Coping Fixed (Thanks, Pool Builder), Walls Going Up, Choosing Decking & Waterline Tile

When the pool builder returned from the weekend, first thing Monday morning he was at my door with the concrete contractor asking me what I wanted to do about the cracked coping. After discussing the options, the concrete contractor suggested he remove the cracked coping sections and replace them. Monday morning they were replaced. The pool builder was worried they would be off in color and the coping would look mismatched and hodgepodged.  The concrete contractor was more confident he could match the color.  There was one section of coping the concrete contractor was worried would get worse- next to the spa spillway and he thought that should be removed. Since he was removing one section, I decided to have all sections removed. 


Coping cut out:

 A total of 5 sections were removed.

 New coping drying- two sections in the spa area were removed.

 Coping almost dry- pretty good match.

 Two sections of coping at the end of the pool were removed as well. Again, color matches pretty well.

 Preparing for equipment wall.

 Picking tile. These are all National Pool Tile tiles. I am waiting on samples from Classic Pool Tile, it seems there are no distributors closer than the Georgia homebase.

 One of the best of the Classic Pool Tile tiles. When next to the coping, however, the tile makes the coping look yellow.

 Pool equipment wall. It will be stuccoed once it is finished to match the house.

 Retaining wall going in. The whole back retaining wall will get a color coat to freshen it up.

 Equipment wall. Dead cherry tree. I had it moved but it didn't make it. Moved it at the wrong time of year, I suppose. Too hot.

I am now trying to decide on decking. I believe I am going to go with Belgard Pavers, the new Catalina Slate. They aren't too expensive (almost half other types of Belgard pavers) and they are nice looking. I initially thought I was going to go with Montecito color; however, after getting some samples next to the coping, Montecito is way too bland for my pool. I think a darker color like Toscana or Bella would draw more attention the Mt. Moriah stone on the raised bond beam and spa.  Shown below are Bergerac pavers, the only sample board I caught on photo. Toscana is upper left hand corner, Bella is middle right hand side.

Problem. Coping Cracking on Day 5 of Pour

PB is out for the weekend and I noticed this morning, a Saturday, that there are long hairline cracks in the coping already, 5 days after the pour.  PB came recommended to me as an upstanding business owner. I hope he takes care of this.

I understand concrete cracks, but if it's cracking in the first week, I think we have problems.

Of course this is right where you would enter the pool- the coping I'll most look at, right outside my back door.

This is the largest crack as of right now and it's discolored- something is off here.

Stone

PB jacked up the price for the stone I chose for the raised bond beam. It's gorgeous stone though, so I'm ok with it. PB wanted me to choose stone that is already on panels.  The panels of stone just didn't settle well with me.

Mt. Moriah stacked stone goes on.

I was worried about the stone and coping color clashing, but I think it looks fantastic

Two men worked just about a full day setting the stone- like puzzle pieces. We took all the stone the local distributor had and will get more on Monday, so the process will continue then.

Watering Gunite/Selecting Stone

I've got gunite and am watering it & picking out materials for the next phase.  Picking ledgestone has proven difficult for me. After looking at several different types, almost settling on Golden Ray (comes in sheets), I chose Mt. Moriah- see it here. I wanted something not so orange/yellow, not too bright and not too dark. I almost chose Virginia ledgestone, but I think Mt. Moriah has a lot more character and is classy and eye catching. I'm excited about the choice.


Mt. Moriah also has flagstone for the decking. I originally was going to do a sand washed deck, but after seeing the flagstone, my pool builder & I are going to discuss the increase of cost to put down some flagstone.


Scheduled next for our project is building the mini-walls off the raised bond beam/spa, the equipment wall & the wall to finish off the rear retaining wall.


Yard is a muddy mess. Sprinklers are working (sort of- leaks are springing up in places).  Moving along.  I'm hoping the wall building goes by quickly so we can see some progress on the pool. Walls must be built first, however, as coping goes on top of walls too.

Picking stone- what a process. I didn't choose this- Golden Ray, shown against the spa, too bright for my like.  I can't wait to fix that eyesore wall behind the pool. Soon.

Golden Ray on the right, and ??? on the left. I grew to like the one on the left but I think it would be too light.

Gunite- what a fun process.

Shaping the seats and step in the spa

Selecting reef depth was tough. I like sitting a chair w/ my toes in the sand at the river and wanted to get something close to that depth. Ended up going with 12" of water so I could have an LED light over the reef to help light the shallow end.

Steel & Plumbing

I got the pool reinforcement and the pool plumbed at the end of last week.

The mess grows as the yard stays torn up, sprinklers stay busted & things keep dying. I don't have enough hose to keep up with all the watering so I'm hoping this part of the process ends rather quickly.

We seem to be moving right along.  I decided on an extra spa pump to increase the therapeutic capabilities on the spa. The standard 6 jets on the shared variable speed pump didn't appeal to me. I want a real spa. The amount of plumbing going to the spa is a big mind blowing, actually.  I was out of town for the plumbing process so I wasn't involved in the placement of the jets aside from a few quick texts from the builder. I essentially told him to make me a kick butt spa and to place the jets accordingly.   We'll see what I think about it the first time I get in it, I guess....

When the blue spray painted outline was on the ground the pool looked way too small & I was ready to scrap the contract (well, for the most part) and GO BIG. Now that the hole is here and it's shaped, I think I'm okay with this.

The beginning of steel. 

Steel was done by one guy who worked pretty quickly. I'm glad it wasn't a hot day- I can't imagine handling this steel in the 105 degree summer sun.

Trenches dug mostly with a ditch witch. I had no idea the amount of underground plumbing. The plumbers had a tough job.

So as not to destroy concrete, the gas line was hand trenched along the existing sidewalk adjacent to the house. 

Miles of plumbing everywhere. Wish they would fix my sprinklers while they're at it :/

Schedule

My contractor hasn't been paid yet, so perhaps that's why this project seems to be moving along quickly. I got a call from my contractor telling me steel & plumbing are scheduled for the next two days. Sprinklers torn up by the tractors are also being repaired within the next two days.


So far so good. I hope this keeps moving along after he gets his two largest draws (which will happen relatively soon).

Picking Equipment: Jandy or Pentair- any thoughts?

I had originally decided to have Pentair equipment installed. I can't point to any reason why, except that Pentair was the brand I saw all over the internet as I began my pool research. My builder is a Jandy guy- he does all of the service calls in the area and such. He likes Jandy controls & says they are a superior product.

I trust my pool guy, so I'm going with Jandy. He said it would mean he would be handling any necessary repairs. Parts & labor are included in the 3 year warranty.


How did you decide on pool equipment? Are you happy with your decision?