Pool project #2

Catch up on post #1 if you missed it.

Here we are at the end of October… our backyard was a bit of a war scene.  I was trying to get through the mud every other day to manually water the plants that were left.

November and December was taken up with putting in the travertine around the pool, the concrete deck, and working on the infrastructure of the sewer lines, pumps, etc.

We had this playscape and finally saw that we would not be able to keep it.  First, my sister wanted it and we made arrangements for movers to take it apart, drive it to her house an hour away, and reassemble it.  However, when they came to look at it, they told us that much of the wood around the base was rotted and it wouldn’t be safe to use at all.  We got some good use out of it for 5+ years so that was ok.

I found someone in our neighborhood who wanted to take it and work on making the necessary repairs, so I gave it to them.  They hired the same movers again to come and take it away.  I was happy to give it to a family who would take care of it and appreciate it.

Of course, when they came it was pouring!

Above, our pumps on a platform looking good.  Below, you can see what the garage workers did in order to paint the brick.  Without asking anyone.  That cost several hundred dollars to repair. Grrr.

In February, SG got to pick out a few extra tiles to place around the pool.  She chose 2 little dolphins, 3 colorful fish by the steps, and a starfish on the pool floor.  The plaster took one day in March.

Here it’s finally empty of all the rainwater, mud, and leaves and ready to be filled with water.  It was fun to watch it fill up… took more than 24 hours!

Side story: our area has had some major flooding issues since we live close to a bayou.  Two years in a row, many people have had to rebuild their homes after significant rainfall.  We wanted to be cautious so we put in this detention pond at the side of the house.  It ended up being a swampy mosquito breeding ground.  The plan was to put in a pump.

When the city flood inspector came by, he told us that idea was going to be ineffective. Instead, he asked us to dig up much of our front yard in order to lower the elevation.  What a mess.

Then SG dropped this basket cover and we had to replace that.

Many spa tweaks later, we turned it on and there was a very loud POP.  This black cover had blown off.

Finally, we got to a point where we could shock and treat the water.  The vacuum was hooked up and things got moving…

Well, it turned out that that vacuum never worked.  We waited a month for another vacuum, which required the pump to be changed out.  Meanwhile we dealt with spa jet issues, and many other problems.  As I write this today, the entire system is off because Pump #2 broke out of the blue and started leaking water.  Parts are on order…

Here you can see the Cool Deck surrounding the pool.  We power washed it to get rid of all those stains.

And this is what it looks like at night! We have only used it once at night so far, but it was pretty cool.  We are also waiting for a Pentair rep to come by and fix the lights.

All problems aside, we have been loving having the pool for about 3 months now.  I exercise in it almost every morning and we all love entertaining friends and family in it.

The final pool post will cover landscaping.  Thanks for reading!