Pool Project - The End of Week One

The end of the first week of our project drew to a close with much forward progress.

On Friday, the crew mixed a boatload of cement and poured the footer.

All of the cement was vibrated to ensure it was even and there were no air gaps.

On Saturday, block started to be put in place, on the footer, for the exterior walls.

Each tier of block was cemented together and the corner blocks were filled with cement.

While all that was going on, a couple of the guys started digging out what will eventually be the pool itself.

I think it's important to point out that all of this manual labor is being done with the sun beating down on the guys and with 90-degree temperatures. We have never heard any of them grousing. Instead, to the muted strains of Spanish music, we hear some of the crew singing or whistling to the music and a fair amount of laughter. 

The other thing that happened yesterday was Mr. Mario taking us to another construction project he has going on to take a look at the wood framed screens.

We will be using shade cloth for our project. It's incredibly sturdy and with having a cat, it holds up well should the vixen decide to climb the screens.

After looking at and discussing framing options, we've decided to go with pressure treated 2" x 4" pine. The wood will be planed (if needed) and sanded. Then a light oak stain and two coats of varnish will be applied. 

In discussing the go-forward game plan for our project with Mr. Mario, he said that if all goes well, the basic structure of our pool house -- including the roof -- should be done in the next three weeks. The ensuing weeks will be spent doing the finishing work, such as painting, laying tile, installing the screens, etc.

We thought we would have a quiet Sunday, but with the Easter holiday coming up, the crew asked if they could work today, as they will be off on Friday and Saturday of this week. We said it would be fine. So as I type this to the strains of Spanish music, more block is being put in place and the hole for the pool keeps getting bigger. 

I think I need to find out what CD they're playing; it's grown on me.