to the top, LOL!

This shot shows our newest tiki, it's an owl. That makes 2 tikis now. I plan on buying one every couple of months until the pool is surrounded by somber faces, haha! That poor red banana tree never has really taken off. It's hanging in there, but not growing like the green ones are. Interesting story on the metal sign hanging from the column, my grandparents had it made back in the 40's or 50's in Mexico. It was intended for their home, but they never hung it up. They're gone now, so I've got it there to remember them by. I have the same name as my dad & grandfather, so the sign works for me too!

We bought a tiled pot to hide the propane tank for the chiminea. We built the tiled top for it. The pic doesn't show it very well, but my wife and I went to a greenware shop and painted some tiles with flowers to match the pot. The rest of the top is flat white and glossy blue tile. To fire up the chiminea we just tilt the top to one side and open the valve. The tiki torch in the foreground is one of two flanking the gazebo. It looks so cool with the two torches and the chiminea going at night! The flames reflect off the ceiling of the gazebo, really neat effect. In the background near the fence you can see a couple of the half dozen solar tikis we added around the pool. They're from Lowe's and run all night on a charge. They have flickering LEDs inside them that make them look like candles. Great mood lighting!

This picture is a little washed out, but it was so cute I had to post it :-) Logan hamming it up for the camera! He is by far the biggest pool user in the family. If anyone is swimming then he needs to be in as well!

This picture didn't come out well either (I really have got to replace my 8 year old camera), but it shows the surfboard sign we added inside the gazebo. It overlooks the pool and reads "Welcome to the Wright Family Oasis!" in a really neat Hawaiian-looking font.

The next big project will be to convert the covered patio into a tiki bar. I've been researching tiki style and have started gathering construction materials and sculpture pieces by various tiki artists. I'm saving up to pay for two columns and an A frame beam that will be carved by a tiki artist, once I get those then I can start the conversion. There's an existing patio cover as can be seen in some of the above pics, I'll be removing the roof and reworking it with the A frame and replacing the existing columns with the carved tiki columns. It's probably not going to be done until fall because I've got to spread the purchases out, the whole pool thing has left me tapped out! I'll post more once I get it underway.

Great Pics! I love the view from the top of the slide. Your son is a cutie.

I can't wait to see the next project.

I'm so glad you posted some more. Now that my pool is finished, I'm really into seeing how others are enhancing and enjoying theirs. I don't have a lot of pictures of us using the pool because I'm usually right in there with the rest. LOL I'm glad you and your family are enjoying it. I LOVE the tiki theme. You all will have some great parties. Keep posting!!

The Wright Family Oasis is really nice! I just left your neck of the woods, Tres -- I spent most o the Fourth with some friends who live off F.M. 548 and Ridgecrest. I was even telling them about your pool, as they are considering having one built. I'm going to have to take the time to come back out to Forney to check out some of the neat landscape shops off 80.

Tres, thanks from here too, on all the time you have put into not just documenting your build and creating a pool environment, but also on all the knowledge you have shared on so many different topics on this forum! (You sound like you would make an ideal building inspector! Have you ever considered it?)

On a couple of tangents before I go look at your slide link (we can't have a turbo twister - have to stick to height of our fence or lower so max will be about 7'- but looks like they have other interesting options) - Several of our kids as well as myself have bouts of eczema from time to time - biggest trigger for us (though not the only one) is that we are all sensitive to casein in dairy. I've read that is considered probably the most common cause - have you already tried that with your son?

Also, can you tell me what brand of playsystem that is in your yard? We have a fairly large Rainbow system that the kids love, but are so frustrated with how rapidly the wood deteriorates. DH doesn't have time to seal it yearly (esp. with all the overlapping wood pieces so the sealant doesn't even get where the moisture tends to be retained the most anyway) & they want $500+ to do it for us which DH considers throwing more money into a blackhole. We're considering cutting our losses & buying a plastic coated system like Woodguard's Monkey sets or maybe ChildLife's enamel coated sets. Something with a smaller footprint would help us squeeze in more pool is a thought here, too! ;-)

Just stumbled across a post from you way back when - are you still considering a Solar Attic Swimming Pool heater?

Momof3littleboys, thanks! The view from the slide really does look like that, the first time I climbed up there I was like "woah!" It doesn't look like it would be that high looking at it from the ground!

Stonesmama, thank you! I know what you mean, this forum is long on pool build info but people tend to drop off after that and the finishing details often don't get shared. There are people that have stuck around and continued posting pics of their pools and those to me are the most interesting and inspiring threads. Tim (trhought) in Louisiana is a great example.

Riesenschwimmer, thank you, and what a small world! I'm not sure where Ridgecrest is, but 548 turns into 1641 after it crosses 80 and I live right off of 1641 (near 20). Tell your friends they're welcome to come by if they want to have a look! You too if you ever stop through again :-)

Gracedunderpressure, wow that's very flattering, thanks! I have actually thought that it would be nice to be an inspector in Forney because then I wouldn't have to drive 35 miles one way to get to work, LOL! I do like my current job though :-) That's a shame about the 7' height restriction, if you can eke out a few more inches the Typhoon is very similar to the TT (link below). It's 7'-4". Thanks for the head's up on the dairy issue with eczema, I'll mention it to my wife. I wasn't aware of that and don't think that she is either! The playsystem we have is something that we got at Toys R Us a good 8 or 9 years ago. It's all pressure treated pine and has held up reasonably well. I didn't have to restain it until this year. I've had to replace a few boards over the years and after replacing the plastic sheet canopy covers twice I finally just installed cedar on the 2 roofs. At some point I'm going to install some wood sunbursts on the gable ends to help it match the gazebo. I was looking at the Solar Attic heater when I -thought- we were going to be building a garage/ workshop addition just after the pool. I drew it up and had a contractor ready to do it. The US mortgage disaster screwed that up, we couldn't find a short term loan at a reasonable rate despite having excellent credit. Even though the Fed has been reducing rates, just try to go out and get a home improvement loan at a reasonable rate right now! It's nuts. Anyway, that project is now on long-term hold. The heater would have gone in that attic, so it's on hold too.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.srsmith.com/fun_games/details.php?id=129

Great! Our fence is between 7 & 8' - I need to measure it, but DH thinks we can probably squeak in the Typhoon without any problem (our HOA is not real diligent either - mixed blessing)

Let me know if your wife wants any links or anything or she's even welcome to contact me directly if she likes - just let me know. It shouldn't be hard to google some decent info nowadays, but it can be hard sorting the wheat from the chaff if you know what I mean. Heck, even our original pedi didn't know anything about it. (But then he was also the one who told me that my then 5-yr-old's speech delay was nothing to worry about because he had just taught himself to read so he was just fine - turns out he's considered high functioning autistic, but that's a whole 'nother story)

Told DH about your playsystem with pressure treated pine & he said he's totally depressed. We spent a fortune on Rainbow's redwood & cedar version (trying to avoid the chemicals since our kids have enough allergy-type problems already). Regardless of the quality of that wood, wherever it spends a lot of time staying damp & therefore soft, the ants move in & exponentially accelerate the rot & damage. Rainbow has a great warranty on their wood, but the catch is that you have to install it yourself or pay them to do it. When you're talking about a piece that is a major support for the rest of the unit, that's not a one person job. We figure it's time to downscale! Noticed that Rainbow has started plastisol-coating the 4x4 supports on their lower-end models so we must not be the only unhappy customers.

Sorry to hear the current loan news. Especially since we'll need to get one for our pool build next year. DH thinks that odds are good for a better deal by the end of next year between interest rates & a tanking economy as things adapt and these extras like pools, workshops & home improvements will be more of a buyer's market. I sure hope he's right.

Anyway, I've bookmarked the slide & the attic heater (hope they have an installer in our area) - thanks again for all the info!

You may have already answered this question for others, but I'm late to the party -- what is the coping around your pool? Is it travertine or other natural stone? Your pool and backyard are great looking!
thank you!

Gracedunderpressure- thanks again, I relayed the info to my wife and she had not heard that either. She's going to talk to the doc about it.

"Regardless of the quality of that wood, wherever it spends a lot of time staying damp & therefore soft, the ants move in & exponentially accelerate the rot & damage."

Absolutely. Many people believe cedar is rot-proof, it is not. It is rot-resistant (big difference). If it sits on the ground it is very vulnerable. Especially if end-grain is exposed to the ground as moisture can wick up the grain (like on vertical posts). It will help if you can isolate the wood from the ground. I installed concrete pavers under the main posts on ours, they're basically flush with the grass so you can't see them. But they keep the wood nice and dry.

"DH thinks that odds are good for a better deal by the end of next year between interest rates & a tanking economy as things adapt and these extras like pools, workshops & home improvements will be more of a buyer's market."

There's a lot of fear in the loan market right now, but it will turn around. It always does. I don't know that we'll ever build our workshop though, I'm still having trouble stomaching what we spent on the pool and associated work, haha!

Debptx, the coping is colored precast concrete (the PB called this color "Adobe"). It looked rich and beautiful when wet, not so appealing when dry. We put 3 coats of Protech Color Enhancer Pro on it and it keeps the wet look all the time now. Thanks for the compliments!

Looking great and I love anything tiki. Once you have a pool your children always want to be in it. When mine were small they started asking before they finished breakfast.

You said, "Absolutely. Many people believe cedar is rot-proof, it is not. It is rot-resistant (big difference). If it sits on the ground it is very vulnerable. Especially if end-grain is exposed to the ground as moisture can wick up the grain (like on vertical posts). It will help if you can isolate the wood from the ground. I installed concrete pavers under the main posts on ours, they're basically flush with the grass so you can't see them. But they keep the wood nice and dry."

Yeah, we figured it out the hard way after we first moved to Katy & the gumbo - which never really dries, you just wait for the water to evaporate off of it - did a major job on the feet of most of the 4x4's.

We tried to talk to Rainbow about what we could do, got very little help though they did say that the wood could not sit on a cement pad because the weight of the system would cause the wood to split.

So we paid them to replace the pieces after we poured a small concrete slab with square openings for each of the posts that we then filled with river rock for them to sit on.

It definitely helped, but the water sealant Rainbow uses seems to be designed to need replacing every year (DH has a very cynical opinion about that) so we are tired of the hamster wheel.

DH wants to write it off & go with a different mfr. I can't stand to see all that money get flushed & we actually love the design of the set, so I am toying with the idea of begging Rainbow to give us plastisol coated supports & replacing the rest of the pieces with some kind of decking composite or enamel painted pressure treated wood. DH thinks the cost & complexity of that will likely rival just buying a new system.

(DH did actually try to put a coat of enamel paint on it once, but I don't think he primed it & he only applied one coat so it didn't work well - maybe we should get the wood replaced, remove the stain & paint it better? Not sure how effectively the factory applied staining can really be removed for good adherence of paint though)

Do you mind sharing your opinion? This mess has cost us over $3K already. Any thoughts as to what you would do?

dd50, good to see another tikiphile here :-) Do you hang out over on Tiki Central? When I started researching into tiki stuff I was blown away at the whole sub-culture that exists around it that I never knew about. It's really fascinating!

Gracedunderpressure, wow that sounds depressing! That really surprises me, I don't know that much about Rainbow but I was always under the impression that it was top-notch stuff. The gravel trick on the posts should work as well as setting them on concrete as that will drain and keep water from wicking up the posts. Doing paint over stained wood is tricky stuff, you really have to prime it with Kilz to get a good bond. So that means you end up painting it twice! But if you put a good prime coat on it, it'll last as long as painted trim on your house (5+ years). If you have the opportunity while you're replacing wood, etc., try to prime and paint the wood surfaces that are in contact with the ground too. It's a tough call not being able to see what condition it's in, but I would be inclined to try and save it if you can. Have you been using Rainbow's recommended stain or trying different stains? You should get much more than a year out of stain, that's pretty lousy performance. Good luck!

"You should get much more than a year out of stain, that's pretty lousy performance

That's what I figured, esp. after Consumer Reports latest article on stains & sealants. I don't know if Rainbow has a recommended stain, but their factory applied stuff is seriously faded after one year & so we weren't interested in whatever they use. They do recommend yearly re-application. (Though they didn't mention that until AFTER we bought it)

Thanks so much for sharing your pov - I'm going to call them & see what I can negotiate!

All this is why I am trying to look carefully at all the pool options in hopes of avoiding high-maintenance items - preferably NO-maintenance items, LOL! Thanks again!

We have a Rainbow set (cedar) bought at Costo in 2005. Last year it started to look faded so we re-stained it.

It looks as good as new now. We don't have any rotted boards but we are in Michigan.

I envy you! I'm not that familiar with Michigan's climate other than it being in a temperate zone with some weather effects coming off the Great Lakes. I'm thinking it's fairly dry air most of the time?

Being near the Houston area, we are in a sub-tropical zone. That means we have a lot of gulf moisture in the air most of the time. Coupled with the intense sun and the thriving bug population - esp. the wide assortment of ant species - this climate is tough on wood. You should see how fast mulch breaks down on our landscaping beds!

Just to give you an idea - right now we are at the time of year when we have pretty regular sea breeze showers in the afternoon. We had almost an inch of rain yesterday after the temp got to 94* - it felt like when you are in a sauna just after they put water on the heated stones.

This morning was still muggy & got very hot & then we had another thunder shower this afternoon. The humidity has come down a little & is currently at 65%. Wetting the wood can be bad enough, but this is like steaming it over & over again. (I tell my kids as much as I love the Houston area, I'd move in an instant if there were no air conditioning, LOL!)

We used to live in northwest Houston & moved to this area just west of it. This area is flat, open prairie-type land famous for its gumbo clay soil that creates swampy wetlands that draw a lot of birds from around the country.

The play system is definitely deteriorating faster out here than it was at our old place & I think not just the gumbo but especially the ants that like to nest in the softened wood are the reasons. I also wonder if the dearth of trees plays a part.

Interestingly I noticed on Rainbow's website that they have modified their warranty at least 4 times. We bought in 2000 and have an actual lifetime warranty. People who buy this same system now get a 15yr "lifetime" warranty.

I think they are smart to move toward the plastisol coatings and I've noticed that they have simplified their structures to reduce the amount of overlapping wood. I still think they have a good product, but they definitely need to keep working on improving it.

tres, please forgive me for the thread hijack! Let me try to get things back on track:
I may be misremembering but weren't you planning on adding a cabana and outdoor bathroom? Just wondering if that is something you will be incorporating into your patio> tiki bar conversion or will you be working those in elsewhere?

It's no problem! I was born and raised in Houston, I remember those steamy afternoon rainstorms you mentioned all too well! I also remember the debilitating heat, we'd jump on our bicycles and just go tearing off on a long ride only to find we were too overheated to ride back! It's amazing we didn't get heat stroke, we didn't know a thing about keeping hydrated back then.

I haven't decided what to do about the shower yet. We did the 7' board-on-board fenced-in area with the intent of using it for pool stuff storage and also to put a changing area and shower in. We may still do that, but there's another scheme cooking that would allow us to put a toilet in (would have to go in on the other side of the patio though). Really the main reason I want the shower is to shower feet off after working in the yard or so the kids can rinse their feet off before going from the yard to the pool. For that all I need is a small platform and a hand-held shower head. I'm going to wait a few months to get a better idea of what we really need though. I have learned one thing, we need a place to hang towels to dry!! We constantly have towels draped over furniture both indoors and out, LOL!

I have been reading and watching your posts for some time. I, too, appreciate all your efforts to help us all learn the ins and outs of pool building and pool life. I love your whole set-up - let us know if you come up with a towel-hanging idea!

Hmm, that's a good point that I hadn't thought of - all those wet towels. With 7 of us, we already have a rapid accumulation with bath towels, LOL!

I'm trying to think of what we need rather than getting something just because I love the concept or look of it - and it's not easy! (As I'm sure you know, too!) Much as I love a cabana like the_jimbar's, I'm not sure that we really need one since our back door is right off our kitchen anyway nor am I sure that we need a changing area. But then cold drinks & snacks at poolside would be quite convenient - and minimize the drain on the A/C from opening & closing the backdoor.

At the same time, if one is going to put in a shower & bathroom, combining it with a cabana seems like a reasonable idea. Decisions, decisions!

BTW, have you seen this composting toilet? Do you think something like that would be cheaper than running plumbing & sewage lines?

Here is a link that might be useful: Envirolet FlushSmart VF

hello tresw....bob here in carrollton. Looks like you are getting great use of your new toy!! We are too. My son and wife use it everyday. Im in it 5 or 6 days a week. I am so glad we did it. Here is my question....we have received a landscape quote and was floored, so we have decided to do the work.....or at least 90%. We plan on doing rock in several area. I noticed you have some rock. How did you do this? Did you put down the weed paper? Just wondering. I thought I remember reading that you did your own landscaping. Thanks again and keep posting your discoveries.

Grace, "I'm trying to think of what we need rather than getting something just because I love the concept or look of it - and it's not easy! (As I'm sure you know, too!) Much as I love a cabana like the_jimbar's, I'm not sure that we really need one since our back door is right off our kitchen anyway nor am I sure that we need a changing area. But then cold drinks & snacks at poolside would be quite convenient - and minimize the drain on the A/C from opening & closing the backdoor."

I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes it's best to live with it for quite a while (weeks or months) and see how you use it. After a while you'll find yourself saying "It sure would be easier if we had [fill in the blank]" and then you can figure out if it's worth the money and effort to build that. There's nothing worse than spending a lot of money on something that you find you never use, so sometimes it's better to wait and see. An outdoor kitchen was something we were contemplating, but we have close proximity to the house kitchen and have found that just setting up a large folding table outside for parties works quite well. So that's a large expense that in our case wouldn't have been worth it. But in your case you may find that you're constantly going to the kitchen to get a drink, so perhaps after a couple of months of that you might realize that what you really need is an outdoor fridge rather than a whole kitchen. Sometimes it's hard to predict in advance!

That's an interesting toilet, I had not seen that before. Based on the price I would say it's probably not going to be cheaper than tying into an existing SS line unless the line is hard to get to or really far away.

Hey Bob!! Glad to hear you're enjoying the new pool! In the areas that we did rock, first I sprayed down the grass with weed-and-grass killer. I let is set about a week and then scalped it to the ground with the weedeater and swept it all out. Then I laid about an inch of sand over that to level it. After that we planted the plants, then laid standard weed mat over that (cut close to the plants) and then laid in the stone. Do get the mat staples, it makes the job a lot easier, especially if there is some wind. Lay in enough stone so that your weed mat is not exposed to sunlight, it'll break down over time if left exposed. The nice thing about doing the landscaping yourself is you can phase the job so you're not paying out everything at once.

Hey everyone! I've been hanging around and posting now and then, but FINALLY I have an update on our own ongoing backyard project :-) I've been working on a renovation to our patio area. Last weekend I finally finished the first phase of it which included re-roofing the patio cover, building an A-frame and installing some trim and columns on it that were carved by a tiki artist in California. In the next phase I'll be doing some finish-out work underneath it including building some wall panels with recessed lighted tiki mug shelving and covered with palm and Lampac matting with bamboo trim. I'll also do some kind of finish on the slab, not sure what yet but probably either slate or a decorative coating of some kind. So there's still a lot of work to go! Until then here are some pics:

My wife doesn't like the skull, but the kids and I do! Check out how much the red banana tree has grown, it's really filled out.

Alex enjoying the new hangout spot:

View from the top of the slide:

View from the top of the slide again, towards the gazebo:

I've posted a picture from this angle before, but the Muhly grass has really grown now! And it's just starting to bloom, it's really pretty.

The banana trees have really gone crazy too.

Last one for now:

Looks great! I love the tiki theme you have going.

Tres-

Fabulous! The tiki theme looks amazing with your pool and banana plants! I really like the A-frame and its focal point for the skull....brilliant. The landscaping has really filled in nicely over the summer.

I have to ask....what's in front of the skull...is it a tiki version of a crystal ball?

Thanks for sharing your work of art!

Readyami, thank you! We have some "mixed metaphors" going on with the Texas star decorations and the un-tiki gazebo, but I've always been kind of eclectic anyway, LOL! :-)

Tim, thanks! When I was putting the skull up I was thinking "This belongs on Tim's pirate ship", haha! The ball is a Japanese glass fishing float (this one is actually a modern replica), a long time favorite decoration in tiki bars and restaurants the world round. It's as required a staple as the traditional hanging puffer fish lamp (I have one of those too) :-) Mostly they were hung indoors in arrangements of different colors and different heights and sometimes were lighted from within. I can't direct-link the photos, but if you look at the thread linked below (photos of vintage tiki bars) you'll see what I mean. They were also popular as A-frame decorations. My A-frame is actually a little teeny version of the real thing, the traditional A-frames built on restaurants and bars were enormous and had gigantic glass fishing float replicas, period light fixtures or even outrigger canoes hanging under them.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=29982&forum=5&13

Looks good. I love the landscaping. I can't wait till next year for ours to grow some. We got a late start on ours, so we will have to wait till next spring for our growth spurt.

tresw, I'm glad you are still posting your pics. I think your tiki area is VERY clever. I love the skull. You've done a great job with it. Keep letting us see what you are up to. Your plants have grow a lOT during the summer. I'm jealous!

Tres-

Thanks for sharing the link and the opportunity for a peak into the tiki sub-culture. Next time I'm in Shreveport, I'll have to check out some of the tiki establishments mentioned in the link.

The skull would be a great addition to our pirate ship. We just recently picked up a Halloween skeleton that I'm thinking about mounting on the pirate ship wearing a pair of swimming trunks and threatening visitors with a sword!

Enjoy the tiki room with all this wonderful weather we have been getting lately!

Thanks Bob! The landscaping has filled in a lot differently than I thought it would. The Muhly grass was just teeny clumps when I planted it, the Mexican Feather Grass was way bigger. The Muhly grass is huge now and the Feather grass hasn't hardly grown at all! The Blue Fescue was all a big flop, much of it is dead and the clumps that aren't don't look too robust. I'll probably replace the Fescue with Liriope in the Spring.

Stonesmama, thank you! I'll keep posting pics, the patio will look a lot more "tiki" when I finish all the stuff under the cover :-)

Tim, I like the skeleton idea, sounds like fun! Kind of like a mini-Pirates of the Carribean :-) The weather sure has been nice here too. Too bad the pool isn't a hair warmer!

Treesw,

How do you like your grass next to your poolscape. I really love the grasses, especially the perinneal ones but I am leary of the blooms. We have a grass in our front yard beds that is lovely but oH My Gosh is it prolific and the little seed blooms are a mess. They blow everywhere. If they came off in clumps, that would be one thing. But each clump is hundreds of seed thingies.
We have yet to landscape around our pool.
Pool opened August 11 and then the weather started cooling. Our water temp never got very warm from fill day. Did not stop the kids. Day before yesterday they finally decided to give it up.
I was trying to find stuff that did not have tons of litter. Thought about some canna, Rosemary, lantana, lariope, and mexican heather (annual)We have really high sodium content in our town well water, and many shrubs. perinneals, and annuals do not like our water. Coneflower, one of my favs, will not grow here. Periwinkles suffer.

Hi! I love the grasses, but they may not be for everyone. I don't look forward to having to cut them back each winter as it'll generate a lot of waste to handle. And it'll look pretty sparse around the pool until they start filling in again next year. But as far as having them next to the water, here are my comments:

- Misc. Liriopes- very hardy, no "littering" at all, mature quickly, look nice, colorful when blooming.

- Mexican Feather Grass- fairly hardy, some littering, not yet mature (2 years maybe). They're not very close to the pool, so it hasn't been an issue as far as stuff getting in the water.

- Muhly Grass- very hardy, fast growers! The "blooms" are beautiful and supposedly last about a month (October) and do get in the pool although the cleaner and skimmers capture most of them. When not blooming there's no littering from these.

- Blue Fescue- bleh! Not at all hardy here, turn brown easily and needs a lot of water.

- Dwarf Mondo grass- neat low groundcover! Quite hardy, slow grower, no littering.

The Blue Fescue will get replaced next year, but I like everything else so far!

Tres,

What happend to all your pictures? I was going back to look at your tiki pictures for some inspiration and they're all gone.

Sorry it must have been a problem on my end. They are showing up again.

I think I remember that Tiki doll by your patio, from an old episode of the Brady Bunch in Hawaii. You had better be carefull with that.