swimming pool!

It has been a while since I’ve updated the progress on the pool. The spa was up and running May 7. It has been so nice to relax at the end of the day and watch the stars come out. We’ve had 6 people in at once and there was still room for more!

We are still waiting for the steps we ordered which match the outside of the spa and go across all of one side. These are loaner steps. The top was installed backwards, which they will fix when the steps come. But at least we can get the wonderful relaxing massage effect of the jets!

The flagstone has taken much longer than I could ever have imagined. They almost have it all mortared in and still need to do the grouting. If I had known how long it takes, I might have considered doing something else, although it will look wonderful when it is completed. The flagstone creates so much dust and dirt that it is better to wait to complete the inside of the pool until it is done otherwise you just get lots of dirt in the pool or on the cover. Here are some pics of the current state of things:

We hope to hear that the pool company has scheduled the completion this week and we will be swimming laps by the weekend. Then on to the landscaping, and the stone work in the front of the house, and the inside of the house, and . . . . seems like we are never really done.

Last Tuesday they began to layout the flagstone. It is one giant puzzle except that instead of putting the pieces together, they are cutting the pieces to fit. The whole flagstone business is supposed to take 10-12 days! That puts us over my hoped for completion date. Maybe there will be water by Mothers Day.

And the roses are blooming

We’re filling the spa tonight in preparation for the electrician who comes at 8 a.m. sharp tomorrow.

We have a new addition.  Looks sort of like R2D2 and a little sidekick.  Installed this morning.  Or maybe like a Weber kettle grill.

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The last two days the guys have been working on installing the tile. It is about done, except that they ran out of tile in one corner! There was some tile piled up near the pool when we got home, but it looked like it was broken or defective. So I imagine, more will be on the way.

Here are a couple of pics of the tile, but hard to really see it.

Did a little testing of the two exterior samples we are considering.  I sprinkled water on them to see how it looks when it dries.  You could barely see anything on the gray sample, but could see  a lot of the droplets on the mahogany.  You couldn’t see anything on the interior sample, but then that is the one we both agree upon.  So now, after my little test, we are both in agreement that we should go with the gray so there is less work wiping it down when water splashes on it.

While we were out for a bike ride someone was here and left the tile, some machinery, and a bunch of long boards.  Looks like something will be happening soon.

I thought this was a sock and was about to swoop down and snatch it up when I realized it was the cat’s tail! This is the position he assumes for most of the time when there are workers in the backyard.

Yesterday we took a “wet test drive” of a couple of spas we are considering. The sales people were correct when they said that you probably do not want a lounge seat–you just float out of it. We are pretty sure of the model we want–the majesta–room for some visitors. You can see the spas at sundancespas.com (be sure you have the last s in there or you get a competitor’s site). We just have to pick the colors. The samples are leaning against our house. We can agree on the interior but have not decided on the exterior.

You can see the finished concrete in the next pic. We are supposed to water it twice a day for 10 days. Luckily it has been raining so we haven’t had to do it every day. They warned us not to fall in the pool and I thought that was a little strange. Now that I have done the watering, I can see how easily you could fall in–there are lots of rebar stakes sticking up and nails in the forms that you can easily trip over when you are walking around the edge. Seems easier to do a lot of it from inside.