I too would have a goofy grin... :) Love the design, I can't wait to see the progress pictures!

Very pretty. Our plans are similar although we don't have a spa. Is your jump rock natural or gunite formed. If natural, sny idea how they attach it to the beam?

natural. I'm not sure how we're planning on bonding it. And it's a "pretty rock" not a "jump rock" for insurance purposes ;)

LOL.

;-) Gotcha.

I'm stealin' that one.

The fence builder had to change their schedule... so they showed up yesterday and ripped out our old crappy builder fence and set new posts.

I guess this is really happening :)

The new fence is in... All except a couple sections that they're leaving open for the trackhoe to come through and dig.

The permits have been filed with the city. As soon as they get approved the PB will be here to dig a big hole.

hey goofygrin, really like the design and love the new privacy fence! good luck on the build and keep the pics coming. do you mind sharing who your PB is?

Not until it's done and I'm happy (or unhappy) :) So far we're pretty happy.

He was over this morning and they laid out the pool. I won't be home before it's dark, but I'll try and get a picture tomorrow morning from upstairs to see if it's visible.

The permit was approved today. We dig tomorrow. The paint on the ground looks smaller than what I imagine in my head. I hope that's normal.

I'm live streaming the dig via webcam :)

Here is a link that might be useful: webcam info thread

For those of you that didn't catch the live webcast... you missed the most riveting thing I've seen all year!

J/K

They got the dig done, even with a couple rain showers (cold front came through).

Tomorrow is steel and plumbing.

And how it looks now with the track hoe out of there.

steel is done. The spa is gonna be awesome. Really big which is what we wanted.

In steel alone the pool looks very deep. I'm guessing once you put 6-12" of gunite on there its not as big.

The plumbers and electricians were here today doing the rough ins.

The inspection is tomorrow and if that goes well, gunite on Wednesday.

Going fast!

where are the pics? :)

You mean of mud with pipes in it? There's not a lot to look at at this point honestly.

Passed inspection, so tomorrow it looks like gunite.

Pictures from Gunite:

From the deep end to the shallow. The gunite at the bottom of the pic is where the jump rock will be bonded.

Big bench on the back wall (aka where the dads will sit to see the TV under the arbor [if I put one in]).

Spa and the tanning ledge with the rough for the bubbler. There will be a rock cascade from the spa to the ledge.

Spa -- the four lower jets that are on the top of the picture are more than just eyeballs (more therapeutic). When I set in the lower side, the water lever will be a couple inches below the top of my shoulder (6', long torso). On my wife it will be almost to her chin.

There will be a eyeball jet in the floor (for sore feet :)) and a fountain (which we didn't want, but it was put in since it was standard).

It actually looks like a real pool!

Looks Awesome! I love the big shelf right next to the Spa.

Why are the drains in the spa so far below the surface of the gunite?
Nice looking pool so far.

ncr is right about the spa drains. The pool's drains are sticking up in the air and a bit close to the wall. Why?

The lower back jets seem to be very low too. The potential for an unwanted enema is significantly increased here. Remember, the plaster will further reduce the discharge level, bringing it even closer to a user's sit-down point.

The foot well jets and spa wall jets will be uneven due to the unequal water pressure at the different levels and the use of a single pump.

Are the duals individual jets or two outlet jet bodies?

Scott

Not sure about the spa stuff. It's a bit late to change the jets in the spa, but we had the same concern (low). Those are adjustable eyeball jets for my wife's sciatic pain, so she did want them somewhat low. (something like this:

The drains in the deep end aren't close to the wall. What you're seeing close to the wall are vents for water under the shell that will be filled in before plaster. We had a lot of rain and the PB didn't want to worry about floating the shell.

Some new pictures of the tile and coping going in.

The "decorative rock" was placed today. 1100# worth.

Long time no post. Sorry I was on a cruise ship in the Caribbean :)

While we were gone, the deck was poured, the coping finished, flagstone laid on the shelf, sprinklers repaired, sod laid, retaining wall finished up.

Tomorrow the new gas meter goes in and I think that plaster is scheduled for later this week (depending on the weather).

It's all coming together quickly :)

I'll try and get some pictures tomorrow. It's a tan stained, not sealed concrete rock finish (this is the builder's base finish) and IMO will be perfect for our hot summers.

I love it! Cannot wait to see the finished project!

Well we didn't pass preplaster inspection due to issues with the fence. Some were minor (like the gate clasps were 1/2 an inch too low). Some were not so minor. We either have to put a fence in around the pool or put a fence in separating the pool from the driveway or put an autoclose on the driveway gate. None of which we *want* to do, so we're exploring options.

Pictures:

Is it something you can do just to get through the inspections, then remove afterward?

ya we could, but we found a company to put in a safety fence around the pool for $1200 or so. We'll do that... that way maybe I won't have to fish out a wet dog that decided to check out the water all the time... and the kids won't fall in when they go back there to play and we're not watching that close.

Hate to lose a kid or pet because I was too cheap to get the pool fence installed.

Check to see if the inspector will accept it 1st! They don't by me.

Scott

Well it was good enough, we passed preplaster :)

Congratulations on a beautiful build! Love the the combination of natural stone colors and decent at the spa. Your choices for decking and tile blend in so nice. Looking forward to seeing it filled with water!

Plaster going in today so we'll see how it looks.

We went with white plaster (wasn't enough money in the budget for something else).

Any new pics?? Would love to see your finished project. How do you like the color of thewater with white plaster? We are trying to come up with the $$ to upgrade to QuartzScape but we will see. I hope all has gone well with the rest of the build.

Would love to see how this ended up. We are building a pool very similar in style and materials and would like to get an idea of what the end result will look like. Thanks for posting the progress pictures. Everything looks great so far!

The weather has NOT been cooperating here. We've had no clear days since xmas basically. Couple that with not a day off since xmas where I'm getting home in the dark and pictures of the hole in the back yard have not been all that important :)

We got our final inspection passed last week. So pool school and turnon for the heater (tomorrow on that) and we'll be swimming (finally)

goofygrin, it is my understanding that you must not put salt and use the SWG and the heater for at least 30 days. Apparently these will interrupt the curing process for the plaster. I hope Scott, poolguynj and others more experienced that I will chime in. Good luck and please continue to post pics.

It's not that it will interrupt the cure. When salt is added, it needs to be brushed. Sometimes, there is a rock. Pushing it around can mar the finish.

Sometimes, there may be impurities in the bag. New plaster is at it's most vulnerable for the 1st month. Lets not risk staining it.

Scott

I love, love, love your design. We are at the very beginning stages of thinking about building. If it's not too forward, would you mind sharing your cost? I know that pools are priced differently based on where you live but I"m just curious. FYI, we live in TN.

It's 28 days from plaster/fill today.... The PB has not turned on the SWG, drone or heater. They didn't even vacuum until last week. That's one of the benefits of this PB, they do all the stuff for the first month or so (brushing, cleaning, water setup, etc.). It's been cooooold too, so I'm glad I've not had to get in the water.

Our cost was low 40's.

We still have landscaping to do around the pool and to hide the equipment. We had the option to put the equipment around the house, but we wanted the side yard for other purposes (kids, dogs, garden). That space by the fence was going to go unused (in our experience with friends with pools), so we put everything over there and will fence/plant mask it.

Pictures:
From the jump rock

Turtles at night