New Pool Build in Miami

[jro33176]

Thanks, we are excited to see the tile finally installed!! So far, it's not up yet...

Northrider - I will check my pressure gauge again tomorrow but it does fluctuate a bit. PB explained that when weather is cooler, pressure goes down (like evening and night). During day, when it is hot and temperatures are high, the pressure goes up. I watched this for awhile to confirm but I haven't checked in awhile.

CC - my patience is definitely being tested. They do come everyday (happy about that) but the progress they are making is SLOOOWWW!!!!!

On Saturday, the tile & coping guy was setting the coping while texting and talking on his cell phone!! :grrrr:
It took all my patience and willpower to be friendly and pleasant!

 

[jro33176]

And speaking of which - on Saturday, they had to widen my raised wall in order to install the coping.

Building the form...

Loaded up with concrete...

While the wall was being widened, the tile guy added a layer of something (mortar?) around the pool wall.

A few more coping stones were installed, but after 3 hours, the crew took off. Seeing how it was a Saturday, I could understand that, but I was hoping they would stay longer. :angel:

 

[jro33176]

This week I am very grateful any work at all was completed. The weather has been terrible and still the tile guy is here working on the coping.

Monday, he focused on the raised wall.

Tuesday, he finished the coping and started the bullnose tile in the spa area.

 

[jro33176]

I'm curious how quickly coping and tile have gone for other people. He is very methodical and measures every piece, but it seems to be taking a long time.

Also, how exact should all this tile and coping layout be? I will try to take pictures of the areas I am concerned about.
For the tile in the spa area, one of the bullnose tiles is not inline with the others. It is sticking up. I think it should be redone.

For the coping at the corners, he has mitered two pieces and sometimes the joints and ends don't quite line up. Will grout cover up these differences. For the ends, it appears like the endpoint chipped off when he was cutting. That means, where the points of two pieces meet up, one side is a bit longer than the other. Will this also be hidden when grouted?

I'll take pics tomorrow and post...

 

[jro33176]

Well, my pictures of certain areas of concern did not turn out well. But, I just showed him the areas I didn't like and he redid them.

I haven't seen any pools with bullnose tile like this. Basically, the bullnose tile is sitting right on the edge of every horizontal surface - seat, bench, step.

For the tile, he started with the raised wall.

A close-up of the raised wall - that green part is the installed sheer.

Planter

Waterline tile

I was taken aback when I first saw the raised wall; we are thrilled with how it turned out. After each day, I would walk around to make sure the deco tiles were aligned properly. I found only 4 tiles turned the wrong way and he fixed them!

Also, the weather was dreary and gray all week but it didn't rain! Apparently, someone upstairs thinks well of me...

Next, they will work on the decking around the pool. (I hope next week!)

The pool builder also told me I need to install a "safety barrier" as required by county code. So, I am currently getting quotes on a pool safety net. We spent all this time creating something interesting and nice to look at. I don't want to block it with a baby fence!!

 

[spillmar]

Looking great-love the tile on raised wall. When I lived in Florida growing up we had a pool with similar "azulejos."

 

[Northrider23]

Hey Jro. Pool is coming along great. In regards to the safety barrier you have a few options. You can put up alarms on all exterior doors and windows (required only on windows which sill it's below 54" from the floor) that lead directly to the pool, also fence gates must be self-closing. . You can also rent a pool fence for a few months to pass inspection for a fraction of the price, however you will have the holes in the deck when it's all said and done. The most important factor is the SAFETY of your kids. We opted for the alarms at this point (got a great deal on craigslist) and will adjust accordingly as our son grows.

 

[jro33176]

Northrider, we are going to go ahead with your suggestion and try to fix fence gates and screens doors to pass inspection of the safety barrier that way.

All our progress has halted with the terrible rains. I suspect my PB is now very much backed up because even with a beautiful day of sunshine, no one showed up and I received all kinds of different reasons why...

We received sand and limerock this week.

They were here for about an hour, spreading it around and building up the area behind our raised wall.

After an hour, they scrambled out of here when it starting pouring. They left my gate off and told me the pavers would be delivered the next day. Guess what - next day, no pavers! PB tells me there is a 70% chance of rain and they aren't going to come out. I said really??!! It didn't rain ALL DAY!

From there, it is has been different reasons each day why my pavers aren't delivered and why they aren't starting. It's been frustrating as all the conflicting reasons have left me questioning their dependability and honesty. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I just want an honest answer -- if they're backed up, they're backed up and tell me! If a delivery isn't scheduled, don't tell me it is on its way! Grr...

 

[poobears]

Sorry you are stuck and frustrated. How do they have your payments worked out. I know some have issues if they have PBs that require a lot up front. They tend to drag their feet once they get towards the end because they already have the largest part of your payment. They focus on the next build to get their money, not finishing yours. In the end they follow through but they don't make it a priority unfortunately.

 

[jro33176]

That issue has crossed my mind, poobears. I feel completely stuck and at their mercy. I can only hope things will pick up next week. The latest update from this afternoon -- we were told the pavers won't be available until Tuesday! This is the first time we are hearing this; originally the pavers were "ON THEIR WAY"!!!

 

[Casey]

jro... everything is usually on it's way!

I hope the weather starts to clear for you guys and you can get back to building! Your tiles look really nice!!!

 

[Northrider23]

Hey Jro. Sorry to hear about your headaches but don't feel bad, We are going through them together. Sometimes I get the run around a bit but they always come through. I've been waiting on the filter and heat pump to come in for almost a month. I can't imagine things would take that long to become available specially for local dealers/distributors. I do agree that a lot of it has to do with pmt schedule and how long after they deliver a certain product till the next draw. Hang in there, we are almost there.

 

[jro33176]

Thanks for the supporting words. And, guess what showed up today...
7 pallets of pavers!

I was completely surprised as I expected a delivery on Tuesday. After the shock wore off -

 

[poobears]

Yay so glad to see they arrived, let the building resume

 

[Northrider23]

Back to work everybody. Ok... We'll start Monday since it's Father's Day. Lol

 

[jro33176]

Well, "back to work" didn't happen until today (Tuesday)! :tongue:

They spent the morning spreading more sand and leveling.

They used this machine to futher compact the sand?

In the afternoon, they began laying the pavers

By the end of the day, one side was mostly finished and one half of another side.

Of course, tonight it rained so I hope that doesn't affect the work they did today.
Speaking of all this rain, here is the inside of my pool!

I'm grateful that Green Goddess is for them to clean up and not me!!!

 

[Northrider23]

Decks is looking good. And don't worry about the green goddess. They'll pump it all out in a couple of hours.

 

[jro33176]

Well no one came yesterday (Wednesday) so I was relieved to see they were back today!
In the morning, they began working on the small areas that required cuts of the pavers. They wore "gas masks", hats and wrapped their necks in clothing. The dust from the cuts went everywhere! I will need to dust the plant leaves after.

But, they made lots of progress.

They also began the border pavers, which I didn't like at first.

But, in the end, I like it. It gives the edges a "clean look."

Another crew arrived this afternoon to begin working on the water features. They had installed the sheer when they put up the tile. Today, they ran plumbing and drilled through the tile to create the plumbing for the "water spits" (mini jets?) on either side of the sheer.

This is where the hole was drilled, and I am unsure about its placement.

Up close, it looks off center -- like they should have put it directly in the middle of the square where those 4 tiles meet.
But, from further back, it is actually centered along that section of wall.

I now realize the tiles are not perfectly centered. He must have started the tiles from one side and worked his way to the other -- rather than starting from the center of the wall and working his way out.

I never noticed this until now! I hope it won't that be noticeable once the water features are on and running.

Once again, it started pouring at about 4:15pm. My Green Goddess is growing by the day!

 

[Casey]

That deck looks so nice!

 

[jro33176]

Thanks, Casey! I have a dilemma brewing and I'm wondering if I should keep the question in this thread or start a new one. We are leaving town for about 2 weeks at the end of July. I NEVER dreamed the pool would be unfinished at this point when we signed a contract in early FEB!! I can already see that the plaster stuff is going to be applied, at best, right after July 4th and, at worst, just before we head out of town.

What is recommended? Once the pool is plastered, aren't I supposed to brush all the time? PB recommends hiring their service (how convenient, isn't it?) for the first month to manage the pool. They won't come everyday to brush, but they do come 2x week to clean, brush and manage chemicals. My other option would be to delay the plastering of the pool until we return. No one in my family likes this idea (including me, I suppose). By the time we would get back, hassle PB about coming back out to do plaster, etc., the kids will be back in school. No joke! They start Aug 18th!!