Pool Project Update: The Fates Have Their Say

Well it's been a little over a month since our pool project was completed, and I thought it might be a good time to share how things have been going.

For starters, we have been very pleased that the screens have been doing their job by keeping leaves and bugs out of the pool. Other than an occasional dusting of marl, the pool water looks pristine.

The screens also lend a real Zen feeling to the space. You feel like you're outdoors, but can enjoy the space without being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

We took delivery of our furniture for the seating area and it is awesome!

The day bed has become my personal nesting area. You can find me stretched out on it most afternoons, reading a book, and sipping a cold beverage.

The recliners are also very comfy in all three positions, straight up...

...foot rest up...

...and fully reclined.

Before the furniture arrived, we were trying to figure out what to do for a coffee table. We landed on the idea to tile the top of a spare table we already had using the leftover floor and decorative tiles. David did an awesome job.

An added bonus is that the decorative tiles coordinate perfectly with the patterned throw pillows.

In addition, David found the perfect spotlight to show off the pool at night.

It took Olivia, our mostly indoor dog, a couple of weeks to feel comfortable being in the pool area, but not so much for the cat. She immediately claimed the space as her very own. I truly believe she thinks we had it built just for her, including the ginormous water bowl. Yes, she drinks out of the pool. Sigh.

David also got the solar heating installed to warm the pool water.

He is going to put together a post describing what all is involved and how this works. We are still experimenting with it to maximize the pool temperature, but once final tweaks are done, I think it will enable us to use the pool almost year round.

Now with all these developments, you might think we've been spending every spare minute bobbing around in the water and relaxing. Unfortunately, The Fates had other ideas.

For starters, the crew and no sooner left when we both came down with nasty colds. Actually, David caught it first and, being the generous soul that he is, passed it on to me. We spent about 10 days hacking and sneezing and generally feeling yucky. It wasn't a big surprise, considering we were pretty run down from lack of sleep and the stress of the construction. And we weren't the only ones who were run down.

Poor Olivia developed a severe topical fungal infection. She has always had some skin issues, but this was worse than anything she had had in the past. The vet thought that besides being prone to this type of thing to begin with, the noise from the construction, all the crew being onsite, plus the concrete dust just exacerbated her condition. So to get her over it, she needs to be bathed every other day, for a month, with a special shampoo. After that, weekly baths, with the same shampoo will continue forever.

No sooner were we all recovering than rainy season started. We got our first really torrential rain on June 5. Why might I remember this date? Because it's the day our house flooded. You see, there are two 40 foot gutters on either side of the pool structure, plus we had the 40 foot run on the back of the main house replaced. The construction crew had all three gutters draining into one 2-inch diameter pipe. We expressed our concerns that the pipe diameter might be too small to handle the runoff of 140 feet of gutters, but we were told not to worry. And initially, all seemed to be good.

But then the storm hit. The rain was coming down hard and fast. That small, 2-inch pipe couldn't handle the runoff. The next thing we knew water was coming up through the floor drains in the seating area. The water then started flowing down the new hallway, into the spare room, and made it's way into the living room, kitchen, and front porch. 

I called the contractor and using a tone that clearly brooked no argument, demanded he get his butt over here to do something to stop this. While waiting for him to arrive, David and I were using mops, a squeegee and buckets to combat the water that continued to spread. 

The contractor arrived and it was decided to cut the downspout on the pool house so the water would just flow directly to the ground. That meant there was no more water backing up through the house, but we had our work cut out for us. Our couches and area rug were soaked and to make matters even more interesting, we lost power. So there we were, in the dark, trying to cope with all this. 

And being the graceful being that I am, I ended up slipping not once, not twice, but three times. In all three instances, I landed on my tailbone and ended up bruising the left side of my ribs.

However, we were finally successful in getting most of the water sopped up and were able to salvage the couches and area rug.

The following day, the construction crew showed up and modified the drainpipes. They ended up installing three pipes, one for each gutter, and digging a deep soak away that was filled with rock and gravel.

Since this modification was made, we've had a number of big thunderstorms and all is working well.

But wait, The Fates weren't done with us just yet. It was around this time that a glass jar fell from the drainboard, hit the tile floor, and shattered. David ended up having a shard embedded in his left foot somewhere between his little toe. At first he thought it would work itself out, but it didn't and became very painful.

He went to see Dr. Punjabi (an awesome doctor) and he wanted David to get an X-ray. A prescription was written and off David went to the hospital. He opted to have expedited service and had to pay a whopping $24 BZD ($12 USD). Try getting an X-ray for that price in the States.

Unfortunately, the X-ray didn't show any discernible shard, but Dr. P. thought he might have some luck if he cut open David's foot to probe and flush the area. After being given a local anesthetic, the operation got underway. I was in the room with the two of them and Dr. P. gave a running commentary of every step of the procedure. He even invited me to take a look as he probed (insert wince here). 

And while he didn't find any foreign object in David's foot, he suspected and hoped that the shard was either flushed out or moved away from the nerves and no longer be painful.

All in all, the whole process took about an hour. The cost for the procedure, plus antibiotics ran about $170 BZD ($85 USD). Talk about a bargain.

I am happy to report that David's foot healed up just fine and he no longer has any stabbing pains. My ribs and tailbone are just about back to normal, so all is good on that front. And even Olivia is looking and feeling better from her every other day spa treatments.

We are supremely hopeful that The Fates are finished with us, at least for a while. In spite of the weird events, we have managed to bob around the pool a handful of times and it is just lovely. The whole space has exceeded our expectations and I find myself wandering out there many times during the day. Considering everything that has gone on in the last month, it's wonderful to have a peaceful haven to relax and unwind. 

Pool Project: Week Nine

Week nine is a wrap and we are 99% complete. The crew is coming by tomorrow to finish up some things, which I'll get to in a moment. But first, I want to share this:

Not too shabby, huh?

But it took quite a bit of work from the crew last week to get it to this point. For starters, they had to finish the steps leading up to the pool. Here they are in their almost finished state. White paint has since been put on the risers, which really makes the tile pop.

In the very near future, we will be installing a grab bar from the column to someplace on the wall below the screen.

And speaking of screens, you might remember that the week before last the crew built the frames. Last week was spent stapling the screening to the frames. Now the thing about the type of screen we chose to use is that it really needs to be stretched a lot to avoid wrinkles and sagging. As a result, the frames were bowed from the tension. It took some time on David's part to come up with a way for the guys to affix the frames without damaging them or the concrete. With the use of a jack, all got fitted in.

In the above shot, you can see the triangular openings for screens. These frames were very tricky to cut, due to all the angles. David, again, came to the rescue to help the guys figure it all out and even made templates for them.

While all that was going on, a new crew member stopped by. Say "hi" to Bob, the temporary block supervisor.

Bob kept a beady eye on all the goings-on, including the installation and painting of the soffits.

One of the critical tasks that also happened was applying the Diamond Brite to the interior of the pool. It's messy work, especially as once it is applied, the entire area needs to be acid washed to help bring out aggregate color. We opted for a blue hue, but when we saw the final result, it appeared like a dingy gray. Big disappointment, but there was nothing that could be done. 

Then an interesting thing happened. We started filling the pool and magic!

The water changed color! Here's what it looks like completely filled.

Hard to believe, isn't it?

While the guys were doing their stuff, David was busy doing his, meaning installing the fans...

...and two of the four sconces he made.

So after all of this activity, that's how we arrived here.

This morning, I wandered out with my coffee to take it all in, as well as this hideous view:

The cat even took a gander.

And if you're wondering what our dog, Olivia, thinks of the new space, we can't coax her to come out there. We suspect she has been so wigged out over all the noise and activity these last nine weeks that she needs time to readjust.

And if you're wondering if we've been swimming yet, the answer is no. The main reason is that to effectively cure the Diamond Brite, the water needs to circulate for 24 hours. We're experiencing a problem with too much air in the lines. Investigations are underway as to the cause and what adjustments are needed.

Another reason we haven't been in the pool yet is that until the water circulation is complete, there is still a level of acid. Not a huge amount, but enough that you don't want to be bobbing around for long or going underwater. That being said, we are supposed to scrub the interior surface every day, and initially twice a day, for the next couple of weeks. I will be sure to report back on how that all goes.

We were rather surprised that once the pool was full of water, it was already 82 degrees. But late yesterday afternoon, it was all the way up to 86 degrees. Nice!

So where does this leave us? Well, tomorrow some of the crew are coming back to touch up paint, plus touch up the wood with stain and varnish. The guys making the screen door are supposed to show up and do that install. The crew also will be clearing out all their equipment from David's shop, so he can reclaim that area. And last, but not least, another coat of sealer will be put on the deck.

Once that's all done, we will be officially finished and on budget, I might add. But between now and then, I plan to spend most of this Sunday in the seating area with a big grin on my face.

Pool Project - Week Eight

It was estimated at the onset of this project that work would be completed by the end of last week. The crew is very close, but holidays and whatnot have pushed the end date to sometime this week.

And even though this was a short week (Monday was a holiday), the crew accomplished quite a bit.

Most of the wood frames for the screens have been assembled. We should start to see them going in tomorrow.

Gutters have been made and installed.

They are made from PVC pipe and, if you look closely at the top picture, the guys cut a narrow channel on the top. Water collects from the roof, but minimal debris. Pretty clever.

Painting is almost done, including the exterior and interior of the pump house.

Once the plumber and electrician arrive this week, the pump/filter will be installed.

The floor tile in the seating area is also almost done.

The floor has been grouted, but the four-inch surround still needs to be done. Oh, and the bottom step you see here also needs to be finished and painted. 

At this very moment, David is installing the brackets for the two ceiling fans that will be in this area. It will be nice once they are installed so they no longer live in our spare room bathroom.

We had thought that the pool and deck would be acid washed last week, but due to a lot of ash produced from cane and field burns, it won't happen until this week, once the screens are in.

So, starting tomorrow we have the following things to look forward to:

• Screen installation
• Completion of painting
• Acid washing deck and pool
• Installation of switches and outlet covers
• Completion of half-round steps in the seating area
• Pool pump/filter install and testing
• Job site clean-up

But best of all, if all goes according to plan, we can fill the pool. It's hard to believe that by this time next week, we could be bobbing around enjoying a refreshing adult beverage! Keep your fingers crossed.

Pool Project - Week Seven

Well, the crew faced some challenges this week, but was still able to achieve a number of milestones.

As you may recall from my Week Five post, the crew spent a great deal of time rendering the columns and walls to create a smooth finish. 

Once all the surfaces were cured, Mr. Mario went around and started tapping the columns and walls. It seems that on another project he has going, the crew ran into a problem with the final coats of cement not adhering properly. Sure enough, he identified a bunch of spots on our structure that had the same problem.

As a result, those hollow spaces needed to be chipped out and redone. And while it was a bit of a setback, we were glad that Mr. Mario took the time to check into it. The last thing anyone of us would like to see are cracks.

With that work out of the way, the crew started installing the zinc roof panels.

And this is where the next challenge cropped up. It seems the screws that come as part of the roofing "kit", were too long. If used, we would be seeing the pointy screw ends every time we looked up at the ceiling. Not exactly the look we were shooting for. David checked around at hardware stores in town, but shorter screws aren't available.

The solution? Mario had one of his guys, using a chop saw, cut the ends off of a slew of the screws. Somehow, all of his fingers were still intact by the time he was done. 

While the roofing work was underway, a couple of the other guys were putting the decorative tile in the pool.

In the meantime, the glass block was installed in the new hallway.

Once the tile work was done in the pool, the entire structure was power washed. When the surface around the pool was dry, the guys taped off the area around the pool's perimeter where Diamond Brite would be applied.

Mr. Mario's plan was to spread a thin coat on the deck surface and around the bull nose. His reasoning was that if it's a thin coat it would still provide grip, and it would eliminate people stubbing their toes if a thicker coat would be applied.

When David went out to see how it was going, he noticed brown specks in the aggregate.

Hmmm, what was up with this? After some head scratching and emails to our supplier, we finally hit on the answer. As the guys were applying the Diamond Brite with a trowel, they were inadvertently collecting little bits of untreated cement that the power washer didn't remove. David picked out as many brown cement specks as possible all the way around the pool and it now looks like it should.

And just to keep things interesting, while the Diamond Brite was going on, the painter showed up and spent a couple of days priming the walls, columns, and pump house.

Here's a view from the south end...

...and from the west.

This week's activities will include applying Diamond Brite inside the pool, more painting, putting the finishing touches on the south end fascia board and the rafters, and maybe gutter installation. Once the painting is finished, the frames and screens can be assembled and installed. Oh, and there is also hooking up the pool pump and installing all the electrical boxes, outlets, and switches.

I must say that even though there is still work to be done, we are definitely in the home stretch. And even in its uncompleted state, there's a spa-like sense to the place. Without a doubt, we love it and anticipate spending quite a bit of time out here.

Matter of fact, as this is our first day off in three weeks, I think I'll grab a chair, go out to the seating area and just be for a bit.

Pool Project: Week Six

The crew spent most of last week rendering the remaining columns, exterior walls, and the hallway. They also poured the floor for the pump house and added more block. It's well on its way to completion.

We also received an unexpected perk when the guys poured a new slab for our butane tank and water heater.

In the meantime, we placed Amazon orders for patio furniture. We will have a daybed to curl up on (the canopy is removable), plus two matching recliners.

These should be arriving later next month. In the meantime, we will just use some of the chairs we currently have on the porch.

But the real excitement happened on Friday and Saturday. First, they poured the pool deck and applied a tinted, non-skid surface.

Next came the moment we've been waiting for: hoisting the main beam for the structure. Now here's the thing about this beam -- it is constructed of 2" x 8" pressure treated pine. The boards are bolted together to form a 44 foot beam. It's long and it's heavy. And believe it or not, the crew put in place by sheer manpower.

They started by positioning three of the crew on top of the upper cement chain, then the remaining guys lifted the beam up to some other crew members.

Then balanced on the cement cross beams, the guys carried the main beam to its resting place.

Our friends, Colleen and Bruce were at our place while this whole operation was underway. I think all of us held our breath watching this delicate balancing act. Goodness knows I was feeling a bit tense.

When the beam was secured with clamps, we all let out a big cheer and applauded. It was a fine way to end the week.

Much to our surprise, the crew showed up this morning. Normally we all have off on Sundays, but they want to get a jump start on installing the rafters.  

During the rest of this week, we expect the zinc roof to be installed, primer applied to the walls and columns, plus positioning the pool pump in its new house. 

The fun just doesn't end ;)

Pool Project: Week Five

Most of the activity this week can be summed up in one word: rendering. This is the process of putting a smooth, final coat of cement on the walls, beams, and columns.

This process is slow going and requires a deft hand to make the cement as smooth as possible. In a way, it's almost an art form. Fortunately for us, the three or four guys on the crew that are doing this work are masters.

In this shot, you can see the final coat on the column and the rough coat on the wall that still needs to be smoothed.

This is the north facing wall of our new hallway. Rendering is done on the exterior; the interior awaits. After that, the glass block will be installed in the opening you see.

Here is the east facing wall of the pool seating area. If you're wondering what those pipes are for, we opted to have two floor drains installed on either side of the seating area. When it rains, and if it blows into the seating area, we can just squegee the water to the drains and out it goes to the pipes, then to a drain field. Once the construction is over, we will put dirt over the pipes and put in some plants. Landscaping is the least of our concerns at the moment.

At this point, I would guess the remaining areas that need to be rendered will be finished up during the coming week.

In addition to all of this cement work, a few other milestones were reached.

The plumbing for the pool was installed and the pump house can now be completed.

We also took delivery of the standing seam metal roof panels and parts. Just as an FYI, this type of roof is called "zinc" in these parts. These panels are 24 gauge, which is the heaviest they come. 

Twenty-three bags of Diamond Brite, which will coat the interior of the pool is ordered. We purchased it through Island Marine in San Pedro. Due to the fact that each bag weighs 80 pounds, the shipment is on a barge making its way to Belize City versus shipping it by the Thunderbolt water taxi. Our contractor will pick it up and deliver it next week.

The 22" x 22" floor tile for the seating area has also been purchased and will be picked up in the coming days.

All in all, another productive, but exhausting week. I've made mention in previous posts about this project with regards to the mental toll something like this endeavor takes. And I would like to take this opportunity to better explain what I mean.

Imagine, if you will, that you live on a quiet, secluded lane. The only sounds that generally reach your ears are the chirping of birds. It's peaceful and relaxing. You and your significant other have your routines and go about your days in rhythm.

Then you get the brilliant idea to do a construction project. No matter how many big DIY projects you've tackled before, no matter how many people share their experience with their respective projects, you may not be fully prepared for the amount of disruption that will happen.

Let's start with the noise. Now intellectually, I knew there would be a lot of banging and the sounds of power tools on a regular basis. What I wasn't prepared for was the volume of the noise and that on some days it is non-stop from about 8 a.m. until at least 5 p.m., six days a week. Trying to do simple tasks inside the house become a challenge, because your brain can't stay focused. I've lost track of the number of nights that I was face planted on my pillow by 7 p.m. That is until some ungodly hour of the morning when my brain jolts awake with some oddball question or concern about where the project is heading.

Then there is the almost constant vigilance with keeping on top of what the crew is doing. Yes, there is a foreman on our site, most of the time. However, no matter how detailed a plan you have, you can't presume that all the members of the crew are literate and understand what needs to be done. I don't mean this in a disparaging way; it's just the reality of the situation. So if one of the guys encounters a new or different element in the building process, they may not ask for more information. Instead, they will do it the way they think it should be done. Now that being said, we have had only a few instances of this happening. But that is mainly due to the fact that David checks on what the crew is doing multiple times a day. If he sees something that looks like it might not be going in the direction we wanted, he will ask about it. Sometimes the guys have a better solution; sometimes our plan is the way to go. So it is a learning experience for both parties, but sometimes more time consuming than one would think.

And let's just chat about the on-the-fly, last minute critical decisions that need to be made. Again, I knew these situations would come up, but they mostly seem to occur late in the day when we barely have two brain cells left. By the time the conversations are held and decisions are made, our heads feel full of dust.

And this brings me to another major adjustment I have had to make. Those of you that have followed this blog for some time know how much I love to cook. I naively thought I would still be able to pull off any number of complicated recipes during this project. Ummm, not so much. Without knowing from one day to the next when the crew will wrap things up, it is almost impossible to make anything that requires exact timing. Now someone smarter than me would probably say, "You idiot! Why not just fire up your slow cooker and be done with it?" And my answer is that I should, but spending time in my kitchen, doing the prep work, stirring, simmering, and meeting the challenges of complicated recipes is a balm for me. But I am learning to adjust to simpler meals for now and we also go out for dinner about once a week. And don't even get me started on trying to keep the house clean.

I would guess that for those of you who have gone through having construction work done, it won't come as a surprise that there will be days when you wonder why the hell you decided to do it. There will be days when you or your partner will get snippy. And you may even entertain the idea of booking the first flight to someplace else and asking to be called when it's all over. 

But you know what? You get through it. We have no regrets. We are fortunate to have a crew that is hard working and takes pride in their craftsmanship. We are farther along than we thought we would be and we know the final result will be superb. 

Onward Ho!