Building a Pool Day by Day: Demo Week

Wednesday is D-DAY for my back yard. Trees, shrubs, grass & our old paver patio will be going bye bye. Access is pretty tight, so they will be using a mini cat to rip everything out. Thus it begins....

Building a Pool Day by Day: Deco Tiles

It's been a week since I last spilled my thoughts so here goes:

1. Demolition will occur next week, which means that GrandVista Pools will begin digging on the 25th. The day he said he would! Barring a last minute tropical storm or hurricane, we are well on our way and our contractor's credibility remains high (where he started), so our goal of having a pool by Thanksgiving is on track!
2. Deco Tiles. Guess what. They cost about $15/tile MORE than the standard. That's not a surprise. What was nice is that Kevin (our contractor) tried to get us to do only 1 deco tile for every 7 regular tiles. My wife ixnayed that one. We are getting 1 Deco Tile for every 3 regular tiles. Translation: 65 Deco Tiles instead of about 27. You do the math.

Lesson learned. Don't argue with your wife. You'll lose!

To check out sample patterns: Click Here

Building A Pool Day By Day: Waiting

We have 3 weeks to go before Grand Vista Pools begins construction on our pool. This is like waiting for Christmas to come.

Building A Pool Day By Day: Pool Finishes

Aggregate Finishes seem to dominate the pool finish market today. If you built a pool about 20 years ago, the common finish was Marcite, essentially a calcium based plaster finish that was smooth to the touch. It's smoothness proved to be it's downfall, however, as defects such as color variation, stains and crystaline precipitate made these surfaces a challenge. For more info or if you have an existing Marcite Pool visit PoolCenter.com

The common solution these days is an aggregate finish, essentially tumbled rocks or pebbles that are uniform in size and color. There are a number of brands, but the most commonly known is PebbleTec , so I will use that as the standard. Aggregates have a rougher finish and can cause abrasions if you rub your extremities really, really, really hard against them, but a neat feature is that you can change the color of the water based on the stone color combinations you choose. Smoother textures can be obtained by using a finer grade of stone (PebbleSheen or PebbleFina), which are actually LESS expensive than the original PebbleTec product. The reason is that the alternate 2 surfaces are created from the waste product (stones that are too small) that are formed from the PebbleTec creation process (think "Panning for Gold").

These guys will get you for upgrades for the more popular colors, but in the end, the finished product will have a consistent finish that can hide defects and make your new (or refinished) pool like dynamite and make you want to jump right in!!!

Building a Pool Day By Day: Waiting on Tile

We are still waiting for a tile sample that was ordered 2 weeks ago. Our pool contractor says that it is the tile guy. Is this a harbinger of what is to come?

The lesson to be learned here is, get your tile order in early. It can only be an excuse for delaying the construction of your pool, otherwise.

Building A Pool Day By Day: Good Resource

I ran accross this website the other day, and just started playing around with it. It's called Swimming Pools 101

They claim that they are completely independent, and so far it looks that way, so I have now included them on my home page links. I'll let you know when I run accross valuable information from this site

Building A Pool Day By Day: Audio Options

It's Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. I spent a good part (OK 15 minutes) of the afternoon up in one of my attics (don't ask) checking out the lay of the land to install outdoor speakers. I found about 28 " of blown in fiberglass installation, a lot of trusses, AC/HVAC Vents, and most importantly, clear sightlines to the eaves and the ceiling of our lanai, so I will be able to have 4 speakers where I want them! I plan on hooking them up to an auxiliary Receiver I had lying around via the 2nd Source port on my main Sony Amplifier. This give us great Audio Options, because we will now be able to independently listen to music, Ipods, whatever, outside in the pool or in the lanai, while the kids are watching Dora or Power Rangers.

Tips for installing external speakers

• Get a second amplifier
• Buy a 'snake' to fish wires through walls
• Buy good quality weather proof speaker for under the eaves
• Used recessed speakers in the lanai

If you aren't very handy I suggest the following:

• Call a reputable dealer that does home installs, here are two I've used in the past:
  
• Tweeter
• Circuit City
• Buy your next door neighbor some bourbon or a case of beer.

External Audio in our house is a necessity, and well worth the effort!

Pool Storage Boxes

Ok. Where do you put all of your stuff once you have a pool? There are a number of storage solutions out there and they are much more expensive than we've anticipated! For example, this Westminster Teak box is over $1,000! That's more than 3 lounge chairs! What gives! I'm starting to realize why everone told me to budget an additional 15%!

Pool Furniture: Wood or Metal?

Black or white, North or South, Less filling or tastes great. Wood or Metal (no we are not talking about golf)? At the end of the day, both wood and metal patio furnture can look great, and at the same time are vulnerable to the elements, so here is a quick rundown of the pros & cons:

Wood:

Pros-

Variety of materials
Multiple Price Points
Attractive
Comfortable

Cons-

Vulnerable to Insects
Require TLC to Maintain Finish
Quality can vary dramatically
Difficult to assemble and/or ship

Metal

Pros-

Multiple Price Points
Variety
Easy to ship

Cons-

Can Rust
Can have sharp edges
Difficult to Repair

Our suggestion is to go find a store and look, look, look. Plan on placing an order within the same week you break ground (shipping can take up to 12 weeks with some manufacturers). And remember this, you get what you pay for! We have a set of Adirondack Chairs from Baldwin that were about $225 a piece, but have lasted for 7 years in New England AND Florida!

Check them out at www.baldwinfurniture.com . They are very comfortable!